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  • Day 1

    October 28, 2016 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 55 °F

    For Brittany's 30th, we decided to avoid Halloween and check out Día de los Muertos south of the border instead. Thanks to our Southwest companion pass, the flight to Mexico City was quite cheap. Some Marriott points came in handy as hotels were pricey due to the festivities and the F1 grand prix. We sat next to a guy that was headed to CDMX (ciudad de mexico) for his bachelor party and who happened to be a chef in Telluride. We talked about our upcoming reservations at Pujol (one of the acclaimed best restaurants in the world - located in CDMX) and he recommended some favorites in LA and San Diego.

    After a 5 mile drive that took an hour due to traffic that appeared to be worse than our current hometown's, we arrived at our hotel. The Marriott Reforma is in a bustling part of town, the Zona Rosa, that is close to a variety of shops, restaurants and bars. We also discovered that the first annual Día de los Muertos parade (first thanks to the James Bond film Spectre) will take place a short distance away.

    We walked to Mercado Roma, a modern food hall, for dinner. We tried a tostada de callo (scallops) and an empanada de pescado with two Pacificos to wash it down. Next we tried a torta vegetariana that had eggplant, cheese and avocado and 2 artisanal Mexican beers. The flavors of the torta really stood out, complemented well by spicy pickled vegetables.

    Following dinner, we decided to join the long line at the churro stand. Fortunately the friendly couple in front of us showed us that you order first and then wait in line to pick up your food. After around 30 minutes, we were almost up to pick up our churros and Mexican hot chocolate. The couple in front of us started having an intense conversation with the churro chef. I was able to recognize a few words from a TV show we recently started watching (Narcos), such as "hijo de punta," "pendejo," and "tienes juevos"? That's when I realized it wasn't just a friendly conversation. We figured out later that the couple was mad because the chef/cashier had let several people bypass the long line. To top it off, the chef got a slap before the couple stormed off. He was so shocked that he left our churros in the fryer a little too long. They were a bit crunchy but still good...
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