Mexico
Mexico City, Coyoacan, Roma, Condesa, Teotihuacan
Trip 1: From October 15th to 19th, 2022
Day 1
We landed in Mexico City on a Sunday and realized that the whole main drag (Calle Chapultepec) was closed Sunday of every week for the public to go out and use it for exercise. I had never seen a city do that and it was fun to see all groups of people getting exercise together
We went for lunch at Casa de Tono in a cute neighborhood. We knew the wait would be a little longer so we walked around the street while we waited. We ordered everything on the menu and walked out with bellies full.
Took a car to see Coyoacan, but had the driver drop us off at a park nearby so we could work off a little but of our big Mexican lunch. The park was a kind of peaceful park with natural art inside, groups of people meditating, doing yoga, tai chi, and many other peaceful activities. There was a garden co-op there as well.
While walking to the center of Coyoacan, we ended up finding a large nursery that was selling all kinds of plants and flowers. A lot of the decoration was for Day of the Dead upcoming festivals.
We first spotted the longest line in all of Coyoacan, which was for the Frida Khalo Museum. We did not end up going inside, but promised to come back and give it more time.
We found many mini streets that led into the Mercado Coyoacan, where you can find almost anything under the sun. Again, the theme was Day of the Dead and many people were gathering decor to prep for the celebrations.
Before heading out, we managed to find an esquire’s cart and loaded up on great Mexican streetcars before we headed out to the next spot.
Our first big bar was maybe one of our top favorite bars: Brujas. Themed after brujas (witches), the ambience, the menu, the cocktails, the crew… everything fit the witchcraft theme perfectly. It was a cool spot where many of the local expats came to have a drink and tell a story.
After a long but exciting day, we made it to Pizza Roma where we had some incredible Detroit style pizza. You’ll see us mention Pizza Roma a few more times with each of our Mexico City travel trips.
Day 2
We were determined to get some great local Mexican food, so Max found one of the higher (if not the highest) rated spot in downtown Mexico City, Los Panchos on Miguel Hidalgo Street. You could tell that other tourists had found the spot, but the other restaurant guests were definitely locals and you can tell they’d been going there for years.
We walked after lunch down the Calle Chapultepec and saw all the marigold flowers lining the main busy street. The city had started its transformation process to gear up for Day of the Dead in the streets.
We decided to show up early for a bar reservation we had at Handshake Speakeasy Bar. A smaller bar, but a creative menu that had us ordering some very unique cocktails.
We had reservations at the next spot, but saw that it was pouring rain outside. No rideshare companies were available, or rather, the traffic and rain was so bad that everything was gridlocked. We decided to get a little excercise in and ended up running, yes running to the next bar. It was only about a mile away. We showed up at Baltra, a Galapagos Island inspired bar, and everybody there was definitely on island mentality. It was nice and relaxing, but we only had 2 drinks before our big dinner at Mexico’s most well known restaurant.
Although it wasn’t our first time at Pujol, we were as excited as if it was. We were most looking forward to the smoked baby corns and, of course, the mole. It did not disappoint.
Day 3
The next day we decided to go a bit outside the city and see one of the larger attractions in Mexico City. We had a tour and guide with us to see the temples at Teotihuacan. We spent about 2 hours walking around, learning about the civilization that pre-dates the Aztecs, but has yet to be labeled by historians. This was such a highlight, and learning the history of the temples and the speculation about what was done there was fascinating to hear about.
After about an hour and a half car ride back from the Teotihuacan ruins, we had our driver drop us off at the St. Regis and we walked to lunch at the Ritz Carlton rooftop restaurant, Hakkasan. We had views for days and it was really fun to overlook the Chapultepec park - it’s a lot bigger than you would think!
Next on the bar list was Hanky Panky speakeasy, and we had a little bit of trouble finding it. Our driver dropped us off at the address of the bar, but we couldn’t find anything labeled as the place. After 5 minutes of walking around, considering ordering another car to pick us up, a street vendor made eye contact and asked if we were looking for the bar. With a smile on his face, he pointed to a small looking local cafe that was offering menudo (a spam/hotdof soup) as their “house specialty”. We went into the cafe and asked if they had a drink menu. With that, they escorted us back behind the cafe kitchen and we were in Hanky Panky.
