10 Days in [Mexico City]: a long, multi-part report

[DrJohn]

We were in Mexico City for the first time in mid-November (apologies for the delay in posting), in part to attend a conference. Armed with a list of dishes to try and places to go to, we knew we would only be able to scratch the surface of such a vast and deep culinary scene. And once we arrived, further conversations added more options to our list than we managed to check off.

What follows is multiple long posts about our experiences. Hope they prove useful to someone.

TACOS, ETC.

The number of types and genres of tacos alone was a bit overwhelming, with far too many opinions about which were the essential places to try. We tried to figure out which taquerias had a higher degree of consensus about their greatness and focused on these.

Conveniently, a location of Los Parados was just a short walk from the Centro Internacional de Exposiciones y Convenciones WTC. So it served as our lunch spot. The costillo (beef rib) was nicely flavoured. The bistec was smokey and even better. Lengua (tongue) was soft and supple. We later found out that al pastor should be had later in the day, but both their regular version and the pastor negro (a black chili rub) [photo below] were excellent, each coming with a chunks of sweet pineapple. The chorizo huarache was covered with a lovely blend of beans, cheese, lettuce, and salty chorizo. Their agua fresca came in bottles and we particularly enjoyed the maracuyá (passion fruit), jamaica (hibiscus), and horchata-coco.

We would have gladly covered barbacoa in depth, but only managed to try Gonzalitos and thus only sampled the beef version in a taqueria (we did try goat and lamb versions in other restaurants below). While the beef was impressive, juicy and soft, we were almost more impressed by the machacado con huevo, a salted beef and egg combo.

Feeling we needed to have at least one more al pastor experience, we went to the bustling Roma Norte location of Taqueria Orinoco. The trompo had crispy edges, delicious flavour through the meat, and came with fresh pineapple, sauteed onions, and what seemed like fried garlic bits. The papas, crispy smashed potatoes with lime and salsa, are also worth getting.

We sampled some other tacos, which are detailed in the food tour section below.

[DrJohn]

MICHELIN-STARRED FANCY PLACES

While not successful in getting a reservation at Pujol, we did manage to get tables at several other gems.

First up was Em. It is a relatively modest space, with friendly and informative staff. The food was eye-catching, intriguing, and full of interesting flavours and textures. We went with two friends and they easily accommodated one of our friend’s dietary restrictions/

We first ordered a bottle of orange wine - Ojos Negros, Dominio de las Abejas, Chardonnay, 2023, Baja California, México. It was gorgeous, lemony tart and plenty of mineral. We later ordered a glass of rosé - Epicentro Tangible, Grenache, 2022, Ensenada, Baja California, México. It tasted like strawberries.

Course 1:

• Cactus consommé, with pieces of nopal and oil of hoja santa (Mexican pepperleaf) and herbs bouquet - very fragrant and invigorating.
• Empañada with homemade chorizo of fish and cheese (quesillo), salsa macha with peanuts and dried chile - all wonderful.
• Molotes (deep-fried balls, named after a cigar-shaped Oaxacan snack) with plantain, beans, cream, and smoked cheese with borage flower on top.

Course 2:

• An artful design of avocado slices over a bluefin tuna tostada, with caviar, mayo, and chiles toreados (blistered peppers). [photo below]
• Bluefin tuna crudo with soy reduction beside, over deep-fried fish scales and chintextle chile paste from Oaxaca.
  
  

Course 3:

A savoury bunuelo (a beautifully deep-fried rosette) covered with smokey trout roe and stuffed with carrots, fresh crab, and onion.

Course 4:

• Chawanmushi with caviar on top, and layers of corn foam with (green) huitlacoche under - not really a chawanmushi, but a nice tip of the hat.
• Roasted baby corn in mantequilla (butter) de soya and yuzu - very cute and delicious.
  
  

Course 5

Brioche (soft, moist, wth 6 pull-apart pieces) with a large block of butter with avocado in the middle and two powders over - onion (black) and coriander (green).

Course 6

Striped bass (moist, just done) with chicatanas (flying ants) on top, in a bowl with garlic foam, black garlic purée, garlic chips, spinach, and mole verde.

Course 7

Chunk of perfectly soft lobster (bogavante) in a foam like chilpachole (Veracruz seafood soup/stew), chorizo oil on the bottom, with plantain purée - smokey, with layers of flavour.

Course 8

Slice of smoked ribeye, with unspecified greens, and a deep-fried slice of enoki “tempura” with bearnaise sauce, dried chile, black truffle, and cheese - the meat was lovely but we found the enoki quite heavy and oily (the one misstep for the meal).

