CDMX Mexico City- Day one, 9/19/23

Day 1- Tuesday, 9/19/23
Today we got up super early to get to the airport. Actually Matt got up SUPER early, in the 4’s to work out. We took off for CDMX without a hitch and the flight was super quick and easy. We landed at 11:45 and met our driver, Hector (+52 55 3645 1956, WhatsApp) who brought us to the beautiful Four Seasons. Since we booked the trip through a travel agent, we were upgraded to a suite. A bit outdated, but the room is huge. The hotel itself is gorgeous. There’s a beautiful courtyard with a bar and two restaurants and there’s an outdoor pool.

Once we checked in and got settled, we headed out to find falafel. Matt had read about El Rey del Falafel, so that’s where we went. About a 20 min walk though some very lovely neighborhoods. I got an amazing cannelle along the way. There’s a bakery every ten feet. We finally made it to our destination. The falafel and slatim were delicious (and glatt Kosher!!). The schwarma was just ok, I thought. After this, we made our way to a natural wine shop for some provisions. Natural wine is huge in
CDMX!! We walked back to the hotel and tried to go to the pool but only half the seats had shade and they were taken so we went back to the room to change clothes/freshen up/unpack, and drink some Mexican orange wine!

We were about to leave for a taco tour and noticed that the sky looks gray… Sure enough, although the forecast prior to leaving said not one drop of rain, it now said thunderstorms all night. So we bundled up and headed out to meet our guide Sessi in the historic downtown area. We took an Uber and got a little taste of the legendary Mexico City traffic. Apparently it was extra bad, because there was a march going on, which happens all the time. We arrived and set out to her first destination. The first taco we tried was called a basket taco. They make the tacos and stack them in this huge bin and then pour hot oil and sauce over them to cook them. We try to mole verde and a chiccarones taco. I will admit, these were not my favorite. Pretty soft and not great flavor. The best part was the spicy pickled veggies on the side. Next we stopped at Las Escaleras, where they are just cooking at the bottom of a tiny staircase. This taco was not really a taco. It was a very traditional quesadilla, which are deep-fried here, filled with tons of zucchini flowers and Oaxaca cheese. It was in topped with shredded lettuce and Cotija cheese, as well as some salsa, and it was outrageously delicious. The third stop was at Taqueria el Torito for some thing that Matt and I were a bit skeptical about. Our guide recommended a taco that had a mix of tripe and brisket. Not being a tripe lover, I was put off of a bit, but that ended up being the best taco of the night. They put the tripe and the brisket mix on the flat top and make it super crispy with a good dose of salt before it goes on your taco, topped with cilantro and onions. A revelation, I’m a tripe lover! And so is Matt! Who knew! Next stop was Los Cocuyos, made famous by Anthony Bourdain. We tried Al pastor (not the best I’ve ever had!!), chorizo/brisket mix and cheek tacos. This was really not the best but good, bc tacos. Also, this was an inside sit-down situation, which was very welcome as we had been traipsing around in full downpour heretofore. On our way to our next stop, we had churros filled with cajeta and condensed milk (churros rellenos). Sooo crispy, amazing. We stopped at a historic “canteen” called Tio Pepe’s to have a traditional tequila break— one shot of lime juice, one shot of tequila and one short of sangrita, which is basically a house made bloody Mary mix. I did not partake in this, I had a Michelada, which here is just lime juice and beer, and it was great. Of note, in Mexico City specifically, a Michelada is just that and a Chilada is the one with the Clamato, etc. At our last taco stop, it was tacos guisados— stewed brisket with flat-top melted crispy cheese on top. The DIY condiments included beans (yum), pico and a variety of salsas. The spice level of all the salsas is high, which I am pretty surprised by!! Or maybe I’m just surprised by my spice intolerance.

We were full but not rolling by the end of the tour, so considered going to (a second) dinner, but we were really too wet to sit anywhere so we went back to the hotel and literally passed out immediately. Guess we were tired!!Read more