I must admit that Mexico City was one of the best places I have ever visited. I got a lot of grief from friends and family when I first started talking about taking this trip. All I heard was the same thing over and over…….. its too dangerous……. it’s not safe there! Really? What about Miami? Chicago? Stuff happens everywhere and I refuse to live in fear. Also mind you, these comments were all coming from people who had never even been to Mexico City.
As it turns out, there was not one time where I didn’t feel safe! Of course, I would have never traveled here alone, like I have to other places. I would also not roam the streets at night by myself. But I must say that the locals in Mexico City were all very kind and helpful. Everyone you ran into on the street said hello. If we looked lost, often someone would come over to offer some assistance.
I do wish I had studied harder in my Spanish classes though! It would have definitely been helpful to speak the language. Lucky for me my friend Ken who I traveled with knew a little Spanish. He speaks French and Italian so that really helped a lot however, there were times where it was a little challenging. Most places there was not one person who spoke English…….. most…… not all. We came across a few Uber drivers who knew English and a few people at some of the restaurants we went to as well.
It was an easy trip. It was a quick non-stop flight that only took about 3 1/2 hours. We rented an Airbnb in Roma Norte. After deciding to visit Mexico City, I started the research. I looked up articles in Food and Wine and Gourmet magazines. I watched hours and hours of YouTube videos with Food, Travel and Lifestyle Vlogger’s that were visiting or even living in or near Mexico City. This was really helpful. I watched Anthony Bourdain’s episode on Mexico City from his series Parts Unknown. Phil Rosenthal, the creator of Everybody Loves Raymond also had an episode on his Netflix series Somebody Please Feed Phil where he traveled to Mexico City. Needless to say, I was well-informed by the time we took off.
I initially wanted to stay near the downtown area. I wasn’t worried too much about safety. I figured as long as we took a Uber at night and watched our surroundings we would be fine.
As it turns out, every single article I read and every travel Blogger/Vlogger, documentary I watched had the same message…………. do not stay near the downtown area. The most popular areas to stay in were Roma Norte, La Condesa and Polanco. Roma Norte and La Condesa were quite similar. Both were very European – La Condesa a little bit more. Also La Condesa was a little more expensive to stay in. Polanco was compared to Central Park, Beverly Hills and even Paris. Polanco is one of the most exclusive and expensive areas in Mexico City. Roma Norte was kind of a “hipster” area – very safe to walk around with lots of people, dogs and parks. Same with Condesa. Polanco was a little more upscale with your Louis Vuitton Shops and Gucci. Polanco is often called the Beverly Hills of Mexico City. Polanco’s shopping scene is also compared to Avenue des Champs-Elysees in Pairs – the most famous avenue in the world.
After watching tons of footage from Roma Norte and Condesa we decided to stay in Roma. Roma and Condesa were very close – barely 20 minutes apart. We could walk to Condesa. Same with Polanco – it would only be a 20 minute Uber ride.
We found a really nice apartment in Roma and the host had amazing reviews. I mean all of them were great. I didn’t read one negative comment – just the opposite. People really went into great detail about the host saying how he was always available if and when they needed to reach him for whatever reason. The apartment had a little market just around the corner in case you needed anything at all. This would be very convenient. Also, the apartment has 24 hour security and keyless entry.
I knew there were a ton of great restaurants in Mexico City. I had 3 or 4 on my list to check out before making a reservation for one. I don’t like filing up my entire calendar when I travel. I don’t mind making plans for a few things, but for the most part I like to play it by ear or see what I feel like at the moment. Also sometimes weather can change things and I never want to be stuck having pre-paid for anything that I can’t get out of.
Since we were getting in late afternoon on a weekday, I thought we could just unpack, head to the market for water and whatever else we might want to keep in the apartment then just wander around the neighborhood. It was a very safe area after all with lots of people out and street food vendors and shops and parks everywhere. I thought this would be a great way to spend our first day. Then I figured we’d just find a random place to have dinner or better yet, stop at a street food vendor on the way home from sipping Mezcal. That is why we decided to visit Mexico City after-all! For the Tequila and Mezcal……. and the food of course! Mexican Food is one of my top 3 favorite types of cuisine. I think Indian and Greek/Mediterranean are the other 2.