Palate cleanser of shiso leaf wrapped around mint marshmallow and cucumber - great.

Course 9

• Cone of mamey sapote seed (pixtle) soft serve ice cream, with amaretto and pine nuts in the cone, with white chocolate - light, smooth, and delightful.
• Tiramisu of mamey with mascarpone and wafers soaked in pixtle too, plus ground mamey powder over top - lovely.

Petit fours of chocolate truffles, one arroz con leche and cinnamon, and one vanilla.

Our next adventure was at Quintonil for a very long lunch. The food was intricate, focused on Mexican ingredients and flavours, and beautifully presented. They also get bonus points for having sustainably sourced seafood and the option of an all-Mexican wine pairing, which we had (there was a lack of correspondence between the listed wine pairings written on the menu with the bottles shown at the table and the accompanying descriptions - apologies for inaccuracies). The service was excellent and once the staff realized we really wanted to know details about the dishes, they spent extra time explaining each course and went back to the kitchen if necessary to get additional answers. And after a conversation about the restaurant being named after a type of amaranth, one person brought us a sample of fresh quintonil to taste.

They started us off with Agua de Quintonil: a cocktail with tangerine agua fresca, agave honey and mezcal with maguey worm salt - distinctly smokey and little herbal.

The amuse was chileatole, a corn soup with foam on top, with minced onion, coriander oil, huitlacoche, chile de arbol, and epazote - fresh, light, nicely balanced.

Wine 1: Vinicola Sta Elena, Amphora, chenin blanc, Aguascalientes, 2021 - lemon flower and candied lemon peel scent, mainly acid/mineral flavour

Course 1: tomato salad with butternut squash (thin, folded rounds, confited and salted), three kinds of heirloom tomato (valentines, pear, chocolate), pepitas with salt, sugar, ‘mixe’ pepper powder (Pasilla Mixe or Oaxaca chili) olive oil, horchata rice foam (tamanishiki rice from California), rice vinegar reduction, and clarified butter - sweet tomatoes, highlighted and contrasted with salt, spice, and sour.

Wine 2: Viñedos El Refugio, Jamädi, colombard and verdejo, Hidalgo, 2022 - very smooth, we got mainly mineral.

Course 2: bluefin tuna tartare with pickled watermelon radish slices, tiny jicama balls, mint, mustard leaf, buttermilk wasabi ice cream on top, tiny fake caviar (beet, agar, hibiscus, red wine vinegar), aguachile de brassicas (kale), poured over with ginger, lemon, cilantro wasabi, habanero, and jugo de nopal - lots of fun elements, with beautifully fresh tuna.

Wine 3: Bodegas de Cote, Ezequiel Montes, atempo, albariño, 2023 - floral, mineral, pineapple, and maybe pear.

Course 3: spider crab in pipiàn verde (makrut lime, coconut cream, Thai basil, lemongrass, shallots, galangal and sunflower seeds), with miso mayo, habanero, tlayudas chips, tiny fried zucchini, cilantro flowers and oxalis flowers on top - crisp sweet crab in a fragrant and strikingly green sauce.

Wine 4: Tresomm, Mezcla Blanca (mainly colombard, with catarratto and grillo), Valle De Guadalupe, Baja California, 2022 - beautiful, very floral, with lychee, and Concord grape.

Course 4: grilled, pickled mussels tostada, mole del mar, scallops, guajillo pepper, artichoke, burnt onion reduction, and coriander flowers - beautiful, with lots of umami from the onion reduction.

Wine 5: Vinos Domecq, Vasija, sauvignon blanc, Valle De Guadalupe, Baja California, 2022 - mainly mineral, pairing well with the tamal.

Course 5: pibil duck (cooked in orange juice, axiote pepper) tamal, wrapped in banana leaf, criollo sauce with shiso, habanero garlic confit, bell peppers, and corn foam with charred onion powder over - creamy corn, with tangy and rich duck.

Wine 6: Paoloni, sangiovese grosso, Valle de Guadalupe, Baja California, 2021 - really lovely, with fresh cherry, a touch of tomato, light on tannins, and a long finish.

Course 6: arroz a la tumbada - rice in salsa from Veracruz (dried chiles, chives, red onion spheres), roasted coconut foam, grilled striped bass cured in lias de sake casu (sake lees) - wonderful, tangy and earthy.

Wine 7: Cru Garage, syrah, Valle de Guadalupe, Baja California 2013 - fig, plum, chocolate, and earthy notes.

