Mexico City

What to eat at El Charco de las Ranas in Mexico City

18 · May 20, 2017 · Leave a Comment

El Charco de las Ranas has been the gold standard for “nice” tacos in Mexico City for more than 30 years. And I mean “nice” in the most Mexican of ways.

This often-imitated small chain does many things and does them right, every single time. From humble beginnings on Av. Río Mixcoac where they mainly doled out the classic tacos al pastor and bistec, they now have a 150-item-plus menu that ranges from breakfast classics such as huevos divorciados for breakfast to a very solid pozole for the overnight crowd. Our family always goes to the original location so I can’t speak to the one in Pedregal.

But their tacos al pastor deserve special attention. Neither lovers nor haters will ever call them “bad,” or anything worse. They’re huge though, so order fewer, as one of their “traditional” tacos usually make up three or four of any other taco they serve. …

What to eat at Enrique in Mexico City

4 · Mar 19, 2017 · Leave a Comment

Opened in 1944 as a taco stand out in the remote fields between Mexico City and Cuernavaca, Enrique has become a representative establishment of Central Mexican cuisine that’s worthy of visiting almost every time I’m in town. Located along the federal highway, this behemoth of a restaurant seats well over 1,500 guests—and is now well within the city’s confines—on Insurgentes Sur in the Tlalpan borough.

The buildings recall classic haciendas (built this century) and the vast dining rooms with high ceilings are designed to amuse. The decor is what you’d expect; solid wood tables and chairs, crisp table linens, papel picado hanging from the ceiling, and talavera tiles everywhere.

Start with some chicharrón with guacamole, an order of chalupas, some crunchy tacos dorados doused with salsa borracha, or a couple of their deep-fried quesadillas, made with their unique masa.

Order the consomé de carnero, made with the best bits of their famous barbacoa and with the right amount of tasty, tender garbanzo beans. Truly one of the greatest soups ever. Garnish with chopped onion, cilantro and fresh-squeezed lime juice.

Of course, the main dish you order should be the barbacoa, the earthy mutton cooked underground and covered with maguey leaves. It is right up there with the best barbacoa I’ve had, and the price is not too bad either. If you’re eating with multiple people, it will be more economical to order by the kilo rather than by the taco. Make yourself some tacos and bathe them with two of the best salsas in the country, according to my husband. The green tomatillo salsa is his gold standard, and the salsa borracha, made with pulque, also ranks highly on his list of favorites.

Order the horchata by the pitcher and convince your table to share—you won’t be disappointed!

Other classics worth ordering include crepas de huitlacoche, carnitas, mixiotes, mole, and various enchiladas. On weekends they offer several varieties of pulque if that’s your thing.

Enrique certainly has something for everyone—like Disneyland. Just be aware of their shtick and don’t let certain aspects ruin what could be a phenomenal meal.

On the weekends, mariachi, marimba and jarocho bands, along with their own dance troupes, will incessantly blast their brand of folkloric entertainment, and a house PA system will make sure every-single-table-REALLY-FUCKING-LISTENS-to-every-note-played. It can be rather annoying because it makes conversation with those at your table rather difficult. I understand there are people who actually go there to watch the shows and enjoy them, and that’s totally fine. I’m just not one of those people.

However, there are a few tables by the entrance, separated by several walls and where the speakers are unplugged, where you can have a peaceful meal. Also, the children’s playground is far, far away and the roaming clowns (for the kids’ amusement, and fully dressed like they just came from the circus) will not make their rounds all the way in the front.

Now that you know how to avoid the undesirable parts of the restaurant, sit back and enjoy the exemplary traditional cuisine. Even though their kitchen is bigger than that of a sold-out Carnival Cruise Line ship to the Caribbean, Enrique still produces some of the tastiest Central Mexico fare, and the quality is top notch.

I think of Enrique in the same vein as Disneyland—a cheesy and loud place—but with careful navigation and location awareness, you can still find it lovable and enjoy a phenomenal meal that’ll evoke priceless memories each time you return.

