How to start the day right in Mexico City
Perhaps the source of the aroma is not Chilaquiles , the dish par excellence of Mexican mornings. they may be enchiladas, or muffins, or gorditas, or any of the other gastronomic delights that say good morning to the people of the capital. Chilangos take at face value the fact that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and they have made it a daily ritual that they do not even dream of skipping.
Don't be intimidated by the generous amounts of food that, even at this time of the morning, come on each plate: the hardest part is choosing what and, above all, where to eat. We help you choose.
If you want...
… TRADITION
Ask any self-respecting chilango what is the best breakfast in Mexico City , and with almost total probability it will direct you to The Cardinal . This institution in the capital, in the heart of the historic center, has almost half a century delighting Mexicans and visitors equally based on homemade bread, gorditas hidalguenses and champurrado chocolate. If you go on a weekend, follow the local example and get up early: the queue can go around the block.
You have to get up early to go: but it will be VERY worth it
Another legend of the center of DF is ** Café de Tacuba ,** an old mansion that has seen sweet shells dipped in coffee with milk presidents, artists and politicians, and even celebrated the painter's wedding Diego Rivera with his first wife. Indispensable, the mole poblano and a knee fritter.
Here you have to try their mole poblano
… AUTHENTICITY
Wherever you go, do like the defeños and start the day with a feast of ordinary food: traditional dishes, without embellishments , as has been done almost since the time of Tenochtitlán. The canteens and canteens , guardians of this sample of traditional gastronomy, are sprinkled throughout the city.
in Polanco, businessmen meet with the families of the neighborhood in Aztlan , that serves poblano enchiladas and scrambled eggs to each other equally. in the Rome, Krika's receives masons, taxi drivers and fans of Jack Kerouak : In its heyday, this place housed the bounty bar , the meeting point of the beatniks .
Another option, with several locations throughout the capital, is La Casa de los Abuelos. Here, the panettone is sweet and the chili hot , and this is what it is: home cooking without pretensions or disappointments.
Enchiladas: strong start to the day
… MODERNISM
No need to be ashamed: sometimes you get up with your hipster foot . On those days when you fancy a designer portion with your enchiladas, head to Otto in the Zona Rosa. Your environment of renovated neighborhood canteen and the glorified mainstream food menu, where cappuccinos with soy milk sit alongside muffins with ham, won't disappoint.
In terms of modernity, there is no colony that surpasses the Countess. Even in "Mexican Soho", as those in the neighborhood pride themselves on pointing out, Matisse does not go unnoticed: located in a old mansion from the 30s , its owners decided to keep the original tiles, latticework and solemnity. On the menu, the egg is king . how do they sound some Lebanese scrambled eggs or an omelette with fine herbs ?
Here the egg is the king (as in this 'omelette')
… CHILAQUILES
Sometimes you just want what you want: you wake up thinking about chilaquiles , and you know that nothing else will satisfy the craving. for those mornings, Return , in Roma Norte, is your answer. This small dining room boasts of its homemade dishes, made to the taste of the consumer. Their chilaquiles come with three types of sauce: habanera, chipotle and chili, a combination that will leave you with a full stomach and a smile on your lips.
If by chance that morning is a Friday, you have it easy: the chilaquiles are the pride of Doña Judith and Don Chava, in addition to the star dish of its canteen in the historic center . his secret is patience : they prepare them the old-fashioned way, in a process that, between soaking the tortillas and preparing the sauce, takes a week. But if you can hold on, you'll appreciate it; and even more so if you order them with beans.
"This is for men and not for clowns" is the Mexican maxim. No, they are not referring to the famous fights, but to the chili: the more brave, the better. For those who dare to challenge the capital's gastronomic motto, and for their companions, El Chilaquilito lives up to its name: chilaquiles for everyone, where you can order the degree of hotness from zero to thirteen.
And may the best…stomach win.
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Chilaquiles for the whole family