Mexico City - in search of tacos. Airbnb experience tour

Contramar lunch of sopes and shrimp soup

The deco architecture is amazing! 

I'm in Mexico City right now on a whim of a trip I booked two weeks ago. The reason for the trip was simple (if a little sad) - some repeat airbnb guests who love my dog (and vice versa) were having an extended stay at my studio in Joshua Tree, and were willing to watch him in exchange for reduced rent.  I would travel a lot more if I wasn't so attached to that damn dog. So I opened up Google flights and started searching destinations and Mexico City popped out. I've been all over the Yucatán and Baja, but never in central Mexico. I had heard horror stories about traveling in Mexico City years ago (even from Mexicans!), but lately I've been hearing what a fabulous place it is.

My first evening, relaxing on Airbnb host Tom's roof.

It's hectic and loud,  but also beautiful with an energy that's hard to describe. Luckily my first airbnb host, Tom, was a super nice ex-pat from NY, and he immediately set me up with a map and suggestions of where to go. He really made me feel at home, and the next night we hung out with some wine and commiserated on the ups and downs of being a host.

The second day I decided to try one of Airbnb's relatively new "experiences", and did a taco bike ride tour around the city. It's a great thing for someone traveling alone, but also for anyone wanting to find "insider gems" in a new city. The host, Diego, was a charmer and his tour was very well organized. We covered a lot of ground in three hours, making five stops to experience a variety of tacos.

Diego talking tacos

First we went to a small Mayan taco joint, where we had conchinita pibil tacos, with about 10 different great salsas. Plus vibrant green agua Frescas made from a leafy green plant that I've forgotten the name of. I also didn't catch the name of the place, unfortunately... someone else on the tour told me it was called Habinitos, but I wasn't able to find it online. It was a tiny little place, and I went to use the bathroom and had to go through a little half-sized door that reminded me of Being John Malkovich.

2nd stop was seafood at Tres Galeones, at Calle Jalapa 117, Roma Norte. It was so good that I went back the next day and got the same thing - a soft shell crab taco and shrimp sopes - both amazing.

Tortillas being made at the market for our carnitas  

3rd stop we rolled our bikes into a busy market all the way to the back for pork confit tacos. They showed us the big vat of oil the pigs are cooked in, and the guy demonstrated how he could cut right through the bone, "like it was guacamole". at least I think that's what he said. My Spanish really sucks. 

Diego answered some of my silly questions - like what they were chanting out of megaphones from circling trucks? I thought it was some sort of political thing, but turns out they're just announcing that they buy used microwaves, mattresses, refrigerators, etc. He also told us to look for men going around at night with two metal sticks, explaining that people pay them for an electric shock. He showed us a photo of him doing it with friends a few nights prior. They hold hands in a circle, the current passes through everyone, and the first person who lets go has to pay the shock man. Another woman on the tour asked if the shock wasn't dangerous for his pregnant wife, and he just laughed and said "Nah!"

Me sporting my growing butt, about to eat more tacos.

The last stop was for Asian fusion duck tacos with a sauce reminiscent of Peking duck. El Autintico Pato Manila, Calle Culliacan 91, Condesa. I thought about going back there as well, but needed to make time for the amazing Contramar that every person that had Mexico City tips had recommended. With good reason - it was excellant

I also discovered a great Oaxacan place called Pasillo de Humo, Avenida Nuevo Leon 107, Hipodromo, Mexico City 06100. I think it's only open for lunch. There was a crowded scene on the first level, with several different counters, but I ate at the more quiet upstairs. Mainly because a hostess asked me a question and gestured upstairs, so I said "Si" and that's where I ended up.

Duck tacos at El Autintico Pato Manila, Calle Culliacan 91, Condesa

We wrapped up the tour with a shot of mezcal, with an orange and worm salt on the side. This was the first of lots of mezcal during my trip. Apparently we were lucky to have Diego lead the tour, because his employee was on a paid vacation. He's only been giving these experience tours since August, and has an employee on vacation!!

I was going to try and go to Oaxaca and then meet up with a friend in Puerto Vallarta, but ended up deciding Oaxaca could wait. Too much to see and do in Mexico City. I know, I know, I'm missing out, but hopefully it won't go anywhere and I'll see it next time.

Spiderweb metal work. And that PINK!

Comedy break

I haven't posted much this year... I've been on kind of a sabbatical. I've still been making art, but my focus has been in a lot of directions.

The chain of events went kind of like this: I woke up one morning to find all three of my remaining chickens had been eaten/mauled by something (bobcat? fox? Something smaller than a coyote). I had lost many chickens over the past few years to illness or predators, so the mourning felt almost constant. I REALLY loved my chickens - they were pets, and I became very attached to them. I still had the goats, but frankly, they're a lot less affectionate. I felt broken with the chickens gone, and I faced a decision - should I start over and get more, or is it time for a change?

I was feeling more and more isolated living out in Joshua Tree by myself. I would go days without talking to any humans, and that was fine for a while - the animals were pretty good company. I had pretty much accepted the fact that I was on the fast track to becoming a crazy desert lady. But I started to wonder... is it a little too soon for that? After five years, I started to feel like I really needed a change. I needed to get out of my shell, and stop being a hermit. I had been renting out my place in LA on Airbnb regularly, just coming into town for a day or two here and there. But I started raising my rates or blocking off days, so that I could spend more time in the city. And going on Tinder dates. I started looking for a new home for the goats.

While this craving for change was in my head, I randomly came across something online about improv classes at UCB in LA. I had seen a show at their theater years back, but doing it myself had never occurred to me. I signed up for an intro class. I was so nervous when I took that first class that I had intense stomach cramps the entire time. But it was fun! Most of the other students were much younger than me, so I felt kind of out of place, but I still really enjoyed it. I was physically ill from nerves going onstage for our final performance, but it went well. I signed up for Improv 201 and increased my search for someone to take the goats. I found another crazy desert goat lady a few miles away with tons of goats and space. She was willing to take them, and said I could always take them back whenever I wanted. That was perfect, as it was so hard to let go after raising them from babies. 

I kept taking improv classes, and my classmates encouraged me to try stand up. That was a whole other world. I signed up for a stand up class and learned the strange art of writing jokes. I started going to open mics regularly, which were mostly soul-crushing but with occasional highs that kept me at it. Once I started, I really wanted to give it all I could - it’s kind of an all or nothing thing. I've been booking small spots in clubs, not really sure where I'm going with it. I just figure that I can't help but grow if I do what scares the shit out of me.

Here’s one of my first performances - it’s pretty painful. I can’t even talk into the mic.

My improv 201 teacher at UCB was the amazing Brian Finkelstein, who is a regular host of the Moth shows in LA. This got me interested in storytelling, and I've done a few Moth shows.

So has all this experience onstage with comedy and improv cured me of my shyness, awkwardness, etc? NO! I don't really feel like it has! But surely it's changed me, maybe in ways I don't see. Now I can get on stage with a microphone by myself and bare my soul, without even getting sick to my stomach. