One of the greatest parts of travel is eating the local cuisine, and there has been nothing that has excited me than to travel to Mexico for the first time in my life and eat one of my favorite cuisines, Mexican. I know. Here I am, world traveler, who has been to almost 60 countries, and I still have not been to Mexico, even though it is right next door to America. Yeah, I know. There was a time in my life where I thought I would never make it here, but we decided to do a five day stay over in Mexico City before making our way to America for the summer months, and on our first full day here, we went on a food tour with the perfect choice for this kind of excursion, Eat Like a Local.
Eat Like a Local is a food tour company that grew out of an inspiration that tried to create a different experience than the ones that many tourists join when they are traveling around the world. The food tour companies are not always about finding those little hidden gems that the locals know about, but instead, they are looking to make deals with bigger stores to help them bring in more business. This is where Eat Like a Local is different. They want to guide people to those spots that help support the local economy and showcase what Mexican food is all about.
This took us to the markets, and street vendors that are all over Mexico City. It wasn’t just about the food, but also being a part of the local culture as we went to La Merced, an underground market filled not only with fresh produce, but flowers, and many other little necessities that people might need to make it through their day to day routines. It was also great to go through with a guide because she was able to point out some things that I would have never noticed if I had not been with her.
The subway trains were the ones that fascinated me the most. I would have just gotten on and off them without really looking around. The trains looked old, and most of the time packed, so I was trying to find my space without having to get too close to any other stranger on the subway. The ride was a little jittery, but not as bad as some of the other older subway systems I had been on. When it was pointed out that Mexico City had one of only a couple of subway systems that put tires on their trains, I started to understand why.
Each subway stop also had its own decorations. At first, they were used during the Olympics to help guide passengers to the correct stop, but some of them had more symbolic meaning behind them. My favorite was the ducks. The station was originally built on wetlands, but the designer of the station included ducks because it was also the entrance to one of Mexico City’s oldest markets. Because it was such a busy location in the city, it attracted a lot of pickpockets and thieves, and the duck was a symbol of tricksters and criminals. They eventually moved the center of the legislative government to this location, and some people thought that the ducks were a no longer appropriately symbol for this stop. Fortunately, more people thought that they were even more appropriate and they stuck around.
Still, the tour’s main focus was about the food, and there was a huge variety of food to be had along the way. Mainly they involved different types of tacos that were made right there in front of you, and there is a huge variety of tacos to be had in Mexico City. We had tacos filled with pescado (fish), chorizo verde (a green sausage made with spinach, nuts, and spicy meat), carnitas (pork), and mixiote (a traditional way to cook meat that involves boiling it for hours in the skin of an agave plant, and my favorite). Each dish was more delicious than the next and included esquitas (roasted corn), fresh fruit, and quesadillas, and I was able to enjoy all of it. The only dish I could not bring myself to eat was the plate of bugs that was offered to us. I am adventurous and have eaten bugs before, but once in my lifetime was enough for me, and I could not do it again.
The Eat Like a Local food tour through Mexico City was a great way to spend a day and made me so full that I had to wait until later that evening before I wanted to eat again. I would recommend doing it on the first full day that you are in Mexico City because not only is it a great way to get to know the culture, but it also helps to establish the lay of the land as you spend the next few days navigating this large city. I appreciate Panda, our guide, as she showed us around and it will be a day that I soon will not forget.
John Collings 