There’s a fairly new Mexican restaurant that opened up in Fort Lauderdale. I’ve now been there several times. One night we decided to do a Tequila and Mezcal flight while there for dinner. This was after booking the Mexico City trip. I’ve always loved Margarita’s but was never one to just “sip” tequila. Well……… let me just say that this was the best idea that Ken had! It was so much fun! I actually wasn’t sure I would enjoy it! I hadn’t had a shot of tequila in years! Boy that thought sure brings back memories!! And not good one’s. We had 3 types of Tequila and 3 types of Mezcal. I knew we would have way better selections in Mexico City so I kept an open mind. The Mezcal we tried was just too smokey for me and I didn’t really care for it. I really enjoyed the Reposado tequila though.
I listen to a lot of Podcasts and one of the Podcasts that I subscribe to did a series on Mexico. They had 2 episodes just on tacos alone. I know! And the other was a very detailed episode on Mezcal. It talked about the whole harvesting process of how Mezcal is made and where and how all Tequila is Mezcal, but not all Mezcal is Tequila. It was quite interesting.
After booking our Airbnb, we started checking out the “Experiences” that Airbnb offered. There were a lot. All kinds of tours, tastings, classes and bar hoping experiences. We finally decided to book a Mezcal Tasting. I thought it would be fun to do on a Friday. You know, since Friday is usually “Happy Hour” day. I also wanted to get that lesson in early so we knew what we liked to drink for the rest of visit!
I also thought it would be fun to get together with other tourists as well – make some new friends and hang out. Iver, the host of this tasting had a lot of positive reviews on Airbnb. The people who had attended his Mezcal Tasting in the past all raved about how knowledgeable he was about Mezcal and how the event was super fun and just like hanging out with friends. This is just what we were looking for.
This was about it as far as the “pre-planning”. The Mezcal Tasting and a dinner reservation for Saturday night. I did have a “list” of several other things I wanted to do and places I wanted to see, but I figured we could just plan each day to knock them off the list if we felt like it.
After settling into the apartment the first afternoon we went to the market around the corner. We ran into the host of the apartment in the elevator so he was able to tell us exactly where the market was. And by the way, the apartment was very spacious and immaculate! It didn’t even look lived in. It was perfect.
The market around the corner was actually quite big and they had everything! Groceries, wine, toiletries, medications, etc. The only thing we really needed to get was water and a few pieces of fruit for the mornings.
After exploring the neighborhood of Roma Norte we finally settled on this restaurant mostly because we were very thirsty for some Mezcal and couldn’t wait any longer. The place was okay. It was pretty busy and in the beginning there was Mexican music playing over the speakers. Then as the night progressed they had live music, which was great. We had some Mezcal and I had a few Margarita’s that they made with Mezcal. They were awesome! I had never had a Margarita made with Mezcal before and it was definitely a game changer for me! I knew it would grow on me, especially after sampling all the really great Mezcal’s in Mexico City! I just knew it! They also salt the glasses with this special “worm salt”. Again, very different, but I loved it! I even brought some back home with me. We ordered some appetizers. Now……….. I love guacamole! A lot!!! HOWEVER!!!!!! This guacamole came with fried grasshoppers all over the top! That’s right! I said FRIED GRASSHOPPERS!!! Apparently, Mexico City is known for serving and eating a lot of insects. I sort of recall reading about this or seeing it on one of the YouTube videos, but never in a million years did I expect this! I would have at least thought they would have asked if we wanted them. Apparently not – it’s tradition. When I say the grasshoppers covered the guacamole, I mean they completely covered the dish in its entirety! We were a little taken aback to say the least.
