Honestly, I'm not sure if you're ready for this episode.
Because this episode is gonna make your mouth water so hard.
It's gonna make you so hungry.
It's gonna make you wanna book a one-way ticket to Mexico City, I swear.
So, grab some snacks and get ready for a street food tour.
Right here, in Mexico City with me, Eva zu Beck.
Vamos! Let's go.
It's so good.
Meet Rocío, my guide to the best food in town.
Rocío runs her own company called "Eat like a local",
who is specialized in street food tours right here in Mexico City.
She describes her company as a street food tour
for people who hate tours.
I love her already.
Rocío, it's so good to meet you here in Mexico City.
Nice to meet you too.
So, you run a women-only street food tour company here in Mexico City.
- Can you tell us more about that? - Yes, of course.
I created the company in 2015 because I went on a trip and I realized
how horrible tourism is. I came back and I quit my job.
And I decided to create this.
But then, I had a really kind of a bad relationship.
And that's when I realized how important economic independence is for women.
If you have money, it's less likely that you stay in a bad situation.
I promised to myself: "When you have more money,
when this company is better, this is gonna be a women-only.
We're gonna have the best wages in the whole city."
That's what we have right now.
And we're off to our very first spot.
A super local hole-in-the-wall which serves the ultimate street food item in Mexico.
Tacos.
Hola!
- Hola, ¿cómo estás? - Bien, y ustedes?
So, these tacos are one of my favorite tacos.
They're called tacos de guisado. It's two tacos.
Tacos in Mexico are usually made by a guy, ok?
You will see quesadillas are made by women.
Tacos are something really new in Mexico.
They're not something that was existing since the beginning.
They started becoming popular after we started working in the streets,
and we needed something fast to eat.
Right, so the etiquette is just to take it, eat it with your hands,
stuff it in your mouth, eat quickly.
Yes, exactly. And all with your head to your taco, and the taco to the head.
The taco they're gonna give you here is a really good taco.
It's zucchini with some corn and tomato,
with a little bit of avocado, like guacamole, on top.
Let's do this. So, this is the plain taco so far.
What we're gonna do right now is add a little bit of sauce,
a little bit of garnish. Let's make this delicious.
Can I do this? Ok, one, two, three, go!
So good!
Everything in this taco, you can taste it, it is so fresh.
The veggies are just the right amount of crunchy.
And the guacamole on top is so creamy and delicious.
You gotta get your hands really dirty,
like you've got to invest your body into your food.
I love that, you know.
Because often we're so disconnected from our food.
We sit at the table, we're kind of eating with the knife and fork. All like, clean.
But I love this. You just kind grab the taco and eat it.
It makes it, the food experience, much more intimate.
Carnal, real, raw, you know.
That was only the beginning.
We're on our way to...
Well, first of all we need to digest that taco.
And then, we'll be on our way to meet one of the longest standing
street food vendors in the neighborhood of Condesa.
Don Antonio! ¿Que pasó?
36 years. Since 4 a.m., he wakes up to make these tacos.
These are called basket tacos, because they're basically made on a basket.
And what they do, is they put the tacos with the stuffing and they fold them,
and then they pile them up like a lasagna.
Oh, wow!
And then, they pour boiling oil and chopped onions,
and then they seal it with plastic wraps.
Oh, my God.
So they're sweaty. Sometimes they call it "tacos sudados", or sweaty tacos.
They have four flavors.
I like to work with Don Antonio because he makes the tacos.
Most of the basket tacos are made in a mass production.
And then, when you're in a hurry, and you work two jobs,
and you have things to do, you come, you order three tacos, you eat and go.
Amazing!
This is the sauce he makes. He makes this sauce every day different.
- Look how beautiful this is. - Can I smell it?
Oh, my God! Everytime I smell something like this,
everytime we're walking past different street food stalls, different restaurants,
and you smell all these delicious smells,
everytime that happens, my mouth is just watering.
Do you think this is spicy?
Mild.
Ok, but she's Mexican, so. She's from here.
Never trust a Mexican.
Let's try.
It's not so much, so spicy that it burns your mouth.
It's spicy in the sense that it's like just really flavorful.
Really powerful.
