Living Without Borders

Antojitos! Eating Mexican Everyday Now.

January 28th, 2007

Go read Susan’s take on Mexican food, shopping and eating. A lot of people ask me too, if I don’t get tired of eating Mexican every single day, and the simple answer is: I had no idea that Sesame Seeds have a flavor. North of the border they are just used to make things look good. The taste has been genetically engineered right out of them. Similar with tomatoes, though to the north you can get an idea what the flavor is supposed to be. Here they are almost as strong in flavor as onions and not something one can give up easily once they are experienced.

Mexican food is a universe, it is not like the menu at your local Mexican restaurant. Better Mexican restaurants north of the border cater to one regional cuisine, each as diverse as the dozens of others.

But, as I have been busy lately, I’ve also taken more and more to eating the busy Mexican way, that is, standing up at a stand in the street. Antojitos is the Mexican word for this type of quick, satisfying food. Don’t get me wrong, Mexicans are more likely to condemn this practice than we might be, (it’s often an affront to the decent manners of eating) but it is also something that takes practice, and some key identifiers to avoid the worst of Moctezuma’s Revenge. I distinctly remember being hesitant in typing these words a few months ago:

Of course, you’ll want to try lots of new foods, and you will. Road-side or street-side stands are everywhere, but they are easy to avoid. After a month or so, you might feel up to going-local, eating anything and everything, but starting out cautiously will go a long way toward preventing general upset.

So these are a few things you can do if you want to stop avoiding all that wonderful stuff being prepared along the sidewalks of your new town.

1. Bring a Mexican - they know the good places, and they have a lot of experience with bad food, and avoiding it. Still, Mexican people eat outside all the time. There are plenty of times you’ll walk past these places and regret not being a bit more courageous. Your Mexican friends will know Antojitos better than any of us ever will.
2. In addition to watching for cleanliness, watch for places where families, or women are feeding their kids. They know perfectly well (better than I do) what’s getting chopped up and their kids are as sensitive and as fussy as we are. Go for the crowded place. Choose the lunch everyone else is choosing.
3. It might be good to start with “jugos y liquidos.” Jumex and Boing and Del Valle are decent supermarket brands, but you can not get good fresh squeezed juice like those available on Mexican streets in a supermarket. The bigger and better juguerias will be in the local mercado, and they will be happy to serve you fruits cut to your specification, with cereal or yogurt or whatever you like.

Generally, those of us blessed with iron stomachs don’t like to be the only ones left not laid out on the floor, moaning with a stomach ache. So we still recommend starting out with bottled water and everything peeled and, especially in the beginning, relying a bit more on the packaged foods. Adjusting takes some time, and it is always good to remember the stories of our Mexican friends who tell tales of going to the United States or Canada, and being sick as dogs for three days. Those stories are not at all un-common. So remember, we’re all in this together.

Entry Filed under: Living in Mexico, Comparing Cultures, Mexican Food