Eating My Way Through Mexico

updated April 2022 

Ahhhh the food of Mexico! Glorious food! I mean, who doesn’t love tacos and tequila? And omg there are tacos everywhere here in Mexico – in restaurants and food stalls, on street markets in food carts, in the mercados; I really do mean everywhere! And every place makes them a little bit differently so you technically could eat tacos every day and experience different taco-osity.

But…let me introduce you to some culinary delights I discovered while exploring this wonderful country for nearly 3 months. Perhaps you’ve heard of some of these. And maybe you were, like me, unsure of what they were – but tried them anyway!

Here’s a quick rundown of a few of my new favorite Mexican foods – esquites, micheladas, chapulines, tlayudas, molletes, horchata, and chile en nogada!

ESQUITES & ELOTES  🌽

Who doesn’t love corn on the cob!! Elotes  (eh-LO-tess) and esquites (ehs-KEE-tess) are – if you can believe it – an improvement on the classic beloved corn on the cob. Available in food stalls or street carts (sometime attached to a bike!) they’re made with grilled or roasted corn, covered with mayonnaise (I know… it sounds disgusting but trust me – it works!), then fresh lime is drizzled over the top. Ask for a sprinkle of hot chili powder (or not, if you are shy about spicyness 🌶 ), and top it off with a spoonful (or two!) of shredded Cojita cheese.

The elotes are corn that is still on the cob, and on a skewer for easy eating, while the esquites are served in a cup with a fork or spoon for even easier eating! Num num. The word esquites comes from the Nahuatl word ízquitl, which means “toasted corn”. This is an antojito (snack) that will make you smile.

MICHELADAS🍺

More than just a beer…a michelada (Mitch-a-LAH-da) is an adventure! I’m surprised that I liked these so much, considering I am not a fan of Bloody Marys or tomato juice. But somehow this just works! When you order a Michelada you add it to your beer order, usually for an additional 15 or maybe 20 pesos. You’ll receive a frosted mug with a salt rim and maybe with ice cubes, filled about a quarter of the way full with a potent mixture of tomato juice, lime juice and a splash of some variety of hot sauce. Now it’s up to you to decide how much of your beer you want to pour into this muddy red mixture of  flavorful spices. I preferred to use one michelada mixture for 2 beers but if you like a stronger tomato base, you’ll want to order one michelada for each beer.

CHAPULINE  🦗

A favorite in Oaxaca, you really must try this. Trust me. Really. 🦗Chapuline (chap-oo-LEEN -ay) are grasshoppers. Oh c’mon. 🙄Keep reading…they are roasted and dried and are available at all the mercados, on street carts and stands everywhere. 🦗Full of protein and super inexpensive, these critters can be added to tacos, tostadas, and …pizza! “My Frenchman” and I went to Nimbus Pizza in Oaxaca and had probably the best pizza in all our time in Mexico. Wood-fired pizza, a nice crisp crust, and crunchy, smoky chapulines 🦗covered with melted cheese.

Chapulines are not only high in protein, they are rich in magnesium zinc fiber and calcium. Yes.  Really. You hafta try them.Although my one and only try was enough for me (I didn’t not like them but I didn’t have a burning desire to eat them again) Piu enjoyed them enough to have them 2 or 3 more times. 🦗🦗🦗

TLAYUDA

Another specialty from Oaxaca, a tlayuda is kind of like a pizza. (tla -YOU-da) A Mexican pizza. Which is nothing short of perfect. A large,flat, crispy tortilla is the base, slathered with refried beans, and topped with lettuce, aguacates (avocado), chorizo (sausage) or maybe chicken, and possibly chopped tomatoes and onions, this dish of deliciousness will win you over in a second. Tlayuda was crowned as the best street food in Latin America among Twitter users, and aired on Netflix in  “Street Food: Latin America”.

MOLLETES

Another delicious street food you may want to find are molletes. (Moh-YET-tays). Simply put, they’re a Mexican open-faced sandwich.

Toasted bread slathered with refried beans with your choice of toppings such as pollo (chicken), carnitas (pulled pork), chopped veggies and queso.

Simple. Delicious. Cheap. Pretty much perfect!

HORCHATA

 

 

 

 

This. This drink makes me happy. (Well, to be honest, red wine makes me really happy but I gotta warn you, red wine is not very easy to find in Mexico. Or I’ll clarify that… Good red wine is not very easy to find. Yes, in San Miguel de Allende it was easy to find in a beautiful shop called Europa that I may or may have not have visited quite often. Otherwise your choices are cheap and dirty red wine,..the brands I drank when I was 16 or 17. You have been warned. You’re welcome!)

But Horchata! (Hore-CHA-ta). It’s a blend of rice milk or almond milk, cinnamon and sometimes vanilla or nutmeg is added. Served over ice or sometimes not. (You can see there are a lot of “sometimes” as every place makes horchata differently!) You can find this yummy drink in restaurants, mercados and on the streets where it is sold from carts in giant jugs, often alongside colorful juices. Also referred to as agua de horchata it comes in a cup – or in a baggie tied so it doesn’t spill, with a straw. Make sure you stir it so that all the cinnamon swirls up and rises to the top like magic. It’s a cool, smooth and tasty treat and goes well with spicy foods. And really, everything! 🍶

CHILE EN NOGADA

Wowza. 🤩I wish I had tried this traditional dish earlier in my travels so I could’ve had it more often! I only tried it during my last week in Mexico, when I was in Cuernavaca, at a quirky and colorful corner cafe called The Green Iguana. 

Filled with Mexican masks, murals, and with the walls signed by previous it’s a fun place to dine.  (Thanks, Jesús, my walking tour guide for the recommendation!)

This beautiful dish in red, green and white (the same colors as the 🇲🇽 Mexican flag!) is a party on a plate!

Here’s a description taken from Wikipedia and edited by me: Chiles en nogada is a Mexican dish made of poblano chiles stuffed with picadillo (hang on – description in a sec!) and topped with a heavenly walnut-based cream sauce called nogada, then sprinkled with pomegranate seeds and parsley, and typically served at room temperature. The picadillo usually contains crispy panochera apple, sweet-milk pear and criollo peach.

Dayummmmm. It was such a flavorful, delectable plate of amazingness. I highly recommend it – don’t be like me and wait until the end of hour trip…try it sooner rather than later!

I could go on and on about the food here – there’s mezcal, empanadas, agua de Jamaica, Oaxaca cheese, mole, nieves, hot chocolate, tostadas, churros...I may come home looking like an Oompa Loompa if I keep eating like this!

So from now on, don’t just think of tacos when you think of Mexico – you’ll find beautiful, traditional, amazing, delicious, and creative goodies everywhere you turn!

Want to follow and travel along with me? Join my adventures at Facebook or on Instagram…

See you there! 😉

“Food is everything we are. It’s an extension of nationalist feeling, ethnic feeling, your personal history, your province, your region, your tribe, your grandma. It’s inseparable from those from the get go.”~~ Anthony Bourdain