Mexico City: Its soul and essence with Ruth Alegria

The good thing about going to a place where you know people who’ve made their home there for years  is that you get to experience life as they live it and not as a tourist.  The bad thing is that you never get to be a tourist and miss a lot of attractions and events.  Visitors to my restaurant from Mexico always ask me what play they should see and I usually don’t know what to recommend.  They’ll say in disgust: “New Yorkers never go to the theater.”  The same might can  be said about residents of Mexico City –  they don’t experience the daily theater of life in this exciting metropolis.

So I feel incredibly inadequate about making recommendations other than those I’ve already listed.  Luckily I reconnected with Ruth Alegria at a symposium on former New York Times restaurant critic  Craig Claiborne (my angel) and learned that she conducts cultural culinary tours of  Mexico City.   Her website says :

“From the best known of the city’s colonias to its most overlooked we offer you a “non-tour” tour of museums, restaurants, theatres, galleries, and street food that make up the culinary scene. Join us for an insiders view…..Experience culture, gastronomy, art and history, with deeply involved professionals whose love for Mexican roots and traditions gives you a unique taste of Mexico.”

So perhaps you’d like her to show you the city and now I don’t have to feel so guilty or out on the periferico!

I’ve also discovered some books that I think would be good for anyone planning a trip there to have:

If you want to understand Mexicans and our way of thinking and acting I suggest:

Mexican Cultural Code Words by Boye Lafayette de la Mente.
Good Food in Mexico City: A guide to food stalls, fondas, and fine dining by Nicholas Gilman is another good one to take along.

MEXICO CITY: AN OPINIONATED GUIDE FOR THE CURIOUS TRAVELER“>Mexico City : An Opinionated Guide for the Curious Traveler by Jim Johnston