Find Your Fonda

( Xhico in Mexico City )

Morning breakfast at ¿Qui'hubo Cuando? fonda in Mexico City

Whether your you're going to be in Mexico City for a few days or a few months, I recommend finding your fonda. What's a fonda? I asked Angelita, who along with her mother, made me breakfast several times in a month. Her response to the difference between a fonda and a restaurant was that a fonda offered traditional Mexican food and was akin to a home-cooked meal. A restaurant was a place that specialized in a particular meal or international cuisine. On my international excursion to Mexico, I was fortunate enough to have the fonda of Angelita and her mother, Angie, just two blocks from my apartment near Chapultepec park.

Angelita, me and Angie.

Mole enchiladas, my favorite!

Menu changes daily

Super hot pickled habanero salsa

 Small kitchens and dining rooms make the perfect digs for an authentic Mexican meal. Going to a fonda is just like having a mother cook for you. So for the first month in Mexico City, Angie fed me in the mornings. I would go early for a quick bite and to have a coffee a fresh squeezed juice before work. Sometimes I would order something to-go so I could eat while I work. My choice was usually mole enchiladas filled with chicken, chilaquiles or mollettes - they are like mini Mexican pizza breads topped with beans, cheese and pico de gallo.

I would walk up early to a sign with the menu of the day. I would instantly be hungry reading the amazing choices... Enchiladas, Enfrijoladas, Tacos de guisados, Sincronizadas, Tinga Res, Bistec en Guajillo, Milanesa pollo, Ejote con huevo, consomé, huevos al gusto... everything was just delicious.

I eventually made my way into Angie's little kitchen to see where all of this magic was made. I followed the hypnotic smells wafting from behind a curtain. Behind that curtain was Angie, often aided by her daughter working hard to make home cooked meals for the people.

The name of the fonda, ¿Qui'hubo Cuando? is a
reference to the movie "Dos Tipos de Cuidado"

One last note. When I asked Angleita what the name of the fonda was from, she said it was a reference to a joke in a movie called "Dos tipos de Cuidado". Make sure to stop by Angie's fonda ¿Qui'Hubo Cuando? and have breakfast near Chapultepec park at the corner of Tampico y Sinaloa.

¿Qui'Hubo Cuando?

Tampico 37 (Sinaloa), Mexico City, Federal District, Mexico

Meet the Dandy Sailor of Mexico City

( Xhico in Mexico City )

It was just another day of quesadillas filled with chorizo and potatoes at the Tuesday Tianguis. I had picked up some tlayudas to make for breakfast the next day. As I was leaving down one of the corridors of men offering samples of papaya and mamey fruit, I saw a sailor. Yes a sailor. A handsome sailor with a gleaming smile is bound to make me stop and cast my anchor. This man was the Dandy Sailor. The captain's hat topped the head of an affable man named Charwin. With his winning smile, he proceeded to offer me a sample of his wares. I wasn't going to say no!

He had these little, caramel-colored cookies with a soft cross hatched design embossed on them. I put one in my mouth and it crumbled and melted at the same time. It was beyond rich. It was something my grandmother would absolutely love. They were soft and buttery with a delicious brown sugar, caramel flavor and a hint of cinnamon. They were almost unreal. He sells small and large baggies, carefully wrapped with  well-crafted logo. Did I mention that he is also brilliant at branding? 

I chatted with Charwin a bit in English after learning that he was also a foreigner in DF. He had brought this recipe from Holland and is now sharing it with the people of Mexico City. You can find him on Tuesdays at the tianguis at Sinaloa and Veracruz in the Condesa neighborhood of Mexico City. He also delivers! You can follow the Dandy Sailor on Facebook.

Cabbage Hat at Mexico City Market

While strolling through the tianguis (local street market) in Condesa in Mexico City, I ran into this lovely lady selling produce. It was so hot out she made a little hat out of a cabbage leaf to keep her head cool. That's some inventive fashion and problem solving!

Woman with cabbage leaf hat in Mexico City market