Hey y'all! Happy Monday! I had a great weekend tailgating in Baton Rouge with my sorority sisters and family! And the Tigers and Saints both kicked butt! Hope you had a great weekend! Since it is a food prep week and I don't want to give you non thanksgiving food to think about, I thought I would finally do a recap of my recent trip to Mexico City!
My friends Elisabeth and Jen and I left Friday a few weeks ago just in time for the Day of the Dead festivities. We stayed until Monday and crammed in as much as we could. We sure did eat well, so warning...this post will make you hungry! Full trip details after the jump. Beware, this is pic heavy.
I almost missed my flight out of New Orleans as the traffic and security were longer than usual. Luckily my flight was delayed, but that meant I had to run in high heeled boots through Houston. I was so happy to meet up with Elisabeth there since she drove to Houston.
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| A well deserved free drink! I love that Southwest has Deep Eddy Grapefruit! |
We met Jen at the Mexico City Airport. Customs was a breeze and the Coco and Day of the Dead festivities were on full swing in the airport!
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| How cute! |
We rented an Air BnB in the
Condesa neighborhood. It was soo nice, both the apartment and the neighborhood. If you go, I highly recommend staying in this neighborhood. It felt like New York City! There was a wine store and a coffee shop and so many restaurants nearby!
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| The view from our patio. The weather was not too pretty when we were there. |
We went to lunch at
Azul Condesa. It was so cute! There was a lady making tortillas right when you walked in. There was a gorgeous patio area but it was raining. We sat upstairs against the window and it felt like we were in a rain forest. I highly recommend dining there.
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| We were greeted with free shots of Mezcal in these cute cups! |
I got the Manchamanteles which is literally "tablecloth stainer" they said. I got it with duck. Holy cow was it good! It was a sweeter mole with fruit.
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| What a great meal to start off the trip! |
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| How cute are the tortillas! They all had art! |
We had to get dessert! We are all flan lovers so we got that, but since we were on vacay, we also got the tamalito de chocolate, which is a Oaxacan tradition when a baby boy is baptized. So worth it!
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| Is your mouth watering yet?! |
Since we brought our luggage everywhere with us we hopped over to the Air bnb to check in, unpack and decompress. We were alerted that there was a water shortage and our sweet host gave us gallons of water to combat it. I was surprised at how much Spanish I retained from high school and college, I could read all the signs!
We walked over to the cute wine store for some wine and snacks and then decided where to eat dinner. We decided on
El Tizoncito La Condesa since we were a little tired from traveling and didn't want to leave the neighborhood. They claim to be the inventors of Al Pastor.
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| I had to get one of my favorite food groups, cebollitas! |
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| I got the traditional Al Pastor tacos, muy bueno! |
We had to have some dessert so we headed to the
classic El Moro for churros. I did not get a picture of said churros, sadly. It was like the Cafe du Monde of Churros!
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| I loved the Day of the Dead Touches! |
Saturday morning we got up early and went to
Mercado de Coyocan before trying to hit up the Frida Kahlo Museum. We were sorely disappointed, most of the market was not open yet, and the line for the museum was already around the building!
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| They did have all the pretty flowers out! This was about the point where my allergies blew up! |
We regrouped for some brunch at the very lovely
El Beneficio. I highly suggest this place in Coyocan, the fresh juices were amazing and so was our food!
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| I love that it is a latte in any language! |
We decided to hit up another part of town and another market so we took an Uber to
La Ciudadela. It was amazing how many hand crafted items there were! We stocked up on souvenirs and then watched people dance in the public square!
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| Most places didn't allow photos so you get one from the bathroom, lol! |
After that we ventured to the Historic City Center to visit the Cathedral and public square. They had several day of the dead installations in the square.
