Dulce Patria (Day 24 of 27)

September 25, 2018

Dulce Patria (Day 24 of 27)

Sweet Homeland - Restaurant in Colonia Polanco, Mexico City

“Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first.” — Ernestine Ulmer.

Dessert - Caramelized cake with candied almonds and almond ice cream
Postre - Pan de natas y pimienta caramelizado con helado de almendras

24 de septiembre

¡Qué increíble! Food in Mexico City is incredible!

Come to this restaurant for a visual and tasting experience that communicates Mexican heritage. Hence the restaurant name, Dulce Patria, which means sweet homeland.

The horse rider is a woman, surrounded by a flowering cactus, snow covered mountain and a agave plant (basis of mescal and tequila).

Curious Dish Names

The items on menu have creative names to raise the diner's curiosity to want to try the starters (entradas), salads (ensalada), soups (sopas), main dishes (platos fuertes) and deserts (postres). Examples are

Guacamole nacionalista con requesón y granada - guacamole with queso fresco and pomegranate seeds. The green, white and red ingredients imitate the three colors of the Mexican flag. Nationalistic indeed.
Ceviche vampiro con el esplendor del mango - Vampire ceviche with the splendor of mango. Vampires eat fish and fruit?
Maria va a la florería - Maria goes to the flower shop. Cheese cake with cactus. Who is Maria, and why does she want flowers? Order this dessert and discover for yourself.

and.....

El alegre pescado zarandeado - The happy dancing fish.

A flower made from a dried chile, and a lime wedge ridged with salt and spices garnish this dish - The happy dancing fish, alegre pescado zarandeado

The dish is a fillet of white fish with red sauce, vegetarian tamale, and pineapple and onion sauté. I like seafood, and I was a sucker for the name of the dish. I ordered it. Each of the three items on the plate is savory and sweet at the same time. My tongue was delighted. The dish met my expectations caused by the curious name.

Garnish - dried red chile, sliced to create the image of a flower

My Dinner Course - Curso de Cena

1. Caesar salad - César ensalada.

César ensalada - Caesar salad. Garnished with flower petals, and iridescent flakes (very hard to see in foto)

The bread bun is filled with cocoa mole, and the toped with green, white and red sesame seeds - los colores de la bandera de México

2. Main dish - Plato fuerte

The happy dancing fish, alegre pescado zarandeado. Pictured above.

3. Dessert - Postre. (Although life is short, I ate desert last).

Cake and ice cream, Pan y helado. Pictured at top.

4. El Fin - The End

At this restaurant, every story ends with a happy ending. I was presented by surprise "ender," that is, opposite of a starter dish. ¡Sorpresa! There were five pairs of candies, underneath a spinning toy. I tasted and ate the candies clock-wise, starting with the most sour (red tamarind cubes) to the most sweet (chocolate cubes with crispy amaranth).

Literally and tastefully, playing with food

Hubo cinco pares de dulces, debajo un juguete girando. Probé y comí las sorpresas pequeñas, el principio era la más ácidos (cubos rojos de tamarind) y al fin era la más dulce (cubos chocolate con amaranto). Entre los dos, eran pelotitas de dos otros sabores y cacahuete.

Marta Chapa Ortíz

The owner of the restaurant, and creator of the menu. I heard the menu changes seasonally. Marta is a internationally-recognized chef. In college, she majored in social science. She is also a feminist.