- Really colorful. - Yeah!
This is a kind of...
Do you remember I told you that women make quesadillas and men make tacos?
This is it. Quesadillas have been made by women since the Aztec times.
She comes from Estado de México.
Most of the quesadillas stalls come from that state,
because they grow their stuff there.
They grow the corn, they grow the stuff that they cook.
So, this is something that is very artisanal,
because everything is made by her.
Wow!
Corn is the most important thing that we have in Mexico.
It's the essence of our culture.
And it's literally, in the Mayan culture, Man was made out of corn.
So, for me this food is very simple, but is the heart of our culture.
Not tacos.
Right. This.
What do you think?
Grab one, so you can try the flavor yourself.
Delicious. That's corn?
It's more corn that became a fungus.
Oh, my gosh, I never knew that this existed.
Is it too spicy? Not spicy enough? Let's see.
Let's see, you'll find out.
Here we've got "nopales", right?
- Cactus. - Cactus, yes.
This is interesting.
So, the cactus, it has a texture that is really cool and very different
from the kind of food that I'm used to normally,
because it's a little bit like a jelly.
A little bit solid, but also quite soft.
Right? So, you kind of feel like it's crunchy.
Let's try.
It's just filled with the cactus on the inside.
Absolutely amazing.
So, it gives it that crunchiness, that delicious crunchiness.
And then, when you put the spicy salsa on top, oh my gosh,
it just gives it that kick that it needs.
It's perfect.
Next stop, Rocío took me to one of the busiest markets in Mexico City,
the Mercado de Jamaica.
It's known as a flower market, but there's a lot of delicious treats
hidden within its walls, as well.
A little tasting with all the seasonal fruits.
Oh, look at this.
This is called Black Sapote, it's a very special fruit.
Mix it with the orange.
It tastes like fruity pudding, right?
Then, we have guava.
It's so sweet, it's so fresh. Absolutely delicious.
You have two kinds of mango.
So juicy.
Guanábana.
So good!
This to me looks like a tiny little clementine, or something like that.
Oh, wow!
It does feel like eating a small orange.
As a whole, with the skin.
That's "mamey", it's very sweet.
Wow, beautiful.
That does taste like a sweet potato.
But it's a fruit.
You know what? The thing about the fruit from this market,
and the fruit that I've had in Mexico so far,
is that it tastes nothing like the fruit that we get in supermarkets back home.
It tastes almost fake, right? Because it's so intense.
And you're used to this diluted flavor of the food.
Exactly. You're like: "Why do you add extra sugar to the fruit?"
But obviously, there's no extra sugar, that's just how the fruit actually tastes.
Exactly.
We're about to try something very local.
The "jicaleta".
Jicaletas are an unusual combo,
with chunky slices of turnip dipped in sugary powder.
Kind of like lollipops, but of course with a Mexican twist.
Ok, there is The Powerpuff Girls flavor, I think that's probably my favorite.
Now let's take this violent red.
Maracuja, passion fruit.
- Mango with chili. - Mango and "chile", good.
Let's do it.
That's delicious.
Sweet and juicy, and fresh.
Kind of like a popsicle,
but a little bit healthy, 'cause it's on a vegetable.
But with a lot of sugar, so it's like...
Cancels each other out.
Rocío saved the best for last.
We're visiting a very local bar, called a pulquería.
The pulque is a fermented drink, made from agave sap.
Usually, we have it in a big container, like one liter, so this is just for you.
So that you can just sip a little bit and try the flavor.
I don't know if I can handle a liter of pulque straight away.
Yeah.
- Salud! - Salud.
- Oh, it's so good. - It's good.
Who knew?
Pulque is definitely one of the most unusual kinds of alcohol I've ever had.
Anywhere in the world.
And it's completely natural and unique to this country,
which makes it really special.
Now, I shouldn't finish all of this, even though it's not very strong,
because we have another very special thing to do here in Mexico City.
So, I guess we'd better get going.
That was a lot of food.
I feel I've gotten to know Mexico City on a whole new level,
but it's not over yet.
We have a mission.
I'm about to learn how to cook traditional Mexican food.
And no, it's not at the bar where you can pay with bitcoin.
That's a whole other story.
