Where to Eat?

Any visitor to Mexico City who goes hungry has him/herself to blame.  This is a city that is filled with places to eat... from gourmet dining to fast food.  While neighborhoods such as Roma Norte and Condesa are famous with "foodies" for their culinary offerings, on almost any major street you will find place after place to eat.  I was thinking about that the other day as I walked two miles down Insurgentes Avenue to go to La Comer supermarket.  On the walk back, I decided to count and photograph all the eateries that I passed.  I did not include street food stands, although along this stretch of Insurgentes there are not as many as in other parts of the city.

So, let's see.  Which place would you chose for a bite to eat?

Before we even leave the building where the supermarket is located, there is a "Casa de Toño", a chain of restaurants known for their "pozole", a thick hominy soup.  They are very popular, although I went to a "Casa de Toño" once and was not impressed.

Heading out down the avenue, we pass a bar and grill called "Wanted" that sells burgers, ribs and beer.  I always find it a bit annoying when businesses have signs in English (this is not a neighborhood with a heavy concentration of "gringo" tourists).  It is as if the business is trying to say, "Look at us.  We are so cosmopolitan!"  I will concede that in this case the English requires fewer letters than " hamburguesas, costillas y cerveza".

Next up is a place called "La Santi" which bills itself as a "comedero y bebedero" (eatery and drinkery).  It must be new since it does not show up on Google's street view taken in 2024.  On the side street there are a couple of street food stalls.

"Terraza del Mar" (Terrace of the Sea) is, as the name implies, a seafood restaurant.

"Mariachito" (Little Mariachi) is a restaurant, bar, and terrace which serves Mexican food.  As I passed I could hear a mariachi band playing inside.

Another Mexican restaurant is "Chidos y Rifados" (Cool and Awesome).  In addition to "a la carte", they have an "all you can eat" buffet for 160 pesos (about 9 dollars U.S.).  Cash only for the buffet.  Inflation appears to have reared its ugly head, because new prices have been pasted onto most of the items on the menu.

Chicken wings seem to be very popular here, and there are several franchises.  "Rebel Wings" is a chain based in the U.S.

Then there is KFC.  Yuck!  There are so many chicken places in Mexico City.  I don't understand why KFC is so popular.

I had never eaten at a Carl's Jr. before in the U.S.  Alejandro and I went to one farther up on Insurgentes Avenue.  It wasn't bad, but we have a couple of Mexican burger joints that are much better when we crave a hamburger.

Wing Stop is another U.S. based chicken wing restaurant that has expanded internationally.

"Mr. Pampas" is a Brazilian style steak house.  

"Toks" is a major chain of casual dining restaurants in Mexico City.  They are generally better than their main competitors, Sanborns and VIPs.

I had never heard of "Pane en Via", so I looked it up afterwards on the internet.  They have a number of branches and a variety of offerings on the menu.  But their specialty appears to be baguette sandwiches.  Next to the restaurant is another street food stand.

"Santana" is a Mexican restaurant that offers an all you can eat option ("todo lo que puedas comer"), but they don't say how much it costs.

"Daikoku" offers "Yakiniku"... Japanese BBQ grilled at the table... similar, I suppose, to the "hibachi" restaurants in the U.S.

"Taco Pub", a bar and restaurant serving, guess what?

"Festín"... another place that feels it necessary to put their signage in English.  Come on, we're in Mexico!

"Las Barricas" is a Mexican restaurant.  There's valet parking stand in front.  Sitting near the entrance is a musician with a harp.  Perhaps he is going to perform for the diners.

I don't know if we should count these as restaurants.  "Porfirio" is a chain that sells churros, a fried dough pastry that you might call the Hispanic version of the doughnut.  It is traditionally served with hot chocolate.  And then there is the ubiquitous "Starbucks". 

"Las Delicias", a restaurant and bar with mariachis.

"Yoko Ramen", a chain serving Oriental food.

Another taco joint.

"La Vid Argentina" is an Argentinian steakhouse.  I ate here once with Alejandro and some of his friends.  It's a nice, white-tablecloth restaurant.

"Los Guajolotes" (The Turkeys) is a "lonchería" (lunch place).  Guess what it's specialty is?  Did you know that the turkey was first domesticated in pre-Hispanic Mexico?  "Guajolote" is a word derived from the language of the Aztecs.  In other Spanish countries a turkey is called a "pavo".

If we included "Starbucks", then we have to include "Punta de Cielo" which is a Mexican-owned competitor.

"La Rural" is another chain of Argentinian steakhouses.

Surprisingly, sushi is quite popular here, and there are several sushi chains in the city.  "Sushiroll" is one of them.  Alejandro and I ate here once, my first and only time eating sushi.  I really was not impressed.  Alejandro, who likes sushi, said it was not that great.

You might say that "Italiannis" is Mexico's version of "Olive Garden".  We have eaten at two of them.  This one was not bad, but that was years ago.  Later we ate at another one, and it was disappointing.

And last, and probably least, there is a "Burger King" with a "Dominos Pizza" around the corner in the same building.

So that's thirty restaurants in a two mile stretch of Insurgentes Avenue.  Looking at Google Maps afterwards, I think I somehow missed a few.  Also keep in mind this is just one side of the avenue.  There are at least as many restaurants on the other side of the street.

There is something for virtually every taste!