TO VISIT: Enrique
Insurgentes Sur 4061, Tlalpan, 14000 Tlalpan, Ciudad de México, México
+52 55 5573 9988
Open 7 days a week, 8 am to 8 pm (except on some holidays)
Valet parking

Visiting Mexico City? You might also like these restaurant recommendations:

Lunch at Xanat Bistro and Terrace in Mexico City

4 · Feb 9, 2015 · Leave a Comment

Xanat Bistro and Terrace is the upscale contemporary Mexican restaurant in the recently renovated five-star JW Marriott Hotel Mexico City.

The hotel, located in the Polanco neighborhood, is steps from Paseo de la Reforma, the Auditorio Nacional, Chapultepec and the Museo Nacional de Antropología. Xanat opened in October 2014.

On our recent visit to Mexico in December 2014, I had a chance to dine there for lunch with my cuñada. The hotel’s executive chef, Ciro Mejia, came up with the concept for Xanat (pronounced “shah-naht”). The restaurant’s name is an ancient Totonaca word that means “vanilla flower.” In Totonaca mythology, the vanilla orchid was born when the princess Xanat, who had an affair with a mortal man, ran away to the forest with her lover. The two were captured and beheaded for their offense to the gods, and in the place where their blood seeped into the soil, the first vanilla orchid grew.

The Totonacas were the first to cultivate the vanilla orchid, and Mexico is considered the birthplace of vanilla. Xanat is still used today as a girl’s name in Papantla, Veracruz, where most of Mexico’s vanilla is cultivated. Mexican vanilla beans have a signature creamy flavor and a unique woody spice profile different from other kinds of vanilla.

RELATED RECIPE: Atole de vainilla

At Xanat Bistro and Terrace, many items on the menu have a touch of vanilla incorporated, both in sweet and savory dishes, paying unique homage to this truly Mexican ingredient. I liked that they also focus on using local and national Mexican ingredients to elevate traditional Mexican dishes with a modern spin.
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Mexico City in watercolors

3 · May 21, 2014 · 1 Comment

There is so much to love about Mexico City.

I’ve been traveling to Mexico City—affectionately known as Chilangolandia—several times a year for the better part of a decade to visit my husband’s family, and it never ceases to amaze me. From the world-class museums and interesting historic landmarks to the variety of culinary experiences, ranging from street food to haute cuisine, I have a serious love affair with this city that is home to more than 21 million people (including the metro area). You can see and experience everything from fancy, modern skyscrapers to old-school open air markets. At times it can feel like a major metropolis, but at the drop of a hat, you may find yourself in a neighborhood that feels less like the city and more like a pueblo. It’s a diverse city with so much culture and history to explore.

Everything about the place calls my name, and each snapshot I take while visiting is a permanent memory embedded in my mind and heart. It’s strange, but when I’m away, I sometimes feel homesick for this magical place although it’s not where I was born and raised. Having spent so much time there, though, it has become like my second hometown. Recently, I discovered an app called Waterlogue that blew me away with its ability to turn my photos into stunning watercolor painted images. I started sorting through some of my favorite travel photos from Mexico City as well as other places in Mexico that I’ve visited, and have become addicted to turning my photos into works of art. Here are 10 photos I’ve taken in Mexico City over the years that I’ve turned into watercolor images.

A chicharrón vendor on the UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México) campus, Cuidad Universitaria

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Carnitas at El Venadito in Mexico City

3 · May 16, 2014 · 3 Comments

Basically every carnitas joint in Mexico claims they have the best carnitas. Who can blame them? To somebody, each place DOES have the best carnitas. One of my favorite places in Mexico City, El Venadito, is no exception. This restaurant, which is a neighborhood staple and has no other locations, has been open since 1950. Like many other places, they have a sign that says “super carnitas, las mejores de México.” I will say: They are pretty spectacular, and among my top choices when I’m craving carnitas in Mexico City. After all, what place could stay open for more than six decades with signs saying they have the best carnitas if they didn’t?