In any event, we had a really nice time. Everyone was so nice and the drinks and apps were great. We did end up trying the grasshoppers, but you couldn’t really taste them since they were on top of the guacamole. They were fried so sort of crunchy. Definitely an acquired taste!
After we left the restaurant we walked around and just explored the neighborhood some more. We finally found this street that had some pretty cool bars and cafes. We walked into this one place called Jazzatlan. It was beautiful! Very funky and eclectic with lots of red walls and artwork all over. The decor, the people, the staff were all great. The music was fantastic. The hostess greeted us right away and started asking us questions about where we were from and if we’d ever been to Mexico City before. She then took us on a little tour of the place. There were 2 levels. They had art work all over the walls that were works from local artists. Upstairs there was live music. Turns out it was an R&B band that was practicing for a show later. The band sounded really good! We finally settled in on a little high top once we got back downstairs. We had the nicest waiter taking care of us. We told him that we wanted to try some Mezcal and wanted to know what he recommended. He ended up bringing us all of these different Mezcal’s to taste. It was so much fun. There was a DJ that started playing a little later. He was incredible. Needless to say, we ended up hanging out at this place for several hours!
Later we continued to walk around after leaving Jazzatlan. Even though it was dark by now, we still felt really safe. We really didn’t feel the need to take a Uber so we just kept walking. There were quite a few people out walking around as well. We did find that a lot of places were starting to close, but figured that was because if was a weekday. We came across one block that had about 3 or 4 different street food vendors. By this time, we were ready for a snack. Everyone spoke Spanish and we didn’t know which place to try. Finally I settled on the busiest place. Luckily this one guy noticed us looking a little confused. I asked him if he spoke English and he did, thank God. He told us that we were at the best place. He even helped us order. We got a couple of tacos and they were amazing! Definitely hit the spot. It was just so cool seeing all of these people surrounding these street food vendors just hanging out talking and eating so late at night. This is just what I imagined it would be like.
There’s an old restaurant in Mexico City called Fonda Margarita. I saw it on Phil Rosenthal’s documentary. I believe he went on a Saturday morning. What was so crazy was that his driver picked him up at 4AM! Now I don’t know where Phil was staying, but he mentioned in the car that if he waited to leave any later, he’d never get into the restaurant because there was always a line around the block. So I figured it would be a good idea for us to go on a weekday. No special time, just after we got up and out which was around 9AM or so. We took a Uber and luckily we were able to get right in and be seated. I couldn’t believe it! We were actually here! This place is famous! It’s only open for breakfast Tuesday thru Sunday from 5:30-11:30. I love visiting places I hear or read about in my foodie magazines. Bon Appetit also recommended this place. It was kind of small with communal metal tables. It was packed though! We ordered the frijoles negro con huevos – this amazing omelet shaped egg dish made with refried black beans and scrambled eggs. It doesn’t look very appetizing, but man oh man was it delicious! We also ordered the chicharron en verde – fried pork rinds that are basically soaking in a bowl of salsa verde – a tangy herby super spicy green salsa. Another dish I’ve always wanted to try was Chilaquiles – we had it and it was amazing as well! I love corn tortillas! This dish is corn tortillas topped with a salsa verde, eggs and cheese. I’m sure I’m leaving a few ingredients out!! So good! This was one of the best breakfast’s I’ve ever had! They also give you a stack of warm corn tortillas. The service was great and it was actually nice sitting at a large table with other people. Again mostly locals, but everyone was so nice! It’s so refreshing when strangers smile and speak to you. I hate to say it, but that just doesn’t happen everywhere.
Fonda Margarita was only about a 15 minute Uber ride from our apartment. When we left the restaurant of course there was a really long line to get in! We came at the perfect time. We noticed a park across the street. As we started walking along, we noticed a lot of street vendors selling all sorts of things like sunglasses, purses, clothes and jewelry. This is one of the busiest city’s I have every been in. You can tell how hard everyone works!
