Mexico City, Shortlisted
Hi, hello + welcome back to Shortlisted!
I’m sending this from the middle of le SUD’s US book tour — hello from NYC (currently), Chicago (shortly), followed by Wisconsin and Seattle and so many more! I have a very fun Shortlisted planned for you in June centered around my favorite stops on tour but THIS month we’re heading to Mexico City. It’s one of my favorite places in the world (and not just because my partner Laila was born there).
We’re back for a few months each year and while I am lucky enough to travel a lot, it’s always one of the trips I look forward to the most. Not least because CDMX historically has and continues to have one of the best food scenes out there. Every time we go there's a new favorite (or six) to add to the list of forever favorites (see Masala y Maíz, Contramar, Comal Oculto, and Sushi Iwashi) below. I’ve broken the list into restaurants + wine bars // coffee + bread + sweet // an ample bonus shop section (+ markets + stays + visits) because, while I do live in Paris, I find clothing (and house/tableware!) shopping in CDMX to be a real treat. Plus a drink to make anywhere in the world.
I’m still on le SUD the TOUR another month! I end in Los Angeles at The Ruby Fruit on June 15 and will be in Chicago, Oshkosh, Seattle, Portland, SF + Oakland, and a few other spots in Los Angeles before then. Come hang (full tour details here)!
xRebekah
[restaurants | wine bars]
Masala y Maíz Norma Listman and Saqib Keval’s Masala y Maíz is one of my favorite places to eat in CDMX. The wine list, the playlist, the menu: all solid. If they have head on shrimp on the menu, get it—it remains one of the most memorable dishes I’ve had in the last five years. Make it a late lunch res (they close at 6p)
Mari Gold sister café to the above Masala y Maíz. Go for breakfast + lunch, get the michelada (with housemade chamoy), chilaquiles, jugo verde, the salad with preserved-lemon vinaigrette, the dosa (and whatever else calls you — really, you can't go wrong)
Comal Oculto small, perfect eatery in San Miguel Chapultepec (a block away from Mari Gold) featuring a long outdoor table and a focus on breakfast + lunch. Don't miss the flautas (I get the cheese version and pair it with their housemade green salsa on the side, not to be confused with the ahogadas), chamorro tacos, the daily agua fresca, and the café de olla. It’s one communal table, no reservations