Although there’s a restaurant where you can actually sit down in the back, I prefer the charming, tiny curbside taco stand. The only thing separating me from Tomás—the taquero who has been there as long as anyone I know can remember—is a window that’s about five feet high with a counter on top, so I can watch my carnitas go from being chopped to tortilla, salivating while I watch.

I always order them the same way: Surtido, which is a mix of white meat, dark meat, other parts, skin and some crunchy bits of chicharron. Top it with fresh, raw salsa verde and it’s truly a heavenly taco. If you’re squeamish about eating certain parts of the pig, you can always ask for maciza, which is white meat only.

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Mexico Travel Tips: When My Friends Visit Mexico

2 · Mar 4, 2014 · Leave a Comment

When you write a blog about Mexican food and travel within Mexico, you’re bound to be asked for recommendations by… well, EVERYONE. I’m talking family, friends, coworkers, friends of friends, blog readers, complete strangers—it really runs the gamut. But it’s a true source of joy when you share Mexico travel tips with people, and they send you thanks in the form of a video, a photo, a tweet (or whatever else) to let you know they’re thinking of you and appreciate a recommendation that has improved their experience while visiting Mexico.

In the last week, I’ve received two such messages that I wanted to share.

Several years ago, I mentioned to my friend Ramon and his wife how much I love El Globo, a bakery chain that makes one of my favorite kinds of pan dulce—garibaldi. They’re a little upside-down poundcake-like treat that’s bathed in (usually) apricot jam and rolled in white nonpareils. You can even make garibaldi at home with my recipe. A few days ago, while they were in León, Guanajuato, they sent this video while visiting an El Globo location there.

A few weeks ago, another friend told me she’d be traveling to Mexico City on business and needed some recommendations for places to go for breakfast and dinners when she was able to go out on her own. I sent her a list of some of my favorite places near where she was staying and she shared this photo when she visited Churrería El Moro.

Have you taken my travel or dining advice in Mexico? I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below, tag me on Twitter or Instagram @MauraHernandez, or tag The Other Side of The Tortilla on Facebook with a photo and note to let us know where you went and what you ate!

Gorditas en el mercado de Coyoacán

0 · Feb 19, 2014 · 2 Comments

On the last full day of my most recent trip to Mexico City, my sister-in-law and I ran some errands together, culminating in a stop at the mercado Coyoacán—one of my absolute favorite places to visit in Mexico City. There’s a little, nondescript stand on the outskirts of the market with a yellow sign, which our family has long frequented because of the awesome quesadillas and gordas. My favorite item on the menu is the gorda de chicharrón, served with cheese on the inside. I like to also add some fresh salsa verde. As you can see, I REALLY enjoy eating these because you just can’t get the same thing at home in the U.S.

Gorditas de chicharrón at the mercado Coyoacán …

Wordless Wednesday: Cielito Querido Café in Mexico City

2 · Jul 10, 2013 · Leave a Comment

Last week while we were visiting Mexico City, we checked out a new coffee shop we hadn’t seen before called Cielito Querido Café. Not only is the coffee some of the best we’ve tasted in Mexico (even their café de olla passed my test), but I also loved their cute, cheeky to-go cups that poke fun at Starbucks. Like Starbucks, they have the normal assortment of coffees, espresso and frappes, but they have a host of other offerings on the menu that are muy Mexicano, such as chamoyadas (in no less than four flavors), additions to your café con leche that include cajeta and rompope, chocolate caliente con chile and a house-made horchata. The snack offerings didn’t disappoint either, with selections such as muéganos, palanqueta, molletes, panqué, pasteles and galletas.

I was surprised to learn that the quickly-growing Mexican chain has more than 30 locations in Mexico City as of July 2013 and that I hadn’t stumbled upon one before. I went looking for some more information after a friend on Instagram mentioned that the company is looking to expand to the U.S. (and possibly to Los Angeles) and and found this story on NBC Latino with a great slideshow so you can get a feel for the ambience of Cielito Querido Café. We’ll definitely be back again the next time we visit.

