Mexico City is full of delicious food. During my 4-day stay in Mexico City, I have tried as much Mexican food as possible, but I am still sad that I couldn’t eat more. If my stomach could take more, I would have definitely tried other types of food. I definitely have to go back to try other restaurants.
The most interesting dish and most “Mexican” dish I tried during this trip was Chilaquiles. When you think of Mexican food, the first thing that may come up in your mind is tacos or maybe burritos. Living in California, I have tried tacos and burritos many times, but not chilaquiles. I’ve never thought of trying chilaquiles because I did not know what it was. This time I decided to be more adventurous and try something that I’ve never tried. I was curious to try it.
Chilaquiles is a traditional Mexican dish with fried tortillas, salsa, pulled chicken, cheese, refried beans, and a fried egg on top. Chilaquiles means “placed in chilis” or “greens in chili water” in Nahuatl, the language of the Aztec. The Aztecs are a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from the 14th to the mid 16th centuries. The Aztec peoples are made of different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica during the 14th through the 16th centuries. Chilaquiles is a popular breakfast or brunch food that people usually make to use the leftover tortillas and salsas from the previous day. Depending on the region or family, the salsa can be green salsa, red salsa, mole sauce—a traditional Mexican chili sauce, tomato sauce, or white sauce. Usually, chilaquiles comes with crema—a Mexican condiment similar to sour cream, queso fresco, onion, or avocado.
My first chilaquiles experience was absolutely amazing. I loved the combination of the meat, tortillas, salsa, and egg yolk. In my opinion, the fried egg makes everything taste much better. The watery salsa and egg yolk running through the fried tortillas gave an interesting texture of crunchiness and softness at the same time. Also, the spiciness of the salsa was mitigated by the fried eggs and refried beans, which otherwise can be somewhat bland by itself. The whole dish was very well-balanced and I was pleasantly surprised by the dish.
The restaurant that I tried the chilaquiles at was called El Bajio, which was in the Polanco area near my hotel. I went there on Sunday morning and it was quite crowded with mostly local people. It had a nice and casual atmosphere with blue and orange colored decorations all around the restaurant.
Restaurant Name: El Bajio
Restuarant Address: Alejandro Dumas 7 Colonia Polanco, Mexico City, Mexico
Restaurant Price range: $20- $30
Special diets: vegetarian options, gluten-free options
Featured Meal: Chilaquiles (Ingredients: fried tortillas, salsa, pulled chicken, cheese, refried beans, and fried egg)
My Personal Challenge: I challenge myself to make the chilaquiles at home in fancy kimchi style. Please stay tuned!
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