Where to Stay on the Left Bank and an Exquisite Ryokan in Japan
Plus, Italy, Boston, and a few stops out west. These are the hotels our editors loved this month.
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WHAT IS “STREET FOOD”? I say it’s something good to eat that’s sold from a basket, a cart, an improvised stand, a truck, on the beach, or in a market stall. In such diverse world capitals as Bangkok, New Delhi, Tokyo, and New York, all kinds of foods are available, any time of day and practically anywhere.
While the phrase “street food” used to connote a kind of low-class, unsavory health risk from which tourists and locals alike were warned away, a new generation of twenty-first-century critics, from Jonathan Gold, Anthony Bourdain, and Pete Wells to chefs René Redzepi and Mexico’s own Enrique Olvera, came to tout the world’s street food, recognizing that the best cooking is often found in the humblest places.
As a resident of Mexico City for more than 25 years, I have explored the traditional offerings on and off the street. My passion has led me to superb, back-alley taco joints, as well as on wild-goose chases that have left me hungry and frustrated. I’m especially fond of old-time places with the tenacity to hang on through the decades because they are so good. I include a few here that go back to well before the Mexican Revolution, as well as some new discoveries.
Breakfast
La Tonina: La Casa de los Tacos Norteños
Exceptional tacos in housemade tortillas
La Tonina, a humble neighborhood fonda (an inn or eatery that caters to travelers), opened in 1946 on the heels of the inauguration of the nearby, now-in-ruins movie palace Cine Ópera. In Tonina’s golden years, it served as an...
La Tonina, a humble neighborhood fonda (an inn or eatery that caters to travelers), opened in 1946 on the heels of the inauguration of the nearby, now-in-ruins movie palace Cine Ópera. In Tonina’s golden years, it served as an after-hours stop for stars appearing at the premieres there. Named after its founder, prizefighter “La Tonina” Jackson, the fonda is located in the once grand, mid-nineteenth-century San Rafael neighborhood, which is now ramshackle but seeing a revival among the young and artistic. Tonina is unique in the city in that it specializes in tacos norteños — from the northern states of Sonora, Durango, Nuevo León, and Sinaloa — served in housemade flour tortillas. My favorite filling is the cochipecho sonorense, brisket stewed in a rich, crimson salsa. Runner-up might be the picadillo con papas, finely chopped spiced beef with potatoes, whose heady aroma recalls the Cuban version.
Los Milanesos
Excellent milanesa tacos
Tacos El Calvario, its official name, is known to its many fans as Los Milanesos. This simple stand sits alone in a grassy median by a busy road and is always surrounded by faithful patrons. Owner Don Antonio Betancur has presided over the operation since...
Tacos El Calvario, its official name, is known to its many fans as Los Milanesos. This simple stand sits alone in a grassy median by a busy road and is always surrounded by faithful patrons. Owner Don Antonio Betancur has presided over the operation since 1999. Los Milanesos is so-named because of the exquisite, ample tacos featuring milanesa — thin-sliced beef or chicken, breaded and fried. While the milanesa taco is the specialty of the house, several rich, saucy guisados (stews) are always on hand, served out of huge, battered aluminum pots. This place may be out of the way but is well worth the trip.
Lunch
Marisquería el K-Guamo
Fresh, traditional coastal-style seafood
This well-known puesto de mariscos, or seafood stall, perched on the sidewalk of a busy commercial street south of the Alameda, has been serving fresh seafood for almost 50 years. It’s always full of returning customers, a good indication that the...
This well-known puesto de mariscos, or seafood stall, perched on the sidewalk of a busy commercial street south of the Alameda, has been serving fresh seafood for almost 50 years. It’s always full of returning customers, a good indication that the seafood is fresh. The ceviches of fish, crab, octopus, or mixed seafood are made with chopped tomato, chili, onion, and cilantro and augmented with lime juice and olive oil. They can be eaten as a cóctel — in a glass or, even better, on a crisp tostada. The caldo de camarón is a rich, deep-red broth flavored with dried and fresh shrimp and chilies; a “chico”(small size) served in a cup is enough. Boned fish fillets, battered and deep-fried, are a satisfying option, as are the shrimp-filled empanadas. This is a must-stop for aficionados of traditional coastal-style seafood.
