Eat: Pujol
The biggest motivation for traveling is food...at least for myself and most of my close friends. This year, I was lucky enough to travel to Mexico City (CDMX) for the first time. I kept hearing rave reviews from friends who had traveled there so I gathered up some of my favorite travel buddies and we spent 5 jam-packed days there. Probably to no one’s surprise (that knows me and the group I went with), we ate at 17 different places in those 5 days… don’t judge, we also did a hike to the top of the pyramids…
Pujol was definitely one of the food highlights of our trip. It’s a beautiful, modern yet rustic Mexican restaurant run by Enrique Olvera. If you haven’t watched the Chef’s Table episode that features him and Pujol, I would highly recommend it. Because reservations are a hard to get, our group split up and I got to experience the taco omakase meal with Elliott, my cousin Chad and his girlfriend Alexis.
To be honest, I don’t want to give too much away. But, I will say that this restaurant deserves all the accolades and I felt so lucky to eat at one of the world’s top restaurants. We got to try 10 different versions of a taco and each one was surprising and completely enjoyable. If you plan to go to CDMX, make your reservation now. The price also includes your choice of Mezcal (always pick the Mezcal), beer or white wine/sake (which basically comes in the format of all you can drink). It was one of the most unique and creative dining experiences I’ve had and one I’ll remember for a long time to come.
One area that I didn’t have much experience with was eating bugs. That changed after CDMX. The baby corn is roasted with chicatana ants and it was delicious. It was served as one of the first courses as an elevated version of “street food”. The little blue corn enfladita has salted escamoles (ant larvae) on top and it tastes like a lighter, airier version of popcorn.
Their versions of tacos are so creative and innovative that you can’t help but look forward to the next dish. One of my favorites is shown here as well as their world famous mole. The mole is aged for up to 1500 or more days and is made with over 80 ingredients. It tastes like history, chocolate, apples and other fruits, chili, spices, culture, comfort and something that you just can’t quite describe.
Do not miss this meal if you go to CDMX!
Location:
Tennyson 133,
Polanco V Sección,
C.P. 11560,
CDMX, México
