Gastronomy of Zacatecas

Gastronomy of Zacatecas

When visiting Zacatecas in the fall of 2004, we were intrigued by the menu entries at the Restaurant Bar El Paraiso on the corner of Hidalgo and Plazuela Goitia in downtown Zacatecas.

Asking our waiter about some of them, he very helpfully described the plates and we decided to try two or three of those that sounded most appetizing. This is what we chose:

Itacate del Minero – which, loosely translated, means “Miner’s lunch bucket”  . These consist of a number of tacos filled with a mixture of shredded meat, beans and eggs in a soft tortilla, wrapped and tied up in a checkered cloth which served as the carrying receptacle for the miners lunches in the past. The cloth, opened up, also conveniently does duty as a plate for the tacos and, once consumed, can be used as a napkin for cleaning up the drips… Now that’s being ecologically friendly…

Dobladillos (see photo, top) – Soft tortillas filled variously with black beans, ground spiced beef, cheese and rajas or poblano peppers, sautéed with onions. Each taco is folded over twice, making neat little triangular packages.

Torrejas - These appeared to be donut-like puffs dribbled with the local specialty, miel de maguey or maguey syrup, and sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds. Torrejas are a local delicacy actually made from slices of french bread dipped in egg and deep fried before being bathed in the miel — a species of french toast, if you will, typically eaten in Zacatecas as a desert.

Another regional specialty is Asado de Boda, or “wedding roast”, a dish of pork mixed with red chiles and seasoned with a number of herbs and spices including cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf, orange peel and chocolate, commonly served at regional weddings.

Zacatecas also has its own varieties of enchiladas, carne adobada (meat marinated and cooked in red chiles), hand-made cheeses and gorditas with savory fillings. Mezcal and more recently wines are the beverages of the state. The fruits and other produce of the region figure in many of their sweets such as ates de guayaba y membrillo (fruit jellies made of guavas and quince) and candied yams and squash.

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