We’re behind the times.
Waaaaay behind.
Going on close to three years kind of behind the times.
We originally planned to get back on the wagon and post about our travels to Mexico right around the time of the earthquake in Mexico City.
That would not have been our best choice.
No one gives a shit about a deeply cynical and sarcastic, close to middle aged, white girl traveling and writing about their first experiences in Mexico.
Or maybe they do?
You’re still reading, aren’t you?
We brought with us our pequna e muy malo espanol.
We practiced such apologetic phrases before hand such as:
"El mi novio. El habla español mejor que yo."
"Lo siento, lo siento. Mi español es pequna."
Only our español was so muy malo that we couldn’t even utter those phrases
AND
in our own way, we ended up re-enacting Eddie Murphy’s Coming to America but you know, en Mexico.
For 10 days.
God bless the beautiful people of Mexico, not only because of their strength, resilience and their on-going to determination to rebuild their lives after the earthquake but also for dealing with the earthquake-like verbal idiocy of this lady.
View from the balcony. La Condesa neighborhood, Mexico City. 2017
We digress.
This is supposed to be a post about travel, food, and best places to go.
It’s still that, you know.
Without the Pinterest-y, scrapbook-y quotes and photos.
It’s just served with an extra helping of sarcasm on the side as its been awhile.
WHERE DID WE GO?
Mexico City, Oaxaca, and Puerto Escondido.
And then back.
To Mexico City.
Probably not the best planning for a 10 day trip but we did alright.
And because it was such a whirlwind of a trip there will be three posts.
Yep, count em: uno, dos, três posts.
See we’re getting back into the swing of things.
Mostly.
MEXICO CITY.
is a MASSIVE CITY.
is also one of the most densely populated cities in the Northern Hemisphere if not, the most densely populated, with over 21 million people.
And this is by no means a comprehensive list.
There may never be a comprehensive list, the city is over 500 square miles y’all.
WHEN TO GO?
GETTING AROUND.
WHERE TO STAY?
Well, that largely depends on what you would like to get out of your trip, what you’d like to do, etc. and so on.
When?
Whenever you got vacation time, just go.
Even if it’s just for a long weekend.
Flights were only about $250 to $300. ROUNDTRIP.
We went in June.
And like the vacation starved/travel fool that I am, I packed like was going to the beach, say, in Cancun.
Sundresses, jumpsuits, skirts, sandals…the city’s about 7,300 ft above elevation, mi amigos.
It wasn’t hot but it wasn’t cold either.
Think California weather.
Pack something to wrap up in at night: a pashmina, an extra layer of something… not just an extra layer of mezcal.
Getting around?
Ain’t going to lie: if we weren’t walking, Uber.
Traffic’s an insane dance of cars that resembles the dance of Los Voladores de Papantla. Truly terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time.
But seriously Uber’s the best way to zip around to other neighborhoods near by the one you choose to stay in. If you want to go to say, Xochimilco to see the floating gardens, the market, etc. you may want to build in some time. Distance is not far just the traffic.
Where to stay?
Lots of the Americanos like to stay in these neighborhoods: Centro Historico, La Condesa, Roma Sur, Roma Norte, and Polanco to name a few.
We chose the La Condesa neighborhood and it was absolutely stunning. It is lush, there are several parks and there’s a fabulous mix of old and new architecture. And by old, I mean Deco era to the more current, modern or contemporary style buildings.
It’s also very walkable to some of the best mezcalerias and restaurants plus you’re right next door to the Doctores centre which means street food.
Again, I digress.
We’ll get to the food and beverages later.
Or how about now?
IF YOU GO (& YOU SHOULD GO) LIST:
Food tour, food tour…Book a damn food tour!
Seriously, one of the best ways to immerse yourself in a different culture is to do the one thing we all can do well, eat.
There’s several choices for food tours: Eat Mexico, Club Tengo Hambre, Mexico Cooks!, Sabores de Mexico, and Mexican Food Tours to name a few.
We chose the Eat Mexico tour of La Merced market.
No.1: go to this market. Period.
La Botica, Mexico City. 2017
No.2: go with a guide, no matter how comfortable you feel with your espanol, surroundings, etc. It’s a lot to take in and it would be insanely easy to pass up good eats or education on what exactly it is your about to eat or buy.
No.3: try not to drink too much mezcal the night before as that really puts a damper things.