One thing that surprised me was all of the Starbucks’!! I mean, you’re in Mexico City! I love coffee, but I like all kinds of coffee from different countries. I was amazed at all the people (local and tourists) walking around with a Starbucks cup. It reminded me of Paris! I would much rather have a cup of coffee from a French bakery than a Starbucks while in Paris! No offense Starbucks! I do the occasional drive-by, but only when I am home.
Our next stop was something I was really looking forward to! The Frida Kahlo Museum. It was still early and a weekday, so I thought we’d have better luck as far as lines. Unfortunately there was a line already formed by the time we got there. Actually there were 2. One line was for the people who had already purchased tickets online. It was ok though, it wasn’t that long. Also, the museum had just opened up so we were good. I must say that by the time we finally got inside, the line was around the block. I would definitely recommend getting tickets online for this place.
Frida is one of my favorite Artists and movies and I just love her work and her story so I was pretty excited to be here. It was a beautiful house! If you don’t know her story, Frida Kahlo was a Mexican artist who painted many portraits including a lot of self-portraits. Nature and artifacts of Mexico inspired a lot of her work. She was once married to Diego Rivera, a prominent Mexican painter. If you’ve never seen the film, I highly suggest you check it out! Honestly, it’s one of my favorites. Salma Hayek plays Frida Kahlo and Alfred Molino plays Diego Rivera. It really is an incredible film!
The Frida Kahlo Museum is a historical house dedicated to her life and work. It’s actually the house she was born in and also grew up, lived with her husband Diego Rivera and in a room on the upper floor, died in. The house is also called the Blue House for the structure’s cobalt-blue walls. It’s in the Colonia del Carmen neighborhood of Coyoacan. Definitely a must-do if you visit Mexico City. I’m so glad we did! She was so talented! A lot of people would have just given up on life after the tragic accident she had, but her emotions came out in all of her amazing works of art. Such an emotional feeling being in that home and seeing all of the artwork and original furniture……. the beautiful garden she would paint in. It really was an amazing experience!
In my research I had learned that Coyoacan was a great neighborhood to explore. I also learned that there was this awesome market near the museum called Mercado de Coyoacan. I love my markets!! After the museum we found the market and OMG!!!! What a place! One could easily get lost! It was so big with so many vendors selling anything you could possibly want or need. There were so many vendors selling food, fruit, spices, flowers, nuts, clothes and souvenirs. I mean everything! Sometimes I noticed that we had walked around in circles the place was so big. There were families everywhere just working together. Even the children!
We would walk up and down the isles in this gigantic market and would find huge pots of soups or stews simmering, frying pans so big with all kinds of meat and vegetables cooking, sauces simmering………… it was incredible. So many people working their butts off probably since the crack of dawn or earlier just to prep for the day.
Ken was getting a little hungry as lunchtime was approaching. I was still full from breakfast. Ken had been talking about wanting to try Posole – a traditional soup or stew from Mexico made from Hominy, with meat. We found a food vendor that had Posole on the menu so we sat down at a table and he ordered his Posole. I tried it and it was very good! In fact, a couple from NYC was sitting nearby and came over to our table and recommended it so………. that worked out pretty good. It was this amazing bowl of soup with hominy, vegetables and chicken that smelled incredible. They brought a tray of condiments consisting of onions, Mexican cheese and 2 different kinds of salsa, cilantro and a stack of warm corn tortillas. We were so in love with Mexico City by this time! Just sayin’!!
I ended up ordering a quesadilla. At first I had one with chicken and cheese, then I ordered one with Chicharron’s (fried pork skins). Both amazing, of course!
Later on we took a long walk all around Roma Norte and La Condesa just checking out our surroundings. It was great! The beautiful buildings, everyone and I do mean everyone had a dog or 3!!! Lots of parks and trees and bars and cafes and street food vendors……….. better than I had imagined! We wanted to find El Moro. El Moro is a famous place for Churros. There was one in Condesa that we found. We sat outside there and just people watched for a while. It was so nice. The weather was perfect! It was in the 70’s everyday. The temp would drop at night, but it was never too cold.
