316026 Tue Aug 08 22:36:09 -0700 2006 6 55 Mexico 0 1795763 I will be arriving in Mexico City (despite the protests) this Friday and will be staying in the Roma district. I've looked through most of the other postings on Mexico City (thanks for all great suggestions!) but am still having a hard time deciding on my first meal in Mexico. Would prefer it not to be outragously expensive but I am willing to pay for a special meal. Would prefer it to be an authentic Mexican meal in the Roma district. I get in to town around 8-9pm. Any votes for the first meal? Tue Aug 08 22:36:09 -0700 2006 24571 cotija 1 1802663 There is a great place on the main restaurant strip of Condesa (adjacent to Roma, very walkable even at night) called Cafe La Gloria that I tried a couple months ago The menu is sort of bistro-ish, but with an emphasis on seasonal local ingredients. They had a fantastic bread bowl with an interesting spiced butter and a kind of smoky chili relish on the side. I had a subtle and delicious squash blossom soup to start, and a really well cooked rare steak with a huitlacoche and poblano pepper sauce. I think there was a pilaf and something else on the side. Seriously good food, a nice patio kind of thing, open pretty late if I remember correctly, and a fun, young vibe to the place. It was for sure the most expensive meal I had during 2-3 weeks in Mexico, but I was eatting reeaaally cheaply most of the time, so this was my one 'splurge'. I ordered the most expensive main, a beer or two, and coffee, and it still came in at under $20 US if I remember correctly. I tried googling the address and came up with: Vicente Suárez 41 D. The descriptions I found online say that it serves 'mediterranean' food, but that wasn't at all what I found, save for some Euro influence in technique. If you're down walking around between the Zocalo and the Alameda anytime, check out Casa del Pavo and Pasteleria Ideal. The former is a very surreal diner type joint serving tortas and lots of other stuff, but turkey is definitely king. Even aside from the outstanding turkey tortas and free hunks of marinated carrots and chiles, it's worth going just to check out the stern-faced old fella behind the counter slicing up the turkeys and seemingly ignoring every order shouted at him. While I doubt that Pasteleria Ideal is the best bakery in town, it's more than worth seeing. It's a huge, two story space, with lots of Mexicans walking around piling their trays with hundreds of varieties of sweet and savory baked goodies - and I'm not exaggerating when I say hundreds, with people bringing out fresh stuff all of the time. The upstairs has the designs for cakes, many of which are jaw-droppingly huge, complex, and/or gaudy. You'll have no trouble fiding something tasty, and it's pretty cheap, too. Enjoy DF! Fri Aug 11 20:20:44 -0700 2006 1795763 24405 mtl to tor 2 2385412 The "smoky chili relish" they have at Cafe la Gloria is actually tamarind-based. Wed Mar 14 12:45:21 -0700 2007 1802663 82635 JoakimZiegler 1 1802765 It probably won't be your first meal, but maybe your second? After a number of trips to Mexico City, we finally had breakfast at Sanborns at Casa de los Azulejos. It's a department store restaurant, but the setting is incredible. The food was certainly ok also, and the place was packed with locals. Fri Aug 11 20:55:51 -0700 2006 1795763 16039 SusanB 1 2010093 We tried Casa del Pavo a few years back, and we thought it was dirty, and the food less than mediocre. On the other hand, we love the Pastelería Ideal. http://www.pbase.com/panos/image/26691100 We enjoy occasionally eating a comida at the upstairs, Restaurante Dietético y Vegetariano, on Madero, a couple of blocks west of the Zócalo, across from the Oro shops. It's fresh and tasty vegetarian foods, but the highlight for me is the delightful salad course. If you are lucky, the lady piano player will be there, at about 1:30 PM weekdays. Thu Nov 09 23:51:15 -0800 2006 1795763 49726 Anonimo 1 2011560 In a city like D.F. its impossible to generalize... but I would say that there are some patterns to the distribution of restaurant types, even among the nice neighborhoods: Roma-Condessa is the most European influenced part of the city, with lots of Spanish, Italian, Mediterranean restuarants in the area. The Mexican places here are mostly fusion... with Italian, Mediterranean, Japanese & Thai influences. Polanco is where you find most of the Mexican Haute restaurants as well as the French & the International high-end chains catering to the fickle business traveler (Le Cirque, China Grill etc.,) El Centro Historico is were you find most of the traditional, regional & pre-hispanic influenced restaurants in the city. Southern Mexico City (San Angel & Coyoacan) is eclectic, fairly avant garde with plenty of traditional Mexican places but modest prices. Santa Fe Business District is a Chowhound wasteland (not that I expect you to be visiting it) dominated by chains like Ruth's Chris & TGIFs Zona Rosa is eclectic but you are more likely to get stuck in a tourist trap. With that said, here are the go to Mexican restaurants in Roma-Condesa: La Bodega La Casa de Tacubaya La Sabia Virtud La Tecla All are highly recommended but not the best in class for the city. BTW, a recent conversation with my cousin in Mexico City... alerted me to the latest star, up & coming Chef Enrique Olvera whose restaurant Pujol in the Polanco district is all the rage. Its Mexican Haute keeping current with the Modern International Style... sample items from their menu: > Cactus Salad with Toasted Masa & Oregano Sorbet > Four Corn Varieties of Esquites (Seared Kernels) with Mayo Gelatin, Fresco Cheese, Fried Epazote, Piquin Chile > Squash Blossom Capucchino, Coconut Milk Foam & Nutmeg http://www.pujol.com.mx/ Fri Nov 10 17:19:26 -0800 2006 1795763 42572 Eat_Nopal 2 2011946 Pujol is indeed very, very good. Here's a post I did about it a year ago on the old International Board http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/267130?query=pujol&user_name= BTW, the Squash Blossom Cappuchino w/Coconut Foam and Nutmeg is a spectacular dish. Fri Nov 10 19:07:17 -0800 2006 2011560 10506 DiningDiva