DISH OF THE WEEK: Pulque at PULQUERIA LOS INSURGENTES in Mexico City, Mexico

Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City

Literally days before this current reality of social distancing and quarantining began, I was in Mexico City with a group of people (for the Urban Adventures guide conference). But unfortunately, I had to cut my Mexico trip short because of the pandemic.

And because I only had a few days and the stress of everything that was happening, I didn’t have as much of an opportunity to experience Mexico City as I would have liked. It’s a very vibrant, very large city with one of the coolest and most exciting food scenes in the world.

I certainly didn’t leave hungry but I missed out on some things that I had expected. For example, I made a reservation at a place called Nicos which was highly recommended, but I had to cancel because I had to book an earlier flight to get home to my family.

That being said, I did get to try some unbelievable tacos at Taqueria Tlaquepaque (those suadero tacos!!), the best al pastor taco at El Huequito, a very unique taco filling called Romeritos (a boiled plant with a dark molé sauce containing fermented shrimp) and some fancier options at Orinoco. Those are just the tacos.

I also got to taste escaroles (ant larvae) with scrambled eggs and avocado at the hip sceney Lalo! (they were good), life changing pastries at Rosetta, hearty pozole at La Casa de Toño, and the requisite churros y chocolate at El Moro.

And although I didn’t get to Nicos or Pujol or some of the other fancy places, I did have a very nice seafood centric lunch at hot spot Contramar. It lived up to the hype, especially the delicate tuna tostada.

Many of those things I’ve had at Mexican restaurants in New York. Granted, never as good as in CDMX (Mexico City), but what I have chosen as the Dish of the Week is something you literally can not consume outside of Mexico.

Pulque is a slightly alcoholic drink that can not be shipped outside of Mexico because it must be consumed within a few days or it will spoil.

It’s made from the sap of the maguey plant (yes, the same place tequila and mezcal comes from) but it is fermented and not distilled (like its more famous and potent cousins). The alcohol percentage remains on the lower side (between 2%-8%) but enough of these will sneak up on you.

It also seems to have had a resurgence in the last few decades. From what I understand, it is an old traditional drink that fell out of fashion, but much like craft beer, bitters, and pickles in the US, the younger artsy generation has begun to embrace it.

And you can sort of see both the old and new world at Pulqueria los Insurgentes. It’s in the hip Roma district and has three large floors for drinking and socializing. We hung out on the rooftop area where there is sometimes live music.

We also had a chance to sample all the pulque flavors on offer. Everything from the original unflavored to celery with spicy salt, to the tropical soursop, and even oatmeal flavor! They also have more approachable flavors like passionfruit and strawberry.

I really enjoyed these drinks. They reminded me a bit of kombucha or a drinkable yogurt. Some people have complained about the viscous texture but I quite enjoyed it especially with the hint of effervescence.

But even though the alcohol content is low, the richness and strong flavor prevents me from having too many in one sitting. That’s fine with me because I really enjoyed sampling and savoring each unique sip. Especially knowing that I won’t be able to taste this nectar again until I make another visit to Mexico. One more reason I am frustrated to be stuck at home. No pulque.