Course 7: Entomophagy Festival

• vegetable ceviche with marigold (calendula) flowers, smoked cactus leche de tigre, beetroot, tomatoes - fresh, herbal, and a bit gooey from the cactus.
• moist lamb barbacoa in a tasty grasshopper adobo, with maguey stalks and pulque.
• red corn segueza with chile, tomatoes, with confit onions and coriander flowers over - like a smooth polenta, with a tangy sauce.
• supple oyster mushrooms alambra with salsa macha, miso mayo and chintextle sauce, with grasshoppers and tomatoes.
• endemic santanero beans (from Oaxaca) and cotilja cheese - simple and lovely.
• rich chorizo with cocopaches beetle (crunchy bits poking through).
• salsa roja with tomato, serrano chiles, humiles (stinkbugs) and epazote.
• hummus with almendrado of recado rojo (achiote paste).
• all served with blue corn tortillas (criollo corn from Opichen, Yucatan).
  
  

Afterwards, they came by to show us the bugs in boxes with labels. Then they brought a display of two kinds of prickly pear fruit - tuna blanca (sweet and light) and rosa (more acidic) - as a preview of the palate cleanser of cactus paddle sorbet, with salt and totomoxtle (corn husk) ashes, the oldest recipe in the restaurant - very sour and salty, in a fun way.

Wine 8: Vinaltura, blanc de blancs (chardonnay and chenin blanc) espumoso, Valle de Colon, Queretaro, no vintage - lightly toasty, and some citrus.

Course 9: creme fraiche ice cream infused with Yucatan melipona bee honey (special stingless bee), physalis marmalade, with feuilletine, and very mild Osetra farmed caviar from Madagascar - I’m still not sold on this caviar in dessert idea, but it didn’t take away from the rest of the dessert.

Wine 9: La Santisima Trinidad, Vina Espumoso Dulce Natural, sauvignon blanc, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato - lightly sweet and fruity.

Course 10: Mexican cornbread with corn liquor eggnog (rompope de nixtamal), passion fruit gastrique, stracciatella cream, corn leaf ash, and vanilla from Chichicaxtle, Veracruz - the overall creaminess was nicely counterbalanced with the gastrique.

Course 11: yuzu panna cotta tartelette with strawberry slices, vanilla and elderberry infused olive oil, tiny elderflowers on the strawberries - beautiful in appearance and taste.

Course 12: chocolate (71% chocolate from Soconusco, Chiapas) semifreddo with black garlic and kalamata olives droplets, and raspberry (red droplets) - great last flavours to have on the palate.

As a parting gift, they gave us “conchattone”, which was a cross of sweet bread and panettone. We had it for breakfast the next day.

On our last day in CDMX, we had lunch at Rosetta. It’s a lovely airy space, with lots of light and plants. The food was impeccable: eye-catching, rich and complex flavours, with a lot of highlighting of Mexican ingredients. Service was smooth and informative.

They started us off with refreshing peppermint agua de sabor. We weren’t up for lots of wine as we were heading for a mezcal tasting right after, so we ordered a couple of Mexican glasses:

• Cava Garambullo, Rover '22, Guanajuato - orange wine of chardonnay, albariño, and muscat - unfiltered, floral and tropical/pineapple notes.
• Oscar Mancillas, Textura Rosa '23, Valle de Guadalupe, Baja California - rosé of zinfandel - dark, with red fruits like strawberry,raspberry, and cranberry.

We started with gorgeous rosemary focaccia and wonderful toasted mixed seed rye bread, served with olive oil from Ensenada.

We started with delicious Savoy cabbage tacos made with local herbs and a Mexican pistachio pipian sauce with romeritos (seepweed).

Even more amazing was the white mole (cauliflower, bananas, apple, almond, chile guero and habanero), with pickled carrots - the mole had so many layers of flavours.

One of our mains was the pork shoulder with chicana ant entomatado (green tomato with serrano chiles), fava beans, and purslane (verdolagas) - gorgeous earthy and tangy sauce.

We had to try a pasta, so we went with the potato gnocchi with huitlacoche and milpa vegetables (maize, beans, squash) in a sweet potato pumpkin purée), with wilted squash blossoms, epazote, chaya, chile, chayote, serrano, riaz de calabaza, and queso fresco from Chiapas - almost too many flavours to keep track of, but awesome overall.

With dessert, we had a glass of Viñas del Tigre, No te Soporto, grenache, Ensenada - very interesting, lightly sweet, and kind of reminiscent of port despite the name.

