Any place is good to eat street food. No matter the time or place, you will surely find a food stall, car or bicycle that heroically saves you in those moments when you are hungry. The inhabitants of Mexico City cannot avoid the temptation to eat in these kinds of places, even if it means sitting on an uncomfortable stool less than 40 centimeters wide, on a communal bench, or even eating standing up while holding a plastic plate. with one hand and with the other the soda, almost juggling.
But why do Mexicans love eating on the street so much? According to the study “Street Food” carried out by Gabinete de Comunicación in 2013, Mexicans like this type of food on a whim. But factors such as the lack of time to prepare food, the proximity of the food stall to home or work and the affordable price also intervene.
Here is a selection of five street food dishes that are part of the folklore that characterizes Mexico City.
Tlacoyos
In the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Mexican Gastronomy by Ricardo Muñoz Zurita, he explains that it is a preparation of pre-Hispanic origin whose name in Nahuatl means laborious, it is made of corn dough, commonly white or blue, rhomboid in shape and filled with beans, potatoes, broad bean, cottage cheese or pressed chicharrón, which is cooked with little fat on a griddle. It is served accompanied by grated cheese, chopped cilantro, onion and green or red sauce. Since it is roasted and has a thickness of just over one centimeter, it can take a little time to cook, so the vendors choose to have the tlacoyos already preheated on the edge of the griddle, almost ready to serve. You can distinguish the stalls that sell this type of snack thanks to the huge round griddle placed on a brazier.
Quesadillas
Quesadillas are one of the most controversial dishes in the country. This product consists of a tortilla or stuffed corn dough, but while in Mexico City a quesadilla can be cheese and some stew such as tinga, picadillo, potatoes, pressed chicharrón, pumpkin flower, brains, huitlacoche or mushrooms, in the In the rest of the states of the Mexican Republic, this appetizer is only prepared with cheese. The quesadillas are folded in half and can be grilled on a griddle or pan-fried. In some places they are served with grated cheese, lettuce and green or red sauce. If they are fried you can add cream. It should be noted that although the most common thing is that quesadillas are prepared with corn dough, there are places where they are made with wheat flour and with fillings such as cheese with ham or sausage.
Gorditas
They are appetizers prepared with corn dough, round in shape and generally filled with pressed pork rinds or cottage cheese. Like the quesadillas, they can be cooked on a griddle or fried, the former, in addition to being made of white or blue corn, are served with grated cheese, chopped cilantro, onion, salsa, or even nopales with red chile and sliced onion. The latter are prepared with white corn and are presented only with onion, coriander and sauce. For a few more pesos you can order them stuffed with quesillo (Oaxaca cheese), which is really worth it.
Sopes
It is a dish prepared with corn dough that is round in shape, its thickness is approximately half a centimeter and it has small “pinches” on the edges that prevent the filling that is placed on this appetizer from coming out. They are cooked on a griddle or griddle and usually simple refried bean sopes with grated cheese, onion, salsa and sometimes nopales on top or lettuce and cream are offered. There are also prepared sopes that are the same as the first but include meat such as cecina, chicken, sausage or some stew, it is enough to look out to see the containers next to the grill.
Huaraches
These appetizers are prepared with corn dough and flattened to about 30 centimeters long by 10 or 15 cm wide, some are filled with refried beans. You can also order them simple, with grated cheese, lettuce and sauce or prepared with meat or the stew that the vendor has at your disposal. There are businesses specializing in huaraches and they are normally sold together with giant quesadillas made on a griddle and similar in size to the huaraches.
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