There’s a funny feeling you get in Mexico City when you come back to a neighborhood you both remember and forget. Food here gets that way, too. “You know that one quesadilla joint, that one time, with the good salsa.”

As we mentioned in our piece about Rosca de Reyes, February 2 is an important date in the Mexican calendar - for Candlemas and, relatedly, for tamales. True, tamales are one of the most popular foods in Mexico City, and we can find all kinds of reasons for eating them any day of the week. But this day commemorates a ritual visit Mary made to the temple in Jerusalem with the baby Jesus. In the Catholic Church and Orthodox traditions, February 2 is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, and at one time, the candles used in services in church throughout the year would be blessed that day, hence the name Candlemas or Candelaria. Native Mexicans would celebrate the planting this time of year with a big feast that would include tamales, and the indigenous and Christian traditions became linked.

In Mesoamerica, beans have been a pillar of culinary traditions – not to mention civilizations – from time immemorial. Pre-Columbian peoples depended on legumes as their primary source of protein, but they were more than mere sustenance. Beans (along with corn) were some of the most important crops for sale at the local markets because they could be used as currency. Their value was based on the physical appearance of the product (color and size). The Aztecs included beans in the list of tributes that their vassal states had to pay. Bernardino de Sahagún, a Spanish friar, documented the use of beans in the Aztec empire, noting that the native people ate tamales mixed with beans. Storing and administering these crops was critical in order to be prepared for times of shortage.

There’s something limitless about tacos in Mexico. All you need for a good taco is a soft corn tortilla – handmade are a plus – and a filling, which can take the form of meats such as al pastor, carnitas, mixiote, fish, vegetables and, lesser-known outside of Mexico, guisados.

In Mexico, Epiphany (or Día de Reyes, in commemoration of the Three Magi’s visit to the baby Jesus), celebrated on January 6, offers an opportunity to extend the Christmas season. Mexican kids go to bed early on January 5 expecting to find gifts next to the Nativity scene the following morning. The traditional way to celebrate this holiday is by eating rosca de reyes ("kings’ cake"), an anise-scented, ring-shaped cake or sweet bread decorated with slices of candied fruit.

Editor’s note: The year is coming to an end, which means it’s time for us to look back on all the great eating experiences we had in 2014 and name our favorites among them. Tacos el Patán This hole-in-the-wall eatery is located in one of the busiest commercial sections of downtown Mexico City. We found it one day while we were shopping for stuffed animals and have since returned several times. El Patán is open every day but only serves fish tacos, the best item on their menu, on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Those days they also offer skewered shrimp and deep-fried fish quesadillas made with the same fish as that used in the tacos. The rest of the week, the taquería prepares cecina (salted beef), chicken, suadero (brisket), al pastor and longaniza (a type of sausage) tacos. But the fish taco – made from barracuda, no less – was the best of its kind that we had this year.

In Mexico, small business owners and entrepreneurs often display high levels of ingenuity. Take the case of El Vilsito, a taquería in the Narvarte neighborhood that does double duty as an auto repair shop.

In November, the Conservatorio de la Cultura Gastronómica Mexicana held its second International Mexican Gastronomy Forum in the city of Puebla, about 100 kilometers east of Mexico City. We had the opportunity to attend and learn more about the importance of creating this kind of space to preserve and propagate Mexican recipes that have been cooked for thousands of years.

Mexican sweets might not be as world-famous as those from the U.S., France or Switzerland, but judging by the enormous variety of pastry, candy and chocolate made and consumed domestically, Mexicans have an insatiable sweet tooth. And chocolate, of course, is one of Mexico’s gifts to the world.

There’s more to downtown D.F. than tourist attractions, however. It is the cultural, political and economic heart of the city and the country. Any item imaginable can be bought downtown. There’s the lighting district as well as one for appliances, clothing, electronics, printing and a long list of others. For generations, people have been going there to buy by the piece or wholesale to supply small businesses all over the country.

In Mexico, the land of eternal spring, something good to eat is always in season. We ravenously await the arrival of artichokes in March, mangos in April, fresh corn in September. Even the wriggly little gusanos de maguey (maguey worms) which appear in May are wildly anticipated – by some. Change in season is subtle here, but essential to the survival of the country. But seasonal lines are blurring. Asparagus rears its tasteless Chilean head all year; pallid strawberries are found in December. Seasons have gone global and our palates suffer for it. Which is all the more reason to pay attention to what’s local now. From July into October, coinciding with our temporada de lluvia, wild mushrooms, spurred on by rain and humidity, hit the markets of central Mexico. Here in the capital, the month of August is high ‘shroom time.

Editor's Note: Sadly, this spot is now closed. Mexico City’s Centro Histórico is never a dull place. Combined with the massive crowds and the constant roar of honking horns, passing buses and shouting vendors, the sheer visual stimulus is enough to make one weak in the knees after an hour or so. It can be a huge relief to step off the street for a breather and a bite to eat – although, in the case of Cafetería El Cuadrilátero, whose name can be translated to “wrestling ring cafeteria,” a “bite” is quite an understatement.

In the U.S., chimichangas and burritos are always associated with Mexican food, but in the central part of Mexico those words don’t mean a lot. In Mexico City, specifically, it’s very hard to find burritos that resemble those found north of the border, and the word “chimichanga” doesn’t even exist in our vocabulary.

A few months ago, El Portal, one of our favorite cantinas in the Colonia Roma, shut its doors without any warning or fanfare. As we had been customers there for about 15 years, this was a great disappointment, and we were curious when we found out it had reopened. Happily, its current incarnation – as Riviera del Sur, a restaurant that specializes in food from the Yucatán peninsula – promises to be as much of a mainstay for us as El Portal ever was.

When it comes to finding new places to eat in Mexico City, we’ve learned not to be too quick to judge a place by its looks. A very good example of this is Mariscos Frescos del Mar, a hole in the wall we had passed without noticing many times before. When a good friend recommended it, we couldn’t even place it on a map, though we know the street it’s on very well.