Hanky Panky was very impressive, their menu was the theme of a passport. The staff there had traveled all over the world to the other top 50 bars, learning their cocktails, making friends with their bartenders, and their menu consisted of highlighting cities, bartenders, and beverages from their world tour. It was exciting to see some of the bars we had been to in Italy, England, etc. At the end of their menu, they had a complete Mexico City recommendation guide. We took a picture of it and have listed their recommendations out below. advantage of. See their list below.
After Hanky Panky we made our way to the highest rated bar in Mexico City, Licoreria Limantour. This was probably one of the largest bars we’ve been to that’s on the top bar lists. They were having some kind of industry night event, and the place was crawling with people.
As if we hadn’t had enough, we went back to Pizza Roma for dinner again, like the crazy people that we are.
Trip 2: From November 22 to 24, 2022
Night 1
We made it back to the St. Regis and always love starting our day swimming at their pool they have on top of the hotel. Their gym is quite built out also.
We went back to our favorite pizza place in Mexico, Pizza Roma, to get our (mostly Max’s) fix of pizza. We needed to get a good base of food in before we continued our bar tour.
We first stopped at Tlecan Mezcaleria and were the first ones in the bar. Within 5 minutes, the entire place was packed full of people; locals and tourists. There was some kind of protest or Mexican National Guard procession going on outside the bar and it caused quite a stir.
We had a great time at Tlecan, but the only alcohol on the menu was mezcal. We needed a little variety, so we stopped at Maison Artemisia for a nightcap.
Day 2
The next say Street tacos at recommendation from Hanky Panky: Tacos Hola (or Taqueria Los Parados) on Calle Michoacan in Condesa.
Yes, we had already eaten, but we continued our food tour at a place called Comedor de los Milagros for second lunch. This was during the World Cup, so many people were headed here to watch games, drink cerveza, and try foods from all around the comedor. The comedor had foods from Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, Mexico, Costa Rica and more.
It was a long day of walking so we were deserving of a treat. We stopped and ate churros at churreria El Morro in Condesa.
We went into the evening with our first bar stop being at Bar Cafe de Nadie in Roma neighborhood. This was a very cool and hipster bar that had a live DJ playing old vinyl records. It was fun to walk to the shops and food spots next door all inside the Pasaje Commercial El Parian. Highly recommend coming to this artistic area for a walk around.
The last stop of the day was dinner and drinks at Deigo Cocina, and upstairs was Kaito bar. The restaurant is technically Japanese, and we enjoyed it to the fullest.
Day 3
Thanksgiving day we flew to Tecate to spend time with Max’s family in Valle de Guadalupe.
Day 4
Wine tasting at Baron Balche
Lunch Decantos Vinicola
Wine tasting, Bruma Valle de Guadalupe, very hipster, tree in the pond, very cool restaurant just a short walk away
Fauna - a must must must
Multi coursed dinner at Animalon
Day 5
Wine tasting - Clos de tres cantos, very small local place, had our own private seating area, had chocolate pairing with wine
Sunset dinner at Cuatro Cuatros, Bar Bura - very scenic, highly recommend during sunset, right on the edge of the water
Next time we visit, we plan to check out:
Oaxaca
As promised, the list of recommendations from Hanky Panky bar on other places to eat, drink, shop around Mexico City. I send this list to everyone who asks me what to do, as this is the local’s advice.
