Mexico City Food

Mexico City is a bit like New York City as far as food goes. Yes, the country is known for diverse cuisine, but you can find an excellent version of almost every dish in these centers.

We truly appreciated the breadth and quality of food in Mexico City, even though it's not particularly known for many dishes. We did hear a funny story from travelers in San Cristobal: apparently in (some parts of) Mexico City when you order a quesadilla you have to specify that you want cheese on it. Most Mexicans use this as an example of overly hip city life, but perhaps some quesadilla toppings are so good that you don't need the cheese...

Ironically, the one food we never got in Mexico is one of the best known to Americans: carnitas. Yes, the best meat at any Chipotle eluded us; we saw some roadside stands selling carnitas when driving but never had a chance to try it without going out of our way.

The Food

Street torta with hot dogs from a torta cart on a sketchy corner, but so worth it. Maybe $2

Street chips with hot sauce, in Chapultepec Park.
I don't think these are even flavored.

A DF horchata, we can't remember where this is from

This al pastor taco truck was the turning point in Mexico City food for us.
Before this we weren't convinced we'd found any top notch
Mexican food; after this, we sung a different tune

Tacos al pastor con queso. About $.50 each and so good. Al pastor in Mexico City was different from any other we had:
less reliant on the marinade and spices, more focused on the pork

These cemitas (Adam's favorite Mexican sandwiches) are the culmination of a long journey. A failed bike ride, a successful bike ride, and a long time searching for the best (English-language reviewed) cemita shack in the city. They only had milanese (breaded) meats but the sandwich was great.

Soups and juices, sold in the subway station.

Also available to subway commuters: Dominos.

If you read the literature online, this is one of the most highly recommended dishes to English speakers in Mexico City.
A tuna tostada from Contramar. It was good, not amazing.

A bit more exciting, the merengue con fresa or merengue cake with strawberries.
The foamy tubes on top are actually stiff merengue, and not as sweet as they look.
It's a strawberry short cake with a different texture profile.