#60: Quesadillas Tradicionales at Milagro Modern Mexican

Corn smut is a fungus that blights corn, causing husk-busting growths that look as if they should be floating in jars in a mad scientist's lab. In Mexico, where it is called huitlacoche, corn smut is a delicacy. You rarely find huitlacoche on the menus of Mexican restaurants in the United States -- certainly not here in St. Louis, where making a margarita with fresh-squeezed lime juice and Cointreau rather than premade sour mix and no-name triple sec is considered edgy.

Now, however, at Milagro Modern Mexican, you can order two dishes featuring huitlacoche: quesadillas tradicionales and enfrijoladas de hongos.

The quesadillas tradicionales are not quesadillas as we Americans know them. Rather, they resemble empanadas: a thin, crisp shell of fried corn masa stuffed with Chihuahua cheese and finely chopped and sautéed huitlacoche and wild mushrooms. The tangy cheese comprises the bulk of the filling, but the huitlacoche is what elevates the dish, its flavor earthy like a mushroom but also pleasantly sweet. The quesadillas are served atop a swirl of chipotle-lime sauce with pico de gallo on the side, a combo that gives the dish an extra pop.

(from "All That and a Bowl of Chips," July 8, 2010)

Milagro Modern Mexican
20 Allen Avenue, Webster Groves
314-962-4300
$7.95

I'm counting down -- in no particular order -- 100 of my favorite dishes in St. Louis. Some are well-known, others obscure. Some are expensive, others dirt cheap. All of them, I guarantee, are delicious. Please do not hesitate to share your own favorites via the comments thread.

Previously:

#61: "7th Street Sicilian" Po' Boy at Blues City Deli
#62: Tamales at Taqueria la Pasadita
#63: Ćevapi at Bosna Gold
#64: Lemon meringue and pine nut torte at BitterSweet Bakery
#65: Chile Morita con Puerco at Señor Pique
#66: Soda chanh duong (sparkling lemonade) at Lemon Grass
#67: Nachos grande at Nachomama's
#68: Pizza with pepperoni, sausage and mushroom at Pizza-a-Go-Go
#69: Bill's "Burger Meister Burger" at Cardwell's at the Plaza
#70: Sake (salmon) nigiri sushi at Nobu's Japanese Restaurant

#71: Massaman curry at Simply Thai
#72: The lunch buffet at Mayuri
#73: Fried chicken (spicy) at Porter's Fried Chicken
#74: Arancini at Lorenzo's Trattoria
#75: Meat shawarma at The Vine Mediterranean Café & Market
#76: The South Side Smoke at sandwich at Stellina Pasta Café
#77: Falafel at Kabob House
#78: A slice with pepperoni at Feraro's Jersey-Style Pizza
#79: Birria at Pueblo Nuevo
#80: Banh mi dac biet at Phuc Loi