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| The weather was so dreary! |
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| I took so many pictures in the Cathedral to show my grandmother who loves churches. |
It was time for a late lunch since our dinner reservation was not until 9:45, so we stopped for some street food. These were so dang good and $1.50 US dollars. The pickled veggies were worth it alone! I wish I would have recorded the name of the place but it was literally a hole in the wall and they served it out the window, then you paid a man on the street.
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| So good! |
After that we had to have something sweet. We went to the amazing
Pasteleria Ideal. Holy cow this place is amazing, the selections are unreal and so cheap!
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| Elisabeth and I made some good choices. |
We went home to change for our big night out to Pujol. Since the reservation was at 9:45, we decided to get some pre dinner drinks. Mostly, so I could watch the LSU Alabama game on my phone. Ugh, I wish I hadn't chosen to do that it was a bloodbath. But the bar was so awesome that we chose, the
Fuck off Room! They played 2000's emo music and had amazing cocktails, we were in heaven!
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| Love the Neon! |
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| I am so proud of my alma mater despite the loss! |
Then we made the trek to
Pujol, t
he 13th best restaurant in the world! The Chef's Table is delightful
on the chef, Enrique Olvera, check it out on Netflix!
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| Hey girl hey! |
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| Our menu. I cannot wait to make a momento with it! |
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| I did not listen to what was in this sope, but it was the perfect bite! |
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| Baby corn with flying ant mayonnaise. I actually ate this! The ants tasted like childhood. |
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| Chayote Squash and spiny lobster pico. The fennel really made this dish! |
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| Cauliflower, almond and chile de arbol salsa macha with chicken cracklin. Holy Cow. |
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| The 1731 day old mole plus new mole. I hadn't had proper mole till this trip! |
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| Wild herbs open papadzul with quail eggs and chiltomache. Runny yolks always make me smile! |
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| Coffee Tamal, ginger ice cream and honeycomb. I was so full I could barely touch it. |
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| Our waitress suggested a picture with the mole! |
It was such a lovely dining experience and made up for when we had to cancel the French Laundry!
Saturday we tried for the Frida Kahlo museum again and got in...after waiting in line for over 3 hours. If you go,
buy your tickets ahead of time as we learned later!
I was not a big Frida person, I've actually never seen the movie and did not know much about her. But, I'm a sucker for architecture and history so I loved that. I think I need to go back and watch the movie now!
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| We got the guided tour with headphones, worth it! |
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| This is where she worked her magic, the grounds and natural light were beautiful! |
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| Her alter for Day of the Dead was amazing! |
After we went back to
La Ciudadela for more shopping. I watched the Saints play by play on my phone. Who did I think I was to pick the biggest weekend of Louisiana football to travel? We stopped at a restaurant in the market for a late lunch. I misheard the waitress when I asked about the margaritas and ended up with a crazy blue one. It was soo sweet but actually good!
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| It actually reminded me of my favorite neighborhood Mexican restaurant in Austin, El Caribe. |
After that we ventured for a speedy trip to the
Mexican Museum of Anthropology. Most of it was closed for renovations so it was quick and easy to maneuver. It was so interesting to learn more about Mexican history and culture and see all the artifacts.
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| I sent this to Gentleman Caller and he responded #Americans |
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| The building itself is so interesting. |
We went home to pack a bit and then ventured to a nicer (read: not street food) street food restaurant. It was probably the worst meal we had to be truthful. My companions got grasshoppers on the the guacamole to end the trip. I had enough with the ants!
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| No thank you! |
So, if you have made it this far here is the gist. Mexico City is great! The people are flat out amazing, the food is just as amazing and it it so interesting. And CHEAP! This was one of the cheapest trips I have ever been on in my life.
My bottom line advice:
- Brush up on your Spanish- I was surprised by how many people did not speak English.
- If you want to go to Frida Kahlo, buy your tickets a few days in advance.
- Eat! The food is great!
- Uber is so cheap and easy there, do not use taxis.
Have you been to Mexico City? Have you ever eaten insects?
Happy Cooking!
Missy
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