Salsas so good, no chips necessary

Los Pacos was our first dinner in Oaxaca, and exactly what we'd been dreaming of since we bought our tickets. Specializing in mole, this restaurant supposedly sets out a sampler of moles to guests on arrival, to help them make a decision. Oddly, we didn't get this, but instead received a few delectably spicy salsas with chips, including a creamy one with lots of cilantro and a smoky chipotle salsa; but other recent visitors reported definitely getting the mole sampler.

Los Pacos is in the historical district of Oaxaca, far from the hustle & bustle of the markets; about a 25-minute walk from our hotel. Very cute place with a well-trained staff...would be great for dates. The restaurant features all the famous foods of Oaxaca, so even though it looks a bit fancy, street food like tlayudas and even the chili powder-dusted fried grasshoppers called chapulines are on the menu, albeit at elevated prices.

Tortilla chips, tortilla-rolled meat drenched in mole, and oh yeah...some tortillas on the side

Rubina and Jasmine both got sampler platters with two moles of their choice, meat of their choice and rice. Between them, they got negro (black, and the most chocolatey), colorado (red, sometimes called coloradito or rojo), and amarillo (yellow). I got the enmoladas, which was chicken in folded tortillas, smothered in mole negro and topped with crumbles of Oaxacan cheese, quesilla. Basically, enchiladas but with mole instead of chili sauce.

Everything was superb. I've never had a mole so complex, so delicious that even after I'd thoroughly stuffed myself with my enmoladas I couldn't stop soaking up the sauce with more tortillas. I tasted my friends' dishes as well, and as much as I loved the intense chocolate flavor of the negro, the colorado seemed to have a slight edge.

For dessert we got nieve (snow), a local type of ice cream. I didn't like it...it was quite icy and a bit grainy. I would love to visit this restaurant again, especially to try the elusive seventh mole, but might seek out a different place for dessert.

Restaurant Los Pacos

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