Mexico: Tacos at twilight

Mexico City. Photo / Getty Images

A neighbourhood foodie tour excites the taste buds and the imagination, writes Brett Atkinson.

I'm waiting in line with Mexico City's best-behaved chihuahua for some of the city's best street food. The diminutive dogs from the northern Mexican state bordering Texas can be mucho nervioso, but this little amigo is muy tranquilo. Maybe it's the aroma of the sopa de esquites we're all waiting on that's keeping him so easygoing.

After a careering Uber ride through the backstreets of Mexico City, I hook up with guide Alex from Eat Mexico in the working-class neighbourhood of Narvarte. The line for the robust corn soup topped with lime, chilli and mayonnaise snakes around the corner, but machine-like precision by the serving crew sees us eating in no time. Hearty and refreshing at the same time, it's the perfect mobile snack as Alex leads a concise group of six foodie travellers further into Narvarte.

Alex explains that Narvarte is a neighbourhood of families drawn from across Mexico to the Latin American megacity of more than 20 million for work and education. For such a big city, the area's vibe is surprisingly quiet and local, and regional flavours from around Mexico offer residents a comforting taste of home.

La Costilla is the next stop, and the simple workers' cafe is heaven for fans of chilli and garlic. Crispy tostadas are either piled high with smokey green poblano chillis or oven-baked with a healthy smear of garlic, and there's definitely nothing shy about the big flavours. It's all an authentically long way from either Old El Paso or new El Paso.

Authenticity also rules at nearby Cantina Los Cuates. Part social club, sports bar and corner pub, the welcome from the locals watching football and playing dominos seems genuine, and our short time drinking beneath framed images of the Virgin Mary and a 2010 calendar from neighbourhood panelbeaters soon morphs into shared toasts of "Salud!"

Drinking and eating combine nearby at Piloncillo & Cascabel, where chef Jose guides our group through a tasting session of mezcal. Rapidly becoming the hippest tipple from Seattle to Shoreditch, tequila's more refined sibling is revealed to be surprisingly complex.

We're tasting from votive glasses, branded with a cross and traditionally used in church to hold tealight candles for prayer. Crafted in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, where dense hearts of massive agave palms are cooked in giant pits, delicate flavours of smoke, star anise, caramel and dried fruit all surface, and Jose's menu of snacks is equally eclectic. Sipping is definitely encouraged — slamming tequila shots is an American invention apparently — and the combination of fresh limes and zingy sal de gusano (worm salt) is recommended as a between-vintage palate cleanser.

Add in a few seafood empanadas and crispy fried chapulines (grasshoppers) and the mezcal session is a perfect aperitivo before inevitably moving on to taco time.

As the smokey aroma of grilled pork wafts through Narvarte's twilight shadows, we first sense El Vilsito from at least 100m away. Come back during the day and the location is a good spot to get your car's transmission repaired, but after dark the garage is transformed into one of Mexico City's best places for tacos al pastor. Introduced by Lebanese immigrants in the 1920s, tacos al pastor are a delicious mash up of Mexico and the Middle East.

Tacos Al Pastor in Mexico City. Photo / Carol Atkinson

Marinated pork is cooked on a vertical spit like a doner kebab, and the usual flour taco is replaced with thicker pide bread. Service is incredibly quick as a flash of activity from a slender blade deposits slices of tender pork on to the warm pide. Add a slice of grilled pineapple from the top of the grill, the ubiquitously Mexican combo of lime juice, chilli and coriander, and you're good to go. No wonder this place is packed until the early hours every day.

My optional devouring of a second taco al pastor means I'm rapidly becoming full, but part two of taco time, a short walk away at Tacos Tony, is still an essential destination.

Tony's knife work is as impressive as the guys at El Vilsito, but he's definitely got the edge in other ways. Offal and secondary cuts of meat are the specialty here, and lengua (tongue), tripa (tripe) and sesos (brains) are all on offer.

Just like the grasshoppers, "Try it, you'll like it," encourages Alex and he's right on the money.

There's no sign of our four-legged friend from earlier in the night, but I'm sure he'd also be a big fan.

FACT BOX

GETTING THERE
For New Zealand travellers, Mexico City is most easily reached on direct flights from Los Angeles or Houston.

DETAILS
Book the Navarte at Night tour with
eatmexico.com