Blue Corn brings the best of Mexico to the Italian Market

ByWendy Daughenbaugh WPVI logo

Tuesday, September 27, 2022

Blue Corn brings the best of Mexico to the Italian Market

Walk into Blue Corn and there is soccer on the TV and authentic Mexican favorites on the menu, like tacos, burritos, sopecitos and huaraches.

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Walk into Blue Corn and there is soccer on the TV and authentic Mexican favorites on the menu, like tacos, burritos, sopecitos and huaraches.

The place is run by four siblings. The family worked in restaurants in their home state of Puebla, Mexico. All of the recipes come from an uncle and brother who are chefs, and represent not just Puebla cuisine but also dishes from Puerto Vallarta, Oaxaca, Mexico City and Yucatan.

Manager Agustin Sandoval Hernandez says there is no signature dish on the menu but there is a signature ingredient.

There's blue corn Caesar salad, blue corn tacos, blue corn tortillas, blue corn chips with salsa and cheesecake pinole for dessert.

Pinole is a mixture of roasted ground maize that comes from the blue corn, which is grown in Mexico, using ancient Aztec cultural practices.

The family is from the small town of San Mateo Ozolco where the pinole is made.

By using the product here, they're supporting the farmers back in their hometown.

Every September, they deck out the place in celebration of Mexican Independence Day and add Mexico's national dish to the menu.

It's called Chiles en Nogada, and it's a giant poblano pepper stuffed with ground pork, beef, fruits and spices, smothered in a walnut sauce and garnished with ruby red pomegranate.

The red, white and green colors of the dish match Mexico's flag, and legend has it the recipe was invented by nuns in Puebla in 1821 to celebrate Mexico's independence over Spain.

At Blue Corn, the dish is made only from mid-August through September.

There are lots of other dishes you can enjoy year-round, and there's a whole menu page dedicated to margaritas. If you want a cocktail with a spicy kick, try the margarita macho, made with Chile relleno-infused tequila, homemade sour mix and cilantro then garnished with a Serrano pepper.

"Some people drink like 4 or 5," Hernandez says.