Have you been to Cielito Querido Café? What did you order? If you haven’t been, do you think you’ll try it out next time you’re in Mexico City?

Wordless Wednesday: A new book for my collection

1 · Jul 3, 2013 · Leave a Comment

Each time I visit Mexico City, I end up going home with my suitcase full of books that aren’t available in the U.S. Lately, my bookshelves are looking rather full (despite thinning my library when we moved) so I’ve been a bit choosier about which books I take home since I’m running out of places to put them. I always browse the cookbook and culinary history sections for books that are new since my last visit. Yesterday, I made a stop at the bookstore nearby José’s parents’ house. This book caught my eye because there are tons of books in Spanish about Mexican cuisine and using traditional ingredients, but not as many that highlight healthy recipes. It’s the latest acquisition for my extensive collection of books about Mexican cuisine. I can’t wait to cook my way through it!

If you want to try your luck looking for it, the book is called “México Sano” and is written by Pía Quintana Beristain.

Do you like to buy books in Mexico? What kind of books do you look for that you can’t get in the U.S.?

Wordless Wednesday: Jacaranda trees

0 · Jun 12, 2013 · 4 Comments

I don’t have a green thumb by any means—in fact, I’ve been known to accidentally kill hibiscus bushes so many summers in a row that I gave up on having them anymore—but I really love nature and plant life. Especially in Mexico, there are lots of plants that I’ve grown to love that I wasn’t exposed to while growing up in the Midwest. The Reserva Ecológica del Pedregal de San Ángel at UNAM is one of my most-cherished nature spots in Mexico City because of all the wildflowers, wild nopales and cactus fruits known as tunas. As you might recall, bugambilias are one of my favorite plants in Mexico (I’ve shared photos of them in Cuernavaca, Huatulco and other cities).

Another of my favorites is the jacaranda tree, pictured here, which has beautiful bluish-purple hued blooms. They bloom in the spring in Mexico City, so I love going to visit during Semana Santa to see them. My suegro sent me this photo several weeks ago, taken on the UNAM campus, because he knows how much I love to see the trees full of flowers.

In Los Angeles, thanks to the climate, bugambilias are abundant here, and jacarandas too. In fact, the jacarandas have been blooming for several weeks in my neighborhood. Aren’t they beautiful?

What kind of plants do you love in Mexico?

Wordless Wednesday: Tengo alas pa’ volar

55 · Apr 10, 2013 · 2 Comments

In December 2012 during a visit to Mexico City for the holidays, I had a chance to once again visit La Casa Azul, the home of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, which is now the Museo Frida Kahlo. I visited specifically to see a new exhibit called “Las apariencias engañan: los vestidos de Frida Kahlo” (which runs through January 31, 2014 and is a must-see exhibit for any serious Frida fan).

In the museum, there are several displays of Frida Kahlo’s personal journals, filled with artwork between the pages of her thoughts. There’s a famous quote of Frida’s from one of her personal journals which reads: “Pies para qué los quiero si tengo alas pa’ volar.”

It means: “Feet, what do I need them for if I have wings to fly.” As I flew over Ciudad Universitaria in early January on my way back home to Chicago, I snapped this photo of one of my favorite views of the city and added the words.

Do you have a favorite Frida Kahlo quote? Share it with me in the comments below!

Lunch at El Cardenal in Mexico City

1 · Aug 31, 2012 · 2 Comments

Whenever we visit Mexico City, I always hope to visit El Cardenal—a restaurant with a focus on classic Mexican cuisine.

On one of my first visits to Mexico City, I ate lunch with my future suegros at the Alameda location in the Hilton downtown (although at the time, it was a Sheraton). It was there that I was introduced to chongos zamoranos, a traditional dessert made of milk, sugar, cinnamon, and rennet, used to curdle the milk. Since then, we’ve always gone to another location in the Centro Histórico (Palma #23, between Cinco de Mayo and Francisco I. Madero; opened in 1984) that has a stunning French-Porfirian facade and stained-glass windows bearing the restaurant’s namesake bird, the cardinal.