El Trompo Imperial
More than a neighborhood taqueria
This funky, friendly postmodern taco joint, whose food can be eaten while seated under a wooden canopy or standing up, is located on a commercial stretch of Colonia Cuauhtémoc, north of the Reforma. The creation of former underground music promoter...
This funky, friendly postmodern taco joint, whose food can be eaten while seated under a wooden canopy or standing up, is located on a commercial stretch of Colonia Cuauhtémoc, north of the Reforma. The creation of former underground music promoter Carlos Ruiz, El Trompo Imperial looks like any other neighborhood taqueria but is much more than that. Tacos and salsas are meticulously handcrafted and creative without being pretentious. Worth sampling is pastor negro, pork blackened by charred chilies, giving it smoky depth. This is an unusual variation of Mexico City’s iconic red taco al pastor — which is also on offer; both are sliced off a revolving spit to order. Fragrant tortillas are housemade utilizing heirloom varieties of corn.
La Casa del Pavo
Turkey tortas with noteworthy pickled vegetables
It’s always Thanksgiving at the “House of Turkey,” which opened at this location in the bustling historic center in 1901 and has been run by the same family ever since. The decor, many of the personnel, and the menu seem little changed since the last...
It’s always Thanksgiving at the “House of Turkey,” which opened at this location in the bustling historic center in 1901 and has been run by the same family ever since. The decor, many of the personnel, and the menu seem little changed since the last remodeling, which, from the look of things, took place sometime shortly after the Mexican Revolution. As its name implies, the Casa specializes in nothing but turkey. Tortas, my favorite, Mexico’s answer to the Italian panino, are moistened with a generous schmear of guacamole and accompanied with some of the best pickled vegetables in town. Other options are tacos, white meat on a plate with rice, soups, and turkey with mole. Fans of the Oscar-winning Alfonso Cuarón film “Roma” may recall a brief scene filmed here.
Fonda Mi Lupita
A hole-in-the-wall spot for chocolaty mole
Not far from the gourmand’s paradise of Mercado de San Juan is this tiny hole-in-the-wall fonda, which, since 1957, has been serving savory, chocolaty mole. This is a great place to sample Mexico’s quintessential dish, whose origins date back to Aztec...
Not far from the gourmand’s paradise of Mercado de San Juan is this tiny hole-in-the-wall fonda, which, since 1957, has been serving savory, chocolaty mole. This is a great place to sample Mexico’s quintessential dish, whose origins date back to Aztec times. The expression “mas mexicano que mole” is equivalent to “as American as apple pie.” This is a light, fruity version from the State of Mexico, made with several chilies, many spices, pine nuts, and chocolate. Order the mole — which sits bubbling in a huge cazuela pot by the entrance — with chicken, either pechuga (breast) or pierna/muslo (leg/thigh) or as enchiladas, served with the requisite garnish of raw onion rings, sesame seeds, and crumbled queso fresco. The waitress will offer more sauce on request, free of charge.
Quesadillas Las Mejores, Mercado de Antojitos
Rich pozole and deep-fried stuffed quesadillas
This hangarlike space, a block from Coyoacán’s central plaza, houses a dozen or so stalls offering antojitos — literally “before the eyes” — i.e., tempting snacks. People stop here for a rich pozole — a hearty pork soup...
This hangarlike space, a block from Coyoacán’s central plaza, houses a dozen or so stalls offering antojitos — literally “before the eyes” — i.e., tempting snacks. People stop here for a rich pozole — a hearty pork soup featuring hominy — or best of all, the deep-fried stuffed quesadillas. The flor de calabaza (squash-blossom flower), huitlacoche (black corn mushroom), or sesos (brains) are particularly good. The quesadilla stall is in the middle toward the left as you walk in and is always busy.
Por Siempre Vegana
Beloved vegan tacos
This street stall in trendy Colonia Roma, delivers what it promises: vegan tacos. The fillings are made with tofu, soy cheese, and other vegetable ingredients. Por Siempre attracts a crowd of young anti-carnivores, as well as locals and passersby who...