Bar Recommendations:
Handshake Speakeasy - Great spot, get reservations on open table
https://maps.app.goo.gl/DqQw1gRhMriE96Bq6?g_st=ic
Licorería Limantour - This is a big bar and on a great street that is always going off
https://maps.app.goo.gl/GhajGi2qS5c7KJNQ8?g_st=ic
Hanky Panky Cocktail Bar - Get reservation before. Behind a taco shop, speakeasy style
https://maps.app.goo.gl/bAdAf8Cxxrg9zjbbA?g_st=ic
Tlecan - Great tequila/mezcal bar
https://maps.app.goo.gl/ogCATapRMUsKCVv46?g_st=ic
Xaman Bar
https://maps.app.goo.gl/RFYgwPXHyfBwV6D48?g_st=ic
Ling Ling by Hakkasan - For dinner one night. At the top of the ritz and amazing view
https://maps.app.goo.gl/2A9AbkMnnmeQAaTh8?g_st=ic
Contramar - Great seafood
https://maps.app.goo.gl/DTQtwazRSwwrFQHS6?g_st=ic
Pizza Roma - One of our fave pizza spots in the world
https://maps.app.goo.gl/M1NuWEnNqGT7nWDAA?g_st=ic
Playa Del Carmen
Stay
Belmond Maroma - for quiet, privacy, discretion, an incredible beach
Rosewood Mayacoba - for upbeat, lively, action, scene-y
See/Do
Dive in the cenotes at Zapote
Dive in the cenotes at
C56 ship wreck dive
Dive near Cozumel
Eat/Drink
Zapote Bar in the Rosewood Mayacoba
Oaxaca
From October 31st to November 4th 2024
Day 1
We flew in from Mexico City and landed in Oaxaca around midday. After a 30 minute drive we arrived at our hotel Grand Fiesta Americana and were greeting by smiling faces and beautiful Dia de los Muertos decorations in the lobby and all around the hotel.
We weren’t at the hotel long before we decided to set out and see all the action and buzz about the city. Our first stop, will be no surprise, was a street food stand called Tacos De Carmen. We had tacos de chorizo, tacos de chile relleno (the absolute best of all!), and a quesadilla con flor de calabasa. All tacos came with the delicious and incredible Oaxacan cheese. Many of the guides we had in Oaxaca were familiar with Tacos de Carmen and we didn’t realize but the was on a Netflix show about food in Oaxaca.
It was warm out so we just shopped around a little bit, bought Hailey a marigold flower crown, snapped pictures of the statues and papel picado that lined the streets, took pictures and videos of funny costumes or street performances, bought a pair of earrings from the local market, and headed back to the hotel to clean up for the evening ahead.
The streets were getting more and more packed full of people, costumes were getting more and more ornate, bands were marching and playing through the streets, Hailey got her face painted by a 12 year old boy (he was confident he was the man for the job!), Max got a little face paint too, we had multiple mezcalaritas on the rooftop of La Mecalerita, snapped more instagrammy Dia de Los Muertos pictures around the city, and stumbled across a wedding celebration happening in the middle of the street. The wedding celebrants were holding a firework paper mache goat and dancing around the street as the bottle rocket style fireworks shot off randomly. We felt the heat of a few of the embers as they zoomed past us in all directions. It was wild to see.
We went back to the hotel at 6pm to meet our guide who was going to take us around the rest of the evening. After a few mezcal sippers at the bar, we left with our guide, Juan as he took us around the city and explained certain cultural things to us. We first stopped in an “up and coming” neighborhood, Jalatlaco, where the streets were shut down so that large bands could play and people could dance. The celebration on this street was specifically sponsored by a business nearby that wanted to create awareness. It was an English/Spanish translation school. Our guide brought a bottle of mezcal and poured a small amount in our cups every now and then. Drinking in public is legal and a very big part of the celebration. After we felt we saw all we needed to see from the big band, the gigantes, and the street dancers, we then made our way to Santa Cruz Xoxocotlan to see what kinds of celebrations they had going on there.
In Santa Cruz we walked past people painting religious murals on canvases on the floor, and also spreading colorful sand all around the floor to create a creative colorful walkway with Day of the Dead designs. We then made our way to the funeral grounds where a religious procession was going on and a large group of people were headed in slowly into the gravesite with candles, smoke blowing around, and music playing. We walked around the graveyard, watching locals celebrate the life of their family members who have passed on. It was a peaceful walk through the graveyard marveling at the beauty of how it was decorated with marigold and candles. Some graves were decorated elaborately with not a blank space on it to see the tombstone below. We spent about 10 minute inside the gravesite before heading to the next spot: some snacks!
Ate a few tacos of cerebro de puerco and more tacos of tasajo at Polleria Lopez. We did not know that’s what we were going to eat before arriving, but we handled it like champions. Probably our first time eating brain and truly it tasted just like a carnitas would have.