Aside from dessert, my favorite thing on the menu there is an appetizer—a molcajete filled with queso fresco, avocado, salsa verde and cilantro that’s served with warm tortillas. So simple, yet the dish is so satisfying and representative of El Cardenal.

José has been visiting his parents this week and ate lunch at El Cardenal a few days ago. He sent these photos to share here on The Other Side of The Tortilla. I hope you like them as much as I do.

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Have you ever been to El Cardenal? What is your favorite dish on the menu?

Cebollitas asadas en la calle

2 · Jun 5, 2012 · Leave a Comment

I spotted these cebollitas being prepared to grill at a street stand last year during a trip to Mexico City. I parked right near this little puesto in Colonia Juárez while running an errand and couldn’t help but stop to admire them. As the grilling season kicks into full swing here, I find myself looking at this photo over and over again despite the fact that I took it more than a year ago, so I decided to finally share it. I love cebollitas, or any grilled vegetable, really. But the kind grilled al carbón can’t be beat.

›› Learn how to prepare cebollitas with my simple recipe.

›› Pair them with a dish! My favorites are Mexican chimichurri steak, tacos de rib eye and arrachera borracha.

What’s inspiring your grilling season?

Wordless Wednesday: Tostadas Coyoacán

0 · May 30, 2012 · Leave a Comment

Earlier this week, my friend Julie, another Mexico Today ambassador, was lamenting on Twitter how much she missed tostadas Coyoacán—something I could definitely identify with…

So I promised her I’d dig out the perfect photo to post this week just for her…

You can follow Julie @mexicojulie and check out her blog, Midwesterner in Mexico.

Leave a comment to let me and Julie know what kind of tostada is your favorite!

What Las Posadas mean to me

1 · Dec 16, 2011 · 5 Comments

December 16th begins Las Posadas, the nine days of celebration leading up to Christmas Eve, also known as Nochebuena.

It’s customary for families to gather together, eat, sing and have a piñata at the party. Sometimes people celebrate posadas by going from home to home, singing the traditional song to ask for lodging the way Mary and Joseph did. But whether you travel around to different homes or stay in one place, there are certain elements of your family’s posadas that you inevitably love more than anything else, and will always try to recreate as you grow older, and especially as you have children so you can teach them your family’s traditions.

For me, the most beloved posadas tradition is making ponche Navideño. Every year, even if I don’t have access to fresh ingredients, I do my best to find canned, jarred or frozen ingredients for the things I can’t easily find in the U.S. Even though I know I’ll have it when I get to Mexico, I feel it’s really important to perfect the recipe at home with available ingredients.

I want our future children to know that it’s a Mexican Christmas staple and always have memories of the smell and taste. I want them to think of love and family and La Navidad when they think of ponche, just the way that I do. I always look forward to spending time with family in Mexico City during the holidays, and I know there will always be an abundance of ponche Navideño. It’s present at almost every family gathering but the most special thing about it for me is that it’s become a family tradition to make it together with my suegros, whom I adore con todo corazón.

We stand around the kitchen, my suegro chopping the caña (sugar cane), while my suegra takes care with the liquid measurements. I slice the guayabas and juice the oranges, add the canela and core the tejocotes. And before a few years ago when I finally put it on paper, our family recipe wasn’t officially written down anywhere with any information other than what should go in it. Learning how to make this family recipe with my suegros meant a lot to me in being able to eventually pass down this tradition.

