Highway 99, Stockton to Bakersfield

[hyperbowler]

Now that some of the older places have closed, El Epazote Cocina Regional continues the pattern of excellent Oaxacan food in Madera that Lisa Morehouse wrote about in 2018

I got the Empanada de Amarillo, a plate-sized tortilla, folded in half and filled with chicken, quesillo and mole amarillo. The mole, more orange than yellow and not common in the SFBA, was tart and light enough to harmonize with the shredded chicken flavors.

My kid got a simplified version of the huarache, quesillo (Oaxaca cheese) atop blue masa. They’re very kid friendly— also had chicken nuggets and gave out kid placemats/crayons.

They don’t have any explicitly vegan options on the menu, but were able to put together a bean and squash blossom sopes which my wife liked.

[sck]

More Oaxacan:

[Merced] El Sabor De Oaxaca- good mole

I don’t think I really understand mole negro, or mole in general, until I had the mole from El Sabor De Oaxaca in Merced. We’ve had moles in Oaxaca and here in the Bay Area but somehow it was always a little off balanced. El Sabor De Oaxaca was just right- the many components intricately combined to form a complex, nuanced and delicious mole, that’s not overly sweet and the chocolate perfectly blended in. [IMG_2681.HEIC] Handmade tortillas to mop up all the mole. [IMG_2682.HEIC] [IMG_26…

[celeryvictor]

For those of you familiar with La Taqueria on Mission St. in San Francisco, and its legendary tacos and burritos, FYI they have a branch in Turlock, that serves the same menu: https://lataqueria-turlock.com/ I tried it a couple of years ago, and unless they’ve changed, the food is the same excellent quality as at the main location in SF.