Editor’s note: This post is the fourth installment of “Best Bites of 2013,” a roundup of our top culinary experiences over the last year. Stay tuned for “Best Bites” from all of the cities Culinary Backstreets covers.
Hilaria Gastrobar
We visited this restaurant on revitalized Madero Street downtown just a few months after it opened, and we were immediately won over by the food and beer selection. A few weeks ago we returned to find an expanded list of artisanal brews at the bar and new items on the menu, including the stellar salmon enchiladas, an open-faced tortilla bathed in Oaxacan mole with a perfectly grilled salmon steak on top, and one of our favorite dishes of the year.
Aquí Está “Pit”
A few weeks ago we wrote about Birria Santa Barbara, a modest, popular eatery with excellent beef and pork birria, a rustic and restorative dish of slow-cooked meat served with broth. We thought our birria research was over, but then we heard about this place inside Mercado San Camilito where Jalisco-style goat birria could be found. So we headed to charming Plaza Garibaldi and after strolling among dozens of mariachi bands offering songs for families and couples, we walked into the market. Pedro, “Pit,” is a Jalisco native who came to Mexico City decades ago and brought his family’s birria recipe with him. For more than 40 years he has been selling the same birria every day inside the market. We love the birria de pierna tatemada, so called because the goat leg is browned (tatemado means “charred”) on the comal before it’s served.
Tacos El Güero San Rafael
When we first visited Tacos El Güero in San Rafael a few years back, we thought the tacos were delicious and were impressed by the heat in the salsa, but we thought this hole in the wall didn’t look like much. But then a year and a half ago, the eatery moved to a bigger and brighter location just around the corner, and now people from neighboring colonias come every night for a late taco dinner. On weekends long lines of cars wait patiently for parking spots, and then the customers emerge to wait some more for their orders – the tacos are that good. We think El Güero makes some of the best suadero (brisket), chorizo and bistec (steak) tacos we’ve eaten in Mexico City.
El Vilsito
When it comes to the most traditional tacos in Mexico City – tacos al pastor, made with layered marinated pork – our favorite is still El Vilsito. This auto-shop-by-day and taquería-by-night continues to draw eaters from all over the city every night. We especially love the gringa, al pastor meat served over a flour tortilla and topped with melted quesillo, or string cheese.
Señora Ema
Coming up with this year’s Best Bites list was tough because we ate so much delicious food over the last 12 months. However, when we compared food quality, service, friendliness and the yo-no-sé-qué surprise factor of the restaurants, markets and street vendors we visited, one place stood head and shoulders above the rest: Señora Ema, who has been serving breakfast and lunch at the Guadalupe Tepeyac tianguis (street market) for nearly half a century. Eating almuerzo, or brunch, at Señora Ema’s stand is not only a delicious way to start the day, but also a lot like dining with family. We recommend everything here.
Published on December 19, 2013
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