Day Drinking in CDMX

04.20.2023 - 04.20.2023 25 °C

I tried to sleep in this morning but it just wasn’t happening, so I guess 6 hours is the new norm for my body. I was up and listening to New Heights for a bit before I heard misha and Alanna stir. We had a bit of a catch up before I suncreened up and headed out towards Coyoacán, the neighbour we are on the border of. The place I was hoping to get breakfast at was an hour walking away and so I made the conscious decision to walk there and see the neighbourhood while I was at it.

The neighbourhoods were colourful and sweet. I wore shorts and a tank top and it was the first “cat calling” and whistling I’d had all trip, from a few different cars going by.

I stumbled across a cemetary and oh my, they do things different around here! I sent a picture to my father and he gave me back a nice dad joke. “It’s so good there, everyone is dying to get in!” Ha. Ha.

Next up was Frida Kahlo’s house/museum. As I’d been warned, there was already a lineup around the block. I had no interest in going in and the lineup confirmed that. Still it was neat to see a big piece of Mexico City’s history up close.

I should have google mapped this location but there was some sort of government activity happening here.

I continued to walk towards my destination and I came to a gorgeous gated park. I went to go in and there was a security guard that asked to search my bag, I said, no problem. I opened my bag and showed him basically the only thing in there which was my camera, and he said, in Spanish, sorry no cameras. I said back, compliantly, “oh, ok! No problem!” But then said, “I have a phone, what’s the difference?” I was confused but wasn’t going to argue with the armed man who didn’t speak English. I walked the perimeter of the park and saw people participating in free gym lessons, equipped with floor mats and barbells made of stones (I wish I got a photo of this). There were a ton of runners and also a school/care centre. As I kept walking I noticed that the park turned into heavily armed government buildings, so it made sense why they were checking bags at the other end.

I kept waking and came across cobblestone streets, colourful buildings, street food, and many restaurants. The restaurant I was after was inside a sort of Al fresco mall. I found it and took a seat. They were out of Alote, a warm corn drink I had been hoping to try, so I opted instead for a strawberry basil gin fresco which really hit the spot after an hour of walking. I ordered the empanadas, and before I knew it I had a tiny vegan queso and salsa Rojas taco in front of me. Perks of being early I guess! They were really delicious.

My empanadas were good. I wouldn’t try them again just because they were so fried. I appreciate that they were very traditional food. Though they were fried the dough still tasted like fresh corn tortillas and I had three different fillings: a spinach one, a vegan queso and peppers one, and a huitacolche mushroom one. Good food, just not scream from the rooftops food.

My cocktail was really yummy, and as I was contemplating the rest of my day I thought it would be nice to try another spot close to where I was. I googled, and a highly rec’d cocktail spot was around the corner so I thought I’d give it a try. Going against my plans? I’m breezy! Called Magda, it was a restaurant I guess by a chef here. All I know is the google translated versions of the cocktails sounded excellent. So I walked over and was escorted to a wonderful backyard garden. I got the Gaia: passionfruit, mango and mezcal. It came with a basil and grapefruit and pink peppercorn garnish, and a mushroom glass! It was really, really good.

After lingering in the beautiful garden I got an Uber up to Roma Norte where there were a bunch of places I’d researched that I didn’t get to yet. First stop: Fat Vegan:

I got the simplest item, the swirl cone. The chocolate and vanilla flavours were really good, but it was icy. I can see why people who come to virtuous pie and are over the moon excited about our ice cream! If this was in Victoria I’d get it again for the flavour, but the texture was not truly soft serve.

Next up was a brewery, La Roma. They had about 15 beers on tap but, surprise, they do flights! We went though which beers had leche, and in the end I grabbed a sour (No leche?!), two hazy IPA’s, a table beer and a saison. One of the IPA’s was my favourite, it had so much flavour! Minus a point for how many cockroaches passed me by while I was sitting at the brewery…

Next I found Mercado Roma, a food court done right with Cervecerías, mexcalerias, and several vegan friendly food places. I found the mezcal place I was looking for and the server gave me two samples, both very strong and nothing like I’d had the other night. I opted to sit at the bar and have a hibiscus mezcal margarita. The server’s recommendation was on point: It was really delicious.

I had been chatting to the young bartender via a translate app, mostly about cocktails, and so when I asked for the bill he said, do you mind trying a new cocktail and telling me what you think? I wasn’t going to say no! It was rose liqueur, absinthe, two types of mezcal and a rose petal, sugar rim. I told him it was delicious, but could use a little citrus for balance. I also told him my middle name was rose! How fitting he chose this cocktail.

I may have then shared with him some cocktail ideas to impress his boss, both of which included mezcal, that we had curated for our menus back home. He was translating them as I sipped the rest of my complimentary drink. Overall I loved this experience of sitting inside a boujee food court, people watching and chatting to the staff.

I meant to wander towards some of the other spots I’d ear marked but instead I walked past Gold Taco, and I took a seat ar their bar and ordered a couple of tacos. The one person whipped them up so quickly; I put in my translate app that she was a rockstar in the kitchen. She smiled and said thank you. She was so good! The tacos were SPICY but otherwise delicious. She offered to fill up my water bottle to go.

After this I made my way out of the market and through the streets to my next stop, Mercado Tasting Room. Here I picked the sour beer and sat on the street to enjoy it, while admiring the extraterrestrial theme of the brewery inside. I caught up with my blogging, with Chris and my parents and I was feeling the buzz of my day drinking.

At this point I should have gone home, but Por Siempre’s second location was around the corner, and so I thought it would be a crime not to stop by and try the tacos I didn’t get last time.

Absolutely stuffed, I ubered home and got ready to head right back out with Misha and Alanna. We got a ride to Hop The Beer Experience 2, a craft beer hall with tons of choices of what seemed like all Mexican beer.