One dessert featured melipona honey jelly (with mint and elderflowers inside) and calendula over with brown butter vanilla ice cream, with peach creme anglaise - beautiful and not too sweet.

This was topped by the tamarind and corn nicuatole (corn pudding) with piloncillo and chile meco in a stunning purple corn husk with a dollop of cream to mix in - perfect.

[DrJohn]

BREAKFASTS

A lot of the time we were too full for a big breakfast. We just had some fruit or conchas with some coffee. We did manage to hit a couple of popular spots and one place local to us.

One morning we lined up for about an hour to get into the original Centro location of El Cardenal. It’s a beautiful building, both the facade and the interior. Of course we started with the hot chocolate, whipped at the table with a molinillo, which was rich and lovely. We also enjoyed several pastries, including a cinnamon raisin swirl and a fig almond custard square. The highlight was the Aporreado Estilo Cardenal - soft scrambled eggs with thin pieces of salted beef, served in a delicious broth of manzano and serrano chiles. It came with tortillas as well as phenomenal crusty, chewy rolls.

We had enjoyed Las Tlayudas for dinner (see below) and since it was within walking distance of where we were staying, we also went for breakfast. The cafe de olla was fantastic, sweet and earthly-spiced. The horchata y cafe caliente was also excellent, like drinking dessert. We really enjoyed their rendition of huevos divorciados, with tasty salsa roja and verde. Even better were the chilaquiles with salsa verde, huevo estrellada, and huitlacoche.

Being tourists, we also couldn’t pass up trying Fonda Margarita. We got there at 7:30 am on a Sunday to beat the crowds. Even then, it was fairly busy. They had two senior gentlemen warbling folk songs as we enjoyed our breakfast. The cafe de olla was nice, a bit stronger than other renditions. The doble refritos huevos were tasty scrambled eggs mixed with black beans, served with tortillas. The chilaquiles were covered in crema, cotija cheese, and salsa. They were good, although we liked the version at Las Tlayudas better. The best dish was the longaniza en salsa verde, which featured delicious sausages in the tangy sauce.

[Phoenikia]

Beautiful photos, @DrJohn

What a wonderful trip.

[DrJohn]

MISCELLANEOUS MEALS AND SNACKS

We needed a quick lunch when we were near Bosque de Chapultepec, so we stopped in at Tortas Royalty. The cubano (pork loin, ham, queso amarillo, guac) was nice and the chile relleno (battered green chile with white fresh cheese inside, frijoles, and guac) was even better, with good crisp frying. Each was sided with complementary zanahoria pickles.

While spending the day in Coyoacán, we had lunch at El Tajin. We picked them because they were one of the few places that clearly labelled sustainable seafood options (we had to trust they were accurate). We sat on the beautiful terrazzo and had a leisurely meal as service was fairly slow. The Margarita Especial was quite nice, featuring orange juice, lime juice, mezcal, red wine, and gently salty rim. They also gave us little sopes with salsa roja and queso to start.

The aguachile de camarón [photo below] had sustainable Pacific shrimp with lime, chili, coriander, red onion, radish and olive oil. This was beautiful, very fresh and zinging with citrus. The chilpachole de jaiba was a delicious crab broth, scented with epazote and cinnamon, accompanied by chochoyotes de masa (Veracruz dumplings). We enjoyed the sustainable shrimp in tamarind sauce, which came with fresh grapefruit. And we also had sustainably farmed totoaba à la Talla, which was grilled with red chili sauce and mayonnaise - nice rich flavour.

For dessert, we had tarta guaya-manzana, which was nice but mainly tart apple, with the guava not that apparent. The pavlova was better, with meringue, crema de guanábana y maracuyá, frutos (strawberry raspberry and blackberry) y helado (red fruit sorbet), with tiny popped amaranth seeds.

One of our dinners in Centro was at Los Girasoles, where we sat on the patio, with a view of the small square in front of the MUNAL (National Museum of Art). The pistachio cream soup was delightful, earthy, not too salty, rich but not too rich. We also went with the pricey and touristy Aztec Mosaic, featuring fried maguey worms, escamoles with herbs and onion, and fried grasshoppers, all accompanied by guacamole, beans, and freshly made tortillas. All insects were tasty, with some vaguely seaweed or shrimp-like hints.

The huauzontle croquettes were stuffed with Oaxaca cheese, and served with mole poblano and rice - really nice, with lots of earthy greens. Also great was the slow-cooked (with maguey stalks) goat, served with salad nopales (pickled cactus, tomato, raw onion), mild salsa roja, sweet cooked onions, and three flowers.

