When I moved back to the U.S. after living in Mexico City for six years the one thing that I missed more than anything were the comidas. Literally translated, comida just means food, but it’s also the word for the largest meal of the day in Mexico. Eaten between about two and four in the afternoon – or sometimes even later – it’s common for people to return to their homes during this extended break to eat with their families and maybe even take a siesta, if they live near their office. But, while having a two hour lunch break is nice, this is not the sort of comida that I was missing.
In Mexico, it’s common to celebrate at lunch time the way we would arrange a dinner in the U.S. – it’s someone’s birthday and they organize a comida at a favorite restaurant; your team finished an important project and have a comida to celebrate; it’s Friday and you and your friends want to blow off steam, so you get together for an impromptu comida. This comida isn’t just lunch – it’s a late lunch plus drinks spread over at least three or four hours, and in many cases will last through the evening and may even continue at a club after the restaurant closes. It was so common for employees to return from Friday afternoon lunch late and in no shape to work, that many Mexico City offices have an adjusted schedule on Fridays – employees arrive earlier than usual, work a straight seven (or so) hour shift, and then leave the office around three to start the weekend.
The comida is not in a hurry, and the only agenda is spending a lot of quality time with people you care about or want to get to know better. There is no rush to order, or even look at the menu. When you arrive, maybe you’ll order a drink before the waiter even brings the menu – a tequila if you’re getting ready for a traditional Mexican meal, a beer if you’re at a seafood restaurant, or perhaps an aperol spritz if you’re feeling trendy. You start chatting and catching up as friends trickle in, and order some appetizers while you wait.
Last week we went to a seafood restaurant to celebrate a friend’s birthday. I arrived late – even for a Mexican lunch – because I was held up in lines trying to renew my driver’s license, so when I got there everyone had already ordered, and eaten! But Mario – wonderful as he is – placed my order for me before I arrived, so my Clamato with Negra Modelo had just arrived at the table when I did.
As a gringa, the idea of adding lemon, salt, tomato juice, and various other secret ingredients to my beer was not immediately appealing, but once I got past the fact that it would potentially ruin a perfectly good beer, I came around to the fact that it is surprisingly good. In Mexico City, if you order a michelada you’ll get beer with lemon juice and salt, a Clamato con cerveza will get you a beer with tomato juice, lemon, salt and other spices, and a michelada cubana will get you a spicy michelada – but be careful when you’re traveling outside of Mexico City, in some places a michelada is spicy, and a chelada has only lemon and salt.
Mi Gusto Es was one of the first seafood restaurants I frequented after moving to Mexico City – their first location is in the Colonia Narvarte, where they were so popular that they expanded to occupy neighboring store fronts. I am not sure if it is still the case, but the last time I visited the Narvarte location, there was a stubborn auto repair shop that remained between two sections of the restaurant, which had expanded on either side. Now it is a local chain with restaurants located all over the city, including one in Polanco where I met up with Mario and our friends.
While just about everything is good, in particular I enjoy a shrimp appetizer called “cucarachas” – which literally means cockroaches. As unappealing as the name is, the shrimp fried with a salty-lemony sauce and sprinkled with parmesan are delicious.
After eating, we sat at the table for several hours more, ordering a digestif to follow up the meal – a favorite is the carajillo, a mixture of expresso and licor 43, but I ordered an amaretto since I don’t drink coffee any more – and then gin-tonics or whisky-sodas. We even sweet-talked the waiter into bringing us one last order of guacamole after the kitchen had closed, before closing out the bill and heading home at about 10 pm.
Locations: Torcuato Tasso 324-M, entre Presidente Masaryk y Horacio, Colonia Polanco, C.P. 11570, Del. Miguel Hidalgo, CDMX / Diagonal San Antonio 1709-C entre Dr. Vértiz y Monte Albán, Colonia Narvarte, C.P. 03020, Del. Benito Juárez, CDMX / Boulevard Puerto Aéreo 390, dentro del Hotel Ramada. Moctezuma 2da Secc, 15530, CDMX, just to name a few