Omnivore Atlanta

Taqueria La Oaxaqueña is moving.

The fantastic and fêted Mexican restaurant that brightens an otherwise grim stretch of Clayton County’s Tara Boulevard, is moving approximately 1,300 feet to 605 Mt. Zion Road.

The new location, which formerly housed a Captain D’s, is approximately three-times as large as the current location. This should alleviate the restaurant’s occasionally long waits.

I spoke to two people at the restaurant, neither of whom would commit to an exact move date. They both just say the move will happen any day now.

If you show up at the old location and find it’s closed, just turn right out of the parking lot, then right onto Mt. Zion Road. The new place is on your right and already has a sign.

If you’re the call-and-check-type, it’s 770-960-1712.

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NPR tracked down Barack Obama’s favorite Chicago restaurant today and interviewed the owner/chef.

The restaurant is Topolobampo, which chef Rick Bayless opened in 1989 after opening Frontera Grill two years earlier. Before getting into the restaurant business, Bayless was a PhD student in anthropological linguistics. His research took him to Mexico. He realized he was more interested in the food than anything else about Mexican culture, so he dropped out of his program to become a full-time chef.

Bayless’ restaurants, according to NPR, are the first in America to feature gourmet Mexican cooking. Maybe. I was eating gourmet Mexican fare at restaurants in which Diana Kennedy was involved in Austin and Houston just over 20 years ago. But Bayless, who has written a handful of cookbooks, is definitely among the pioneers.

NPR poses the question whether we can conclude anything about Obama because of what he likes to eat. They don’t really answer the question, but Bayless does note that Obama and wife Michelle experiment with the menu, take their time eating and have recently moved to a less conspicuous table in the rear of the restaurant. Undoubtedly, those who revile Obama as an elitist for his arugula consumption will likewise wonder why he’s not content with enchiladas and chimichangas.

You can listen to the piece and get some recipes here. Next week, John McCain’s palate will be on display.

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I ran into chef Eddie Hernandez at Taqueria del Sol (Cheshire Bridge) today and lamented that the restaurant’s lunchtime specials seem to have recently taken a decided turn toward Tex-Mex. (This week is an exception.) He agreed, saying that efficiency and public tastes have mandated the change, although evening specials still remain more creative, in the vein of the defunct Sundown Cafe, the original full-service restaurant from which the taquerias were birthed.

Coincidentally, I recently ran into Lucero Martinez-Obregon at Zocalo Taqueria (Grant Park), which she owns with her brothers Marco and Luis. They closed their full-service Zocalo in Decatur recently, although the original 10th Street location remains open. I wondered if they too are headed toward a taqueria-only style.

“I would love it,” Lucero replied.

I don’t understand why creative Mexican food in the Diana Kennedy tradition doesn’t do well in Atlanta. Yes, we have Rosa Mexicano, but it doesn’t hold a candle to Oh…Maria!, the gourmet restaurant Lucero and her brothers opened in Buckhead almost 10 years ago. Between some kitchen problems and public tastes, the restaurant didn’t last long.

Oh well. I guess business is booming at Taco Bell. Anyone got a favorite Mexican restaurant that does more than takes on taqueria-style food?

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