THE 10 BEST THINGS I’VE EATEN IN MEXICO CITY
By Jim Johnston
The older I get the more I love eating, the more my fascination and respect for food grows. Cooking and eating together seem the most blessed forms of communal human behavior, and eating alone ranks high on my list of self-indulgent pleasures.
Mexico City is rich in gastronomic opportunities, and even a casual tourist will be impressed at how much food one sees here—open-air markets, street stalls, pushcart vendors, women sitting along busy streets tending charcoal stoves. It’s hard to walk even a few blocks without seeing, and smelling, something tempting to eat or drink. As an inveterate explorer of the metropolis, I offer here a few of my favorite culinary experiences from ten years of eating in Mexico City.
1. Several times a week I stop at the fruit juice stand near Insurgentes and Sonora to get a liter of fresh-squeezed orange or tangerine juice (18 pesos)--and wonder why every civilized city doesn’t offer such healthy convenience. Fresh fruit stands are all over the city and often seem to appear magically whenever I get really thirsty. Orange and carrot juices are standards, but my favorite is the ‘vampiro,’ a drink made of orange, carrot and beet juices (sometimes celery) that is easily recognized by its blood-red color. Jugos Canada (on 5 de Mayo near the Zócalo) offers the biggest selection of fresh fruit and vegetable drinks in the city.
2. I’ve never eaten better tamales than those sold by Mexico City street vendors--in my experience always better than what you find in restaurants. Every morning, and in some places late at night, on street corners, markets, and metro stops you will see vendors tending large aluminum pots, often with steam escaping from under the lids. Mexico City’s tamaleros are an essential part of urban life. Most tamales are wrapped in a corn husk, with standard fillings of mole, rajas (strips of green pepper) in red sauce, chicken with green sauce, or tamales dulces, sweetened and dyed pink (kids love them). Some vendors also sell tamales Oaxaqueños, made from more finely ground corn that is wrapped in a banana leaf. Doña Marta sells my favorite tamales at the Tuesday market at the corner of Veracruz and Pachuca in Colonia Condesa—be sure to get there by 11am before she runs out.
3. I don’t feel completely human in the morning before my first cup of coffee, and I always feel a bit cheated if I must drink coffee other than what I buy in the Centro at Café Jekemir (Isabel la Católica at the corner of Regina). Their dark roasted beans are the best I have had in Mexico. Sometimes, after a hard yoga class, I treat myself to a café con leche at Bisquets Obregón, a chain of restaurants with locations all over the country (see their website http://www.lbbo.com.mx/). The coffee is served in the two-handed Veracruz style, one urn containing a thick, syrupy coffee infusion, the other hot milk. Mexicans tend to drink it very milky, and waitresses are usually surprised by my asking for a 50-50 mix, which turns out just right.
4. Tlacoyos are found all over the city, usually made by women tending small charcoal fires in metal anafres on the street. Tlacoyos are palm-sized ovals of masa (corn dough), formed by hand and filled with frijoles (red beans), requesón (mild white cheese), or habas (fava beans—my favorite). Cooked on a greaseless griddle, they are served with nopales (cactus), onion, grated cheese, and your choice of red or green salsa. Healthy, delicious, and cheap (usually under 10 pesos), I find this one of the most satisfying snacks in town. You will see tlacoyos everywhere, but my favorite stand is on Calle Hidalgo in the Centro, facing the Alameda in front of the Museo de la Estampa.
5. I am a big fan of mole, and whenever I return from a trip outside Mexico, I order a plate of enchiladas de mole to make me feel at home again. ‘Mas Mexicano que mole’ is the equivalent of ‘As American as apple pie.’ Fonda Mi Lupita (Buentono 22 in the Centro, near Salto de Agua metro stop) is a simple hole-in-the-wall, where they have been serving spicy, chocolatey mole since 1957. The enchiladas are topped with onion rings, sesame seeds and crumbled queso fresco.
6. Mexican cuisine offers many regional specialties that are usually found only in their places of origin—unless you are in Mexico City. The best Yucatecan food I’ve ever had is here in the Centro at Coox Hanal (Isabel la Católica 83, near Mesones, on the 2nd floor). I keep going back for their papadzules, tortillas filled with chopped, hard-boiled eggs, bathed in a thick green sauce of ground pumpkin seeds. The word ‘earthy’ always comes to mind when I eat these sublte, nutty-flavored antojitos--one of the few Mexican specialties that will appeal to non-meat eaters.
7. Years ago, while still living in New York City, my Mexican friend Marta came to visit for six weeks. About a month after her arrival, we were sitting around chatting one evening, when suddenly she whined, “Quiero tacos!” There was a deep sense of longing in her voice for her native comfort food, which surprisingly, is hard to come by in the Big Apple. Mexico City must be the taco capital of the world, and the variety is impressive. Those crunchy shells filled with ground beef, shredded orange-colored cheese and lettuce that often pass as tacos in the U.S. do not exist here. Tacos in DF are soft corn tortillas with a small amount of filling (usually meat). Tacos al Pastor, those towers of marinated pork roasting on a spit that you will see all over town, are a Mexico City classic. The sliced meat is served with a bit of pineapple and your choice of salsa. In my neighborhood, La Condesa, two places stand out: El Tizoncito (Tamaulipas at Nuevo Leon), which claims to be the originator of tacos al pastor, and La Califa (Alfonso Reyes at Altata). Each taqueria has its followers, both are excellent examples of one of the favorite foods of Mexico City residents.
8. I have to confess a preference for Mexican food from street stalls and market fondas (in case you haven’t noticed); it usually has a ring of authenticity missing in many upscale establishments. But internationally acclaimed chef Patricia Quintana has turned out some pretty delicious Mexican food—gussied up a bit—in her Polanco restaurant, Izote (Mazarky 513, tel. 5280-1671). The smoked salmon appetizer accompanied by guacamole drizzled with vanilla-infused oil is both surprising and delicious.
9. It took me a while to warm up to pozole, that thick soup made with pork and hominy (large corn kernels), but I’ve since become addicted to this most satisfying dish, which has been around in a similar form since Aztec times. Most places offer red pozole, but one of my very favorite things to eat in Mexico City is the pozole verde served at Pozoleria Tizka (Zacatecas 59 in Colonia Roma), which is thickened with ground pumpkin seeds. You can order it with chicken instead of pork to lighten it up a bit. Their tostadas are crisp and fresh, and the lemonade excellent.
10. I have a fairly aggressive sweet tooth, which is often disappointed with desserts in Mexico. After lots of research at the chocolate counter of Sanborns, I have discovered the good ones: look for maronet amargo, avellaneda, hoja cassis, and tortugas--all excellent in the dark chocolate category. Sanborns stores are found all over town, the most famous being the Casa de Azulejos on 5 de Mayo in the Centro Histórico. For a delicious vanilla treat, try the merengues filled with cream at the Pastelería Gran Via (Amsterdam 288 near Sonora in Colonia Condesa).
My list is but a brief glimpse of the culinary pleasures awaiting you in our capital city. True foodies will want the book ‘Good Food in Mexico City: A Guide to Street Stalls, Fondas and Fine Dining,’ to be published next month (and presented early in 2008 in San Miguel as part of the PEN lecture series). If, like me, food is high on your list of reasons to travel, hop on the bus to Mexico City, and bring your appetite
