A Delicious Evening In Mexico City

I had dinner in Mexico City, and what fun it was!  On a very balmy Saturday night in November, I was met at my hotel, the Camino Real, by my friend and tour guide Jesús.

Jesús and me

He greeted me with a warm smile and open arms and proceeded to explain that I was in for a culinary delight.  As we walked the short distance to our destination, I was informed that we would be dining at El Fogoncito, home of Las Gringas.

El Fogoncito, “The home of the las Gringas”

I had to ask for the history of this dish, which I translated to mean ‘ The American girls’.  Jesús explained that yes, the name is correct and is called this due to its origins.  It seems that since El Fogoncito opened its doors in 1962, the restaurant has had many American students cross its threshold.  Two American girls who frequented the establishment enjoyed the El Pastor tacos, but did not understand that they were served on corn tortillas, and instead ordered them on flour tortillas and always requested that cheese be added.  They ordered them so often that others began to ask for “what the gringo” or “as the gringa” were having until Las Gringas became its own dish.  Thus was the birth of a Mexican entree, with an American flair.
My senses were filled with the aroma of roasting meat as we entered the restaurant.

This I learned would be the basis of our El Pastor tacos.  Now personally, I am not a big meat eater, and I cannot tell you the last time I ate meat at all, but the enticing smell of roasted pork mixed with grilled onions and pineapple was too much to resist.  We were seated and immediately ordered 2 beers and Tacos El Pastor.
As we waited for our food, I couldn’t help but notice the fun décor on, or rather within, the table.

The table inlay at El Fogoncito

Each table was a little different, and they were all occupied by friends and families out for dinner.  Jesús told me that taco shops are known as places where people tend to gather and talk about their day, kind of like our American coffee shops.  And as we waited for dinner to arrive, I noticed the friendly atmosphere and enjoyed a beautiful Mexican melody, Mony Mony – wait, what?  Was that really Billy Idol I was listening to?  It seems that 80’s pop music is very popular in Mexico as background music, kind of like what we would hear in a doctor’s office, but much more fun.  I would have dwelled on this revelation had not our food arrived at that very moment.  Oh, and what a delight it was!

Tacos El Pastor

So fresh, so flavorful, and apparently, I was hungry, because after our first round, we ordered an assortment platter that had a little of everything including Chicken, beef, and a little more El Pastor.

A variety of culinary delights

And I had the give the waiter credit for not even breaking his smile when I ordered ‘Dos más cervezas por favor’ in my broken Spanish.
On our way back to the hotel, we were greeted by friendly passers- by, on their way to enjoy their evening out on the town.  Everyone was so kind, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that, like so many U.S. cities, there are many varied neighborhoods, most perfectly safe, but some areas you don’t wander alone at night. And among all this, a wonderful sense of community that makes up the bustling, nearly 21 million occupants of the nation’s Capital, Mexico City.