So, last week when I was grocery shopping in a store I don’t usually frequent and I found a box of fresh tejocotes, I had tears in my eyes as I stood in disbelief in the middle of the produce aisle. This was the very first time I’d ever seen fresh tejocotes in a market near Chicago (also grown in the U.S., according to the box). Tejocotes have long been prohibited from being imported fresh from Mexico as a precaution due to the possibility of harboring exotic pests. Only in recent years have there been growers in the U.S. (mostly in California) who’ve begun cultivating crops of tejocotes, also known in English as Mexican hawthorn. I was surprised and overjoyed to see them in a local store. Though I was tempted to buy the whole box, I painstakingly picked through it to find the most perfect ones to add up to half a pound, just enough for one large pot of ponche.

This year, our family is still headed off on a vacation together as usual, but not within Mexico. As excited as I am to go somewhere new and experience new things, I can’t help but feel a little sad that I won’t be attending Tía Annette’s big posada Navideña in Mexico City.

I’ll miss sipping ponche and café con rompope and eating galletas with my other tías while catching up on all the gossip I’ve missed since my last visit. I’ll miss our tío dangling the piñata over the garden for the kids from the second story window, laughing and smiling as he tugs it just out of their reach. I’ll miss seeing how much some of the younger cousins have grown up this past year. I’ll miss Tía Nene and her famous pastel de dátil (something I still need to learn how to make). I’ll miss the nochebuenas, which are much more beautiful and exotic-looking in their native Mexico. I’ll miss posing for a huge family holiday photo, comprised of four generations of our beautiful family.

As I write this, my kitchen is perfumed by the scent of ripe guayabas, waiting to be made into ponche this weekend. There are oranges, tejocotes, canela and ciruelas pasas. I still need to find some fresh sugar cane; I have a good idea of where to get it locally, but I’ve still got some in a jar as a backup. And though there will be no cousins, tíos, piñatas, pidiendo posadas or certain favorite holiday foods this year, the memories will swirl steadfastly in my heart and my kitchen as I stew a big pot of ponche before I jet off to my holiday destination.

›› GET THE RECIPE FOR PONCHE NAVIDEÑO

›› WATCH A VIDEO OF HOW OUR FAMILY CELEBRATES LAS POSADAS (Includes lyrics to the piñata song and canciones para pedir posadas)

What makes you think most of las posadas? This post is part of a blog hop about posadas. I encourage you to check out some of the other related posts about how others celebrate the holidays in Mexico. If you’ve written about posadas, please feel free to add a link to your post!…
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Honoring La Virgen de Guadalupe

12 · Dec 12, 2011 · Leave a Comment

December 12th is a very important day in Mexico for faithful Catholics—El día de la Virgen de Guadalupe. If you’re not familiar with the story, here’s the very abbreviated version: in 1531, the Virgin Mary appeared to a poor Aztec man named Juan Diego, who had converted to Christianity several years before. He was so poor that he wore no shoes, and his mantle was coarsely woven of cactus cloth as he could not afford cotton. He often traveled hours to make his way from his home to the nearest church, and during one of his journeys, the Virgin Mary appeared to him and asked him to build a temple there in her honor. She appeared to him a total of four times before the miracle occurred when her image appeared on his cloak. The bishop requested that Juan Diego bring him a sign to prove what he had seen; after telling La Virgen that they requested physical proof of what he’d told them, she revealed to him several varieties of fresh, blooming Castilla roses (which were out of season), that he brought as proof and which amazed the bishop. When he unfolded his cloak (called a tilma), the roses scattered and the image of the Virgen de Guadalupe appeared, just as it exists on the tilma hanging in the Nueva Basílica de Santa María de Guadalupe today. The sanctuary that stands at the location where Juan Diego revealed the roses to the bishop is called La Capilla del Cerrito.

In the 1730s, La Virgen (also sometimes referred to as La Morenita) was adopted as the patroness of Mexico City. This is why her image can be found just about everywhere—from churches to market stalls to homes and even on quirky trinkets. She is beloved by all and today, the basilica in Mexico City is one of the most-visited Catholic shrines in the world. She is credited for performing many miracles to those who pray to her to watch over them….

