CDMX 2022 (6/8) – Day of Last Hurrah

Day 5 was when we flew home from CDMX (Ciudad de Mexico = Mexico City). Fortunately, our flight wasn’t until the late afternoon, so we still had a good half day to roam around.

Last few hours of roaming before heading to the airport

Taco Fail

The reality sank in that we’d be flying home in just a few hours, and I really wanted to eat a few more of my favorite tacos. As such, I forced myself to get up after under five hours of sleep, left Phil in the hotel, and power walked my pre-caffeine body over to Los Cocuyos.

I realized there was only a slim chance. My notes told me that Los Cocuyos opened from 10am to 5:30am, which was impressive but wouldn’t do me much good at 7:30am. Google Maps however claimed that it was a 24-7 establishment, so I figured I’d give it a shot. And wouldn’t you know it… I got there and it was… open, but not doing business. One friendly dude was chilling in the corner while a whole pot of raw-looking meat was being cooked. He told me tacos would be ready at 9am. Too late for me, unfortunately.

So I went around the corner to El Torito. Google Maps failed again with that 24-7 claim, although the taqueria itself didn’t even seem to know when it was working. All the numbers on their “hours” sign were blocked out.

I left empty-handed and empty-stomached, but on the way back to the hotel I spotted a birria taco stand in a street corner. I didn’t particularly want to eat from random street stands on this trip, but I hadn’t had birria yet in CDMX and a few working-class men appeared to be really enjoying their breakfast. I asked the old man for two.

They were extremely satisfying. I had had birria exactly once before in California, and it sucked. This guy’s small business reversed my perception of this dish. On top of the tacos, the spicy, thick birria broth was a great complement to the meal.

Hilton Mexico City Reforma

Immediately afterwards, Phil and I had our final breakfast at the hotel’s executive lounge. This is when I shall mention this hotel a bit.

Hilton Mexico City Reforma was located in the Centro district, on the south side of the city park Alameda Central. It was the obvious choice for this trip, given the 5th night free when paying with points and my Hilton Diamond status from Amex. I had initially contemplated a few other nice hotels clustered in Polanco, but was ultimately very happy with this location given its proximity to most of the tourist attractions.

The Diamond status gave us an upgrade to a room on the executive floor and access to the executive lounge. With breakfast served in the morning and happy hour served in the evening, this lounge provided tremendous value as we religiously came here twice per day. The idea was that we’d just take a few light bites before heading out for real local fare, but we inevitably allowed the food here to displace too much of stomach space. It was a bummer that the food selection here was entirely American without any Mexican touch, but the quality was impeccable. Additionally, the service was warm and attentive. The waiters remembered our drink choices and would bring them without us asking… that five-star treatment was a huge pleasant surprise.

With our room facing west on the 25th floor, and the lounge facing east on the 26th floor, we had amazing, near-panoramic views of the city. Travel guides talked about going up the nearby Torre Latinoamericana for its observatory, but it was hard to imagine the view there being much better.

Lady Tacos de Canasta

After Phil’s first and my second breakfast, we walked diagonally through Alameda park to get to Lady Tacos de Canasta, another highly rated basket taco restaurant besides Los Especiales. We had marked this place as a must-visit, but after yesterday’s basket tacos neither of us found the idea very appetizing. On top of that, I had already had two breakfasts.

We asked for one taco each just to try, and were given these pre-made soggy pockets from a large basket. The lack of contrast in temperature plus the lukewarm greasiness was just not great, and perhaps it reminded us too much of the disastrous take-out tacos from the other day. Probably no basket tacos for us for a long, long time.

Casa de los Azulejos

After the taco taste test, we visited the post office and stopped by the house of tiles. It was literally… a house covered in tiles. Gotta appreciate how these tiles had stayed on (or at least been well maintained) for almost 300 years, though.

Mercado de San Juan

And then we went to another market… San Juan, just blocks from our hotel. This place was different from Coyoacan and La Merced because it was all about selling meat. Lots and lots of skinned whole animal carcasses were on display which was quite awesome. Might be a bit much for some people, though.

Among the few eateries there was a corner shop that doubled up the spirit of the market and sold a long list of exotic meats, from lion to tarantula. It was simultaneously enticing and gimmicky. Perhaps against our better judgment, we sat down and tried a couple.

Biblioteca de Mexico

After the market, we strolled a few more blocks to another supposedly really cool library. It wasn’t nearly as breath-taking as Vasconcelos, but neat nonetheless to see a library retrofitted in an old building with lots of courtyards. Its centerpiece was a sculpture that looked like a chandelier from the side but a piece of leaf when viewed from directly under it.

Mercado La Ciudadela

Our final stop, right by the library on our way back to the hotel, was the 4th market on this trip. This place was filled exclusively with arts & crafts vendors and would be the perfect place for anyone looking for souvenirs. We burned maybe 20 minutes here until we absolutely had to head to the airport.

CDMX 2022 Trip Index