Pati's Mexican Table

Retired mechanic Gualberto Elizondo, “Weber,” surprised his grown kids when suddenly his grilling hobby turned him into a local celebrity and internet sensation. He drives Pati through the mountains of La Huasteca in his old car, then to his famous back patio where he and his family treat us to cabrito en salsa and short ribs. But local chef Chuy Villareal of Cara De Vaca wants the world to know that the north of Mexico isn’t just carne asada and he’s putting a Mediterranean twist on his traditional dishes.

Much like the deep and bitter divide of Salsa Roja vs Salsa Verde, the state of Nuevo León is divided between two pro soccer teams: Los Tigres and Los Rayados. Pati tries the food at each stadium with stars from each team to be the judge on who wins in the battle of tortas and tacos.

The Garza family invites Pati to a once-a-year tradition at their vineyard when they open the doors to the whole community to help make piloncillo, the traditional way. And it takes everyone to help stir because you can’t stop and it’s hard work. Then we’re off to the oasis of Nuevo León, the lush Bustamante magic town, where we meet three sisters who own a famous panadería and make us bread in adobe ovens. Oh, and pizza too!

Cantinas have historically been bars that act as men’s clubs where men come together to drink, eat and be merry. Or talk about their broken hearts. Pati meets with local author and cantina historian David Canales, who takes Pati to two very different styles of cantinas in Monterrey to have a taste of the stories and food they offer.

Chef Hugo Guajardo of El Jonuco is pushing the envelope on Norestense cuisine, researching around the state and finding the best ingredients. First, he takes us to where he sources his carne seca from the family-owned restaurant El Caminante, which has perfected the art of drying meat. Then Pati has lunch at El Jonuco, where she tries his spin on local delicacies and continues on to his home where he teaches her his take on charred chicken.

Pati is in the magic town of Maní to learn about something sacred to the Mayans – bees and honey. A cooperative of women who protect the endangered Melipona, a stingless bee native to Yucatán, invites her to join in a Mayan energy cleansing ritual involving buñuelos made with Melipona honey. Then she visits a family living by the traditional “Solar Maya,” meaning they grow everything they eat.

Pati explores the vibrant streets of Yucatán’s capital, Mérida, in search of its flavors. She tries “the best tacos in Mérida” at Wayan’e. The aroma of freshly made cookies lures her to Dondé Fabric, where their globitos and bizcochitos are an important part of Mérida’s mornings. She has sorbet at a shop run by the same family for generations and tastes a unique Yucatecan liqueur at Casa D’Aristi.

Pati arrives in Motul, a town in the history books for Yucatán’s once thriving henequén industry and for the egg dish Huevos Motuleños. Pati meets Doña Evelia, who put Motul back on the map with her world-famous recipe. She also experiences the legacy of henequén at Hacienda Tamchén and encounters another egg dish in the kitchen, where chef Julio Ku Dominguez makes Abuela’s Buttoned Eggs.

Pati returns to Mérida to meet sisters, Delfina and Maria Elide, who love to cook and laugh and are famous for recados – pastes of spices and aromatic herbs that season Yucatecan foods. In Uxmal, she learns about ingredients only found in Yucatán that make recados unique, touring citrus, habanero, and chaya fields at an hacienda. Then traditional cook Rosa makes a Relleno Negro using a recado negro.

An ingredient Pati constantly uses is salt and Yucatán has one of the most unique salts. The Las Coloradas salt, which means blush red, gets its distinctive color from red algae. Engineer Felipe Perez takes Pati to the pink lakes where the salt is produced. Down the road in Rio Lagartos, conservationist Diego Nuñez takes her to see another pink wonder, Mexico’s highest concentration of flamingos.

In Ciudad Juárez, Pati joins in with a group of Pachuco dancers, who are passionately preserving this distinctive Prohibition-era culture’s traditions. Together they head to the iconic Kentucky Bar, rumored to be the birthplace of the margarita. Later, she savors an icon of Juárez’s food scene, the burrito, at Burritos El Compa where the Olivares are keeping their family legacy alive.

In Chihuahua’s capital, Chihuahua City, Pati meets the first member of the Rarámuri people to become a world-famous pianist, Romeyno Gutiérrez, who teaches her the basics of Rarámuri music before taking her to his favorite barbacoa spot. Pati’s also invited into the home of Chef Ana Rosa Beltrán del Río to cook a few ancient Chihuahuan recipes and learn the art of drying chiles.

Pati saddles up for an exhilarating ride into the heart of Chihuahua’s ranch and rodeo life. She gets a lesson in roping and riding from rodeo champion Ricardo “Bubba” Nevárez and his friends, then is invited to a post practice carne asada. She also meets Chihuahua’s most influential cattle rancher, Álvaro Bustillos, at his Rancho El Arroyo, where the ranch cook serves up some cowboy delicacies.

Pati visits Mata Ortiz, a village known for its exquisite pottery, and learns its history from local potter Tavo Silveira, who is known worldwide and even made a piece for the pope. Then Pati gets her hands dirty with talented duo Laura Bugarini and Héctor Gallegos, who teach her the basics of Mata Ortiz pottery. Turns out, Tavo can also cook and makes an asado de puerco feast in the town square.

In one of Chihuahua’s most remote areas, Guachochi, Pati shares a traditional Rarámuri meal with community leaders Alejandro Hernández and Margarita González, who advocate for land rights, political representation, and cultural preservation. At Kokoyome, a sustainable ranch in the Sinforosa Canyon, she learns about organic farming practices in the region.