10 things to love about Mexico City’s Museo Dolores Olmedo

3 · Nov 29, 2011 · 10 Comments

The tiles on the wall at the Museo Dolores Olmedo read: “By the example of my mother, professor Maria Patiño Suarez, widow of Olmedo, who always told me: ‘Share all you have with those around you.’ I leave this house with all my collections of art, the product of my life’s work, so the people of Mexico can enjoy it.” —Dolores Olmedo Patiño

Last year on a visit to Mexico City during the holidays, I spent a special day with friends exploring a few places I had never been before. Thanks to the abundance of cultural activities the city has to offer, there’s always something new to discover. I was thrilled to hear that the Museo Dolores Olmedo was on the itinerary they planned since I’m a big Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera fan.

Dolores Olmedo Patiño, also known to many as Doña Lola, was an aggressive collector and patron of the arts and is still revered today as one of the biggest individual benefactors and promoters of Mexican art and culture. At age 17, she met Diego Rivera by chance in an elevator at the Ministry of Public Education when he was still working on the murals there (that can still be seen today), and he ended up asking her to model for him. According to the museum, she modeled in nearly 30 nude sketches and then was the subject of other later paintings by Rivera. After separating from her husband, British journalist Howard Phillips (whom she married in 1935), the well-to-do single Olmedo made a career as a partner in a construction materials firm in the late 1940s. In the mid-1950s, she reconnected with Rivera and eventually became his benefactor, caretaker and eventually, executor of his estate and that of Frida Kahlo.

In the early 1960s Olmedo acquired Hacienda La Noria, a 16th-century Spanish colonial hacienda located in Xochimilco (a neighborhood in the south of Mexico City). At the time she acquired the property, it was a shell of its original state and so she set out on a mission to restore and preserve the hacienda. In the late 1980s, Olmedo announced plans to convert her hacienda into a museum, which opened in September 1994. Olmedo passed away in 2002 but her legacy still lives on in this charming museum she left behind for all to admire just as intended.

Here are my top ten reasons to visit the Museo Dolores Olmedo
the next time you’re in Mexico City…

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Muralismo Mexicano: “El Pueblo a la Universidad y la Universidad al Pueblo”

2 · Oct 25, 2011 · 5 Comments

A few years ago on a trip to Mexico City, I had the pleasure of working with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) to document photos of the campus for a UNESCO project. If you’re not familiar with UNAM, the university is the oldest in the Americas (it was founded in 1551) and its main campus (Ciudad Universitaria) is recognized as a World Heritage site by UNESCO. This is definitely a cool place to visit if you travel to Mexico City.

One of my favorite things about the campus is the amount of public art incorporated into both the buildings and open spaces. And I especially love the murals created by some of Mexico’s most famous artists.

During my visit, I got to spend some time up close to one of the murals that I’d only before ever seen in photographs—“El Pueblo a la Universidad y la Universidad al Pueblo” by David Alfaro Siqueiros on the side of the Torre de Rectoría….

Mexican Candy: Fruta cristalizada

10 · Oct 19, 2011 · 2 Comments

I’ve always been fascinated by frutas cristalizadas (candied fruits). I spotted these in the Mercado de Coyoacán a few weeks ago during my visit to Mexico City. Pictured clockwise from left: naranjas (oranges) that were hollowed out, tunas verdes y rojas (green and red prickly pears), chabacanos (apricots) and higos (figs). My favorite kind is calabaza cristalizada (candied pumpkin), and I brought back a big piece that I don’t plan to share.

What’s your favorite kind of fruta cristalizada?

Wordless Wednesday: Churros for dinner

0 · Oct 12, 2011 · 1 Comment

During my trip to Mexico City a few weeks ago, there was one night that it got very chilly (and by very chilly in Mexico City in September, I mean about 57 degrees F). It doesn’t sound that cold—at least not to a Chicagoan used to blizzard weather—but without a jacket and the need for something warm in my belly, I wrapped myself in a fleece blanket while I chatted with my suegra and my cuñada about what we should have for dinner. After little discussion, we all agreed the best option was a trip to El Convento in San Ángel for churros and chocolate caliente. Pictured above is what ended up rolled in sugar and in my tummy. (Well, not ALL of it, but you get the idea.)

