Let me start this off by saying that I'm a huge fan of the Hop quesos. A crispy tortilla filled with tomatoes, salsa and oozing cheese: it's by far one of my favorite foods at Dartmouth.
Unfortunately, I'm not such a fan of some of the other "Mexican-style" food in Hanover. For example, I'm firmly against sour cream and guacamole that is squeezed out of a tube, and, I know many people will disagree, but I have never understood nor enjoyed teriyaki sauce or Cajun spices in my burritos.
So, I would say I'm just a little happy to be in Mexico this term, eating until my stomach stretches.
Puebla is known to some as the food capital of Mexico, with innumerable specialties including elote, ears of corn slathered in mayonnaise and chili powder, esquite, corn soup with lime, chili, cheese and more mayonnaise (sensing a pattern?), and tacos al pastor, (tacos with pork slowly cooked on a spit with a little piece of pineapple).
The Mexican feast doesn't end there. You can consume a plate of tacos for just four dollars, each one loaded with pork or beef and with a large selection of toppings, salsas and, to top it all off, a bowl of limes in front of you. Every meal also comes with warm tortillas and fresh fruit -- two items unheard of in Hanover.
And let's not forget the chili. In Mexico, you get chilis or chili powder in everything. There is chili powder on mangos served on a stick, chili powder in dark beer that tastes like a meal in a glass, chili powder served with ice cream, and even whole chilies served on top of popcorn at the theater.
As far as street food goes, what's not coated in chili powder is doused in hot sauce. Every street has vendors peddling bags of snacks -- including potato chips, cheese puffs and popcorn -- waiting to be covered in hot sauce and maybe a little salt and lime, whatever you prefer.
Everything is delicious, with the notable exception of salchichas. Sometimes, my family here eats salchichas three times a day. The word salchicha has a nice ring to it, but once you realize that salchichas are just hot dogs, they're not so special anymore.
In all seriousness, even I enjoy pan-fried hot dogs when they're served with salsa, a stack of tortillas and a squeeze of lime. All I need is to get used to salchichas with my sandwiches.
