Photo by K.W. Bernoska
La Guelaguetza
One of the fun things for urban foodies is how multiple favorite restaurants of the same ethnicity can reside within walking distance of each other.
For instance, take La Guelaguetza (1039 W. National Ave.). It offers some entrees not easily found elsewhere, if at all, at other Mexican establishments in Milwaukee. And it is but a few blocks south from another of my favorite Mexican places in the city. A stroll in another direction from La Guelaguetza could well yield me a similar result with an eatery possessed of an equally unique set of specialties.
It was, honestly, geography, that drew me to La Guelaguetza at first. There's wisdom in businesses setting up shop on corners; seeing a place where it looked like I could get some Mexican food at the crossroads of S. 11th St. and W. National Ave. a couple of years ago during a leisurely neighborhood drive drew my eyes. My mouth and stomach were glad about it long thereafter.
Hungry Attention
La Guelaguetza's visual draw has since that time been enhanced with more distinctive signage that's grabs attention more easily. There's plenty on its menu that should keep a hungry customer's attention, too.
Places like La Guelaguetza make me glad that dining out Mexican often affords diners the opportunity to eat breakfast long after morning has passed. Otherwise, I may never have had the pleasure of enjoying its eggs, chorizo, and cactus combination. I already like each of those constituent elements; together, they make for a balance of tangy meatiness with the crisp, citrus-like character of the desert plant in the dish scrambled with the scrambled contribution a chicken made to the dish.
My first Guelaguetza experience was with something I've not been able to find at any other Mexican eatery in my travels, or even a recipe. The most prominent and unusual ingredient of Que Me Vas may be its thinly sliced, lunchmeat-style ham. Joining it in a skillet are beef and pork steaks, mushrooms, and Chihuahua cheese. Whether this is a casserole-like concoction germane to the family of La Guelaguetza's owner, an obscure regional favorite or whatever, its uniqueness cinched the idea for me of returning to the place to try more.
For my latest visit, I wanted to have something related to what might be presumed to be La Guelaguetza's regional affiliation. Guelaguetza, the word and not the restaurant name, is an annual festival in Oaxaca de Juarez which mixes Roman Catholic Marian devotion with a celebration of the diversity of the area's indigenous people groups that were more prominent before Mexico's conquest by Spanish forces.
So, I tried the mole Oaxaqueno. For a sauce described as being made with ground black beans, the deeply ruddy brown sauce in which three pieces of dark meat baked chicken were bathed came a bit of a surprise. Its hue could be attributable to a variety of other components. Perhaps tomato, chocolate, peppers, cinnamon, the combination of all the aforementioned and/or something else entirely.
Like Que Me Vas, this could, too, be might a proprietary Guelaguetza preparation, too. None of the three recipes I looked up for mole from Oaxaca include black beans. Regardless, Guelaguetza's variation has the combination of sweetness, smokeless and slight heat common to other region's moles, but with the slightest undercurrent of bitterness that gives it a singularly appetizing quality. The accompanying rice and refried beans diminished the look of the star attraction some—such special fare deserves a more ceremonious presentation—but altogether, they make for a hearty, potentially messy (but fun) meal that dances on the palate.
Strangely, listed within the beer selections on its online menu are tamales made with a mole Oaxaquenos filling. Here's considering that, Guelaguetza's mulita (a double-tortilla treat made with goat, chicken, and beef steak, tongue and head meat) and priciest dessert of fried plantains covered in sweetened condensed milk and cheese more reasons to darken its door.
Like so many other Mexican places tacos, burritos, tortas, gorditas, quesadillas huaraches and other more familiar options are available. But for those disposed to dig into specialties that aren't as common, La Guelaguetza offers plenty to stoke the culinary imagination.
