Restaurant El Milagro #2 | Salinas

Three years ago I dropped by El Milagro #2 when it was newly opened for a bowl of menudo. https://www.chowhound.com/post/menudo... A few months ago I was back to get take-out when I found my intended stop nearby closed for the day.

A dish that was completely new to me was the "Verde de Pollo", $13. I called out to the ladies in the open kitchen, asking them if it was like a caldo/soup. The matron in charge nodded affirmatively. It was one quart of a dilute green-hued puree with two poached chicken drumsticks, accompanied by rice on the side and some excellent chewy, toasty, thick made-to-order corn tortillas. It was different than the saucing on chile verde, much more herbal, less tart, and a lot spicier. I could taste epazote, onion, garlic, and of course, chiles. It was not mole verde.

Digging deep into google search, I found a Oaxacan dish, actually a traditional Mixteco dish called Chilate verde de pollo, which I believe this probably is. The recipe I found had tomatillos in it, and if what I tried had any, it was not the majority. I liked it a lot and will try to make this at home.

I also bought a tamal en hoja de platano, $7.50, that was not good, especially for that elevated price. Better was the Chilacayote drink, $4, made with a Oaxacan squash similar to spaghetti squash that is pulled into fibers for a beverage with piloncillo.

The menu board here has no prices on it any more. Maybe costs are rising so fast that prices keep changing too rapidly. This restaurant also has chapulines (grasshoppers), house mole paste, tlayudas, and other Oaxacan groceries on display.

Restaurant El Milagro #2
864 E. Alisal St
Salinas, CA
(831) 676-0925
https://www.facebook.com/ElMilagro2Rest/