A Week of Tacos, Murals and Architecture in Mexico City
A week of tacos, murals and architecture: Adam & Deborah travel to Mexico City, April 2025
By Adam and Deborah themselves!
Dateline: Mexico City—a sprawling metropolis cradled in a high-altitude basin, rimmed by volcanoes with centuries of history.
When Adam and Deborah arrived from San Francisco on a warm April afternoon, the capital greeted them with a measured quiet consistent with the eve of the Easter holiday in Latin America - not the urban chaos they were expecting!
Their base for the week was a restored deco-era apartment on Calle Lirio in Santa María la Ribera, a working-class neighborhood often overlooked by tourists but bustling with locals, colonial era architecture, pop-up art galleries and social justice spaces. Just around the corner from the iconic Kiosco Morisco, a Moorish-style bandstand originally created for the 1884-85 World’s Fair, sits in a tree-filled plaza full of families with young children.
Their trip was a celebration of Deborah’s graduation from Graduate School, where she was awarded a Masters of Education with a K-12 Teacher’s Certification. No small feat with the graduate level instruction being 50% in Spanish for the Bilingual Spanish pathway. Mexico City was the perfect location to utilize her re-energized Spanish language skills - and she served as an interpreter/translator extraordinaire for the week’s adventures. It was always entertaining to see how the locals reacted to Deborah’s speaking abilities - the surprise when the tall guera (blondie) can roll Rs like a chilanga (Mexico City resident). Often, the question was “where did you learn your Spanish?” (The question natives ask this when they are trying to determine an accent.)
Day One: Michelin Tacos and Night Markets
No easing in—after unpacking, Adam and Deborah walked a few blocks to El Califa de León, a taquería that recently earned a Michelin star. Nestled near the San Cosme Metro, the stand is all stainless steel, sizzling meats and fresh corn tortillas, where the Costilla (pork rib) taco is the highlight. The meat was perfectly charred and best dipped in a smoky red salsa with a squeeze of fresh lime. In a twist, they ate their tacos inside a neighboring t-shirt shop that provides tables among the clothes for those that do not wish to eat standing or squatting on the street curb. The shop only asks for a modest tip for the hospitality. On the walk home, they meandered through a night market and ended the evening with a strawberry paleta—icy and sweet - perfect in the balmy evening air.
Day Two: Easter on Paseo de la Reforma & Lunch at Contramar
Sunday dawned warm and glowing – in the mid-80’s and unseasonably hot. After making French press coffee and enjoying flaky pastries from the corner panadería—pan de huevo, a miniature nut croissant, and a golden egg tart—they ventured out into the city for the first of many 15,000 step days.
Every Sunday, the grand Paseo de la Reforma—Mexico City’s version of the Champs-Élysées—is closed to cars and given over to cyclists, skateboarders, and walkers. Adam and Deborah joined the flow, strolling past El Ángel de la Independencia, the gleaming monument to Mexican independence (from Spain), and through leafy sections of Bosque de Chapultepec, one of the largest urban parks in the world.
Paseo de la Reforma has many traffic circles (Glorietas) adorned with fountains or statues. This picture is the Glorieta where the Christopher Columbus statue was removed in 2020, as it was seen as a symbol of colonial oppression. It will be replaced by a new statue, currently in construction, of a replica of the Young Woman of Amajac, to honor Mexico's pre-Columbian history and Indigenous culture.
The stroll brought them to Contramar, a seafood institution in the bo-ho chic Roma Norte neighborhood. At the bar, they ordered tuna tostadas layered with chipotle mayo and crispy leeks, ceviche of the day, and a grilled pescado a la talla, butterflied and split into red and green chili rubs. Icy Modelo beers, crisp Prosecco, and a pour of tequila reposado rounded out the meal.
Day Three: Roma, Condesa, and a Taste of Asia in Polanco
Monday began slowly—coffee, reading, and morning light through high iron cased windows. Breakfast was at Café Nin, a gorgeous Art Deco Parisian-influenced bakery and café created by famed Mexico City chef Elena Reygadas, crowned Best Female Chef by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants. Adam and Deborah shared an egg sandwich on brioche, poached eggs over green chilaquiles, and a decadent guava and cheese pastry.
Afterward, they wandered the lush, dog-loving Parque México in Condesa, with its Art Deco fountains and Art Nouveau buildings. The elliptical Avenida Ámsterdam, once a horse track, wrapped around like a green ribbon pathway, guiding them through Roma Norte, full of independent bookstores, vintage shops, and cafés.
That evening, dinner was in Polanco, the city’s toniest enclave of embassies, luxury stores, and fine dining; known as the Beverly Hills / Rodeo Drive of Mexico City. At Don Pling (get it? lol), an inventive fusion spot, al pastor bao buns combined Mexican tradition with East Asian technique, while pork soup dumplings delivered bursts of umami. Polanco’s wide, manicured boulevards offered a different face of the city.
