PicoBlog

This was the hardest post I’ve had to write so far. Mostly because of how amazing everything was and the sheer amount of delights we experienced. The procrastination set in heavy as I became intimidated by the size of the task. But finally I thought f*** it, I need to post this and get some closure. Plus it was fun to remember that sweet time I had with my favourite people.

So I’m not going to follow the usual structure and the review is gonna be a long’un but trust me it’s worth it. Or not but I just had to finally talk about this restaurant. If you don’t want to read the whole thing, please just read the menu though.

As I mentioned previously in my Tacos substack, before I went to Mexico, I did a tremendous amount of research on the Mexico City restaurant scene. Not only did multiple websites recommend Masala Y Maiz, but also multiple friends independently recommended it. So I thought, dope I’m on to at least one solid restaurant choice. What actually followed was one of the most amazing dining experiences I’ve ever had. Usually I think people who say that are pretentious, and maybe I am being pretentious, but honestly the meal made me think differently about cooking and dining out.

We rolled up to what was a fairly unassuming sign/restaurant on the outside, having endured one of the swampiest/panicked Uber rides as we knew we were cutting it fine in making our reservation time. When we entered, I was surprised by how small the space was and while eventually I saw the rest of the dining room, I was still surprised by the lack of space. The waiter informed us our table was right by the entrance and given we were 4 full sized humans, I was a bit like hmmm this is gonna be hella annoying, people walking behind me. Turns out, as the evening went on my worries melted away, much like the candle my friend spilt on the table having imbibed too merrily (more on that later).

After the waiter sat us down, a man walked over. He was a blend of so many styles; a loud and bold shirt, denim apron, Birkenstock mules and to top it off a giant beaded necklace. The man turned out to be one of the founders and chefs, Chef Saqib. He was super personable and friendly, and willing to engage with customers. His style didn’t end with fashion either as he’s possibly owner/curator of the greatest playlist I’ve ever heard. Honestly I’ve never been anywhere; restaurant, friends house, and concerts where I’ve Shazammed as many songs and thought OMG I need to have this song on my phone. Right kind of politics, as you’ll see on the menu. So yeah I thought he was kinda cool…I promise in person, we were much calmer and collected…I hope.

Another string to Chef Saqib’s bow was being a wine sommelier. He knew exactly where each wine originated from and why it had made the menu. He knew the exact wines to match our different flavour palettes. Apparently we all had palettes, who knew! And my god was he spot on, from feminist Georgian collectives, to Italian wineries trying to bring back heritage grapes/wines, it all fit. The wine went down like water, which was definitely dangerous, as evidenced by the aforementioned spilled candle wax and the broken glass as our movements became freer than necessary. But given the arm movement was another impassioned plea about how amazing the food was I think everyone understood. From floral and delicate orange wines to spicy and surprisingly light red wine, we were true oenophiles that day as each bottle of wine disappeared faster than the last.

Usually we are not wine by the bottle folks at restaurants but Masala Y Maiz is not just any restaurant. The chef’s passion really came across and we would have thought ourselves fools had we not followed his guidance. If Chef Saqib and Chef Norma ever started a collective, I think they would start off with a booming list of folks wanting to follow any edicts they laid down. In conclusion, the vibes were impeccable.

To be fair I could have just taken a picture of the whole menu because I think we only left off 4 dishes. So I did take a picture, and asked the chef to confirm if there was anything we actually didn’t eat. I tried to take as many pictures as possible, so there will be some littered throughout this post but honestly we got lost in the sauce too much to capture everything pristinely.

There were four of us and we ate like we were French aristocrats, at the height of feudalism. All the prices are in Mexican dollars also. While we ate like Aristos, we aint balling like that for the prices to be in US dollars.

• Ensalada de mango y chapulines, aderezo de tamarindo, semilla de mostaza, jitomate cherry, cebolla cambray y chile verde ………………………….. $195
  Mango and grasshopper salad with tamarind dressing, jitomate cherry, mustard seeds, onion and green chili cambray

• Zanahorias Rostizadas………………………….. $215
  aderezo de pistache, chili, limon en conserva, duraznos y albahaca
  Roasted Carrots with a dressing of pistachio, chili, preserved lemons, peaches and basil

• Ceviche Verde, con coco, pesca del dia, cebolla morada, chile serrano, garbanzo y tostada de ajonjoli………………………….. $255
  Green Ceviche, with coconut, catch of the day, red onion, serrano pepper, chickpea and sesame toast

• Camarones Pa’pelar, con ghee de vainilla y chile morita………………………….. $295
  Shrimp with vanilla ghee and morita peppers

• Paratha Quesadilla, con quesillo, queso de montaña, salsa machaar, ensalada de hierbas y jitomate heirloom ………………………….. $225
  Paratha quesadilla with mountain cheese, spicy salsa, herb salad and heirloom tomatoes

• Uttapam Gordita, con barbacoa, calabaza mantequilla, esparrago y salsa verde………………………….. $315
  Barbacoa on Uttapam with a butternut squash and asparagus sauce

• Kuku Poussin, pollo de leche con lechugas, aderezo de tamarindo (400g o 600g) ………………………….. $355/$495
  Small chicken with cheese and lettuce served with a tamarind dressing

• Machher, 1/2 pesca del dia con adobo de tamarindo, kachumbari, y tortillas (600g)………………………….. $765
  Red Snapper with a tamarind adobo, served with tortillas

• Panacotta de té Limón, yoghurt, rosas y té limon………………………….. $140
  Lemon and rose tea Panacotta

• Tamal de chocolate, naranja, rosas y pistache………………………….. $135
  Chocolate tamales with orange, rose and pistachio

• Pastel de Moras Y Jamaica………………………….. $160
  Berry cake with hibiscus

There wasn’t a concept of starters/mains/sides etc on the menu at Masala Y Maiz, so I’ve organized this post around the idea of if I could finish the dishes by myself and/or if it felt like a complete dish on it’s own. If I could, it was either a starter or side and if I couldn’t then it fell into the Mains category.

