# Had my first 'street-side' food today



## chuck846 (Jan 15, 2016)

After nearly four years here - today was the first time I actually stopped at a small impromptu 'restaurant' - which had many tables and chairs setup under a tarp street-side. We pass it by a lot and it always smells great. So today we actually ate there. Kind of like lamb barbacoa on blue tortilla shells with onions, guacamole, cilantra, etc. It was incredible. We have eaten at many restaurants here but never a street vendor - just like in NYC I don't think I've ever had anything other than a pretzel from a vendor.

And we are still alive ! (let's see in the morning)


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## perropedorro (Mar 19, 2016)

chuck846 said:


> And we are still alive ! (let's see in the morning)


Brings back memories of my first trip to Mexico. I was 20 and spending a week in Mazatlán with mom and my prim-and-proper older sister. They stuck to the Sábalos district and ate exclusively in touristy restaurants from the AAA guide. Meanwhile I'm adventuring to the old quarter, grubbing on botanas in the cantinas and enjoying greasy fried fish and dog tacos from street vendors. They got _turista_ while I was just fine. I must have been protected by the disinfecting benefits of liberal dosages of tequila and lime juice.


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## chuck846 (Jan 15, 2016)

Sure - but in my 20's I spent some time in Guatemala and at one point needed to spend a week or so in the hospital because I had hepatitis and dysentery (sp ?) at the same time ! They refused to treat the dysentery until they could completely identify its cause (lots of swabs). All that beer I had been drinking didn't help me.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

chuck846 said:


> Sure - but in my 20's I spent some time in Guatemala and at one point needed to spend a week or so in the hospital because I had hepatitis and dysentery (sp ?) at the same time ! They refused to treat the dysentery until they could completely identify its cause (lots of swabs). All that beer I had been drinking didn't help me.


Try the elote (corn on the cob). It is great from the street vendors. Also the roasted camote (sweet potato) and platano (banana) vendors with the steam whistle. Just a few of the great things about Mexico.


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## chuck846 (Jan 15, 2016)

TundraGreen said:


> Try the elote (corn on the cob). It is great from the street vendors. Also the roasted camote (sweet potato) and platano (banana) vendors with the steam whistle. Just a few of the great things about Mexico.


I'll have to keep my eyes open - I'm not sure I've seen any of those options available in Cuernaveca, We have a grill and we have so many platino that we give them away. 

I've never been a big fan of sweet potatoe - but at the same time I never was a fan of black beans before coming here. The only time we purchased corn roadside it tasted like feed-corn when we got home.


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

One side of the plaza there is usually a line of Elote stands. My favorite is in a cup with crema, limon, chile and salt. 

The second Plaza downhill where the younger crowd hangs out there was a guy selling Huaraches to die for. Still there ??


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

chuck846 said:


> I'll have to keep my eyes open - I'm not sure I've seen any of those options available in Cuernaveca, We have a grill and we have so many platino that we give them away.
> 
> I've never been a big fan of sweet potatoe - but at the same time I never was a fan of black beans before coming here. The only time we purchased corn roadside it tasted like feed-corn when we got home.


I'm sure there are places in Cuernavaca which sell these particular street foods, but certainly next time you're in Tepoztlan in the afternoon or evening, there is an "elote" vendor on the north side of the Zocalo (there are others in town, but this is where I usually go - it's a tradition for my kids since they can remember). I get mine with the works - crema, queso (dried grated cheese) and a not very spicy chile powder sprinkled on top. You can choose boiled or grilled, "tierno" (less mature/more tender) or "sazón" (more mature, firmer). You have to NOT think of it as the sweet corn on the cob you are used to from NOB, because it really is a different type of corn, not sweet, drier, and and if you are thinking to replicate the NOB corn on the cob you will be disappointed. Think of it as an "elote loco" instead. (Editing this as I just saw Soarks post: the corn in a cup he describes are "esquites", also available at the spot on the north side of the Zocalo in Tepoz.)

