Mexico City: A Foodie Mecca

constantly move quickly. The menu is complemented by a well-curated wine list with both Mexican and international choices.

El Cardenal: This is a restaurant in the heart of the city (sporting several locations). With a longstanding history, El Cardenal has food that rings true as authentic Mexican fare. While it’s known for its breakfasts, we went for lunch on the terrace. That said, the popular third floor is where the action is. To start, the server brings you a small bowl of green sauce with cheese, cilantro, and avocado to make your own small tacos. Our next course included a delicious soup I’ve never encountered before: a green tomato soup with purslane, onion, and diced chicken breast; simply sublime. For my entrée, I had the most creative Mexican cheese topped in squash blossom flowers. It looked like it belonged in a garden—or a museum. It tasted just as yummy. A Casa Madero chardonnay from Mexico was a light, crisp addition to the meal.

Maximo: This newly-relocated restaurant in Roma has a modern, California vibe, boasting “sustainable cuisine with the products at hand.” Chef Eduardo “Lalo” Garcia is one of the rockstars on the CDMX dining scene and his establishment has been voted into six editions of Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants. Some of the standout dishes include: soft shell crab tostadas with green macha sauce; a delectable chicken liver mousse; pea, fava bean, and mint soup; parmesan and mushroom risotto; and a perfect Wagyu flat iron beef steak.

Pujol: Always in the top ten of restaurants worldwide, Pujol in highend Polanco is chef Enrique Olvera’s temple to Japanese-inspired Mexican fine dining at an elevation unlike any other. Go for lunch, as we did, and you can enjoy the views of the manicured Zen-like garden, while savoring the conviviality inside. Get ready for a culinary ride of imagination, starting with a scallop margarita, an octopus empanada, bluefin tuna with shellfish chilpachole, mushroom mixiote with mole amarillito, and a tamarind nicoatole with guava ice cream. All are presented with aplomb in creative and unexpected presentations. The service is superlative and the wine list surprising and extensive. Overall, this was one of the best meals of my life.

Bars

Hanky Panky: It’s quirky, hard to reserve, and even harder to find (in the Juarez district)—but well worth the effort. You enter through a working taco stand (yup, we passed by the entrance 3 times before finding it), then enter through a back door in the kitchen to an intimate, dim, 1920s-style speakeasy. Red leather booths line one side of the retro-chic bar, directly opposite from stools facing the always-busy mixologists. We were lucky enough to sit in the private sunken cubbyhole, accented by a glamorous chandelier. Hanky Panky boasts drinks from around the world and creative new concoctions, but, of course, I opted for a classic Negroni, executed to a T. The bar’s name comes from the Fernet, gin, and sweet vermouth cocktail invented in the early 1900s

Hotel. Best part of the experience? You exit through the refrigerator door!

GinGin: With two locations, one in Roma and the other in Polanco, this homage to the juniper-based liquor is all the rage. Sitting outdoors on the terrace on a warm night in CDMX allows you to enjoy the passersby (and their dogs), while sipping terrific cocktails. A diverse variety of gins spur the botanical libations that dominate the menu, including: Velloncino de Oro (a rosemaryinfused gin cocktail), a Mexican Pimm’s, and, of course, a classic martini.