Day Four: Frida’s Legacy and Garden Reveries in Coyoacán
Tuesday brought exploration of Coyoacán, the bohemian soul of the capital. The couple visited La Casa Azul, Frida Kahlo’s home - cast sketches, journals, and paint-chipped easels are preserved among cobalt walls and lush courtyards. It's more than a museum, it’s a shrine to Frida’s impact on women artists worldwide.
Lunch followed at La Barraca Valenciana, a low-key spot known for Spanish tapas—Adam and Deborah split a tortilla española and classic Mexican tortas. They wandered the Jardín Centenario and toured around the Iglesia de San Juan Bautista, a baroque church.
Later, they strolled down Avenida Francisco Sosa, one of the oldest and most picturesque streets in Mexico City, lined with colonial mansions and lavender blossoms. Finally a stop for water and a walk in the sculpture garden at a local community cultural center.
Dinner at Feral, a modern bistro overlooking Parque México, brought them back to Condesa for seared steak and red wine beneath tall windows thankfully open to the warm night.
Day Five: Markets, Mole, and Local Rhythm
Wednesday’s breakfast was DIY—avocado toast, ham, and eggs from the local market, chased yet again with French press coffee. The morning and early afternoon were spent reading, relaxing and recharging: Adam immersed in a biography of music producer Bill Graham, Deborah chuckling through The Husbands by Holly Gramazio.
They walked to the Kiokso Morisco, the nearby Moorish pavilion, where the celebration of Día del Niño (children’s day) was getting packed up. Dinner that night was flaky empanada and delicious Oaxacan mole, thick with chili and chocolate.
Day Six: Aztec Relics and Silver Treasures
Thursday took them to the spectacular Biblioteca Vasconcelos, a monumental library of floating staircases and hanging gardens—a true brutalist architectural wonder. Then came hours exploring the Museo Nacional de Antropología, a world-class museum that houses the Aztec Sun Stone, treasures from Teotihuacán, and artifacts from nearly every pre-Hispanic culture in the region.
Hungry from time travel, they made their way to El Farolito for tacos al pastor, carved fresh off the spit with pieces of grilled pineapple. Later, a trip to TANE, the famed Mexican silversmith.
Day Seven: Murals and Metros in the Historic Core
Friday began with huevos rancheros at El Popular, a no-fuss diner in the Centro Histórico that’s been serving locals for decades. From there, they joined guide Emiliano for a walking tour of Mexico’s muralist movement—Diego Rivera’s sprawling tributes to workers at the Secretaría de Educación Pública, José Clemente Orozco’s bold figures at Colegio de San Ildefonso, and those of David Alfaro Siqueiros, who painted with fire and fury, adorning the walls of the Palacio de Bellas Artes.
They passed the Templo Mayor, ruins of the Aztec empire unearthed beside the Zócalo, and ended with sunset drinks at the Café Don Porfirio on the 8th floor of Sears—yes, Sears—overlooking the glowing dome of Palacio de Bellas Artes. As with many places with excellent views, the food was not the best.
After the metro ride back toward the apartment (25 cents a voyage, anywhere in the city - most affordable in the world), they returned for another round of tacos at El Califa de León, then watched a timely film: Conclave, starring Ralph Fiennes. RIP Pope Francis!
Day Eight: Music, Art and more Mole
A walk to Tianguis del Chopo, a huge punk/music flea market near the public library. Hundreds of stalls selling records, CD’s, t-shirts, and art - filled with the coolest dressed and hippest local urban young people. Then a long metro ride to the San Angel neighborhood. Great lunch at El Cardenal Restaurant of Poblano Mole and then an outdoor art fair with a decidedly more mature clientele than the El Chopo music market! Deborah found a beautiful little artisan blue leather bag.
Day Nine: Zócalo Buzz and Rooftop Feasts
Their final full day saw them back at the Zócalo, one of the largest plazas in the world, often filled with political demonstrations, as it is the seat of the Mexican government and home to the Presidential Palace. Today’s event included street performers, food vendors, and families beneath the Mexican flag’s vast shadow for a larger celebration of Día del Niño.
Lunch was on a nearby rooftop at Balcón del Zócalo: tlayuda (Oaxacan pizza), gyoza with Cochinita pibil - Yucatecan Mayan-style pork, and a Carajillo—espresso with Licor 43. This restaurant with a view was delicious! Then they wandered through a multi-level youth market – aptly named Friki plaza - and sipped a surreal dry ice cola.
Later, after one final 15,000 step day, in Plaza Juárez, they toasted their journey with a Negroni and Aperol spritz, seated parkside at a lovely small restaurant called Cicatriz.
Adios Amigos!