Mexican cuisine has been listed as UNESCO intangible heritage since 2010. That’s no accident \u2014 it is one of the world’s three great cuisines, along with French and Chinese.<\/em><\/p>\n The Mexican taco has nothing to do with the Tex-Mex taco. No hard shell, no melted cheddar, no sour cream. A real taco is a soft, warm corn tortilla topped with meat and salsa. Period. The magic is in the simplicity.<\/p>\n Tacos al pastor<\/strong> : pork marinated in achiote, cooked on a vertical spit (a Lebanese heritage), topped with pineapple and coriander. The icon of Mexico City. 10-15 MXN each (0.50-0.80 EUR).<\/p>\n Tacos de carnitas<\/strong> : pork slow-cooked in its own fat, a Michoac\u00e1n specialty. Melting texture, intense flavor.<\/p>\n Tacos de barbacoa<\/strong> : lamb or beef pit-cooked underground, a Sunday morning tradition. The queue is the best indicator of quality.<\/p>\n Tacos de canasta<\/strong> : \"basket tacos\", made in advance and kept warm in a cloth-wrapped basket. The workers’ breakfast. 5 MXN each.<\/p>\n The rule: the smaller the stand and the longer the line, the better the taco.<\/p>\n The mole<\/strong> is the quintessence of Mexican cuisine \u2014 a complex sauce that can contain 20 to 30 ingredients: dried chilies, chocolate, spices, seeds, dried fruit. Every region has its moles, every family its recipe.<\/p>\n Mole negro<\/strong> (Oaxaca): the king of moles. Dark, deep, smoky. Up to 30 ingredients, several days of preparation.<\/p>\n Mole poblano<\/strong> (Puebla): the most internationally famous. Mulato, ancho and pasilla chilies, chocolate, sesame. Served over chicken with rice.<\/p>\n Mole amarillo<\/strong> (Oaxaca): lighter, based on chili costero and masa. Often as a stew with vegetables.<\/p>\n Oaxaca is called \"the land of the seven moles\" \u2014 negro, rojo, coloradito, amarillo, verde, chichilo and manchamanteles. One trip is not enough to taste them all.<\/p>\n Mezcal is to Mexico what natural wine is to France \u2014 an artisanal, terroir-driven movement that has exploded over the past ten years. Unlike tequila (which uses only Jalisco’s blue agave), mezcal can be made from more than 30 agave varieties, each giving a different profile.<\/p>\n Espad\u00edn<\/strong> : the most common variety, fruity and accessible. The entry point.<\/p>\n Tobal\u00e1<\/strong> : a wild mountain agave, rare, with complex floral aromas. A bottle can cost 50-100 EUR in Oaxaca.<\/p>\n Pechuga<\/strong> : the celebration mezcal \u2014 distilled with a chicken or turkey breast hung inside the still. Surprising and ceremonial.<\/p>\n Visiting a palenque<\/strong> (artisanal distillery) in Santiago Matatl\u00e1n or the villages around Oaxaca is an unmissable experience. You see the agave cooked in a buried oven, crushed by a stone wheel, fermented in the open air, distilled in copper or clay.<\/p>\n Tlayudas<\/strong> (Oaxaca): a large crunchy tortilla topped with beans, Oaxacan cheese, meat, chapulines (grilled grasshoppers). The Mexican pizza.<\/p>\n Elotes and esquites<\/strong> : corn on the cob (elote) or in kernels (esquite), topped with mayo, cotija cheese, chili and lime. Everywhere, always.<\/p>\n Tamales<\/strong> : stuffed corn dough (chicken, pork, mole, rajas), wrapped in corn husks or banana leaves. Sunday breakfast across all of Mexico.<\/p>\n Chapulines<\/strong> : grasshoppers grilled with chili and lime, an Oaxaca specialty. Crunchy, salty, addictive. The mezcal-hour snack.<\/p>\n Marquesitas<\/strong> (Yucat\u00e1n): crispy rolled cr\u00eapes filled with Edam cheese and Nutella. M\u00e9rida’s late-night snack.<\/p>\n The Mercado de la Merced<\/strong> in Mexico City is the city’s largest market \u2014 labyrinthine, noisy, complete. The Oaxaca markets (Benito Ju\u00e1rez<\/strong> and 20 de Noviembre<\/strong>) are the most gastronomic in the country \u2014 you sit at the counter and order dishes prepared right in front of you.<\/p>\n In the Yucat\u00e1n, the Lucas de G\u00e1lvez Market<\/strong> in M\u00e9rida is a world of its own \u2014 cochinita pibil for breakfast, panuchos, salbutes, papadzules. On Sundays, the Yucat\u00e1n's village markets are popular festivals where food is the main attraction.<\/p>\n Agua fresca<\/strong> : homemade drinks made from fresh fruit, hibiscus flowers (jamaica) or rice (horchata). Everywhere, 10-20 MXN a glass.<\/p>\n Cerveza<\/strong> : Mexican beer is everywhere. Beyond the classics (Corona, Modelo, Pacifico), the craft beer scene is booming in Mexico City and Oaxaca.<\/p>\n Caf\u00e9 de olla<\/strong> : coffee brewed in a clay pot with cinnamon and piloncillo (cane sugar). Mexican grandmother's coffee.<\/p>\n Find our Mexico travel journal<\/a> and us 10-21 day itineraries<\/a> to plan your trip.<\/em><\/p>\nTacos: not the ones you think<\/h2>\n
Moles: Mexican complexity<\/h2>\n
Mezcal: the spirit of Oaxaca<\/h2>\n
Street food: a living heritage<\/h2>\n
The markets: the beating heart<\/h2>\n
Drinking in Mexico<\/h2>\n
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