[mindz]

My absolute favorite Mexican dish is chiles en nogades, or chiles stuffed with picadillo in walnut sauce. I was privileged to participate in the making of this famous dish from Puebla, in Puebla, so I know how much work goes into it.

In Playa, we splurged on dinner at a new restaurant at the corner of 5th and 20th, "El Trapiche." They feature wonderful dishes from all over Mexico, and though you pay 5th avenue prices, the food is worth it. And you guessed it, they make decent chiles en nogada.

To critique the chiles en nogada hardly seems fair - I was so happy just to eat them, it's okay that they used ground pork instead of shredded, and the sauce was a bit too sweet - it also looked like the walnuts were unpeeled. It was delicious! Another highlight of the menu is the Molcajete, or mortar. A beastly hot molcajete is brought to the table, and it contains a pool of excellent fresh-made tomato salsa surrounded by strips of grilled meat, veggies, cheese to be served with the salsa. For dessert, we tried the chocolate tamales - they're like brownies cooked in a corn husk.

For most of my meals, I wander beyond 5th for simple food--but this restaurant is worthy of a special occasion. Buen provecho!