It was Friday and the day of our Mezcal Tasting! It was sort of in our neighborhood so we just walked until we found the place. It was a small 2-story food hall with about 8 or so vendors. There were tables in the middle for everyone to sit. There was music playing over the surround sound. We were the first to arrive, but it was nice because we got to meet Iver and chat with him a little bit about his life story. He was young – only about 23 years old. He had an awesome personality so we knew right away we were in for a fun night! 3 more people eventually joined us. Soon we all started sharing stories and talking about where we were from. It turns out that 2 of the others – a couple from California – had been to Mexico City before and attended Iver’s Mezcal Tasting as well. It was so nice that they came back to see him. The couple was now engaged and had even invited Iver to their wedding. I’d say we sure picked the right Airbnb Experience!
It turned out to be such a fantastic night! We drank lots of Mezcal, took lots of pictures, shared lots of stories and laughter……….. after the tasting we all went to dinner, which was part of the experience. It was at a really fun place called Mano Santa. It was lively with lots of people and great music. We had several Oaxacan dishes that we all shared. We also continued tasting Mezcal and learning about all the different types.
Mezcal is my new favorite! I’m still amazed at how much we drank, but still felt really great after! Everything we had was so incredibly smooth. When we woke up the next day, we felt great and ready to head out for some fun.
While researching Mexico City, I read about this place called Tepito Market. Supposedly it was a very dangerous place where tourists were told not to go. I read that there was a lot of crime there – robberies and such and murders. This came from almost all of the reviews I read. There may have been 1 review where a tourist mentioned going and saying the market was not as bad as they expected. They suggested going early in the morning. The market is in a very bad area of town and it sounds like local criminals seek out tourists to rob. I still wanted to go. I had decided that I wouldn’t wear any jewelry and carry a very small purse with very little in it under my coat so it was not visible. I just had to check this place out. After having breakfast near the apartment on Saturday morning, as we got ready to get a Uber to Tepito Market we asked someone in the restaurant about the exact location because it wasn’t really coming up in the Uber app. Well, everyone who heard the conversation looked at us like we were crazy. Not one person recommended that we go there. These were locals and they told us that they don’t even go to that market. After listening to a few stories, we decided not to visit this time – although we were both even more intrigued now. We joked and said that when we visit Mexico City again, we would just hire a few bodyguards to go with us so we could see what all the fuss was about.
We instead took a Uber to the Historic Center of Mexico City. It was fantastic. We just roamed with the locals. Walked thru different neighborhoods, stopped to buy t-shirts from street vendors, walked thru China Town. We had lunch at an Argentine restaurant that played really nice jazz music. It was a great afternoon just exploring.
On Saturday night we had dinner reservations for Nicos. I chose Nicos because I read that they served traditional Mexican Cuisine. Nicos was considered a cultural gem/a culinary institution that had been around since 1957!
From the moment we walked in, I knew that I had made the right choice. The place was packed – not one empty table. You could tell that pretty much all of the diners were locals/regulars. This made me very happy. The restaurant was a big open space with lots of large tables with white tablecloths. It really was beautiful inside.
The staff was amazing and very attentive. I believe we had 2 or 3 waiters taking care of us the entire time. Our main waiter was very patient with me because I was so overwhelmed by the menu. Also because everything was in Spanish. I knew that I was waiting to try a Mole dish here though, but they didn’t have the traditional Mole as I had anticipated. They had a few different kinds, but just not the traditional one. We had ceviche and a sashimi dish to start and both were really good. Ken ordered Beef Tongue for his entrée and I had an Almond Mole dish which was the best Mole I have ever had!
On Sunday morning we went to this little gem Aleli for breakfast. Ken spotted it the day before while we were out and about. It was so nice inside and the staff was amazing! Our server made some really great recommendations for us. It was in Roma and just a short Uber ride from the apartment.
