This morning, at a coffee stand inside the Terminal del Norte bus station in Mexico City:
Me: I’d like a cafe americano with milk, please.
Young woman: We don’t sell an americano with milk. You can get a black coffee or a cappuccino.
Me: Can’t I just get a small amount of milk in my [...]
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I meant to do a lot of research on Paris before we traveled. What was the history of the city? What is it like now? What were the top things to do and places to see? Alas, my schedule blew up and the only research I did involved a dinner with Parisian friends who now [...]
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When I told friends I was traveling to Paris for a week, they’d always ask: Is it your first time? I’d say yes, and then the person would get this faraway look in his eyes.”Oh, Paris. You’re going to love it.”
I didn’t doubt that I would like it. But I secretly [...]
Continue Reading →Crayton and I are escaping for a week to Paris! We scored a great deal on miles back in March. It’ll be our first time there. We’re visiting our good friends Erik and Jesica, who moved to Paris a year ago.
My plan for the week is to walk around a lot, see a few [...]
Continue Reading →Last week over lunch at El Cardenal, one of the restaurant’s owners, Marcela Briz, stopped by our table. Dining with me were some fancy guests — Penny, two chefs from the States and Ruth Alegria. So Señora Briz graciously gave us each a little present: a lotería game she researched and [...]
Continue Reading →I stumbled on Con Sabor a Tixtla by chance.
I’d been wandering around the Roma neighborhood, looking for a few new places to add to Eat Mexico’s Taco Tour, when I saw a chalkboard menu propped up on the sidewalk. Colorful tables and umbrellas had been spread out in a neat row, and baskets [...]
Continue Reading →I met the Cuban ice cream guy the same way he meets all his ladies: he called out to me when I was passing by.
“Would you like to try some Cuban ice cream, without the promise to buy?”
He was a smiling man in an apron, standing behind a row of coffee machines [...]
Continue Reading →I hadn’t spent much time in San Miguel de Allende until about a week ago, when I went for the annual writers’ conference.
To be honest, I didn’t really have a high opinion of the place — Crayton and I spent one afternoon there in 2007 and I remember feeling annoyed [...]
Continue Reading →Maiz quebrado means “cracked corn.” In the state of Querétaro, it refers to a type of coarsely ground masa used to make gorditas. The masa is stuffed with either cheese or chicharrón (called migajas in Querétaro), patted thin, and then fried until tortilla-chip crispy.
Continue Reading →We arrived at Reyna’s house with two baskets full of produce. She unlocked the heavy gated entrance and we stepped through the doorway. In front of us was an open, tranquil courtyard with a dirt floor. This is where we’d cook and eat.
The kitchen lay just beyond the herb garden. Cooking utensils hung on [...]
Continue Reading → Who is Mija?
Mija is Lesley Téllez, a food writer and culinary guide in New York City. I spent four years in Mexico's Distrito Federal, which launched my deep love for Mexican food and culture. In 2010 I co-founded the tourism company Eat Mexico.
