Just returned from a 3.5 day trip to Mexico City. Will try to post some of our meals… what an amazing city!!!
3 Likes
First meal at Lismoneros - and it was a great one. We opted not to do the tasting because it seemed like a ton of food and we had to get to the ballet. Standouts were the beef cheek donuts and the mole (which was supposed to come with wagyu but whatever came out - sirloin perhaps?? - was certainly not wagyu!). Tortillas were a revelation. Service was great, the space is beautiful. We took a risk on the dessert, and what an incredible combination of flavor, texture, and temperature. The cloud in the picture was whipped cotija. WOW! (MILK & COTIJA CHEESE “BUÑUELO” Guava & Molasses, Honey, Rosemary & Basil, Crispy “Buñuelo” | Milk Ice Cream)
Ballet Folklorico afterwards was a beautiful celebration of Mexican culture, in the iconic Palacio de Bellas Artes.
We stumbled on a raucous Lunar New Year Celebration afterwards. Quite an eventful first half day in the city!
3 Likes
We stayed at the Sofitel in Reforma. We liked the location and the buffet breakfast was fabulous. Tons of options for any palate - Mexican options, French options, meats, breads, cheeses, tons of fruit, some veggies, oatmeal, yogurt, etc. etc.
2 Likes
We did a walking tour of Centro Historico. Our tour guide recommended a bunch of taco spots, which we loved. We had our first tacos - our favorites were the al pastor at La Cinco de Mayo (as well as the arrachera) and the suadero at Arandas. We had incredible guacamole at Arandas too. I had a refreshing sparkling water with lime and a salt rim.
2 Likes
After some shopping and relaxation, we had dinner at Campobaja. It was… fine. I’m not quite sure what made me choose it in the first place - the service was not great, and they were out of two of the items we wanted. We also learned here that less casual spots tend to over-season/over-sauce seafood (for our liking). One standout, though, was the octopus and chicharron gordita, which was a cheesy umami bomb. We had hot chocolate at La Rifa after (really fun watching them make it to order - I got a pack of 6 bars to do a chocolate tasting back home). Never ones to shy away from gluttony, we ended the night with churros and 3 dipping sauces at El Moro. THe churros were perfect - a little bit of crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. An order of four is equal to approximately twelve, apparently! 
We skipped cocktails after and called it an early night.
1 Like
We headed to Coyoacan the next morning. We explored the neighborhood. I got my husband some coffee from Cafe Avellaneda, and we got a ton of souvenirs at the market. We sated our thirst with aguas frescas at the market, where locals were indulging in large bowls of morning fruit (which we learned a lot of people do there!). The owner (?) who you can see in the photo was hilarious and so friendly - he seems to love what he does. Lunch was at the fantastic Corazon de Maguey, where we had the most incredible chilaquiles with green sauce (served in a cast iron pan with eggs) and mole enchiladas. I felt like I was in a dream at this point. All my Mexican favorites, at the source, the way they were intended to be served!
(picture from inside the restaurant)
I know some people feel that Frida’s house is overrated, but we absolutely didn’t think that. It was heartbreaking and tragic, but also beautiful and shed light on her life and art. There was a gorgeous exhibit on her clothing as well.
We checked out the other market in Coyoacan (did I mention the shopping was amazing!?!) and shared a coconut with two straws to refresh ourselves before heading back to the hotel.
1 Like
DInner was at Contramar. Service there was impeccable, despite it being a pretty loud casual vibe. We ran into the same issue we had the prior night, which was a heavy hand with seasoning on the seafood (and we actually cancelled our last dinner reservation for the following night since we decided we preferred less fancy options instead of the higher end places). I was dying for greens so we got a watercress (I think) salad with cactus and radishes. The special tostada was with scallops, which was so overdressed the scallop flavor was but a mere hint. (Still ate it!)
I got my one and only cocktail of the trip - alcohol plus the altitude did not agree with me, so I went water/juice/mocktail for the rest of the trip. I had to try mezcal in Mexico thought!
I can’t remember what this was - fish with too much seasoning, I think, lol.
My friend insisted we get the whole fish - half red spice, half green spice. It was served with tortillas and “Mexican Caviar,” as the server called the refried beans. It was tasty, but just too much seasoning.
We finished the night at Lucha Libre which was SO fun. We were too full to order any of the snacks that were being hawked - but the atmosphere is so festive and we had a blast.
1 Like
I’ve never been much of a tour person on vacation - but after an amazing food tour in the Azores this summer, I booked us a tour with the women founded and led Eat Like a Local. I HIGHLY recommend this company. Our guide, Elisa, was fun, energetic, and knowledgeable. We took the subway with her, and realized that we should have been taking it all along - it is cheap, easy, and safe.
We started with a chocolate concha pastry - we had had the vanilla version, but the chocolate version is even more delicious. Ate it too fast to take a photo. Then, we got tacos de canasta (basket tacos) from a sweet street vendor - she recommended potato or bean for a “breakfast” taco, since it was our first savory bite of the day. Apparently I also ate this too fast to take a photo, lol.
Then we got our first lamb taco (lamb and beef combo, I think) from another street vendor. Love all the variations of sauce and toppings each vendor has.
The subway whisked us off to Merced Market, which is enormous. I’m glad we had guides as we certainly would have gotten lost. We started off with quesadillas - squash blossom in one, huitlacoche in another. Watching the women press and grill the tortillas was mesmerizing.
We had a transcendent fish taco - fried simply with peppers. A fish in the mackerel family. This was the simplicity we were craving with seafood - just a perfect bite. Wish I’d had another.
Next we had fresh squeezed pineapple juice along with a little surprise - insects! I threw in the towel when we got to the big boys, but my friend ate them all. I will refrain from posting the photos here - happy to share them if there is interest, lol.
We ended with some candy - our favorite was the mango gummies covered in Miguelito.
Then it was off to Jamaica market, the flower market…
1 Like
Our last savory bite were tacos - we opted for pork cheek and pork tongue. They gave us a sample of a purple banana juice.
We had a fruit tasting afterwards - haven’t seen this much tropical fruit since Hawaii.
We had some time to explore the flower section, which is just gorgeous.
A little snack of corn concluded our market visit.
We went back to Condesa and had refreshing popsicles before saying goodbye to our guide. (My friend had watermelon with tajin and I had one that was like a mojito. Yum.) More shopping…
1 Like
We had a decent mocktail and snack at the rooftop bar/restaurants atop Sofitel - the view was spectacular.
We did a mini taco crawl near our hotel that couldn’t live up to our previous tacos, but was fun nonetheless. We liked the beef “al pastor” with chicharrones at Atarantados (the other three were okay - we loved the sauces though, pictured below) and the special beef taco at El Califa (forgot to take a photo). We finished off the night with tres leches at El Califa, which was the perfect sweet ending to our trip.
What a trip - and what an amazing city. I can’t wait to return. We barely scratched the surface and there’s so much more to do and eat. Until next time, Mexico City…
