1# Mexican regional map
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 3**Oaxaca**: moles, tlayudas, tasajo, quesillo, chapulines, hoja santa, chocolate, chiles, masa, and deep Indigenous Zapotec/Mixtec influence. "Mole" is a family of sauces, not one chocolate sauce.
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 5**Puebla / central highlands**: mole poblano, chiles en nogada, cemitas, antojitos, convent cooking, dried chiles, nuts/seeds, spices, and layered sauces.
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 7**Yucatán / Campeche**: achiote, sour orange, recados, habanero, turkey/pork/seafood, banana leaves, cochinita pibil, sikil pak, panuchos, salbutes, Maya influence. Lime + orange can approximate bitter orange, but it is still an approximation.
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 9**Veracruz / Gulf**: seafood, tomatoes, olives, capers, chiles, Afro-Caribbean and Spanish influences, huachinango a la veracruzana, rice, plantains, and coastal logic.
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11**North / Sonora / Nuevo León / Chihuahua**: flour tortillas, beef, grilled meats, carne asada, dried meats, wheat, cheese, beans, chiles. Cumin may be more comfortable here than in some central/southern contexts, but still don't make it the default for all Mexico.
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13**Baja / Pacific coast / Sinaloa-Nayarit**: fish tacos, seafood, aguachile, ceviche, smoked marlin, shrimp, fresh chiles, lime, and coastal freshness.
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15**Michoacán / Jalisco / west**: carnitas, birria, pozole, corundas, uchepos, avocado, pork, chiles, and regional stews.
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17**Mexico City / central market food**: tacos, tortas, tlacoyos, quesadillas, guisados, soups, street-food layering, and migration from all over Mexico.