There were indeed good eats in Mexico City for my first vacation of 2023, but I actually started off with a project in Puebla, a city about 2.5 hours by bus from the Mexican capital.
Undoubtedly, Puebla is a food center in its own right, being one of the homes of mole (link in Spanish), as well as tacos árabes, basically, the Mexican version of a pita sandwich, but with pork instead of lamb.
However, I had more free time to explore Mexico City, so ¡vámonos a comer! (let’s eat!)
Churrería El Moro is one of the older churro businesses in Mexico City, frying up the fried sticks of dough since 1935.
I went to the branch on Calle Frontera, in the tree-lined and restaurant-heavy neighborhood of Roma Norte. It was a very lazy walk from my hotel, so it became my breakfast staple.
What was the daily order, you might ask? Cinnamon sugar-coated churro, with cajeta dipping sauce; it was a tough choice, seeing as the other tempting option was leche condensada, condensed milk. But cajeta, which happens to be a goat’s milk caramel hailing from Celaya, Mexico, is a much less common topping throughout the world.
Or, should I have dipped the churro in …
… almond butter mixed with white chocolate?
I was walking around the Polanco district, and came across the supermarket called City Market, one of the nicer supermarket chains in the country.
This snack may not be Mexican, but I didn’t say the post was only about Mexican food. Still, I regret not having packed more as a souvenir.
Mexico City has countless food stalls along its streets. I’m sure many of them are delicious, and most have certain consequences (my choice below is no different), but there is one particular place I try to get to when back in town:
At roughly the southeastern corner of Calle Liverpool by Calle Dinamarca is a taco stall that knows the deal with my taste buds. They’ve got grill heaving with a variety of meat and vegetables, and the condiments shine just as much. (A guacamole buffet? Yes, have some!)
Add cheese to the mix, and then you’ll really be in flavor country.
While we’re on the subject of tacos, here’s another recommendation.
Mexico City is the place for tacos al pastor, aka the pork shaved from those gyrating sticks in an open-air environment, and served with pineapple, onion, and cilantro. You can really taste the traffic … and the appropriate seasoning.
Taqueria Orinoco is a happening, late-night mini-chain, which presented me with perhaps the best taco al pastor I’ve had yet. (Please, prove me wrong, Mexico City) The condiments were stellar, too, although the salsas were too gringofied (i.e. not spicy enough).
But will this place make my best of 2023 list? Hmm.
On one of the days in Mexico City, I was jonesing to change up my source of bad cholesterol. Pork and beef were given a break, while seafood’s turn in the limelight came up.
María la Pescadora is a small corner seafood place in Roma Norte, otherwise easy-to-miss if it weren’t for the steady crowds.
All mariscos (seafood) are welcome on my plate, so I found the menu to be a tough one. The waitress highlighted octopus as the special ingredient of the day, so I asked her if the chef could make a burrito with everything.
Through some coaxing in Spanish, I got a burrito stuffed with octopus, shrimp, marlin, and cheese.
What resulted was awesome.
Did I save the best for last? No, just the most random thing.
Pizzas Nosferatu is a small popular pizza and mezcal spot in Condesa, a leafy residential and coffee-filled neighborhood that shares a border with Roma Norte. Pizzerias seem to be popping up all the time in these two districts, which is good if you crave flat baked carbs (as opposed to a taco’s rolled grilled carbs).
Being that the name and logo of the restaurant has a connection to vampires, I was expecting garlic to be ironically added to all pies. Instead, I was surprised to find ginger make an appearance on some of them.
How unusual! So I went for the eponymous Nosferatu pizza, which included pistachio ricotta, ginger, spinach, and various spicies. Nice choice, especially if you really enjoy the flavor of ginger.
Even though I’ve already returned home from Mexico City, I’m still full … but also planning the next indulgent trip.
Have you visited Mexico City? Either way, would any of these things be on your “to eat” list?
Leave a Reply