We're going to a cooking school.
Right here.
- Hi Graciela, so nice to meet you! - Eva, how are you? So nice to have you.
I'm so glad to be here, your studio is absolutely beautiful.
It's a pleasure.
So, what are we gonna be cooking today?
A delicious taco.
Graciela is an award-winning chef, who now runs her very own
successful cooking school in the heart of Mexico City.
Today, she's going to teach me how to make some of Mexico's
most beloved dishes, but with a twist.
Because I requested the all vegan version.
But please, don't be put off by that, I wanna show you how this food comes to life.
Bueno, my dear Eva, today you learn how to master a very special type of tamal
that is called Mextlapique.
Mextclapique.
Yeah, perfect!
We have here cactus paddles,
carrots, beans that have been previously cooked and drained.
Cherry tomatoes, and tomato is native to Mexico.
And we have here my favorite chili serrano.
How much chili do you like?
I love spicy food.
So, Graciela, tell me about this space, how your cooking school got started.
I used to be a system engineer, a cybernetic engineer.
And 12 years ago I switched careers to cooking, in order to spend more time with my family.
And to balance my life in another way.
So, I started to teach cooking classes,
and four years ago we were able to finally open the cooking studio.
And this is it.
My intention is that in this place you can feel the love and the tradition
in every item, so everything here is handmade or at least tells a story.
There are crafts that someone else makes,
from the clay pots, from the dishes.
This is why we're serving in this type of utensils.
Even the glasses are hand blown, hand painted.
And all the crafts here have something to tell.
The humble chili is an essential ingredient in Mexican cuisine,
so we're being extra generous.
Don't mess with me.
'Cause you know, I know how to cook now.
A tamal is a technique, it's all about hugging.
You hug one side and then the other side, and then you tie the tamal.
This is called totomoxtle, or corn husk.
So, what goes into a tamale?
Well, juicy chunks of cactus, cherry tomatoes, courgettes, beans,
but really anything you have available.
Graciela got me to fry up an all vegan version of the classic "al pastor".
Then, she got me on the tortilladora, which is a traditional tortilla press,
before teaching me how to fry a tortilla.
Check out this amazing table of food that we cooked up here,
in the last couple of hours. This is all homemade right here.
So, we've got beautiful tamales, we've got tortillas right here,
and we're gonna be making tacos.
So, Graciela is gonna show us how to dress a taco the proper Mexican way.
Yes, so we will start with the filling.
Don't overdo the filling, 'cause a lot of garnishes are coming in.
Then, I'm gonna add a little bit of pineapple here.
We do onion, always be generous in your life, but mainly with salsas.
So I'm gonna add a little bit of the mango sauce that we have here.
Of course, cilantro leaves, chopped.
A little bit. And lime.
Lime is like love, you need the lime to make everything work here together.
So, I'm gonna add a good amount of lime.
- Salud! - Salud.
No, provecho. Ok, enjoy.
Provecho.
This taco is quite possibly the best taco I've ever had in my life.
Not because I cooked it,
but because the flavors, each flavor is distinctive, and different, and unique.
And it adds up to this symphony of taste.
For the tamal, never eat the leaf.
Then you open, and please, discover the aroma of this.
Amazing. I really like it.
So good.
Everything just kind of like steamed together,
all the veggies absorb each other's flavors.
Oh, this makes me so happy.
This food actually makes me so happy.
It was a pleasure to host you today, I really enjoyed cooking with you.
And even with dance, and sing together. It was so much fun.
Yeah, it was great.
We spent this time together, thank you for showing me
that you can always travel with your head.
That was a seriously delicious day.
I mean, Mexico's food culture is so incredibly rich and diverse.
I feel like I got to taste just a tiny little slice of that today,
but it was enough to really fill me up.
You know, the best thing about today was that all the food that you saw,
and I mean 100%, was all vegan.
Not an ounce of any animal products. No dairy, no meat, in any other.
You know, it's just amazing to know that you can have such an awesome feast
that is all plant-based.
And it doesn't take away from the food experience at all.
Amazing. I'm so happy. I'm gonna go and digest all of this deliciousness.
This was food in Mexico City.
I'll see you in the next episode, here on DW Travel.