NEW THIS WEEK
ON THE WEB: Read the winning entry to this episode's "ride" contest. Also, read the latest postings at Your Turn...


May 19th: Lise Funderburg is our next driver. Come along as she demonstates her incredible gift for finding a thrift store bargain and acting as a personal shopper for a large network of family and friends. On NPR's Weekend All Things Considered and on the Web...

michele serros

Writer and performer Michele Serros is our artist reporter this trip. Come with her when she hunts through her NYC neighborhood for the mole (a sweet chocolate chili sauce) that she loved while growing up in L.A. As a fourth-generation California chicana Michele never guessed it would be so difficult to find the mole she grew up on in the "Latino" neighborhood of Washington Heights. Ultimately, she found more than just mole.

LISTEN to the piece about Michele that aired on Weekend All Things Considered. Or plan your own trip between the choices below.

Más Michele. Learn more about our guide this week. Read some of her work. Listen to her read a poem she wrote. See a clip from her first (and independently produced) documentary.

Michele searches NYC's restaurants and markets for her favorite dish from childhood. She involves her friend Amilcar - a native of Guerrero, Mexico raised on a very different mole recipe - in her hunt for the perfect mole. Listen to their "ride". See pictures of their discoveries. Recipes!

Hear Michele's conversation about mole with chef Rosalba Pardo at the NYC restaurant "Mi Mexico". Escuche las preguntas Michele tiene para el Chef Pardo acerca del mole y las respuestas en español. Amilcar hace las preguntas para Michele. Read about Mexican immigration to NYC.

Michele met Amilcar because of their mutual interest in heavy metal music. By day he is a chef who dreams of returning to his hometown in Mexico. By night he is a musician with broad ranging musical influences who dreams about returning to his hometown in Mexico. Hear some of his music. Read his top ten music list. Listen to his conversation with Michele about music.

New This Week - As an adolescent Michele wrote to young adult fiction author Judy Blume about her pre-teen troubles and writerly aspirations. Read the inspirational letter she got in response.

Michele's cultural picks on the web and in the world.

Post your comfort food stories (and consider entering a comfort foods contest!), your Judy Blume memories, a description of your Mexico - su Mexico - or any other response to this episode.

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