Mexico – Two Traveling Dumplings

Falling in love with mezcal is easy in Oaxaca, just ask Tiff! 😄

When the worlds “Oaxaca Mexico” are spoken, it probably evokes images of a land of rich, flavorful molés, smoky mezcals and a place where the people truly have a deep passion for their food…well if that’s what you thought, you wouldn’t be wrong! It’s these magical delights that inspired us to make the trek out to Oaxaca to experience this incredible place for ourselves.

Oaxaca is about a 45 minute flight or 6 hour drive south of Mexico City. If you do make the drive you’ll be rewarded with surreal landscapes that remind you that you’re definitely not in Kansas anymore. Alien dreamscapes of windswept hills dotted with cacti, huge canyons smashing through rocky mountainsides and roads clinging to those same canyon walls make the trip far from dull. At long last you leave the rocky desolation behind as you enter Oaxaca- green and full of the promise of adventures to come.

While still a fairly large city, Oaxaca’s streets feel smaller and more intimate than what you’ll find in big cities like Mexico City or Puebla. With every cobblestoned street, each brightly painted colonial style house and old church, you feel the history of Oaxaca practically radiating from every angle.

Oaxaca is known for its food and for good reason. Oaxacan chefs have an incredible palate of flavors, ingredients and rich culinary history from which to draw from. The markets here overflow with some of the freshest produce we’ve seen on our travels withe everything from herbs like cilantro, epazote and avocado leaves to tomatoes, tomatillos and a rainbow of chiles of every shape, size and spiciness. Fresh Oaxacan cheese is also sold and you’ll find it making a starring appearance in dishes ranging from moles to tlayudas (a toasted tortilla topped with all sorts of ingredients and oaxacan cheese- kind of like a Mexican pizza).

With so many different types of dishes, the question is where do you start?!? Well, you’re in luck because its pretty hard to find a bad meal in Oaxaca, but here our some of our favorite places. Los Danzanates is fantastic restaurant that takes a lot of local dishes and elevates them. One luscious dish is their herba santa- a large soft leaf that stuffed with Oaxacan cheese, grilled then topped with a savory tomato based sauce. Their mole’s are no joke either- they take slow cooked chicken and combine it with savory rice all rising from a pool of their famous yellow mole. The drinks here are also fantastic and if you still have room after your meal, you can go upstairs to their awesome cocktail lounge called Selva.

Another restaurant is Zandunga which specializes in cuisine from the village of Tehuantepec. Their ceviche with fruit is truly unique and its tangy kick will leave you wanting more. Bringing the Oaxacan tradition of tamales to the table, they have a full spread of savory tamales to choose from- our favorite was their eloté (corn) tamale where their slow cooked masa and corn filling creates an amazing blend of savory and sweet. Their full complement of mezcal will also help make the meal that much more memorable.

Bringing up the level again is probably our favorite restaurant- Casa Oaxaca who specializes in bringing some of the most iconic dishes from all over Oaxaca and elevating them to rival any Michelin-rated rated restaurant at home. Their seafood dishes are incredible and their guacamole with chapulinas (crickets) rivals the deliciousness of Azul Condesa’s in Mexico City. One of my favorite dishes was their rack of lamb- marinated with their own spice mix and served with a slow cooked eggplant puree- its mind blowingly tasty.

Now with all that food, its time to get some actives in to burn off all those calories. Fortunately Oaxaca has all manner of activities that you can do. One of the top things to do is see the ruins of Monte Alban- an ancient Toltec city that’s just on the outskirts of Oaxaca City. The Toltec’s took a mountain peak and literally leveled it, building a complex temple city that is really awe inspiring- definitely worth checking out. There’s a lot more to see than that. There are three other activities you can also probably do in one day’s time- El Arbol del Tule (the world’s biggest tree), Hierve el Agues (“frozen” limestone waterfalls and pools) and of course, a mezcal palenque (distillery)!

It was too big for our puny iPhone to fully capture!

The world’s largest tree ( El Arbol del Tule) is about a 25 minute drive outside of Oaxaca and it’s pretty darn impressive. Legend says the tree was planted hundreds of years ago by a famous Aztec priest and its been growing ever since. The thing is huge- not tall mind you but really, really wide. You can find the tree just a few blocks off of the main highway and the cost is like 10 pesos. After leaving the tree, we recommend heading further up the highway to a mezcal palenque. Our favorite one was Palenque Del Amor which had an awesome, detailed tour of just how the deliciousness that is mezcal is made. Did you know the heart of the maguey plant (where mezcal comes from) is sweet and similiar to sugarcane? We didn’t! Here they still follow the old traditions of pit roasting the maguey hearts then grinding them under heavy millstones pulled by horses. The resulting nectar is then fermented, distilled and aged to get all the different flavors of mezcal that they cary. Joven (the youngest mezcal) is aged just a short time in bottles where añejo mezcal is aged in whiskey barrels (here they use Jack Daniels casks). After the tour is done, they have an INCREDIBLE barbecue spread with all sorts of grilled veggies, salsas, guacamole, al pastor (marinated pork), chorizo and carne asada. It helps soak up all the mezcal you’ll be drinking.

