Elected best food in the world by Taste Atlas, the Taco al pastor is the most popular taco, it is a must in Mexico. Sometime called « adobada », this sliced pork meat is marinated in chili and spices, and then cooked on a vertical rotisserie called « trompo ».
In Mexico, Barbacoa refers to a type of oven, it is traditionally a hole digger in the ground, then covered with rocks and Maguey cactus leafs. The meat (which is most commonly lamb but can be beef, rabbit, goat, and basically every meat or fish) is put inside the oven under the ground, covered with earth and stones, and slowly smoked with chilis, spices, and fruits or vegetables. You can also eat the stew, which is delicious. It is a festive, flavorful dish, we recommend you try it.
When you think of a late, slow, sunny breakfast in Mexico, Chilaquiles are an irreplaceable must. Its a plate of dried tortilla cut in triangles, topped with a salsa : you can get them with salsa roja o salsa verde, if you don’t now which one to choose you can always have both with chilaquiles divorciados (yes, literally, divorced). Then you can add eggs, chicken, mushrooms, cream, cheese and oignons. You will find every recipes and creation possible with chilaquiles. And you’ll be full for the day.
One thing you will eat and love in Mexico : the corn. It is in every traditional preparation, it takes every form and color. On the markets, and at street « puestos » you will find the famous esquites and elotes. Elote is the sweet corn, its yellow in color and its served according to your taste with lime, mayonese, cheese, and of course, chili. You can have it muy picante if you’re brave, or solo poco picante, depending on how much you like your tastebuds. Esquites are to be cooked in a broth with herbs, lime, and you know it, chili. You can also make it to your taste. Its a typical Mexican snack, much worth trying.
If you have lived or stayed long enough in Mexico City you’ve heard the tamalero biking and singing « Tamales oaxaqueños, tamales calientitos ». At any time of the day, from an early breakfast to a late dinner, you can have a tamal. This corn dough steamed in a corn husk or in a banana leaf (Oaxacan tamale), is filled with salsa and meat, mole, or it can be sweet and creamy. You will find every flavor of it. You can accompany it with a traditional pre-Colombian drink called Atole, also corn based and also delicious.
These is the most normal thing to drink in Mexico and one surprise for every foreigner coming to try them. You have to know that in Mexico, them more lime and chili, the better. So of course, your beer can be served with lime, salsas, salt and chili on the top, and with variation like a mix of tomato juice – con Clamato. It sounds odd but it is very refreshing and it’s the perfect drink for a hot afternoon.
There is an eternal fight in Mexico about the Quesadilla. It is probably the most common dish you’ll find. It is a tortilla (which can be corn or wheat based, it can be white, yellow, pink, or even blue in color), filled with vegetables, meats, eggs, frijoles, and Mexican people highly disagree with the necessity for a quesadilla to have queso (cheese) in it. The name would indicate so, but in Mexico City you can find a « quesadilla sin queso ». To be honest, we think everything is better with cheese.
For those how like pork meat, carnitas are the must of Mexican food. Its slowly cooked in its own fat, with a mix of oranges, herbs, garlic, oignons, and a bit of Coke. It is served in a taco with cilantro, fresh oignons, lime and salsa, and you can choose specifically which piece you want. We recommend to try « maciza » if you don’t like fat, and « falda » for a flavorful experience.