We then drove to a separate part of Xoxocotlan to walk around a larger, more touristic graveyard than the previous one. This graveyard was massive, crawling with people all dressed up for the festivities, multiple groups of musicians were playing music for families at the gravesites, and a man was walking through the graveyard with a large tray above his head advertising that he had tacos for sale. The entrance to the graveyard had a quote on it “Polvo eres y a ser polvo turnaras” - from dust you became and to dust you will return. A stage was set up just outside the graveyard and people were enjoying the live stage performances. We gave some tipping money to the live band performers and wrapped up our tour of this final graveyard.
We wrapped up our tour and had Juan drop us off at a local bar in town called El Cortijo Cocktail Room. It wasn’t packed, but it wasn’t empty - it was just the right amount. We ordered a Naked and Famous and sat and listened to the live music inside. The musican was in need of some help and solicited the help of Hailey on vocals. Max filmed while in the comfort of a cocktail in his other hand. They sang Pink Floyd and Amy Winehouse. The last video/photo we had on our phones from that night was at 12am.
Day 2
We took it easy this day because the previous day was a travel day and then an all nighter. An all dayer and an all nighter. Little Caesars was ordered, and then Hailey went off to do some market shopping (picking up 2 new locally hand made dresses), and Max stayed back to catch up on business.
The evening started off at Selva cocktail bar that is on the Worlds 50 Best. It did not disappoint! The cocktails were incredible and the ambience of the bar was one of our favorites. Of course the bar was packed all night, and we continued to get our seats upgraded as we outdrank those around us and others left to continue their evenings elsewhere. Within an hour of being there, we found ourselves on the balcony of the bar with the ability to watch all the street happenings below. We stayed on that balcony for almost 3 hours, drinking almost every cocktail they had on their menu, and also ordering food from the restaurant right next door: 1 Michelin starred restaurant Los Danzantes.
We walked along the streets, bought drawings from little kids in the street, took pictures of funny outfits, watched live musical performances by adolescent kids, popped into another few bars along the streets, walked along part of the parades, walked by a Domino’s pizza (packed with people inside) and called it a night by 11pm.
Day 3
We started our morning off with lunch at the hotel having memelitas, a caesar salad, and a Oaxacan tamale. We then left for a mezcal tasting at Don Agave just 30 minutes outside of town near Mitla. They had a nice little tasting program put together - we learned about all the types of agave, saw where they store it to cook/smoke it, transfer it into the “mash” pit, saw the vats where they then store the paste, let the yeast naturally form, then showed how to vapor turns eventually into mezcal. Whew! Time for a drink. We must have tasted over 15 different types of mezcal. While tasting we munched on queso fundido with chorizo as well as guacamole. We bought some unique mezcals to ship to family back home as a surprise.
We came back to the hotel to rest up for the evening ahead. We headed back out into the streets by 8pm and watched a fire street performer in the Plaza de Santa Domingo. Before calling it a night, we got an esquire’s to split for dinner from a local street cart near the market we had previously shopped at.
Day 4
We started this next day off with a tour at 10am. The tour was meant to take us to Hierve de Agua, but we made mini stops all along the way. Our first stop was the big Sunday market in Tlacolula de Matamoros. We walked along the streets to see all the different things that were being sold: socks, underwear, belts, shopping bags, accessories, tacos of all kinds, rugs, tortillas, sunglasses, toilet paper - basically an indoor/outdoor Mexican Walmart. We stopped to eat tacos at two different places and loved them equally. We ate the carnitas from the hand of the lady selling it.
We made it to Hierve de Agua by 12:30pm and had an hour to walk around and explore. We did not come with bathing suits or towels, but we did decide to get into the water and rub the minerals all over our body. It was fun, beautiful and relaxing.
By 5pm we made it back to the center of Oaxaca city and had the best meal we’ve had in all of Mexico. Dinner at Asador Bacanora consisted of salsas, roasted cauliflower in a delicious sauce, esquires with chicharron, steak tacos (for Max), chicken (for Hailey), and incredible smoky refried beans. Truly amazing! Maxs steak tacos with a little bit of beans was the bite of the night.
We decided to take one more stroll on our last night in Oaxaca to pick gifts up for family members and then we admired the organized street dancers just outside our hotel in the plaza before going home by 8pm!
Day 5
Flew out to Dallas, Hailey continued on to Kansas and Max went to Phoenix.