ATSC Special Travel Edition: i'm just back from Mexico City

INSIDE: where to shop, thrift, eat, and more in CDMX

Happy Sunday!!! Welcome to the very first ATSC special travel edition :)

I spent the last six days in Mexico City – which is truly one of my favorite places I’ve ever been. I wanted to share my recs for shopping and thrifting ofc but also eating and sightseeing!! I dropped in some pics I took as well.

If you guys like this type of thing (or if you don’t lol), please let me know!!! I have other trips planned for the summer to Geneva, London, and a few other spots, and I would love to do recs for this too.

And quickly, before we get into the good stuff, I wanted to share this from the ATSC Met Gala insta that people really enjoyed this past week!

Ok, onto the main event:

TO SHOP:

Happening in Roma Norte

SO cute and kinda camp in the very best way – I would say it’s a great place to grab a gift or a souvenir for your cool friend, sister, mom, etc.

Goodbye Folk in La Romita

Tons and tons of really unique reworked and vintage clothes – they did things with polo shirts I could not have imagined lol

Xinu Perfumes in Polanco

The most unique perfume experience I have ever had!! They have five original, unisex fragrances and they’ll show you how they make them and how they smell after several minutes, several hours, on clothes, etc. The actual bottles are about $250 but just going to look (and smell) is worth it.

180 Grados in Roma Norte

Very trendy spot right across from the famous (and fabulous) bakery, Panaderia Rosetta – more on that later! It’s a pricier selection but impeccably curated tbh.

Art market at Parque Allende in Coyoacan (only on weekends)

There are SO many reasons to go to this market but my favorite part was the art!!! Truly incredible original prints and paintings, definitely leave space in your suitcase to pick up some of these pieces. Don’t forget to stop by the covered, main Coyoacán market close by – it’s a vast, colorful, wild, beautiful place! There are also a ton of smaller markets surrounding it so be sure to leave yourself time to wander.

Note: this is actually the covered market close by that I mentioned!

TO SEE:

Casa Azul (the Frida Kahlo House)

I went with someone who wasn’t a Frida Kahlo fan/didn’t know all that much about her (I very much am and made us go lol) – and this was one of her favorite parts of the trip. Not only are you able to see her own art as well as the art she collected, you see photos of her family, her dresses, her letters, the rooms she grew up in – such an intimate portrait of this one-of-a-kind artist

Teotihuacan + La Gruta

Ok, this might be my favorite thing we did on this trip. Less than an hour north of CDMX is Teotihuacan, meaning the place where the gods are, which was an incredibly ancient city that was then occupied again by the Aztecs when the conquistadors invaded. You get to see their two massive pyramids, the temples of the Moon and Sun, as well as temples and palaces, as well as see surviving paintings and learn about the many cultures that have thrived and worshipped in this sacred place. It might be the most awe-inspiring place I have ever seen. I cannot recommend it enough! And make sure you stop by La Gruta, a delicious restaurant that was built inside a cave nearby.

this hat was VERY needed, it gets sunny!!

Club Tengo Hambre

This is also up there with one of my favorite things I’ve ever done. HIGHLY recommend taking a food tour with Club Tengo Hombre. Our wonderful guide Patricio was clearly incredibly passionate about what he does, which is just the coolest thing to witness, and he brought us to six local business, ordered their specialties, and explained both how it was made and the history of each of the dishes. There was also a stop for pulque and churros. Definitely come hungry and get ready to eat the best tacos of your life!!

TO EAT:

Rosetta

If you are planning a trip to CDMX, you will probably hear about the bakery Panadeia Rosetta right away – and for a good reason, it’s SO good. However, they also a restaurant called Rosetta just down the street and it is mind-blowing. I was so car-sick right before sitting down to this meal and despite that, I literally could not not eat it all lol

chicken liver pasta and sweet potato spicy tamale!

Entremar

This was my mom’s favorite of the trip!! Contremar is their main restaurant which can be pretty tricky to get into – but Entremar is a seafood restaurant by the same owners with most of the same dishes, I believe, and it was delish

more sweet potato lol, jambon + eggs + potato, and tuna tostadas

Any panaderia (my favorite was Lecaroz)

The best part of my morning was simply walking into the panaderia in our neighborhood and staring at the literal dozens of fresh bread, pastries, cakes, and sandwiches every day (and then eating quite a few of them lol). Ours, which is in Coyoacan and is called Lecaroz, will always have a piece of my heart – but I would recommend checking out your local one!

Los Dazantes Coyoacan

I’m sure this place has so many good things… but I simply needed to share their Brie-stuffed plantains, which was my sole focus during our meal lol. Truly my dream dish.

Churrería El Moro

This is a bold thing to say… but these have got to be the best churros in the city!! I would say try to go to the original location in the Centro Historico which is still largely a family business, although they’ve expanded to something like 20 locations!!! Yeah, it’s that good lol.

Ricos Tacos Toluca

This is one of, I believe, two (if not more) taco stands in CDMX that just received Michelin recognition. It’s small but INSANE – think spicy guac and french fries added to your classic tacos. I would recommend heading there during off-peak hours or on a weekday. It is also part of the Club Tengo Hombre food tour, which is how we went.

And those are my main recommendations!!! Many, many thanks to the laura reilly/Magazin group chat for sharing their recs with me while I was planning the trip.

If you have been to CDMX, please feel free to drop any and all of your suggestions, I would love to see them!! And if you’re thinking of going there, I truly cannot recommend it enough – it is one of the coolest, friendliest, most creative cities I have ever seen.

Also, let me know if you like these trip guides! I have some more travels this summer and am considering maybe making them a paid subscriber thing??? But would love to hear from you. And see you on Friday for our regularly scheduled programming :)