Street Food & Specialties

Besides tacos, Mexico's street food offers an almost endless variety:

The Classics

• Tamales: Corn dough with filling (chicken in mole, pork in salsa verde, rajas con queso, sweet with raisins), wrapped in corn or banana leaves and steamed. Mexico's breakfast. 15–30 MXN.
• Elote: Grilled corn on the cob, brushed with mayonnaise, sprinkled with chili powder, lime, and grated cheese. Always good, everywhere.
• Esquites: Corn kernels in a cup — the hand-friendly version of elote. Same ingredients, less mess.
• Quesadillas: Corn tortilla with melted cheese and filling (huitlacoche/corn smut, flor de calabaza/squash blossom, chorizo). Grilled on the comal.
• Tlayudas: Oaxaca's large, crispy tortillas with bean paste, quesillo, meat, and salsa. Mexico's pizza.
• Tortas: The Mexican sandwich. Telera roll with milanesa (breaded meat), avocado, beans, jalapeño. Filling!
• Gorditas: Thick corn pockets, sliced open and filled with chicharrón, beans, or picadillo.

Chapulines — Yes, Grasshoppers!

Chapulines are roasted grasshoppers, seasoned with garlic, lime, and chili — a prehispanic delicacy mainly eaten in Oaxaca. They are crispy, salty, and taste a bit like chips. Rich in protein, sustainably produced, and as common as peanuts in Oaxaca. They are eaten as a snack, in tacos, or on tlayudas. Just try them — the moment of disgust passes after the first bite.

Drinks

• Aguas Frescas: Fresh fruit drinks — horchata (rice-cinnamon), jamaica (hibiscus), tamarindo. Available at stands everywhere, 20–40 MXN.
• Michelada: Beer with lime juice, salt, salsas, and often clamato. The Mexican hangover breakfast.
• Café de Olla: Coffee with piloncillo (cane sugar) and cinnamon, cooked in clay pots. Chiapas produces excellent coffee.
• Pulque: Fermented agave juice — the drink of the Aztecs. Thick, slightly alcoholic (4–6%), milky. Try it in pulquerías in CDMX (hipster revival!).