There is also great "street food" in the market stalls in Tepoztlan. I would strongly recommend the quesadillas and tlacoyos for a lovely breakfast. Look for a stall which seems to have a fair number of locals. They are made fresh before your eyes, and there is a wide variety of yummy salsas to put on top. In the early morning many places will also have café de olla, coffee boiled in an earthenware pot with _canela_ (cinnamon stick) and _piloncillo_ (a hard unprocessed brown sugar). Alternately there are fresh juice stands, and you can buy a juice at one of these, and take it to the quesadilla stand. No one will mind. This is not just fresh squeezed orange juice, there are many varieties on offer. Recently I had a very refreshing cucumber lime juice. I'd suggest you go during the week, as it gets crazy on weekends with the influx of weekend tourists. 

There is also the whistling roasted sweet potato (camote) cart in Tepoztlan. It's a mobile cart, so no fixed location. But it's ear piercing whistle is impossible to miss if it's anywhere nearby. I haven't noticed a roasted plantain/banana cart anywhere, but that doesn't mean there aren't any. I'll pay more attention, because I love roasted plantains.


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## perropedorro (Mar 19, 2016)

ojosazules11 said:


> You have to NOT think of it as the sweet corn on the cob you are used to from NOB, because it really is a different type of corn, not sweet, drier, and and if you are thinking to replicate the NOB corn on the cob you will be disappointed.


Almost impossible to find good elote corn NOB, although one can find it sold from carts in Los Angeles, 2nd only to CDMX in Mexican population. I suppose elote corn has too much of a field corn quality to it for the average American palate; but I love larger kernels, the coarser chewier "meaty" texture and the far less sugary taste. Lime juice, light on the cream and salt, and plenty of chile powder for me.


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## chuck846 (Jan 15, 2016)

Thanks ojosazules11. I've printed off your posting and will put it in the car. We were planning on heading to Jardines de Mexico this morning for breakfast - but we had a nice little thunderstorm so ate in. Some friend swear by it. Bit of a drive but our new car only has about 125 kms on it.

We go to that market in Tepoztlan perhaps 1 Sunday a month - early. Last time we were there we bought my wife some carved out wooden bowls for the fruit from our garden.

When we eat at Colorines (in Cuernavaca) for breakfast - which is pretty often - I always get there hugo verde. It is the best around. Just recently I switched from cafe americano to café de olla - which before your post I thought was called cafe de hoy  My wife tells me it is usually made from 'yesterday's coffee'.

I eat VERY well at home but I'm trying to open up my horizons some. I'm the kind of person who has always kept the vegetable separate from the meat separate from the potatoes on their plate  And I eat way too fast.


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

Have you eaten at "Los Colorines" in Tepoztlan? It was the original restaurant, and later the family opened the restaurant in Cuernavaca. I'm not sure when the one in Tepoz first opened, but it was already a popular eatery when I first went to Tepoztlan in 1993. The woman who originally opened the restaurant with her authentic recipes is no longer alive, but her family carries on the tradition.


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## Meritorious-MasoMenos (Apr 17, 2014)

perropedorro said:


> Almost impossible to find good elote corn NOB, although one can find it sold from carts in Los Angeles, 2nd only to CDMX in Mexican population. I suppose elote corn has too much of a field corn quality to it for the average American palate; but I love larger kernels, the coarser chewier "meaty" texture and the far less sugary taste. Lime juice, light on the cream and salt, and plenty of chile powder for me.


No disrespect to Mexican elote as I love it, but your description of it as nearly 'field corn" brought me back to my childhood in rural Connecticut, where there were always fields of "cow corn," that everyone said was inedible. Much larger fields than sweet corn, as it was mostly a dairy cow region, back then (Now all $500,000 houses).

Googling "cow corn," I did get this statement it was like "field corn:" "Sweet corn has kernels that are thin-walled and easy for humans to chew. It has also been selectively bred for sweetness. Field corn or 'dent corn' has a much thicker hull and must be extensively processed if it is to be consumed by people. Sweet corn is harvested while it is juicy, but dent corn is allowed to dry on the stalk."
What is the exact difference between Cow Corn and People Corn? - Straight Dope Message Board

Now, with some many varieties, it's more than possible that Mexican elote is different from American "field corn" or "cow corn." But is it closer to U.S. field corn than our sweet corn? Anyone know?


