Roma Street Food Round-up

You know the moment – when the growling in your stomach becomes disruptive to neighbors, your head starts to ache, and you need food. Now. That’s the miracle of Mexico’s street food:  whenever and wherever you are hungry, you can always find something around the corner to fill your stomach. In Mexico City’s La Roma, a quirky neighborhood with a lively nightlife, you have dozens of regional cuisine options from all over the country – everything with its own special Mexico City touch. If you decide to venture out, you will fall in love with street eating in La Roma. Here are a few great places for all kinds of cravings.

Jugos y Licuados

Corner of Tonalá and Campeche, 8am to 3pm

Fresh fruit juice is one of the greatest luxuries of living in Mexico. Here you will find a juice place on every corner. This unnamed stand has been operating on the corner of Tonalá and Campeche for the last eight years (which for a street food cart is hardly any time at all). You can order licuados and juices with everything from alfalfa leaves to guayaba to rolled oats (and they sell delicious slices of carrot bread!).

Don Demi’s Tamales

Corner of Tonalá and Guanajuato, 6am to 1pm (or as long as the tamales last)

Tamales are famous everywhere in the country and each region has its own style. They go hand and hand with atole for breakfast in Mexico, but if you want tamales Oaxaqueños (tamales wrapped in banana leaves) from this stand you better come early – Angeles is all out by 7:30 in the morning. She has nut, strawberry, rice, and chocolate flavored atole (a traditional corn flour drink) and spicy tamales with pork and green sauce, rajas (poblano peppers), mole and cheese, and sweet pineapple and strawberry tamales.

Next, taking a bite out of La Roma…

Quesadillas on the corner

Corner of Durango and Morelia, 9am to 3pm 

“They simply call me ‘the señora of the quesadillas,’ ” says the matronly woman patting out fresh tortillas and gorditas. She has been on the same corner for the past 25 years and her fame has spread throughout Roma Norte. The señora makes a dozen or so different guisados (fillings) everyday then stuffs them into corn tortillas or gorditas and fries them up on the comal. Be sure to try the guajillo salsa. And a tip on ordering: You have to be clear about wanting cheese on your quesadillas in Mexico City, it’s not standard.

Birria al Estilo Jalisco

Corner of Colima and Orizaba, 9am to 9pm

When we showed up at 11 the owner told us he wouldn’t have anything ready for another hour, so plan to be flexible. Birria is a slightly sweet and cinnamony stew that originated in the state of Jalisco. The meat and the consomé (broth) are served separately. A typical hangover food for Mexicans, the place is hopping on Saturday and Sunday mornings. This food cart is another long-standing tradition in the Roma, they’ve been at the same corner for 20 years.

Barbacoa Don Raúl

Corner of Tonalá and Aguascalientes, 9 am to 3 or 4pm

Barbacoa, traditional from the high plains states of Hidalgo, Tlaxcala, Querétaro and México is a Sunday morning meal here and Don Raúl has been serving up soft, shredded roasted goat for the past 15 years. You can also get deep-fried barbacoa tacos (tacos dorados), gorditas, and quesadillas. In addition, they serve coffee, juice, and an incredible, bring-you-back-to-life consomé.

Next, two more delicious stops on La Roma…

Vlad Mayab

Puebla 144, 9am to 9pm

This food truck has two locales, one on Puebla and one on Insurgentes near the Chilpancingo metro stop. Their claim to fame is cochinita pibil, a tangy shredded pork dish from the Yucatán made Mexico City style with re-fried beans lining the tortilla. They also serve it up a million other ways – tortas, tacos, burritos and by the kilo – all with spicy habanero sauce and red onions soaked in lime. Although the traditional version is cooked in an underground fire pit for several hours, this is a pretty good substitute when you get the craving for it.

Los Parados

Corner of Baja California and Monterrey, 12pm to 3am

This is definitely the late night taco hang out in the Roma. It’s not exactly street food since it’s in an actual building, but there are no tables or chairs so the experience is similar. They have an open grill where you can watch them make any of the dozens of varieties of tacos invented all over the country. Some favorites: the volcán con queso (the cheese volcano) and cecina con chorizo (dried, salted beef with Mexican sausage). Come at 2 in the morning if you really want to see the place in action.