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Fall Travel

Fall Culinary Travel: That's a Mole!

October 1, 2008 at 4:15 PM | 0 Comments

No longer shall you order a Mexican dish topped with mole sauce--a concoction of unsweetened cocoa and chilies, among other things--because it's cool to say. After a visit to the Atocpan Feria del Mole, which starts this Saturday in the Mexican town of San Pedro Atocpan, you'll be a mole expert worthy of pushing back your plate from Don Loco's and saying, "Pfft. This isn't real mole."

South of Mexico City, many people work in "mole mills" that prepare the famously complex sauce--in fact, an article in the local newspaper La Jornada estimated that 92 percent of San Pedro Atocpan's residents are involved in some way with producing or selling mole. Since most of their product is consumed in and around the Distrito Federal, it's rare for any "real" mole to trickle northward.

San Pedro Atocpan is only one of several cities laying claim to the title "birthplace of mole." (The Times awarded the title to Puebla two years ago.) After you've tasted the many varieties of mole infused with cinnamon, cilantro or raisins, check out the work of local artisans--and by then it'll be time to eat more mole.

Related Stories:
· An Uber Foodie's Guide to Las Vegas Restaurants [HC]
· Chili to Chili in Mole-Sauce City [NYT]
· Food Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Ekz.]