Food picks by Angelenos for Mexico City

@DiningDiva thank you for all the interesting food recs, it’s really appreciated!!! Definitely bookmarking a ton of these restaurants. We currently have reservations for Origen on Thanksgiving.

Do you have any additional recommendations for interesting/good/unique street food or market stalls around Oaxaca City? Or even things (not necessarily even food related) that are must sees/dos in the area?

Thanks!

On Friday, the day after Thanksgiving go out to Octlan (also called the Southern Craft Route). Friday is Market day there and the Octolan market morphs into something really big on Friday; it spreads out in the streets all around the permanent market building. You will see just about everything at the Ocotlan market from saddles to dried fish, tons of knives and usually a lot of flowers. There will be a lot of women making quesadillas on open braizers. These are usually pretty good and usually pretty safe to eat. Just chose a vendor that is using gloves (most do these days) and a stand that looks neat and well kept. Better yet, wander inside the permanent market, which is easy find because it’s a real brick and mortar building. This is where the daily vendors are. It’s also where the Fonda de Frida is. The owner of the fonda bears a striking resemblance to Frida Kahlo and plays it to the hilt. She is usually very gracious about taking photos with tourists. I’ve eaten at her fonda. The food was just “okay” but it was a fun meal just the same. Also at the Octlan market you may see some Muxe. These are men from Juchitan in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (where the 8.2 earthquake was in Sept) that live and act as women. Families there do not consider this odd or deviant and, in fact, in many families it’s a point of pride to have Muxe son.

Ocotlan is also home to the famous Aguilar sisters and the late artist Rudolfo Morales. The Aguilar sisters are folk artists who work in clay and do semi-primitive figures, often with with graphic or racy themes. There are 4 sisters, 3 of whom live side-by-side. They are known and have been exhibited all over the world. Any guide or driver will know how to find them, they’re on the main road into town. A block down from the Aguilars is Rodolfo Morales home. He worked in many mediums, but mostly painted and did collages. He lived for quite a long time in Europe and made his name and money there. When he returned to Ocotlan he was appalled by the condition in which he found his home town. He set about to renovate and refurbish as much as he could. His home is open to visitors, tho’ you may have to knock to get in. The kitchen in the house is very traditional and houses a large collection of miniatures. The top floor has a small gallery of his works, some of which are for sale. Across the zocalo from the market is a municipal building that houses a large Morales mural. Beyond that building is a church complex that he renovated. You can see the first floor free, but have to pay to go upstairs to see the museum there. The fee usually isn’t much. Then go into the church itself to see the renovations. It’s the only sky blue church I think I’ve seen in Mexico.

On the way back from Ocotlan, if you’re hungry, stop at Azucena Zapoteca where the road to San Martin Tilcajete branches off. The Tlayudas are decent, but they do a stuffed squash blossom that is fabulous.

If you haven’t been to Monte Alban, you need to go. Go first thing in the morning because it gets hot on that mountain top. Hire an English speaking guide once you get inside. These guys are all government certified and most have degrees in History, Anthropology, Archaeology and so forth. Tell them how much time you have and what you’d like to see of the ruins and they’ll tailor the tour to what you want. Monte Alban will make more sense and you’ll understand it’s importance better with explanations of what you’re seeing. This is one of my favorite ruins in Mexico.

The Santo Domingo church complex is pretty amazing. On the 2nd floor is a museum devoted to the artifacts and gold that was discovered in the Monte Alban tombs back in the 1930s. There is a credible bookstore/museum store on the first floor. On the backside of the Santo Domingo is the Ethnobotanical Garden. They do guided tours several times a day but only in English on Tuesday and Saturday. It’s about a 90 minutes tour and surprisingly fascinating.

I collect textiles so I always stop in at the Textil Museum. Even if textiles aren’t your thing, most people find it an interesting nonetheless. You millage may vary. The Rufino Tamayo museum is housed in his childhood home and has an outstanding collection of preColombian artifacts.

