After traveling for 14 hours, we finally landed at the tiny Oaxaca airport. The excitement of walking down the metal staircase to the tarmac felt terrific, arriving in a powerhouse of Mexico's culinary scene after enduring two international airports and a red-eye flight. We came here to visit this beautiful historic city, soak in the art, music, and culture, and eat the foods that built it. From the city streets to the bustling markets, here are the best things I ate in Oaxaca.
After ditching our backpacks, we settled into Restaurante Coronita; frozen mugs of beer were a welcome sight after a long day of travel. Excited for our first meal in Oaxaca, we were here to try the region's seven moles. The shareable tasting featured a small portion of meat on each mole, starting with dark beefy chichilo, then on to the resourceful "tablecloth staining" mole manchamanteles made with chorizo drippings, tomatoes, and fresh pineapple. And to the green mole verde made from pumpkin seeds, jalapeños, cilantro, and tomatillos. In the middle was the red, slightly sweet chocolate and chile coloradito thickened with ripe plantains. Then the yellow amarillo mole, the variety found at local street stands, folded into grilled tortillas referred to as "empanadas." The rojo, known as mole poblano, named after its namesake chile, is the variety seen on menus in most Mexican restaurants in the US. And lastly, the thick, complex bittersweet chocolate negro mole. The seven moles tasting was an excellent introduction to the flavors of Oaxaca.
We've been on two Club Tengo Hambre food tours in Mexico City and had fantastic experiences. Taking a CTH tour is like going out with your hip service industry friend while they share their city's best spots. Our excellent and informative host guided us to all the best bites at street food stands and local markets while sharing local history. The walking tour hits all major Oaxaca food groups: memelas, chapalines or grasshoppers (don't knock it until you try it!), the famous local quesillo cheese, tlayudas, the traditional indigenous beverage téjete, a market mole tasting, and possibly the best tamale we've ever eaten. Highly recommend!
A video of our CTH Oaxaca street food experience.
Pasillo de Humo, or "Hall of Smoke," is an epic food adventure in the Mercado 20 de Noviembre, an assortment of stands selling raw meats to be grilled for you. We went to Carne Asadas Irving per the recommendation of our CTH host. After choosing our paquete of three types of grilled meat, including tasajo, the ubiquitous salt-beef found on menus all over Oaxaca, thinly sliced pork seasoned with chiles called cecina enchilada, and small linked chorizos cooked directly on the coals. After being seated across the grill at a communal table, they take your drink order and direct you to the condiment counter to pick out your accouterments. They got it all: limes, various salsas, grilled spring onions, sliced avocado, radishes, and cucumbers, you name it. The grilled meats are brought to you in a basket with corn tortillas, and cold beers seemed like a perfect pairing with our meat feast as we sat alongside our new friends while bathing in the smoke of the pasillo de humo.
If you've watched the Netflix series "Street Food Latin America," you've seen the inspiring story of Doña Vale, who came to Oaxaca city as a single mother who started her business with little money. Located in the sprawling Mercado Abastos, Doña Vale has been making memelas for over 35 years, becoming a destination for everyone from international food lovers to hungry locals stopping by for breakfast.
Memelas are a thick corn tortilla with crimped edges to hold the toppings, a schmear of pork rind paste called aciento, salsa roja, or her famous salsa morita, and queso fresco. Enjoy as is or choose from three toppings: an egg grilled on the comal, the thinly sliced, salt-cured beef tasajo, or our favorite of the three, the decadently sweet and salty pork ribs, slow-cooked so that the bones pull clean easily from the meat. Doña Vale Memelas is mandatory when visiting Oaxaca; her food was some of the best we ate.
Oaxaca is a party town with plenty of options for late-night eats. Lechónito de Oro opens at 8 pm and closes at 4 am, serving one thing and doing it very well, lechón, roasted suckling pig tacos. They offer two tacos, the fatty leg meat pierna taco, and our favorite, the pork with chicharrón. A corn tortilla grilled crisp and topped with juicy pork and crispy, crunchy fried pig skin, that's it. Add a squeeze of lime and salsa verde, and there you have it -- a perfect taco.
Chefinita is another excellent choice for laying down a solid foundation before going out or filling up before heading home after a night of beers and mezcal. A busy stand serves a simple menu of pork tacos, tostadas, and steaming bowls of pozole while you sit on plastic stools with cars flowing past. The thick hot rich hominy stew is deep with flavor and topped with a dollop of cooling avocado salsa, which you'll need if you add a good squeeze of their fiery hot salsa. The number of people saved from hangovers by this magical elixir is unimaginable.
We took the opportunity to share a nighttime tlayuda at Tlayudas "Los Agachados" Rosa y José, located outside the Mercado Bonito Juárez. We were offered two seats as we walked past, and we couldn't resist. The tlayuda is synonymous with Oaxaca. The giant cracker thin tortilla with dark grill marks from being cooked over fire; fatty aciento and black beans are slathered on, and then it's topped with salsas, stringy quesillo cheese, and grilled tasajo: a thin-crust Oaxacan "pizza."
Our final meal in Oaxaca was at Levadura de Olla, meaning "pot yeast," featuring traditional naturally fermented drinks. I started dinner with a tepache, a puckery sweet and slightly sour brew made from fermented pineapple; tart and refreshing, so good, I had two. Our last opportunity to have mole in Oaxaca, we ordered the two moles of mayordomia celebration, pork topped with rojo, and the negro mole with chicken thigh; both were excellent.
After seeing the large table displaying locally grown heirloom tomatoes when we first walked in, ordering the tomato salad was a given. Sliced tomatoes served on top of an earthy sweet roasted beet puree and then dressed with vinaigrette were almost too beautiful to eat. A perfect way to end our trip to Oaxaca.
Drink
After walking in the hot sun all day, we needed shade and a good beer; Oaxaca Brewing Company has both. Our first beer was a crushable pale lager that hit the spot. My second beer was my favorite style, a pale ale; theirs is totally proper and could be proudly poured in any taproom in the NW.
We were lucky enough to take refuge during a torrential thunderstorm in the charming bar Selva, imaginative cocktails made with local ingredients in a gorgeous setting.
Culture
The ruins of Monte Albán are about 30 minutes from Centro; inhabited by the Olmecs, Zapotecs, and Mixtecs from 500BC to 800AD, the ancient city is well worth the visit. A great way to get there is by the shuttle at the Hotel Riveria del Ángel. The first bus leaves at 8:30 am; being on an early bus ensures you beat the crowds and the heat of the midday sun. The first bus back into town departs at noon, giving you ample time to explore.
Plenty of great little museums in the city are free or ask for a donation. The charming stamp museum Museo de la Filatelia has an excellent Mexican baseball exhibit and stamps from Mexico and beyond. Museo de los Pintores Oaxaqueños features gripping pieces by local artists in a 17th-century building close to the Zócalo. Museo Textil de Oaxaca celebrates the rich heritage of textiles in the region. The Museum of Cultures of Oaxaca is worth waiting for and lining up at the Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán, as only 40 people per hour are allowed in at a time. The museum includes artifacts from Monte Albán, with great views of the botanical garden, in a picturesque 17th-century convent.
Etc.
Before we travel anywhere, I always look for places to eat on Eater.com. We used The 32 essential restaurants in Oaxaca, by the infamous tour guide Oaxacking, to find some of these spots.