mexican meals
Acclaimed chef José Andrés picks must-visit restaurants and bars in Latin America’s new culinary capital
SpANIARd José An rés ma e a slew of Mexican frien s when he starte working in New York kitchens in the early 1990s, an those als rom te him to take the first of many tri s to Mexico in 1995.
“That’s how my love affair with Mexico City began,” he ex lains. More than two eca es later, the chef — known for eateries from The Bazaar in LA an Miami to Jaleo in Washington, dC an Las Vegas — just o ene his first overseas restaurant, J
by José Andrés. J, in Mexico City’s tony ’hoo of polanco ( jbyjoseandres.com), acts as the anchor of the newly rehabbe W hotel (from $350; wmexicocity.com).
An rés has s ent 20 years eating his way aroun the city, so who better to offer an insi er’s gui e to the best taquerias an yummiest eats? “I’m like dory [from ‘Fin ing Nemo’] on steroi s,” laughs the chef. “I forget, et, forget, forget.” So wewe nu ge his memory a little uring the restaurant’s nt’s o ening fête.
Carmen Ramirez degollalla o — better known as Tita ta — became the chef at the original El Bajio to re lace her husban after he ie of cancer. That was 35 years ago, an by cham ioning sim le, rus- tic cooking she’s built an em ire of those cafés across oss the city ( restauranteelbajio.io.
com.mx). “I refer the first st [café], which is a little ugly gy an out by the air ort,” says
An rés. “They have this ish, a gorgo ita, with corn ough. InInsi e they ut black refrie bebeans an leaves of avoca oo, then [they] ro it in hohot oil an it uffs ...” he says, gesturing like a magician. “They make it look easy, but technically, it’s very har .” An rés is a rabi Twitter user — @chefjosean res hhas almost 400,000 folfollowers — an often uses iit to scout new laceses toto samsam le. He foun Sud
777 that way. “I sometimes follow eo le for a month because I think they’re interesting, or will o en u your horizons, an to ay [the chef an I] exchange tweets,” An rés says. “E gar Nuñez is really young but really goo — he has a foo truck, too.” Su 777’s sleek, contem orary s ace is a showcase for his cooking, which takes tra itional Mexican ingre ients, such as black beans an Cotija cheese, an uses them in unex ecte ways ( sud777.
com.mx). “He has a goo heart, nice an humble,” An-
rés says. “You know, eo le with ba hearts cannot be goo cooks.cooks.”
Anothernother crow source favoriterite is his latest obsession, Taqueria La Negrara ( lanegra. egra.
mx). “It’s bran -new an very stylish.sh. I wentt for lunchh to ay,” he says. “There’s a big variety of tacos,s, from the mostmost classic,sic, like taco al pastor, too thethe oneone I ate, withwith aa frie egg an re-refrie beans.ns. You kin of get it all overver your fingers when the egg yolk breaks, so on’t wear a white shirt!shirt!” The salssalsa selectiontion is a stan out, too — among the half ozenozen onon offeoffer, he raves about the tomatillolo aan avocaca o an anoanother ma e with the ch ch io tl elike like mo mo rita chile e er. Onwar s toto more goo ness. The ststuffe oblano ishish knownkno as chile en nogada is one of Mexico’ sn at ionwn at ionwie stales, an with googo reason: son: Its re, green an white color schemscheme is a no to the nationational flag. The re is omegranate see s, the green is chile, an the white is the ish itself, as well as the noga a, a creamy walnut sauce. An rés recommen s sam ling some at chef Ricar o Muñoz’s Azul y
Oro ( azul.rest). “They ut a lot of theater into the way they bring it out to you, on a beautiful tray,” he ex lains. “It’s Instagramrea y.” So, is it just a ish to eat with your eyes? “Oh no, no, no, it’s very fresh,” An res reassures. “When you eat that sauce, it’s unbelievable.”
A Mexico City foo tour isn’t com lete without some beverages to match. An rés loves margaritas so much, he ut a salty foam-to e one on the menu at J. He’s also a mezcal fan, an makes regular ilgrimages to Los Danzantes ( losdanzantes.com) to rink it. The restaurant in the Coyoacán nabe is name after a smoky, vanilla-heavy mezcal bran an is a sister s ot to an original in Oaxaca. “It’s in a square — not so touristy, this one — an if you’re sitting at one of the chairs outsi e, you feel you’re in another worl ,” he says. Be aring an air that snifter of mezcal with some sautée , buttery escamoles — you know them better as ants’ eggs.
Beyon mezcal, just know that cocktail culture has arrive in Mexico City, albeit with a surfeit of s eakeasies. Try a bittersweet ginan -vermouth Martinez at
Jules ( julesbasement.com), the 3-year-ol bar hi en, La Esquina-style, un erneath hi - ster canteen La Surti ora.
To even fin Hanky Panky, you’ll nee to book over the hone (+52-55-91550958) an get the a ress. The effort’s worth it, though, thanks to the stunning cocktails from barten er Berit Jane Soli-Holt. Otherwise, o t for a classic at Licoria
Limantour ( limantour.tv), the bar cre ite with kickstarting the boozy beverage scene in Mexico City when it o ene in the East Villageesque Roma in 2011. Salu !
Beyond mezcal, cocktail culture has arrived in Mexico City.