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Meritorious-MasoMenos said:


> No disrespect to Mexican elote as I love it, but your description of it as nearly 'field corn" brought me back to my childhood in rural Connecticut, where there were always fields of "cow corn," that everyone said was inedible. Much larger fields than sweet corn, as it was mostly a dairy cow region, back then (Now all $500,000 houses).
> 
> Googling "cow corn," I did get this statement it was like "field corn:" "Sweet corn has kernels that are thin-walled and easy for humans to chew. It has also been selectively bred for sweetness. Field corn or 'dent corn' has a much thicker hull and must be extensively processed if it is to be consumed by people. Sweet corn is harvested while it is juicy, but dent corn is allowed to dry on the stalk."
> What is the exact difference between Cow Corn and People Corn? - Straight Dope Message Board
> ...


The elote I have had in Mexico tasted pretty much like the corn you get in the US, not like your description of field or cow corn.


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## Meritorious-MasoMenos (Apr 17, 2014)

TundraGreen said:


> The elote I have had in Mexico tasted pretty much like the corn you get in the US, not like your description of field or cow corn.


You're probably right that it's closer to U.S, style corn. It was perropedorro's description that "elote corn has too much of a field corn quality to it for the average American palate; but I love larger kernels, the coarser chewier "meaty" texture and the far less sugary taste" that got me to thinking.

Even if they are very close together, U.S. corn has been selectively bred to be much sweeter, I think. In fact, in the northeast corridor that i know, Connecticut down through Virginny, people argued for a long time whether white corn or yellow corn was sweeter. White corn was more popular in Virginia than in the Northeast. In the past decade, more and more markets have selling only corn that had about 50% white kernels and 50% yellow. Yellow corn and white corn are both still available, but that hybrid has grown increasingly common. I haven't seen that in Mexico.

But by, relying solely on google cuz I'm in no way a scientist, sites do say that Mexicans make tortillas from "field corn" or "cow corn," not the sweet, yellow corn Americans know. I imagine Southerners also used this as the basis for their cuisine, of grits and corn cakes. I wonder if that's why food scientists developed white sweet corn that as I said was much more popular in the south, while yellow corn came more from the north.

"The kind you find in the grocery stores is "Sweet" which can be eaten off the cob. Dent corn is also known as Field corn and is the best corn to make Masa Dough and Hominy with. It is also widely used in processed foods and also feed for cattle. Flour corn is usually white corn and it is used for making corn flour for baked goods."

Corn- From Hominy to Masa Harina

Whether that site is correct or not, i have no idea. If it is, that would suggest the street corn or elite of Mexican street markets might have been bred for direct eating, though still not as sweet as U.S. style, but the field corn is closer to what the pre-Columbian peoples developed that enabled them to build their civilization, and i guess that of the U.S. south.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Meritorious-MasoMenos said:


> You're probably right that it's closer to U.S, style corn. It was perropedorro's description that "elote corn has too much of a field corn quality to it for the average American palate; but I love larger kernels, the coarser chewier "meaty" texture and the far less sugary taste" that got me to thinking.
> 
> Even if they are very close together, U.S. corn has been selectively bred to be much sweeter, I think. In fact, in the northeast corridor that i know, Connecticut down through Virginny, people argued for a long time whether white corn or yellow corn was sweeter. White corn was more popular in Virginia than in the Northeast. In the past decade, more and more markets have selling only corn that had about 50% white kernels and 50% yellow. Yellow corn and white corn are both still available, but that hybrid has grown increasingly common. I haven't seen that in Mexico.
> 
> ...


That all makes sense. Thanks for the effort to clarify.


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## wkelley (Mar 13, 2016)

Sounds like it was a long overdue! My Mexican brother-in-law says to just, "follow the crowd". If they consistently draw a good crowd, then the food should be good! Enjoy.


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## stanburn (Jan 19, 2009)

All I can say to the original poster is, Are you kidding me!

4 years to try the best, most economical meal in Mexico? where do you normally eat?


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