Mexico City... cheap eats?

Heading to CDMX in a bit and staying just east of Polanco. I have reservations covered but if there’s anywhere not to miss for in-betweens that’s reasonably walkable I’d appreciate recommendations… tacos, tamales, pozole, etc.

Also, anything non-food that I just shouldn’t miss? I’ll make time for the anthropology museum since everyone I’ve asked has recommended that, but don’t have any other plans.

I’d eat street food anywhere and everywhere. Some places we stopped were better than others, but it was delicious and in many ways more satisfying than Quintonil, Pujol, etc.

Non-food – I’d walk around the Zocalo. A lot to see in a relatively small condensed area. The Diego Rivera murals were pretty neat and the cathedral is impressive.

… thanks Corey

Phil, shoot me a text or email for non-food stuff in CDMX.

I would absolutely say to visit the post-office. I’m not kidding. It’s absurdly ornate and is fun to walk around. The upper levels were roped off unfortunately when I went, but even the first floor was gorgeous

If you like art, the Rufino Tamayo museum near the anthropology museum is a small gem.

I second the general street food recommendation. I cant think of a specific place, but my general sense is that most street food and hole in the wall places are great.

If you like art and architecture, then yes, the Zocola is a must – I would definitely go the Palacio de Bellas Artes – a concert hall with great murals and a wonderful art book store. There is also a hotel just on the plaza that has an amazing stained glass atrium. I can’t remember the name of it, but there is also a bar on the top where you can have a nice margarita while looking out over the square. Condesa used to be a nice neighborhood to walk around in – but it has been years since we have been there.

Edit: The one thing I would say about the museums is to make sure that they are open when you go. Sometimes they are closed arbitrarily.

Teotihuacan is quite amazing… Definitely worth the time to get there. Then you can have cheap eats here… https://www.mayahuelteotihuacan.com One of our best meals in Mexico and we ate at Pujols, Quintonil etc.

George

Frida Kahlo museum.

I suggest watching all of Mark Wiens’ videos in Mexico city. Here is a link to one of them -The Ultimate MEXICAN STREET FOOD TACOS Tour of Mexico City! (ft. La Ruta de la Garnacha) - YouTube

Got back from CDMX last Sunday. Ate at Quintonil, Pujol, and Nicos. Quintonil was meh, but we were pretty limited by my wife’s dietary restrictions and probably ordered wrong. Pujol is much more refined overall; just better. Nicos is informal very, very good classic Mexican. Went to Contramar a couple of times, mostly for the tuna tostadas that my wife really liked (in fairness, they are pretty good).

We did plenty of random cheap eats and I would probably focus more there on a return trip. Delicious and
shockingly inexpensive.

I didn’t get around as much as I hoped but made it to the National Museum. As advertised, it’s amazing.

Under-appreciated city that I’ll make a point to get back to.

Had the exact opposite impressions of Quintonil and Pujol. I thought Quintonil was much better. Pujol was over done and while a very modern menu I thought everything was overworked and the flavor was just not there. What dietary restrictions limited you at Quinotonil and not Pujol?

Glad you had a good time it is a wonderful city, challenging at time but great people and great food.,

George

My wife doesn’t eat mammals or dairy (other than butter) and she has a handful of dislikes. It’s normal to run into challenges and particularly where there’s a language barrier, so we try to give a good bit of notice and just plan on being flexible. Pujol was able to accommodate her with their tasting menu, where Quintonil couldn’t so we had to go a la carte and she really only had 2-3 options on the menu. Quintonil had a “pescetarian” menu but something was lost in translation because there wasn’t actually any fish/shellfish on it (and it had dishes like the escamoles and chapulines that my wife just isn’t going to touch). It’s hard to fault them too much for not being able to deal with challenging (and hard to articulate completely, even in English) dietary restrictions, but Pujol did it and overall just offered a more refined, seamless experience for our tastes.

Nicos is awesome! The food, the scene (mariachis on the weekend!), the mezcal cart, the cafe de oja ritual at the end…feasting and merrymaking for hours!

Glad you liked Pujol but I agree with George on this one. Quintonil strikes me as great, precise, high technique and exceptionally sourced Mexican food - and I appreciate the fact that you can order a la carte. Pujol struck me as international food with some Mexican exotica thrown in for tourists…the chapuline and ant powders, the sal de gusano, etc.