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Dining in D.F.:
Food and Drink in Mexico's Capital
© 2004 Karen Hursh Graber
Her Bio
Her Home Page
Last month's column focused on the gastronomy of the Estado de Mexico, the state that nearly surrounds Mexico's capital. This month, we'll take a look at the myriad dining experiences to be had in the capital itself, Mexico City, commonly known as "el D.F.", short for Distrito Federal.
The city has been a center of migration for people from all parts of the country since pre-Hispanic times, when it was the center of the Aztec Empire and the best and most distinctive ingredients were brought as tribute from outlying areas. Today, its restaurants and markets feature food from every region of Mexico as well as several foreign countries.
While visitors have a choice from a variety of Asian, Middle Eastern and European cuisines, as well as the ubiquitous "international", the regional and Mexican specialties are not to be missed, and present a wide choice of cooking styles and dining ambiance. With over 15,000 restaurants, not including taquerías, torta shops and comida corrida (daily special) restaurants, there is something for every appetite and budget.
Within each of the following categories, a place to try the particular specialty or cuisine is suggested, but this is only a starting point. Explore the city and discover your own favorites. In addition to restaurants, there are countless puestos, or stands, offering the staple corn dough-based snacks, including tamales, quesadillas, sopes, memelas, and tlacoyos, plus those serving fresh fruit and juice, ice cream, and sweets. The following Mexican culinary offerings in the D.F. reflect its role as national melting pot and gastronomic mecca.
Cooking techniques for Mexican specialty items vary to the extent that many restaurants concentrate on only one of them. The preparation of meat for barbacoa, for example, requires different equipment than that of tacos arabes, neither of which can be done in a standard kitchen. With many of these specialties, watching the preparation is half the fun.
Barbacoa: Meat, generally sheep, cooked in a deep pit, requires lengthy overnight preparation and is most frequently found on the city's eastern outskirts on weekends. In the city itself, one of the most famous is Los Tres Reyes, located in a tarp-covered patio at Pablo Veronés 12, Colonia Mixcoac (Tel.5563 5282)
Birria and pozole: These hearty meat stews, which originated in western Mexico, require long cooking and are usually served in cazuelas - deep clay bowls - that come in various sizes, according to budget and appetite. Birria and pozole, nearly always found together, are served at several locations throughout the city, including Tixtla, at Hernandez y Davalos 36, Colonia Algarín (Tel.5538 8120)
Cabrito: The northern Mexican style roast goat, cooked on a spit, is served, among other places, in Noste, a restaurant founded during the last days of the Revolution, and with all the old-fashioned ambiance of that era. At Guerrero corner Luna, Colonia Guerrero (Tel.5526 5404)
Caldos: The Mexican meal-in-a-bowl soups of beef, chicken or a combination, loaded with a variety of vegetables, are always a popular late night-early morning meal. One of the oldest restaurants specializing in caldo is Paisa, open until 1:00 a.m. at Ayuntamiento 44, between Luis Moya and Ernesto Pugibet, Colonia Centro (Tel.5521 4640)
Carnitas and chamorros: Mexicans enjoy carne de puerco prepared in many ways, especially carnitas, deep-fried pork cut up to order, and chamorro, pork leg roasted with adobo sauce. Los Chamorros offers every cut of pork imaginable at Colombia 96, Colonia Centro (Tel.5702 0804)
Pancita: For those who favor tripe, tasty dishes are served up at El Gran Rabano, founded in the 1930's as a food stall in the old Portales market and moved to the new market in the 1980's, under the direction of the original owner's grandchildren. At Victor Hugo 72, Colonia Portales (Tel.5672 8457)
Tacos and flautas: Taquerías in Mexico City are everywhere, but worth mentioning are Beatriz, long among the most popular in the Centro Historico, at Uraguay 30, Colonia Centro (Tel.5518 0912) and El Tizoncito, famous for its tacos al pastor, the Mexican version of Middle Eastern spit-roasted meat, wrapped in pan arabe, a thick, pita-like flour tortilla. At Campeche corner Tamaulipas, Colonia Condesa (Tel.5211 5139)
Tortas: Also found nearly everywhere in the city, these grilled sandwiches on a hefty bolillo (French roll) make a tasty, filling repast at any time, day or night. The oldest tortería in the city is Armando, founded in 1872. At Independencia 95, Colonia Centro (no telephone)
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Karen Hursh Graber - E-mail
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