Another Centro dinner was at Limosneros, a favourite of one of our friends. The interior of the 17th century building is gorgeous. Our only drink was a house cocktail of peanut butter, raspberry jam, peanut butter washed bourbon, egg white, beet powder on top and a very cute peanut butter cookie - fun and silly.

They started us with an amuse of blue corn sope, with beans, avocado and a chile dot on top. We then had the Escamoles Ayocote, with bean purée, cinnamon smoke, salsa verde, habanero salsa roja, and homemade tortillas - very smokey. Next were the Braised Beef Cheek Donuts - the donuts were very oily, but the beef cheek was very tender, in a sauce of chile, pulque, and beer. “Cuitlacoche” Taco featured deep-fried squash blossom (again a bit oily) stuffed with huitlacoche, peanut mole, and epazote tortillas. Crawfish Tostada included both freshwater crawfish and langoutstines, with squash seed and chintextle marinade - lovely flavour, but a bit too salty.

The best dish of the evening was the Cuitlacoche Corncob, which was a whole cob with the huitlacoche growing out of it and slowly roasted with a delicious sauce to the point where you could eat almost to the centre of the cob. Also lovely was the beef rib, braised (could have been done even longer) in mole negro Oaxaqueño, wrapped in banana leaves and served with pickled onion, chilaca chile, and sweet carrot, cucumber and purslane pickles beside. We only had room for one dessert and had the Chocolate “Tamal”, which included Oaxacan chocolate, tejate sauce, cacao nibs, cookies, and mamey seed ice cream - nice balance of sweet sauce and not that sweet tamal.

One of our favourite places was Mux. Chef Diana Lopez del Rio has traveled to different regions in Mexico and celebrates the recipes of different women. We had a glass of riesling from Tres Raíces, Vinicola Mexicana Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato, aged on lees for 5 months - very pleasant, not bone dry but not off dry. We also had a glass of a red blend (grenache, cabernet sauvignon, shiraz) from Hacienda Florida, Mezcla De Tintos, Coahuila - light bodied, with a lot of red fruit.

They first served us blue tortilla chips with salsa verde and roja, both quite spicy. We then started off with two soups. Soup Alache Mole was based on Mixteca mallows called alaches and had lovely herbal flavours, with a gooey texture from the mallow. Soup Alverjón with Nopal was based on beans and cactus and was delicious. We then tried two moles. We loved the Black Mole with Chicken tasted of chocolate, fruits, and spices such as cloves. It came with an anise tamal and rice. Also great was the Atoyatempan Mole with Chicken, also very fruity and quite smokey. It came with a bean tamal and rice.

We couldn’t resist trying the Baja-style Chinese food at Cantón Mexicali. The decor alone was arresting, with a ceiling full of red lanterns on the second floor. We though the Baja Chili was quite fun, featuring deep fried güero chiles stuffed with ground pork, ginger, and garlic, served with a Chinese mustard dipping sauce. The fried rice had an intriguing mix of peppers, egg, green beans, green peas, fava beans, quelites (pigweed), broccoli, snow peas, and “house” sauce - overall very enjoyable. Our favourite was the Chow Mein Mexicali, with noodles sautéed with chicken, garlic, cabbage, carrot, chicharo chino (snow peas), olives, and topped with a fried egg and fried serrano chilies - very much a fusion of Mexican and Chinese, with flavours of lime, soy sauce, and chile.

Las Tlayudas was just a short walk from where we were staying and we had wanted to try tlayudas and other Oaxacan dishes. We started off with some delicious beverages. Horchata Oaxaqueña had a rice base, with almonds, walnuts, rose petals, lemon zest, and melon pieces. Tejate had a chocolate and corn base, with pixtle (mamey seed) and rosita de cacao (small white flower used to flavour cocoa drinks). We had a deliciously limey guacamole with chapulines mixed in and a touch of chepiche (Oaxacan herb), served with toasted superthin wheat tortillas. We then tried two different tlayudas. Cecina enchilada ‘chica’ had tender pork loin in a rich red sauce. Tasajo (beef jerky) ‘chica’ was also really tasty. Both came with crisp wheat tortillas, beans, tomato, and chepiche.

For our one sampling of churros, we went to the Roma Norte location of Churrería El Moro, opting for the classic version with cinnamon sugar. While a tad oily in flavour, the texture was nice and crisp.

