We consider ourselves mole aficionados. Few sauces can beat them as a topping for chicken or enchiladas. Decades ago, we went so far as to make a pilgrimage to Oaxaca, not just to see the Colonial city and visit the nearby Zapotec ruins but also to sample and feast on the local moles. So, on a recent trip to Mexico City (CDMX), we searched for an authentic rendition and found it at Mux Restaurant in the revitalized hipster neighborhood of Roma Norte.
CDMX has a reputation for being chaotic, and parts, like the Centro Historico, are chaotic. Conversely, Roma Norte has been a haven of low-rise residential buildings since the early days of the 20th century. Streets are quiet, tree-lined, and filled with birdsong. Many intersections are graced with architecturally significant mansions.
Unfortunately, a 1985 earthquake destroyed numerous buildings, which have mostly been replaced by nondescript, six-story housing. Despite these visual glitches, it’s a great neighborhood to hang out in, especially for a caffeine fix. Every block offers at least one choice for an artisanal cup of joe.
Understanding Mole: A Complex and Regional Art
While most think of a mole as a dark brown, sweetish paste, all moles, which means ‘sauce,’ are not created equal. They all contain chili, ground nuts/seeds, and spices, but the flavor profile and look can vary widely. The most famous contain chocolate—both white (mole blanco) and dark (mole negro and mole poblano). Some add tamarind and even avocado. The recipes are complex, regional, and always proprietary. It’s not unusual for mole poblano to have over 20 ingredients, while Oaxacan moles have over 30.
CDMX is a hot destination. According to the dean of restaurant publicists, Steven Hall, “Mexico City is in the midst of a food boom. Proof is Michelin recently gave a star to a humble taqueria in a fringe neighborhood. Reservations are as hard to get as when Japan was having its culinary moment.”
He added, “Because restaurants are eager to snag a Michelin star, and it’s rare that it goes to traditional Mexican cooking, they’re labeling their concept ‘nouvelle,’ which also allows them to appeal to a wider audience.”
Focusing on Mexican food, there are three hunger-relieving methods for satiety, starting with the ubiquitous street food, where, from early morning until late at night, large quantities of hand-shaped on-the-spot tortillas are filled with a variety of meats, vegetables, cheeses, and toppings. If you want to be indoors and not jostled by pedestrians squeezing past you, there are unpretentious, fluorescently-lit restaurants where customers can flavor their food with house-made salsas. Above this are ‘tablecloth’ restaurants that adorn their guacamole with fried grasshoppers or ant larvae.
Pujol: The Pinnacle of Mexican Fine Dining
Enrique Olvera’s Pujol sits at the very top of the ladder. With its two Michelin stars and a month-long wait for a reservation, this almost 25-year-old restaurant in the elegant Polanco neighborhood (think Beverly Hills) has only two prix-fixe options, a formal tasting menu served in the restaurant and an omakase taco menu available in the bar. Olvera’s piece de resistance is his “mole Madre,” a sauce he’s continuously nurtured for years, giving mole a place next to mother of vinegar or sourdough starter.
While not on a level with Pujol, Mexico City has several other haute destination restaurants with global reputations whose chefs are, culinarily, looking forward. The word nouvelle appears in many restaurant descriptions.
Then there’s Mux, where 42-year-old chef/owner Diana Lopez del Rio looks backward.
Located in Roma Norte, Mux, with its quietly elegant ambiance showcasing kitchen objects in well-placed niches, is a project inspired by Diana’s grandmother, who told Diana when she was young, “Your life will be defined by following your passion.” From an early age, that passion was food, which took Diana through the usual gastronomic progression—school, a series of onerous kitchen jobs, culinary teacher, a move to the big city (CDMX), and opening her own Ayurvedic restaurant Volver, which closed during the pandemic. The good news is that, through Volver, she attracted devoted backers who financed her vision for Mux, which opened in 2021.
A Menu Rooted in Heritage
The first evidence that she’s serious about her mission is the menu. Changing four times a year, it’s more like a monograph. Many pages long and printed on heavy stock, it contains photos of farmers, fields, and Indigenous people. Every entrée has an attribution, along with a flavor and ingredient description.
Diana jokingly told us, “I always credit the recipe creators because, not being a fully indigenous person, I worry people will think I’m stealing their recipes and culture.” She added, “My desire is to express our heritage through food.”
In a city where, at the high end, it’s easier to find fusion food, sushi, or escargot than anything containing masa (corn meal), Mux is rebelliously embracing centuries of culinary tradition by inviting guests to taste a Mexico that is at risk of being eclipsed.
Our visit coincided with her immersion into Puebla, which, along with Oaxaca, is universally considered the home of mole. The current menu features seven wildly different varieties, one of which is an herb-based soup. Heartier choices include a tomato and cuaresmeño (jalapeno) mole, a little-known and earthy copi chili mole, sesame and pumpkin seed mole, a sweet and smoky piloncillo-based mole, and, of course, the classic of classics, mole negro.
Puebla is also the home of a Slow Food-designated salt from Zapotitlan Salinas, which Ms. Lopez not only uses throughout the menu but also features in four regional dishes. This ‘fossil salt’ is taken from what was a prehistoric sea. Its name refers to the age of the sea, not the presence of marine life in the salt. Records show locals have extracted it for the last 2000 years and continue to do so following ancient methods.
Mux’s current menu also includes non-mole and non-salt choices. Particularly delicious was the chilatole (cornmeal and chipotle soup).
Spirits & Wine
Almost all Mexican food is accompanied by agave-based libations, mezcal, and tequila.
According to Steven, “Interest in tequila has reached a feverish pitch. On the other hand, Mezcal is a bartender’s spirit because of its smoky quality and boutique nature. Plus, since it’s not mass-produced, distilleries lack the marketing budgets to build awareness.” To put his statement in context, one popular tequila brand sold twelve times as many cases worldwide as all the mezcals sales combined.
Not surprisingly, the mezcals and tequilas at Mux are chosen with the same concern for authenticity as the food. Diana told us, “I know all the producers and visit them regularly. They must be as concerned as I am with traditional distilling methods and terroir. We never serve mass-produced, industrial spirits.” True to her word, the mezcals we sampled (one of which was her house pour) were distinctive, redolent flowers with a smooth, smoky, yet clean palate.
Steven concurred. “I think the importance of organic and ethically made products is very much with us. Mexico is no exception. People there know products made by small producers are often better. Without a doubt, ‘ethical’ is a meaningful concept.” We’ve tried to live by this long, so hearing an expert’s observation is gratifying.
Mux has a separate bar around the corner from the restaurant. It provides a convivial spot to sample small-batch artisanal drinks without eating dinner.
The Growing Role of Wine in Mexican Dining
While agave-based cocktails are the beating heart of a Mexican drinks program, Diana says, “Wine is playing an increasingly important role, especially among the young.” In response, Mux carries several natural and/or organic selections; all made ethically in Mexico by an expanding generation of young winemakers, many of whom trained in Europe and have returned with their passion and knowledge. Working with her sommelier, Diana has devised an innovative (for Mexico) pairing menu featuring these wines.
Now that Mexico City has become a culinary destination, artisanal food and ethically produced wines and spirits will likely be increasingly on the menu.
