As the air cools into autumn, San Francisco also enters the perfect season for mole — a quintessential hearty Mexican sauce that requires a melange of nuts, fruits, chili peppers, and spices such as cumin and cinnamon.
A “Moles to Die For” contest drew a crowd of some 60 people to the Mission District on Saturday to taste moles from six chefs who brought their recipes from different regions of Mexico.
The contest, organized by the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts at 2868 Mission St., marks the finale of the Día de Los Muertos season. Guests spent two hours on Saturday tasting, feasting, and returning to taste and feast again on samples from the six contenders. In the background was Mexican dance music, and loud stomping from the Brazilian samba class upstairs.
There was a basket of slips of paper at the end of the long table for guests to vote by writing down the number of their favorite mole.
The winner went to El Buen Comer, a home-style Mexican eatery near Mission and 30th streets. Geanna Borjas, the center’s manager, said that no one from the restaurant was able to attend because the restaurant was too busy. Nonetheless, it won a poster from the cultural center along with a $200 cash prize.
Its dark red mole tasted a bit sweet and spicy and stood out for its thick texture. It had the simplest table setting of all the contestants — nothing more than a clay cazuela on the black tablecloth. Nonetheless, guests kept coming back for more samples.
“It looks like a front runner!” said Leila Mansur, co-owner of Radio Habana, a restaurant on Valencia Street that offers Cuban and Indian fusion. Mansur was there to help El Buen Comer distribute samples.
In second place was Simo Padilla’s dark red mole. Padilla used over 15 ingredients for her mole.
But the most important one? Abuelita chocolate, she said, an essential for Mexican kitchens.
Mauricio Yanez, known as “the chef” by friends, won third place. His dark brown mole, he said, is based on observing his grandmother in the kitchen.
Yanez, whose family came from Hidalgo, a state north of Mexico City, listed some of the ingredients: sunflower seeds, cocoa powder, peanuts, raisins, and a bunch of dried chili peppers.
“It takes guessing sometimes,” Yanez said about his way of putting together the recipe.
Jose Tapia, most liked Yanez’s mole. “It’s a smooth flavor,” Tapia said. “Not very acidic. Everyone else is a little more tangy.”
Tapia, a 29-year-old teacher, said moles are his favorite food so he wouldn’t miss the contest for the world.
“There are so many variations,” Tapia said. “There is not one way to make it.”
Over at another table, Eddie Solis also liked Yanez’s mole the best.
“You can adjust the level or swap a kind of nut for a different kind, or a kind of pepper for a different pepper,” Solis said. “Your grandma’s mole is always different from your friend’s grandma’s.”
His friend, Kyri Nashuem, on the other hand, said his favorite vote went to the only green mole at the contest. Nashuem had only had mole one other time — and he was blown away by the variation.
“I don’t know what it’s supposed to taste like!” Nashuem said with a laugh.
That green mole was presented by 12-year-old Valentina Ramirez and her abuelita Leonor Martinez.
“She made it with so much love and kindness and dedication for us,” Ramirez said about her grandmother Martinez.
Though Manita’s Cafe, a restaurant near the panhandle, didn’t win a prize at the contest, its colorful table setup definitely drew a crowd.
Alex Pulido, who represented the restaurant for the contest, laid the table with not just its mole, but also all the key ingredients that went into the dish — dry chili peppers, onion, cinnamon sticks, cookies, tortilla, tomatoes, tomatillos, cumins, almonds, raisins, chocolate, and so on.
Ulises Gramitas, coordinator at the cultural center, said he voted for Manita’s Cafe’s mole.
“It’s the prettiest setup!” Gravitas said.
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