[DrJohn]

EAT LIKE A LOCAL “MEXICAN FOOD 101” TOUR

Another touristy thing we did was sign up for the Eat Like a Local “Mexican Food 101” guided tour. We figured it would be a great way to sample lots of things that would be hard for us to ferret out on our own. We picked this company because it seemed to focus on good wages for their employees and also supports a program that teaches youth English, financial management, sex education, and feminism. The tour we picked covered part of Condesa, La Merced Market, and the flower market in Jamaica. Our guide Carla was very friendly and well-informed.

We met at Cardinal Casa de Café, where we sipped a Voltaire (chocolate, espresso, and milk) and hot chocolate (from Chiapas, mixed with piloncillo and spices). We first stopped at Maque, where we each had mini vanilla and chocolate conchas, very fresh and light. A few blocks away, we tried tacos de canasta (semi-steamed in a basket) from the “El Don” cart, one chicharron (pressed style not crispy) and one potato, with pickled jalapeños and a very spicy salsa verde with tons of raw onion. Both were delicious, particularly the potato. In another few blocks was the Ricos Tacos de Mixiote stall, where we enjoyed tender pit barbecued beef and lamb, in an agave leaf, perfumed with dried chile and spices, and served with a cornucopia of toppings.

We then took the subway to the Merced Market. The stalls we visited weren’t always clearly named. The first was “Carlos Sad” and served “ricas quesadillas antojitos Mexicanos”. We each had a sample plate with pambazo (potato, chorizo, lettuce, cheese), quesadilla (huitlacoche and cheese), and tlacoyo (cheese and nopales on a blue corn and fava cracker). All were delicious.

Next was a stall that served us fresh pineapple juice and a selection of fried insects and arthropods (maguey worms, crickets, giant ants, scorpions, and water beetles). All were pretty tasty, though hard to distinguish in terms of flavour. Our final stop in this market was a stall that featured nuts, fried legumes, chocolates, and day-glo coloured candies. We sampled fava beans in chile powder, pepitas, Japanese-style rice cracker peanuts (plain and Maggi-flavoured), chick peas in chile, soursop gummy, passionfruit gummy, guava gummy, mango gummy with chile (more salty even less sweet), chocolate rocks, chocolate malt, chocolate covered coffee bean, and edible tamarind slime.

A short subway trip took us to the Jamaica flower market. We first stopped at Carnitas Paty, where various pig parts are slow-cooked and served as tacos. We tried the pork belly and cheek and the surtida with all the bits of the animal (snout, ear, etc), with onion and cilantro. Both were very tasty, with somewhat chewy collagen-y bits. We also enjoyed the tepache, a lightly fermented pineapple juice with black banana, tamarind and guava. We then stopped at a stand that served pieces of jicama that you dunked in syrup (we chose tamarind) and dusted with other flavours.

Next was a place serving chorizo verde, positively green with herbs and also including nuts and pepitas. It was delicious, like a pesto-infused sausage. We stopped at a fresh fruit stand where we each had a sampling of mamey, sapote negro, Chicu sapote, orange, lima (not sour), fig, rambutan, kumquat, cherimoya, guanabana, pink and yellow guava. All were lovely. Our final stop in this market was La Guëra, where we tried two versions of esquites: one boiled and topped with lime, cheese, and chili powder: the other fried and smoky, with lime and salt. Both featured cacahuazintle, a seasonal white corn with large crunchy white kernels. Both were also excellent. They also had a delightful pudin de elote, which was a corn pudding that tasted similar to tres leches.

We then headed back to Condesa, stopping at La Michoacana paleteria. The guava was fabulous, pink with big chunks of yellow fruit. The mamey ice cream paletas was also superb.

[DrJohn]

COCKTAIL BARS AND OTHER DRINKING DESTINATIONS

We were impressed that 5 of the top 20 cocktail bars in North America, at least according to one source, are in CDMX. We made it to all 5, plus took in some mezcal tastings and one evening of pulque. We found the best way to get into these places, whether walk-in or with reservations, was to aim for a time that would be considered too early for most CDMX imbibers, usually between 6:00 and 7:00 pm.

