24th
D.F.
6) The restaurant that Pancho scoped out. Needless to say it was delicious. It was actually on the travel food show, Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations and sparked a very interesting conversation about the art and practicality of food, both on the show and at our dinner table. The head chef of Puloj had studied at The Culinary Institute of America, so his specialty is gourmet French food, and he’s opened this restaurant in the tony, foodie neighborhood in D.F.- Polanco. The concept of the restaurant is a fusion of Mexican street food and gourmet ingredients. Think a chalupa with a slice of Kobe beef- yeah, I know.
And herein lies the conundrum. Why do you have to improve Mexican street food? It’s the best food you’re going to encounter in Mexico, hands down. So, is this restaurant just allowing rich people to eat delicious street food without getting their designer jeans dirty on the plastic stool in front of the kemal? Keep in mind the gigantic gap there is between the upper and lower classes of Mexican society and the concept of fancy street food is liable to make you feel a bit uncomfortable.
But on the other hand, my brother makes a good point, as per usual. My brother, who has decided to devote his career to the artistry of food, something I do find very admirable, was quick to argue that such care: the finest ingredients, the china, the wait staff, this is all part of the artistry. One could argue it’s classic dining, the pinnacle of the art form, and as stuffy as it may seem to some, in the end it has to be respected. Just because you don’t like Beethoven, doesn’t mean his music didn’t advance western musical thought, now does it? Gotta respect that. That’s what I understood from our discussion and, Pancho, considering that you are one of my 2 readers (thanks mom!), please correct me if I’m wrong. And maybe if I speak for you you’ll write back, because you haven’t been responding to my emails. Jerk. (love you)