Group size for this tour is small, ours was just 3 people, the max number of people per tour is 4. Book it early, as in book the tour when you book your flight.
Come hungry and in comfortable clothing, ie. your fat pants.
Like the fools we told you we were, we showed up in a dress, sandals, and with an almost crippling hangover.
Word from the gluttonous wise: do enjoy an evening at Quintonil but there’s no need to put a few mezcals on it.
Or maybe there was…we were celebrating one of the best meals of our lives.
Moving forward with the food tour pitch: there were at least 4 or 5 stops not including opportunities to try samples of say, six different types of moles
or of salted, chili-dusted grasshoppers
or cured/pickled intestines of some sort.
It’s chaotic, overwhelming and thoroughly enjoyable even with a hangover.
Oh, and do ask for Anais.
She was, by far, the best food tour guide I’ve ever had.
Anywhere.
Hands down.
If you can’t make it Mexico City (I don’t understand those people) at least follow her on Instagram, The Curious Mexican and then there’s a blog too, if that’s not enough for you. Trust me, the instagram is just a teaser.
How’s that for a recommendation?
Where to eat and drink?
As soon as our bags landed at the Air B&B, we were out the door and on our way to Contramar. We may never have michelada or atun tostada like that again in our lives.
There’s no other standard for a tostada than that one. It melted away to nothing but pure flavor.
The octopi in adobo: equally as revelationary.
Atun tostada, Contramar. Mexico City, 2017.
We also hit all the mezcalerias within walking distance.
Side note for those of you that don’t know: mezcal is so much more than the cheap Americano shit with the worm. That’s the equivalent of an off brand of Everclear.
We’ll bring you up to speed on mezcal production in the Oaxaca post.
A short list of the mezcalerias:
La Clandestina.
It’s easy to walk right past this place. I never found the sign.
The walking directions on Google Maps kept declaring we had walked past it until we decided to just walk into it.
It has over 20 mezcals from all over Oaxaca. It’s tiny and dark. The bar’s backlit with red lights and there’s candles burning everywhere. Totally dive-y, in the best way possible.
Our kind of place.
La Botica.
It was on the list before the trip and we also walked past this one at least a half dozen times before realizing that was it. Our mezcal came with a snack of chili dusted limas and given the proximity to our Air B&B, we frequented this place a handful of times. Quality mezcals from all the places: Oaxaca, Pueblo, Guerrero…all sorted by agave variety.
Alipus.
Mezcal and food. There’s a full menu of insanely delicious and traditional Oaxaquena style dishes. Some of mezcals on the menu, you’ll never taste state side. Check. it. out.
Street food.
It’s all over the DF and every neighborhood has its best.
We took advantage of the Doctores centre near by and just ate.
Food stalls and their setup burst at the seams: salsas, cilantro, epazote, papalo, people, and smells.
Jugos, tamal verde de pollo, and chilaqulies for breakfast.
2nd breakfast consisted of hitting packed out taco stands just a few more blocks up the road: campechano (beef and pork sausage), de cabeza (cow’s head with all its bits and pieces), and mixiote (mutton or rabbit). One place we trekked to after eating at La Merced all day was Tacos Tony, where the location of the stand is in the center of the median, at a busy intersection.
Mi amigos, it felt like New Orleans.
Folks would pull over and park, partially or fully blocking one of three lanes of traffic to eat no less than three or four tacos.
It’s official: we will be back.
And I had thought that New Orleans was the only place where doing what you want doesn’t even measure on anyone else’s dip stick.
Taco's Tony, Mexico City. 2017.
In Mexico City and in Oaxaca, it’s amplified. In the best, slightly off-kilter, still functioning despite its traffic, politics, and so on and so forth ways, possible.
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There's also so much more to share and at the risk of recreating thousands upon thousands of travel and trip guides also check out the following links
Eater, Mexico City.
It's exhaustive and the best thing to read (re-read) before your trip especially if food is your thing.
Chilango.
Mexico City's official local rag for all the happenings: art, food, drink, politics.
Get to a local's feel for the place before you go.
It's the equivalent to Seattle's, The Stranger; New Orlean's The Gambit; or Charleston's City Paper.
Museums.
It goes without saying some of the best Museums in the world are here and they are truly magnificent.
Frida Kahlo Museum.
Palacio de Bellas Artes;
Picasso & Rivera: Conversations Across Time was on display while there.
National Museum of Anthropology.
And so many others. Too little time...