Finally after this tasting, make your way just a bit further down the highway to Hieve el Agua. These fascinating waterfalls are high in calcium and over the millennia, its caused them to look like they’re “frozen”- kind of like stalactites in caves. There are several springs that feed these falls that bubble with carbon dioxide- you can even bathe in them and get an Instagram influencer worthy pic 🙂

Now you ask “how do you get to these places”? Well the option that has the most flexibility is renting a car which we did. There are a number of rental places in the city- just know that Mexican car rental laws are pretty strict about insurance so they may try and shake you down hard to buy their insurance. If you’re just using it for a day its not too bad but we recommend shopping around. Another option is there are countless tour agencies which will offer you package deals that range in price from 20 bucks on up. Be sure to check and see if the agency is reputable and has nice transport. Hierve el agua is about 1 1/2 hours each way from Oaxaca so plan accordingly.

Now being surrounded by all this amazing food may incite you to learn how to make some of it yourself- we certainly felt that way! We took a fantastic cooking class with La Cocina Oaxaqueña. They picked us up early in order to make it to the market (8:30 am- not exactly fun vacation time but it was wroth it). Chef Rodrigo took us to his favorite stands and showed us how to pick the right produce, herbs, masa for tortillas and meat. We then went back to his amazing cooking studio in his house and together we learned how to make amazing guacamole, sopa Azteca (kind of like a vegetable forward tortilla soup), tlayuda (mexican pizzas) and a mole. We can’t wait to make these at home!

And with all that eating, cooking and adventuring- our time in Oaxaca was full. We loved Oaxaca so much we ended up coming back a second time on our trip and it just further solidified how much we loved the place- we know you’ll feel the same.

You can find all of of our favorite places on this Google map which includes our suggestions and comments. Have any questions about Oaxaca? We’re here to help! Come with an open mind and hungry tummy- you won’t be disappointed!

Seeing Mexico City for the first time can be quite daunting- a metropolis that stretches as far as the eye can see. In fact, CDMX (the cool four letter acronym for Mexico City) is the largest city in the world and we can only wonder if the Aztecs who founded it would ever imagine it would become what it is today. CDMX is an incredibly vibrant cosmopolitan tapestry that weaves its rich history together with the art and energy of today’s cutting edge culture. After visiting it twice in three years, we can confidently say Mexico City is one of our favorite cities in the world and that’s why we’ll be returning there for a third time soon!

Now before we go into all the delicious things and adventures you can get into in CDMX – we want to answer the question that several folks have asked us. Is the city safe? In short- yes. As safe or safer than any typical major city we’ve been in during our travels. Of the two times we’ve visited we’ve never felt unsafe or at risk (except from some of the traffic jams which give LA a run for its money). This includes all hours of the day- walking around the cities bustling plazas and mercados during the day or going to a bar or club at night. Of course keep your head about you and use the typical set of street smarts any major city requires but the people of CDMX are wonderful, welcoming and incredibly generous. We know you’ll love them as much as we do.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, we can get into some of the wonders that this city offers. Let’s start with one of our favorites things- food! Now Mexican food is something near and dear to Californians like ourselves but we only get one small piece of the vibrant tapestry. There is SO MUCH MORE TO MEXICAN FOOD THAN BURRITOS (which actually are an American invention). Mexico City impressively collects some of the best foods from across Mexico in one place. You’ve got Sonoran Tacos, Oaxacan Mole’s, the seafood of Baja and the delicious slow cooked pibils of the Yucatan- all in one place. Let’s start with tacos- yes, you have TONS of options to check out but one of our favorites that we came back to again and again was Taqueria La Califa in Condesa. I know talking about your favorite taqueria is about as controversial as the most hot button of political topics but for the sake of this blog’s integrity, we have to name ours. One of the signs you’re in good taco making hands is when you walk in the door of a taqueria and an absolutely massive pastor parilla is slowly roasting the largest piece of seasoned meat you’ve ever seen. La Califa offers a dizzying array of taco options from nopales (cactus) to rib eye to “gringa” (which they basically put meat and melty cheese in a flour tortilla. One thing they had that we’ve never seen before is a “chicharon de queso” which looks a lot like an Indian dosa, but made of cheese- perfect for scooping up guacamole! Upping the ante, their salsas are amazing and THEY’RE OPEN TILL 4AM!!!

