FoodReference.com Logo

FoodReference.com   (Since 1999)
 

Food Articles, News & Features Section

   Home       Food Articles       Food Trivia       Today in Food History       Recipes       Cooking Tips       Food Videos       Food Quotes       Who's Who       Food Trivia Quizzes       Crosswords       Food Poems       Cookbooks       Food Posters       Culinary Schools       Gourmet Tours       Food Festivals & Shows  

 You are here > Home > Food Articles >

Alvin Starkman Articles >  El Mirador Restaurant

 

CULINARY SCHOOLS &
COOKING CLASSES

From Amateur & Basic Cooking Classes to Professional Chef Training
Over 1,000 schools & classes listed for U.S., Online & Worldwide

 

 

 

WHERE THE LOCALS DINE…

El Mirador Serves Up More Than A Spectacular View

Arlene Starkman  (Article archive)


Since 1978 El Mirador has been catering to almost exclusively Oaxacans, thriving without help from the tourist dollar.  It must be doing something right!  Of course there’s the breathtaking cliff-side open air view of the city below and surrounding mountains, just up the road from the famous Auditorio Guelaguetza.  Perhaps more important is the consistency of its food (I’ve been dining there for more than a dozen years.)

Descending the staircase from the parking area you enter the main level with a relaxed mixed décor of rústica pine tables and chairs in the interior, and PVC Coke chairs with linen covered tables on the El Mirador Patio tablespatio.  There’s a juke box, glass case filled with stuffed animals which muchachos can purchase to impress their señoritas, and multicolored cut-out tissue banners – typical Oaxacan adornments.  The lower level has a club-style, modern ambiance, with ceiling-high picture windows to assure the same exquisite vista, lengthy bar, raised band platform and big-screen TV.  In the evenings you can enjoy Pine Tables, El Miradorthe sounds of a guitar strumming troubadour, and Thursday through Saturday dance salsa and cumbia to the beat of a local band.   Depending on the hour and day, patrons consist of friends out for an evening, work colleagues, young lovers, fiesta celebrants, and invariably during July Guelaguetza time there are groups of dancers from throughout the state. 

On a Thursday evening in June, by the time we left at 11 PM both levels were at 75% capacity.

 


Service is reliable with a surprisingly good complement of waiters.  Drinks from an extensive bar menu arrive promptly.  If you haven’t tried a michelada, beer mixed with a spicy chili/lime concoction, experience it here.  Salads and soups are reliable staples to begin, but for the former, stick to the green or mixed salad, since the “chef” is mainly meats and cheese atop a mound of iceberg.  My daughter’s shrimp soup was light and tomato based, and contained a good count of fresh camarones (shrimp).  For a botana I would avoid the cold cheese and meat platter, unless you’re a head cheese fan.  However, both the Botanas Mirador and Botanas Oaxaqueña are scrumptious, arriving hot with samplings of traditional meats. If you’re out for a light meal, consider skipping the entrée since portions of these appetizers are healthy.  I nevertheless went for the skewered meat plate (alambre) ... tender beef, tomato, yellow pepper and onion, over a bed of rice, accompanied by fries with a welcomed medley of steamed veggies.

Tlayudas at El MiradorThe tlayudas and parrilladas are highly recommended.  Tlayudas are oversized tortillas.  They are served crunchy with a light layer of requisite asiento (pork fat, but delicious) and refried beans, topped with lettuce and both traditional Oaxacan cheeses.  Try ordering with your choice of beef (tasajo), chili seasoned pork (cecina), or sausage (chorizo.)  The tlayudas at El Mirador are among the best.  The parrillada:  a hibachi-type BBQ arrives at your table, coals still aflame so as to complete the grilling of an impressive array of Oaxacan meats and vegetables including nopal (tender cactus paddle) and onions, sizzling with quesillo (Oaxacan string cheese).  It’s accompanied by tortillas, guacamole, salsa, and a saucy bean and salchicha side dish known as charros.  If you opt for this meal, go easy on the appetizers, perhaps with just a meatless tlayuda to start.

El Mirador offers casual, moderately priced dining … or an opportunity to get out for a cappuccino or drinks with light snacks.  Downstairs there’s a 25 peso cover when the band plays.

    Carr. Internacional KM. 3 S/N, Cerro del Fortín, Oaxaca.
    Tel: 51-6-58-20

Arlene Starkman together with husband Alvin operates Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast ( www.oaxacadream.com ). Arlene is an English teacher, psychotherapist and occasional restaurant critic. 
 

TOP 

RELATED ARTICLES

Alvin Starkman Articles        Chapulines in Oaxaca: Recipe & Primer        Certified Organic Produce in Oaxaca, Mexico        Rabbit Hunting in Oaxaca, Mexico        Oaxacan Chicken Estofado de Miltomate        Best Traditional Mole Verde        Modern Mole Verde        Toronto Duck Recipe        Black Mole from Oaxaca        Oaxaca Documentary Episode 1        Episode 2 - Oaxaca, Mexico        Dining and Indulging in Oaxaca        Mayonnaise in Mexico        Barbequed Goat        Mole Verde Con Espinazo        Mico-logica: Mushrooms in Oaxaca        Regional Wild Mushroom Fair        Mexico's Magical Mushroom Tour        Pilar Cabrera in Toronto        El Tigre Restaurant        Guadua Restaurant        El Mirador Restaurant        La Catrina De Alcala Restaurant        Caldo de Piedra Restaurant        Is it Safe to Travel to Mexico?        Cutting Edge of Mexican Cuisine        Local Molino Cooking Classes        Kid's Cooking Classes in Oaxaca        Sunday, a One-day Gastronomic Delight        Oaxaca Culinary Tour, page 1        Oaxaca Tour Daily Events        Oaxaca, Sunday & Monday        Casa de los Sabores        Enrique Flores: Oaxacan Artist        Pairing Mexican Craft Beer with Mezcal        Mezcal Producers & Sociedad de Mezcaleros        Oaxaca Tradition Trumps Innovation        La Muerte Mezcal in South Africa        ProMexico Promotes Mezcal        National Mezcal Festival        Mezcal Festival: Historical Context        14th Annual Mezcal Festival        Chango Mezcalero        Origin of Chango Mezcalero        In the Fields: Pulque        Pulque Production in Matatlán        Rural Oaxaca Mezcal Production        Mezcal: 5 Generations Of Palenqueros        Mezcal in Oaxaca

 

Home        About Us & Contact Us        Food Articles        Gardening        Marketplace        Food Links

 

Please feel free to link to any pages of FoodReference.com from your website.

For permission to use any of this content please E-mail: james@foodreference.com
All contents are copyright © 1990 - 2015 James T. Ehler and www.FoodReference.com unless otherwise noted.
All rights reserved.
You may copy and use portions of this website for non-commercial, personal use only.
Any other use of these materials without prior written authorization is not very nice and violates the copyright.

Please take the time to request permission.
 

 

 

 

Order Free Food & Kitchen Catalogs

 

 

 

 

 

 

POPULAR PAGES

Beverage Articles
Food Facts & Trivia
Recipe Contests
Local Food Festivals
Recipe Category Index

 

 

Click here to buy posters at Allposters!
Click here to buy posters at Allposters!

 

 

FREE Food & Beverage Publications
An extensive selection of free magazines and other publications for qualified Food, Beverage & Hospitality professionals

 

 

Chef with red wine glass