Lechon de Oro I mentioned in the last post is an all-night street stand selling lechon tacos that are excellent. Down Los Libres a couple blocks is an all night Tlayuda stand. I think it’s called Tlayuda Los Libres or something like that and may be worth checking out. Tlayuda Inez bills itself as the best tlayuda in Oaxaca and I believe it. It requires a taxi ride to a residential neighborhood where you are dropped off at what looks like a biker hangout and they look like bikers too. But they couldn’t be nicer and the tlayudas are very, very good. It’s usually very busy and knowing some Spanish will help because you are well out of the usual tourist zones. The tamale vendor at the corner of 20 de Noviembre and Hidalgo sets up about 7:30 am and goes until they’re sold out. There are often up to 7 different varieties

Here’s the deal…the markets in Oaxaca - and there are many - have such wonderful fondas in them that street food is almost an afterthought, or at least it is for me. I find eating in the markets more interesting than on the street. The La Merced has Fonda Florecita and a tlayuda stand that both sell outstanding food. 20 de Noviembre has the Pasillo de Humo which can be amazing. Jaurez has the nieve stalls; Chaguita is my preference. But you can also find about 15 nieve vendors in the plaza of the Basilica de Nuestra Soledad. The food in the market fondas in many cases is better than the food on the street. The Friday market in Llano Park has at least 50 vendors and they all could be classified as street vendors. There is almost always someone on the street selling something, chapulines, tamales, candy…you don’t have to work too hard to find food in Oaxaca it sort of comes to you.

The Sunday market at Tlacolula is pretty epic and there is at least 1 stand that does a goat head soup. When I first went to this market eating there was pretty risky. Now, it’s much safer and the risk of food borne illness considerably less. They’ve cleaned it up and the vendors have responded by cleaning up their acts as well.

Things to look for and try when you are there are, of course, the ubiquitous chapulines, but also dry the gusanos, dried agave worms. Try enfriolada, entomadas, tasajo, asiento, mole amarillo (everyday mole), mole negro, tejate if the vendor is using purified water, nieves, memelas, tetetlas, chile de agua (hot fresh chile), chile pasilla de Oaxaca (smoked pasilla unique to Oaxaca), squash blossoms, black beans with avocado leaf, tlayudas, chocolate de metate, hot chocolate made with water, mezcal, sopa de guias (soup made with chayote vines), blandas (type of tortilla), quesillo, cecina

Just go and have a great time. The food will find you.

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Thank you so much for your wealth of information. I’ll report back from what I find! Pretty excited!

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Finally - some real AUTHORITY!
Thanks.

Thank you, but I’m not sure I’d call myself a real authority; I have spent a LOT of time in Oaxaca over the last 15 years.

I forgot to mention La Teca. It specializes in food from the Istmo (Isthmus de Tehuantepec) and it is very, very good. You can’t go wrong here. It’s small and reservations are advisable, your hotel can make them for you, and it’ll most likely require a short taxi ride to get there. It’s definitely worth the effort to get there.

Flying into DF tonight…gonna splurge hard

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Have you ever tried Eloise? I don’t exactly think it’s a splurge, but have friends in CDMX that swear by it. They say it kind of flies under the radar, that both food and service are very good.

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I will check it out

insane meal at maximo bistrot last night, they’re the real deal!! One of the best meals i’ve had.

WE hit Contramar on Friday, tuna tostadas are mint…hitting la docena for seafood tonight…maybe pujol for lunch tomorrow.

Will give a real update later…hungover right now

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Contramar was amazing for dinner tonight had a 2.5 kilo grilled red snapper, going to try a pujol walk up in the morning.

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One never truly ceases to be hungover in Mexico City, one simply finds themselves with a different type of alcohol in hand until the trip has concluded.

I’m trying for walk up tomorrow at Pujol also… maybe see you there??

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justwanted to say I really enjoy reading this thread. thanks for all the updates

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