Interested in exploring Mexico City’s diverse street food scene but don’t know where to start? A new guide called “Come como chilango” or “Eat Like a Mexico City resident” could be your savior.
The Mexico City Tourism Ministry launched the guide — in book form and a bilingual (Spanish/English) website — this week.
“Walking through the streets of Mexico City awakens the appetite,” says a message on the website from Tourism Minister Nathalie Desplas.
“The aroma of corn in the form of tortilla or tlacoyo, the hiss of suadero or the vapors of epazote-scented esquites invite you to taste, discover and confirm that in the metropolis that has everything, you can eat very well at street level.”
The “Come como chilango” website features sections on a variety of comida callejera (street food) including tamales and guajalotas; basket tacos; and elotes and esquites.
The descriptions — accompanied by vibrant illustrations, photos and digital rótulos (hand-painted signs commonly seen on street food stalls) — are quirky and engaging.
“Tamal sandwich, blessed guajolota, queen of Mondays in Mexico City, mistress of the take-away breakfast, provider of just enough calories to get the body going in the metropolis that never stops,” says one description.
“The soul of chilanga cuisine lies in a basket, wrapped in brown paper and blue plastic. It is a ‘sweaty taco,'” says another.
The site also recommends CDMX street food stalls, or puestos, to try different kinds of snacks. In addition, it has sections on “how to eat like a chilango” and “street food characters.”
Worried about getting sick? The guide has some advice:
“If it smells good and you crave it, that’s the place! Also, check that everything is clean and fresh: meat in good condition, fresh limes, and cooks who don’t handle money with ungloved hands. If there are a lot of people or lines, trust! Use your instincts and common sense.”
The guide is the result of a collaboration between writer Alonso Vera Cantú, the Mexico City food tour company Sabores México and the Mexico City government.
The illustrations are by Lena Zolotareva, who told Mexico News Daily that her participation in the project gave her the opportunity to express her love and admiration for Mexico and its street food purveyors.
“I was glad to have an opportunity to show through my art how important they are,” Zolotareva said.
During the presentation of the guide at the Interactive Museum of the Economy, Desplas described Mexico City’s markets and street food stalls as not just places to get something to eat but also “centers of culture, communication and tradition.”
“Come como chilango” pays homage to those who “delight us with their creations” and is also “an invaluable tool” for visitors to Mexico City who are interested in exploring the capital in a culinary sense, the tourism minister said.
Vera, the writer, said that street food in Mexico City encompasses culinary history, a variety of cooking techniques and food from all of Mexico’s states.
“Here in Mexico City we can eat the true Mexican food, which is this union of techniques and ingredients,” he said.
Rodrigo López Aldana, CEO of Sabores México, noted that a lot of restaurants — including fine-dining establishments — now take inspiration from the Mexico City street food scene.
Around one-quarter of more than 50,000 eateries in Mexico City are street food stalls, according to Desplas.
In 2021, a geographer from the National Autonomous University mapped all of the taquerías in Mexico and concluded that 95% of people in Mexico City have a taco stand within 400 meters of their home.
I’ll eat to that. ¡Provecho!
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies ([email protected])