We tried repeatedly to get a reservation at Handshake Speakeasy, but had no luck. So we got there at 5:30, half an hour before opening (we were second in line), and then waited until we were let in at 7:30. We were in the upstairs room, which was small and cozy. They provided you with a snack bowl of pumpkin seeds, nuts, and crickets. The drinks were all remarkable, with pronounced flavours and yet really well-balanced. We had:

• Matcha Yuzu: Toki whiskey, matcha tea, vanilla, yuzu, celery, and whey - gorgeous, with herbal notes.
• Butter Mushroom Old Fashioned: Michter’s bourbon, brown butter, boozy enoki mushrooms, walnut, and maple - understandbly a classic, with a beautiful blend of the main flavours.
• Mexi-Thai: Maestro Dobel Blanco tequila, makrut lime, coconut, tomato, and basil oil - very fragrant and seemingly lemongrassy, although they said it had none.
• Cariño: Bacardi 8 Años, yellow Chartreuse, lemon, vanilla, Greek yogurt, and nutmeg - intended as a mash-up of piña colada, mojito, and daiquiri, it was very lovely and smooth.
  
  
  
  
  

We also walked in at Tlecan, where at 8:30 pm on a Saturday we got standing room between the bar and the wall (but got in right away). The Pulque Colada (pulque natural, milk punch de piña, agua de coco, espadín con fat wash de aceite de coco) - was beautifully balanced and silky. The Margarita Nochtli (jugo fresco de tuna, chartreuse verde, óleo saccharum de cítricos y tuna, jugo fresco de limón, garnish de granita de tuna y cítricos) was a bit more vegetal and bitter, with the prickly pear granita coming on a spoon set on top. Our favourite was the Tascalate Sour (tascalate de Chiapas, cacao fermentado, jugo de limón amarillo, jarabe de agave, clara de huevo, mezcal), which was a fun way to update a tradition corn and chocolate beverage.

For Licoreria Limantour, we managed to score a reservation. The music was defeaning, preventing conversation. We tried four:

• Margarita Al Pastor (Altos Cítricos tequila, Cointreau, taco mix, lime, clinatro. Basil, mint) - the green salt rim was a bit too much, but the rest of the drink was quite nice and limey, not sweet.
• Chorizo Verde (Creyente Espadín mezcal, green tomato, epazote, green chorizo, Chinese parsley, habañero, lime oil perfume, beet sprouts) - green and clear, with all the savoury elemenys coming through.
• Beso de Angel (Don Julio 70 tequila, Calvados, rosé prosecco, Beso de Angel ice cream) comes in a metal milkshake glass in a bucket of ice. Hazelnut, strawberry and cranberry are the main ice cream flavours; an excellent dessert drink.
• Champurrado (Maestre el Diamante tequila, Amaro Montenegro, champurrado) - our favourite, with a complex mix of corn, chocolate, and spices.
  
  
  
  
  

We also managed reservations at Rayo. It is an impressive space, with open windows looking out on to the city and palm trees. They no longer have the eyedropper tastings. They do offer a flight of mini cocktails, but we weren’t aware of this option and missed out on the chance to sample more drinks. As a free snack, they gave us popcorn with a tangy chile sauce. Anna was a very talkative and friendly bartender, who guided us through our choices.

• #1: Creyente Espadín mezcal, Matusalem Gran Reserva 15 años rum, Amaro Averna, beef, bacon, vegetable lacto ferment, beer, and cilantro, garnished with beef chicharron. Boozy and savoury, but well-balanced.
• #5: Sotol Noche Luna, nixta, kiwi, mango, hoja santa bitter, garnished Mennonite cheese (soft and very sour). Pleasant and fruity with a nice herbal overtone.
• #4: Revés whisky, Havana 7 rum, matcha, nori, shiitake, yuzu foam. Lovely, with an earthy accent from the shiitake.
• #3: Raicilla (another agave distillate), Tequila 1800 Blanco, lime, guava, and pandan, ganished with delicious kale and meco chile. Fairly straightforward and smooth.
  
  
  
  
  

We had asked for the Lola Casanova and they told us they were out. But then they gave us a complementary mini version at the end. It featured Bacanora Santo Cuviso (mezcal), orange liqueur, cinnamon syrup, lime juice, pineapple juice, coconut horchata, and Angostura bitters, garnished with coconut foam dried pineapple. A very fun piña colada riff.

After our dinner at Em (see above), we decided to drop in at Café de Nadie, since it was only a few blocks away. We only waited a few minutes before they seated us. The vibe was very loud (both old school soul and lots of yelling patrons). The menu came in a CD case. The Lejania (Matusalem 15 rum, Aconte 3 rum, pulcata (distilled pulque?), orgeat de pulque, piñón, grated macadamia, and limón verde) was a nutty rum punch, very desserty and delicious. La Borrachita (Patrón Cristalino, lychee, manzanilla, tomate juice, Earl Grey, aceite de guayaba on top) had the lychee coming through really clearly, with tomato in the aftertaste, not too sweet and really well-balanced.