The spread at one of our favorite taquerias

Another must visit culinary experience is the La Merced Mercado. This market is dizzying large- taking up the size of most small cities and it is actually one of the largest food markets in the world. When we went to La Merced, we went with Eat Mexico Tours and we felt it was worth the cost. Generally, we’ve found most food tours around the world to be letdowns- usually they’re typically a guide taking you to a few famous or gringo targeted street food spots that you could just as easily find yourself with a quick Google search. The Eat Mexico tour was different because our tour guide spent 5 hours with us and throughout that time we got to meet and really get to know a number of the vendors in La Merced- giving the place a much greater depth to us. If a tour is not your speed, no worries! Just show up to La Merced and follow your nose. If you want to taste anything, just ask the friendly vendors! These vendors have every imaginable ingredient, spice, and protein you can imagine. Moles? They’ve got it. Fruits you’ve never seen before? They’ve got tons. And proteins- if you like insects, you’re in luck! Insects have been part of Mexican cuisine for thousands of years and they can be super tasty.

Speaking of insects, one of our favorite restaurants in CDMX is Azul Condesa and they put toasted, seasoned, chopped crickets on their guacamole and it gives it amazing umami flavor bursts. Here at the market you can try countless variations along with the ant larva that are also considered a delicacy. The sheer amount of food options can be dizzying so come hungry and be sure to ask as many questions as you have to the vendors and tour operators.

Posole Rojo and the remains of some taquitos (our hunger won out over picture taking 😛 )

Another Mexican dish we love dearly is posole- a rich stew of pork or chicken with vegetables and corn. This dish just feels like a warm, yummy blanket of comfort in a bowl which is why we keep coming back to Casa de Toño for their amazing posoles. Mexico also has a great tradition of ridiculously tasty breakfasts. For most Californians, that means chilaquiles (tortilla chips cooked in red or green sauce). It can be served many way but for the best in CDMX, we recommend braving the line at Fonda Margarita where meals are served at long family style tables. The seating arrangements can be cramped but its also guaranteed that you’ll make a few new friends from your seatmates and you’ll get to see what other dishes you can order. Beyond the chilaquiles, the refried bean omelet is a real star and unique to this fantastic restaurant.

Switching gears, there are TONS of adventurers to get in within the city. One of the things we did for date night is going to see a lucha libre match live! Lucha Libre is Mexico’s answer to the WWE and has an incredibly rich history of characters and plot lines. The wrestling does not disappoint and the whole crowd gets worked up seeing luchadores pummel each other with the refs doing little to get in the way of their over the top antics. You can also get some incredible beer cocktails ranging from a Michelada (beer+tomata juice+ lime juice+ clam juice) to a cubano….which I still don’t know what it is. Just go see it-you’ll have a blast guaranteed!

Another fascinating scene unfolds nightly at Plaza Garibaldi which the beating heart of mariachis in the city. Gangs of instrument toting mariachis roam all over the square playing requests and serenading amorous couples with their song. Its not like anything we’ve seen before and worth going to check out.

Two guys commissioned a huge mariachi band to serenade their girlfriends in an over the top way

Now CDMX also has its share of ancient history and it offers an incredible set of options to explore it in. One of the must-visit sites is the Museo Nacional de Antropología which has an incredible array of ancient Aztec and Mexican archaeology. You can easily get lost in here for half a day or more seeing all the exhibits – the Aztec Sun stone is an incredible draw.

Speaking of archaeology, another must-visit site is Teotihuacan and the pyramids of the sun and moon. These incredible edifices were the heart of not just the Aztec religion but of the Olmecs and many other civilizations before them. It takes just 45 minutes or so to get there and you can climb both pyramids and see of miles in every direction.

Tiffany helpfully pointing out the Pyramid of the Sun

Not all the museum in CDMX offer ancient antiquities- there’s also the Frida Kahlo Museum which is in the house that she and Diego River lived in. Its filled with her art and a fantastic collection of their possessions which narrate her fascinating and challenging life. Another fantastic museum (if you’re not completely museum out) is the Soumaya Museum. Here the billionaire Carlos Slim shows off his impressive collection of impressionist works, Mexican artists and of the largest collections of Degas in the world- and it’s all totally free to visit!

CDMX is made up of all sorts of dynamic neighborhoods. We found ourselves staying in Condesa with its chill, tree lined streets. Zona Rosa is the livelier hood with bars, clubs and fun stores to bring something interesting back with you with.

Phew! We could go on forever about Mexico City but we can wholeheartedly endorse its awesomeness! If you go, please have a taco and a strong margarita for us!

If you’re looking for one big map of our favorite places in CDMX (there’s a lot), you can find them here on Two Traveling Dumpling’s CDMX Google Map

Category: Mexico

Oaxaca- Moles, Mezcal and so much more!

Mexico City- a tapestry of delights