Food and Drink
Mexican cuisine is an important aspect of the culture, social structure and popular traditions of Mexico, is primarily a fusion of indigenous Mesoamerican cooking with European. Was inscribed in 2010 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
You can enjoy local and international cuisine in the 1929 restaurants that the city offers. Check the official website of Mexico City for food recommendations.
Do not miss the chance to try mole, pozole, chiles en nogada, tamales and cochinita pibil.
Mole
Mole (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈmole]; Spanish, from Nahuatl mōlli, "sauce") is the generic name for a number of sauces originally used in Mexican cuisine, as well as for dishes based on these sauces. Outside of Mexico, it often refers specifically to mole poblano. In contemporary Mexico, the term is used for a number of sauces, some quite dissimilar, including black, red, yellow, pink Colorado (another name for red), green, almendrado, de olla, huaxmole and pipián.
Mole poblano is the best known of all mole varieties and has been ranked as number one of typical Mexican dishes. It has also been called the national dish of Mexico. The state of Puebla is identified with mole poblano, and has been described as an ancient dish. Contains about 20 ingredients, including chili peppers and chocolate, which works to counteract the heat of the chili peppers, but the chocolate does not dominate. It helps give the sauce its dark color, but this is also provided by the mulato peppers. This sauce is most often served over turkey at weddings, birthdays and baptisms, or at Christmas with romero over shrimp cakes.
Pozole
Pozole, which means hominy; variant spellings: pozolé, pozolli, or more commonly in the U.S. – posole) is a traditional pre-Columbian soup or stew from Mexico, which once had ritual significance.
It is made from nixtamalized cacahuazintle maize, with meat, usually pork, chicken, turkey, pork rinds, chili peppers, and other seasonings and garnish such as cabbage, salsa and limes and/or lemons. After colonization by the Spaniards, the ingredients of pozole changed, but the staple maize remained. It is a typical dish in various states such as Sinaloa, Michoacán, Guerrero, Zacatecas, Jalisco, Morelos, State of Mexico and Distrito Federal. Pozole is served in Mexican restaurants worldwide.
Chile en nogada
Chiles en nogada is a dish from Mexican cuisine. The name comes from the Spanish word for the walnut tree, nogal. It consists of poblano chilis filled with picadillo (a mixture usually containing shredded meat, aromatics, fruits and spices) topped with a walnut-based cream sauce, called nogada, and pomegranate seeds, giving it the three colors of the Mexican flag: green for the chili, white for the nut sauce and red for the pomegranate. The walnut used to prepare nogada is a variety called Nogal de Castilla or Castillan Walnut, also known as the English Walnut. The picadillo usually contains panochera apple (manzana panochera), sweet-milk pear (pera de leche) and criollo peach (durazno criollo). The cream usually has milk, double cream, fresh cheese and washed nuts. The traditional season for making and eating this dish is August and first half of September, when pomegranates appear in the markets of Central Mexico and the national independence festivities begin. This dish is a source of pride for the inhabitants of the state of Puebla. In some areas, the dish is created depending on when the pomegranates are ripe.
Tamales
A tamale (rendered into English from tamales, the plural of the Spanish: tamal [taˈmal], from Nahuatl: tamalli /taˈmalːi/) is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of masa (a starchy dough, usually corn-based), which is steamed or boiled in a leaf wrapper. The wrapping is discarded before eating. Tamales can be filled with meats, cheeses, fruits, vegetables, chilies or any preparation according to taste, and both the filling and the cooking liquid may be seasoned.
Tamales originated in Mesoamerica as early as 8000 to 5000 BC. Aztec and Maya civilizations, as well as the Olmeca and Tolteca before them, used tamales as portable food, often to support their armies, but also for hunters and travelers. Tamale use in the Inca Empire had been reported long before the Spanish visited the New World.
Cochinita pibil
Cochinita pibil (also puerco pibil or cochinita con achiote) is a traditional Mexican slow-roasted pork dish from the Yucatán Península of Mayan origin. Preparation of traditional cochinita or puerco pibil involves marinating the meat in strongly acidic citrus juice, seasoning it with annatto seed which imparts a vivid burnt orange color, and roasting the meat while it is wrapped in banana leaf.
Cochinita means baby pig, so true cochinita pibil involves roasting a whole suckling pig. Alternatively, pork shoulder (butt roast), or pork loin is used in many recipes. The high acid content of the marinade and the slow cooking time tenderizes the meat, allowing otherwise tough pieces of meat to be used. The Yucatecan recipes always employ the juice of Seville or bitter oranges for marinating. In areas where bitter oranges are not common, juice of sweet oranges combined with lemons, limes, or vinegar are employed to approximate the effect of the bitter orange on the meat. Another important ingredient in all pibil recipes is achiote (annatto), which gives the dish its characteristic color and adds to flavor. It is usually eaten with side dishes as; corn tortillas, red pickled onion, refried black beans and habanero chilies. Traditionally, cochinita pibil was buried in a pit with a fire at the bottom to roast it. The Mayan word pibil means "buried".
Kosher
Here is a list of places where you can find Kosher food in the city, if you need ask for this food, go to the Helpdesk for assistance.
Halal
If you are looking for Halal food you can go to the Helpdesk for assistance or visit La Casbah Amsterdam 194, Col. Hipodromo Condesa, Mexico City, Mexico. Phone: 55 64 68 26
Mezcal
Mezcal is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from the maguey plant (a form of agave, Agave americana) native to Mexico. Traditionally, mezcal is handcrafted by small-scale producers. A village can contain dozens of production houses, called fábricas or palenques, each using methods that have been passed down from generation to generation, some using the same techniques practiced 200 years ago.
Mezcal is highly varied, depending on the species of agave or maguey used, the fruits and herbs added during fermentation and the distillation process employed, creating sub-types with names such as de gusano, tobalá, pechuga, blanco, minero, cedrón, de alacran, creme de café and more. A special recipe for a specific mezcal type known as pechuga uses cinnamon, apple, plums, cloves, and other spices that is then distilled through chicken, duck or turkey breast. Most mezcal, however, is left untouched, allowing the flavors of the agave used to come forward.
Close to the hotel, you can visit a Mezcal bar, Bosforo. Luis Moya 31, Downtown.
Tequila
Tequila is a regional specific name for a distilled beverage made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila, 65 km (40 mi) northwest of Guadalajara, and in the highlands (Los Altos) of the north western Mexican state of Jalisco. Although tequila is a kind of mezcal, modern tequila differs somewhat in the method of its production, in the use of only blue agave plants, as well as in its regional specificity.
You can try tequila in many restaurants and bars, it is always stronger than you think!
Beer
We recommend the following places to eat and drink cheaply that are close to the Hotel and downtown:
El cuatro 20. Isabel la Católica 10, Downtown.
Cervecería de Barrio. Juárez and Revillagigedo, next to the Hilton Hotel.
Casa de los Azulejos. Av Francisco I. Madero 4, Downtown.
Pizza Amore. Av Juárez 64, Downtown.
La Trainera. Av. Juarez 38 , Downtown.