Mercado Roma is this “hipster” market that’s in Roma Norte. We were able to walk here from our apartment. It’s filled with all different kinds of food vendors, a specialty coffee shop and a place for chefs to buy really cool chef coats, hats and knives among other items. There was a spice market where you could try anything you wanted. We definitely did a little shopping here! The market had 2 levels of amazing-ness! There was a counter where you could purchase homemade jams, another one for handmade soaps – which I happen to love. I think I bought enough to last for at least the next 6 months or so. There was even a place for burgers, pizza, tacos and a really nice bar for specialty cocktails. I had the most amazing Passion Fruit Margarita made with Mezcal. El Moro even had a spot here just in case you are in the mood for Churros. If you were looking for fresh flowers, there were a ton to choose from out front before even entering the market. Definitely my kind of hang out place! Music playing, people everywhere eating, drinking and shopping.
Catamundi is in Polanco. We took an Uber here after Mercado Roma. It was only about a 15-20 minute ride. I had the Uber driver take us to a park I found online. I figured if we got dropped off at a central location, we could just walk and explore and that is exactly what we did. Polanco!!! WOW!!!! It was sooooo nice! Often referred to as the “Beverly Hills” of Mexico City. I can see why! It was very clean, the buildings were super nice, all of the stores/shops were very “upscale”. Just as I had expected from my research. It was Sunday so everyone was out brunching and drinking Champagne. It was so incredibly nice. Just walking around seeing all of the people and dogs and shops and restaurants.
It was a very different feeling from being in Roma Norte or La Condesa. Don’t get me wrong! I LOVE Roma and Condesa and they are super nice areas of Mexico City, however Polanco is on a whole different level. You can just tell the difference in property values and cost of living. It was such a gorgeous day out. We just walked and walked and walked. Eventually we (or I) was ready to start celebrating my holiday – Bubblicious Sunday! It took a while to find that perfect spot, but did we ever!
Catamundi!! When I first spotted this place, I had no idea what I was in store for. There were a lot of people enjoying brunch outside, there was live music, the food and drinks looked good so we got a table. In fact, it was quite some time before I ventured inside to take a look. I was stunned to say the least!! It was the most incredible gourmet market ever. Anything and everything a foodie could need or want! I found out that they even did catering. In the back was one of the most gorgeous bars I had ever seen. It made you feel like you were outside with the greenery. I couldn’t stop snapping pictures and no one seemed to mind. Everyone just smiled at me. I just walked around with this huge smile on my face in awe. These pictures definitely DO NOT do this place justice! You MUST visit!!!
I don’t like making reservations for everyday when on vacation. I love to just walk around or check Google and read reviews and just pick a place. I also love just stumbling across places while walking around and exploring a neighborhood. I think you miss out on so much if you just Uber everywhere or plan absolutely everything. There are so many special hidden places that are just waiting to be found. And I happen to be very very good at scoping these places out! Cabrera was one of these places! I just “found it” somehow and we were not disappointed! The decor, the service, the drinks and food were all amazing to say the least. It was in our neighborhood and just a short walk from the apartment.
Mexico City was a fantastic trip! One that you could do several times a year – or one that I could do several times a year. It was quick getting there, very affordable and such a great time with lots to do! I cannot wait to get back there.
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The pictures look amazing! Definitely your perfect vacation for sure…
Great recap of your AMAZING trip! Would have thought you were there for weeks with all that you were able to experience! Makes me want to book a trip to Mexico City! Everything looked and sounded good besides the grasshopper ‘s on the guacamole!
Just finished your article about Mexico.City and the memories of my trip came flooding.back. Like you, was a little apprehensive at first. But, was overly amazed at the warmth of the people, great architecture,, the history , musuems, and of course food. You captured it perfectly and cant wait to.return either.
It looks like it was an amazing trip. Your pictures are perfect. Really interesting article and the food!! Yum!
Thank you!! It was the best! 🙂
Wow. I have to say after reading your blog I now have to visit Mexico!