If you’re more than a few miles from the closest churrería, check out my recipe for making your own churros at home.

Where’s your favorite place to eat churros?

Wordless Wednesday: Estadio Olímpico Universitario

1 · Aug 17, 2011 · 6 Comments

I snapped this photo of the Estadio Olímpico while zipping through C.U. (Ciudad Universitaria, the main campus of UNAM) on my last visit to Mexico City. The stadium opened in 1952 and was also used for the 1968 Olympic games. The mural on the outside of the stadium as pictured here, titled “La Universidad, la Familia y el Deporte en México,” was created by the famous Mexican artist Diego Rivera. The stadium is one of our favorite places, especially because it’s the home of the Pumas—our favorite soccer team. Read more about the history of the stadium in Spanish on UNAM’s website.

Have you been to the Estadio Olímpico? What’s your favorite part about it?

¡Hoy es el cumpleaños de Frida Kahlo!

2 · Jul 6, 2011 · 2 Comments

Today marks the 104th anniversary of the birthday of my favorite Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo!

If you’re not familiar with Frida’s life, work, or the famous Casa Azul, you can read more about them on the Museo Frida Kahlo website (in English). And if you’re ever visiting Mexico City, Casa Azul is one of the places you absolutely must visit.

It’s a magical place where you can feel her presence in just about every room and in the garden as well.

At the time I last visited Casa Azul, a stunning and thought-provoking private collection of photographs of Frida, Diego and their family and friends, entitled “Frida Kahlo: Sus Fotos,” was on display and many of the photographs were taken by Frida herself. It was an incredibly interesting glimpse into her life and how things looked from her point of view. You can read more about the photo exhibition, which ran through December 2010, on the museum’s website (in Spanish).…

A trip down the canals of Xochimilco

0 · Jun 7, 2011 · 18 Comments

Xochimilco is both the name of a delegation in Mexico City as well as the famous canals that are remnants of a vast water transport system built by the Aztecs.

Colorful boats, called trajineras, take visitors on cruises down the canals while food vendors, artisans and mariachi bands float past hoping you’ll buy a snack, a souvenir or a song. The atmosphere is fun and festive, especially on weekends, and although this activity is definitely touristy, lots of locals still frequent the canals.

When we were visiting Mexico in December 2010, it turned out that my dear friend Ana and her family were also visiting at the same time. We were determined to see each other, and after some previously derailed plans thanks to illnesses we finally settled on a date and an activity. We’d check out the Museo Dolores Olmedo, the floating gardens of Xochimilco and then have lunch together on the day after Christmas.

I was so excited when Ana and her family picked me up – first because I’d be exploring some places I’d never visited before, but also because I was so happy to be able to share in these experiences with someone who I knew cherished them as much as I did. Thank you, Ana, Alan, Camila and Patricia for sharing this special day with me.

Xochilmilco has been a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987.

The following passage is from UNESCO’s description of the area and why it’s protected.

The lacustrine landscape of Xochimilco constitutes the only reminder of traditional ground occupation in the lagoons of the Mexico City basin before the Spanish conquest.

The zone of Xochimilco, 28 km to the south, is the only remaining reminder of the lacustrine landscape of the Aztec capital, where the conquistadores destroyed the monuments and drained the canals. On the edge of the residual lake of Xochimilco (the southern arm of the great dried-up lake of Texcoco where the Aztecs had settled on a group of islets linked to solid ground by footbridges), and in the midst of a network of small canals, are still some chinampas, the floating gardens that the Spanish so admired. This half-natural, half-artificial landscape is now an “ecological reserve.”
–UNESCO

Wordless Wednesday: Tianguis

0 · May 25, 2011 · 4 Comments

Warm weather means tianguis time! I spotted this little open-air market along Avenida Revolucion in Mexico City during our last trip.

What’s your favorite thing to buy at a tianguis?