This street stall in trendy Colonia Roma, delivers what it promises: vegan tacos. The fillings are made with tofu, soy cheese, and other vegetable ingredients. Por Siempre attracts a crowd of young anti-carnivores, as well as locals and passersby who don’t care what the tacos are made of (or perhaps don’t even know). The faux chorizo is particularly outstanding.
El Rey del Suadero
Street food with indoor seating
Encountering down-home places to eat in upscale Polanco isn’t easy; the “flank-steak king” is one of the few casual taquerias in the area. There’s a window looking to the busy avenue where office workers flock during lunch hour to down tacos of...
Encountering down-home places to eat in upscale Polanco isn’t easy; the “flank-steak king” is one of the few casual taquerias in the area. There’s a window looking to the busy avenue where office workers flock during lunch hour to down tacos of suadero, a thin, smooth cut of beef, sautéed in its own fat and piled on a warm tortilla with caramelized onions. Best is the house specialty, El Suadero, a toasted pita filled with meat and cheese, bathed in ruby-red salsa. All should be accompanied with a beer, or better yet, a michelada, which is a beer prepared with lime juice, spices, and chilies. There’s a comfortable indoor dining area for those who wish to eat their street food sitting down.
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Dinner and Late Night
Los Parados
Superior salsas and Mexican-style burgers
This fabulous Colonia Roma institution, whose name implies “standing room only,” prepares tacos al carbón, which feature meats cooked over coals on an open grill. Ribs, chops, chorizo, chicken — they’ve got it all, but the winner is the rib eye. The salsas,...
This fabulous Colonia Roma institution, whose name implies “standing room only,” prepares tacos al carbón, which feature meats cooked over coals on an open grill. Ribs, chops, chorizo, chicken — they’ve got it all, but the winner is the rib eye. The salsas, set in gigantic volcanic-stone molcajetes (a traditional mortar and pestle), are superior. Los Parados is open until the wee small hours, at which time a fascinating cross-section of worn-out nighttime denizens (and those who police them) happily devour succulent char-roasted morsels of goodness with a horchata or beer. It’s also worth mentioning the sensational Mexican-style burgers, topped with bacon, cheese, and spicy salsa.
Los Cocuyos
Famous 24-hour centro
This now legendary late-night centro spot features every part of the cow you’ve ever heard of — and a few you haven’t. Formerly just a tiny window to the street, there is now indoor seating due to popular demand. Los Cocuyos has been lauded on TV by food...
This now legendary late-night centro spot features every part of the cow you’ve ever heard of — and a few you haven’t. Formerly just a tiny window to the street, there is now indoor seating due to popular demand. Los Cocuyos has been lauded on TV by food mavens and for good reason — it’s top in its category. Try a taco of chewy, flavorful suadero or melt-in-your-mouth mollejas (sweetbreads). Best of all is the tripe, cooked until buttery tender in fat, made smoky with chorizo, then refried on the griddle to give it a crispy edge. I like to order a tripa, suadero combo. Open round the clock, Los Cocuyos is popular with recovering late-night revelers.
Tacos Don Güero
Beef tacos al pastor and barbacoa
El Güero is a hole-in-the-wall with three or four stools on the sidewalk, located in the Cuauhtémoc area, just north of the Angel of Independence. Here one can chow down on exemplary tacos al pastor, the iconic CDMX spit-roasted legacy of the Lebanese...
El Güero is a hole-in-the-wall with three or four stools on the sidewalk, located in the Cuauhtémoc area, just north of the Angel of Independence. Here one can chow down on exemplary tacos al pastor, the iconic CDMX spit-roasted legacy of the Lebanese immigrants, as well as on spit-roasted barbacoa. Both are made with beef instead of the usual pork. This taqueria never closes — not even for Christmas or New Year’s.
Our Contributors
Nicholas Gilman Writer
Nicholas Gilman is a food writer and critic based in Mexico City, author of the forthcoming “Best Tacos Mexico City.” His website is goodfoodmexico.com.