To get schooled in mezcal, we booked a tasting with Gente de Mezcal at Salón Rosario. Our host was Sade, who educated us on how mezcal is made and the different types made from different agaves:

• Tobala had vanilla in the scent and then roses.
• Mexicano was smoother and kept changing profiles as we sipped it.
• Ensamble was a blend of 4 agaves and was probably the most straightforward.
• Jabali tased of fruit and earth.
• Lumbre came from a species not yet classified and tasted a bit like roasted wheat.
• Arroqueño 20 year had notes of baking spices, chocolate, chipotle and orange bitters.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

We also had snacks of apple with salt and chile, tomatoes with herbs, Oaxacan quesillo cheese, pretzels, and chocolate.

We also went twice to Bosforo Mezcaleria, where Michel welcomed us warmly and led us through his own guided tastings. He provided mineral water and green-peeled oranges dusted with Oaxacan chile, for breaks between tastings. We sampled 7 mezcals:

• Tobala Orejon Tobasiche from Santa Catarina de Minas - cinnamon, some banana, also some jalapeño.
• Cuishe con Barril from Santa Catarina de Minas - woody, ripe apple, pear, and a bit herbal, gentle and smooth.
• “Verde” from Durango - initially raw chile, but then clearly chocolate-covered orange peel. This was our favourite and we had it both times.
• Bicuixe Classic from Oaxaca - wet leaves and soil, with vegetal on the nose.
• An unamed one with cannabis - herbal and a touch of menthol in the smell, not obviously cannabis-y.
• Puntas Lineño from Jalisco (60% alcohol) - like smokey Gran Marnier and surprisingly smooth for such a strong mezcal.
• Classic Oaxaca Barril - pear, a bit of citrus, and lightly herbal; got more bitter over time.
  
  
  

For our one chance to explore pulque, we went to Pulqueria Insurgentes. This place has 3 different levels, with different flavours available on each floor. You can get small samples before committing to larger steins. While the natural/classico version can have a sulfury overtone to the herbal and roasted barley base flavour, the flavoured versions were all lots of fun:

• Avena (oatmeal) was nice, but a bit sweet.
• Piñon was one of our favourites, with nutty and even pineapple tones.
• Mango with a chile salt rim was lovely.
• Insurgentes featured a mix of passionfruit, mint, jamaica, and mezcal, so it was great but more like a cocktail.
• Fresa was light and fresh.
• Mazapan was very almond-y, but nor sickly sweet the way marzipan can be.
• Apio (celery) was a bit sweet and quite interesting, a bit reminiscent of Dr. Brown’s Cel-Ray.
  
  
  
  
  

We also enjoyed sampling many of the indigenous non-alcoholic beverages, often based on a mix of corn and chocolate. Some were sampled at restaurants above, but we also went to Ecosentli to try their mamey alote, which was very fun and like a lightly sweet cornmeal soup.

We went to Maiz de Cacao also to have some of their beverages. The tascalate was great and came in a big gourd bowl with lots of cocoa nibs. The atole azul sweet and complex. Alas they were out of champurrado. To nibble, we had their gordita huejutlense with queso and chile from Veracruz, which was a little dry but tasty. We also had the ayotl tamal, which had juice of strained herbs and dried shrimp - very interesting flavours.

And that wraps up our report. Please let us know about all the places we should’ve tried as we’ll definitely be back at some point.

[fooddabbler]

Great sequence. Thanks. In addition to some of the places you mention (Quintonil, etc.), we did snag a reservation at Pujol (live up to the hype) on a visit in 2019, and we also like Masala & Maiz, which explores the commonality between Asian-Indian and Mexican cuisine. Contramar also lived up to its reputation.

[PedroPero (PETER)]

Lots of great food and drinks! I’ll be there end of April, and this food tour is on my short list as well as Club Tengo Hambre and Culinary Backstreets. Thanks for sharing.

[DrJohn]

@fooddabbler: Masala & Maiz and Contramar/Entremar were on our short list, but we only had so many meals.

@PedroPero: It was hard to pick between all the food tours. We were happy though with Eat Like a Local.

[fooddabbler]

@DrJohn

but we only had so many meals.

We had the same issue on our visit. We intended to go back, but then 2020-2021 struck, and we’ve traveled elsewhere since (or have had other preoccupations). Still plan to return, and your account will prove a useful guide.