La Diligencias or El Cabrito... Pt. 2

Now for the front of the house and a bit more about the food. It should be noted that I was only able to photograph a small portion of the food I consumed. I was generally so busy that I didn't always have time to snap photos, or I was in an area that I didn't feel comfortable toting my camera.


This is the dining area of Las Diligencias. It is pretty upscale for the district and draws a diverse crowd.


A couple of the servers requested that I take their picture. They were really very proud.


When I returned to Las Diligencias to take pictures, they presented me with a traditional Northern Mexican Dish called Machacado con Huevos (Crushed Dried Beef with Eggs). Since cattle are rare in this region, they preserve all the beef they can by salting it and curing it in the sunlight. The resulting meat is called Carne Seca, which is sort of similar to our Beef Jerky. Basically, it's a scramble with bits of dried beef, serrano chilies, onion, and tomato. This dish is often paired with Queso Fundido con Chorizo (Melted Cheese with Spicy Mexican Sausage) and eaten like a taco. I will definitely be making this one in the future.


This is Sopa de Mariscos (Seafood Soup). It was based on a tomatoey crab broth and garnished with shrimp, fish, mussels, octopus, squid, and a frog leg. I didn't get to see them make this soup, but it was delicious. The frog leg was a pleasant surprise.


Most of the beer that I drank in Monterrey were brewed by Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma, a brewery in Monterrey. This model is a Marzen with a beautiful amber color and an off white head. It's mildly malty and finishes very dry. Next to Negra Modelo it's my favorite Mexican beer. CCM also brews Carta Blanca and Bohemia. All the beers were damn fresh, especially the Carta Blanca on tap at the hotel for 10 pesos.


Again, this beer was much better on tap. It's an American Style Lager, and I suspect it's brewed with rice. However, unlike its American Counterpart, this one actually has flavor. It was a bit maltier and hoppier than most American Lagers. And again, 10 pesos...


So this isn't a great picture, but I just had to talk about Gloria's. They're not made at the restaurant, but they are so delicious that I had to get a recipe. Basically they are pecan candies made by cooking milk with sugar over low heat, stirring constantly for a LONG time, and then adding the crushed pecans. There is an imported version that's sold in Mexican grocery stores, but they pale in comparison to the real thing. The imported version is like a pecan caramel, where these are smooth and buttery with a ton of pecan flavor. I will post the recipe once I've perfected it. They sent me home with an entire bag of these, two of which actually made it across the border!

Well, that's it for this post. I have more Monterrey pictures that I hope will be mildly interesting, and those will appear in later installments.

Cheers