• Fermented Pickled Peanuts was the first dish served. This was a fun way to start off the evening, peanuts still in their shells that were swimming in a lightly spiced stock.

• Potato and pea samosas and lamb samosas swiftly followed the peanuts. It’s so often that Samosas are an excuse for places to overcharge for watery potatoes in puff pastry or bland meat lazily stuffed into the same pastry. These Samosas were definitely not that, perfectly spiced poppable pieces of perfectly fried samosas.

• Uttapam with Barbacoa, this was the first dish to really blow my mind. The sweet spicy fatty beef on top of the spongy and starchy rice cake were offset by the freshness of the sauce.

• Small chicken with cheese and lettuce served with a tamarind dressing

  By the time the chicken was served, we honestly were reaching full capacity as a group. All it took was one small bite of the chicken and all that faded away. The moist tandoor style poussin was beautifully spiced. It went brilliantly with the sweet and tangy tamarind sauce.

• Red Snapper with a tamarind adobo, served with tortilla

  I’m not a huge fan of fish, but honestly I’ve never had fish that’s so light and sweet while still maintaining tons of flavour. The meaty texture and delicate fish flavour combined with the tamarind adobo, honestly it’s a top 10 dish ever for me.

• Paratha quesadilla with mountain cheese, spicy salsa, herb salad and heirloom tomatoes

  So good we ordered two portions; you think you know a good quesadilla and then you try a Masala y Maiz style one. The buttery flakiness of the paratha texture is the perfect vehicle for the cheese and salsa. It’s definitely something I’m going to imitate in my own broke/ghetto way.

• Green Ceviche, with coconut, catch of the day, red onion, serrano pepper, chickpea and sesame toast. Ceviche is something I’ve never appreciated. The flavour whack, the texture whack, the price almost always whack. The couple of Ceviche dishes have always been too fishy for me and/or slimy. . It all changed with this green ceviche. I’ve never had a fish dish be a palate cleanser for me but the freshness (chef informed us the fish was in the ocean/sea in the morning) was eye opening. Combined with the buttery chickpea and spice of the red onion/Serrano peppers, I’m confident in saying I’ll probably never try another Ceviche as good again but I’m willing to try which is a HUGE win for the dish and L for whichever fish is used to make it.

• Mango and grasshopper salad with tamarind dressing, jitomate cherry, mustard seeds, onion and green chili cambray. The mango salad was spicy and delightful, the fruits combined with the onion and spices so well. That was something I really noticed in Mexico, they love to layer and combine their sweet flavours with savoury or at least tangy/sour flavours.

• Shrimp with vanilla ghee and morita peppers Much like Ceviche, I was reticent to try the shrimp and unfortunately it remains that way. I could tell it was perfectly cooked but I still couldn’t get into it. The star of the show was honestly the vanilla ghee. It had never occurred to me to treat ghee exactly how we treat butter. Most Indians regard ghee as a life force, (it is) why wouldn’t I utilise it in sweet flavoured things as well.

• Roasted Carrots with a dressing of pistachio, chili, preserved lemons, peaches and basil

  The roasted carrots went super well with all the mains as it cut away from the richness and spiciness of the other dishes. Ultimately they’re really well made carrots, I’m not sure how much more you can elevate carrots but this was a really great attempt.

Lemon and rose tea Panacotta. Pure alchemy. To get me to like lemon in desserts and not think it tastes like a Body Shop soap is nothing short of a miracle. Folks, they pulled it off. Each bite felt refreshing and paired perfectly with not only the preceding courses but also the other two desserts.

Berry cake with hibiscus. I’ve not had a sponge cake in a while, usually it’s kind of stodgy or bland. The berry cake however, was soo fluffy and was such a pleasant texture. Especially after our feast, it was nice to have something featherlight but still with enough flavour to keep you entertained.

Chocolate tamales with orange, rose and pistachio chocolate, pistachio, orange tamales. So decadent, and rich but when combined with the other flavour profiles of the desserts it was perfection.

Everything was done with a purpose, no waste or frivolous ingredients or textures. Maybe the food spoke to me at a higher plane as it felt familiar and you could feel the passion and intent in each dish as a reminder of home but also an evolution. Embracing new ideas from other cultures to enhance and progress the culture. Embracing modernity or post modernity. A chef who knew his food exactly and what to pair with it for our different flavour palettes. It was a triumph of culture(s) clash where everything combined cohesively but still shone individually. Think Barcelona 09/10 or BTS 18/19. Whether it was food or the music or all of the above, Masala Y Maiz are doing things that are must see and must eat.

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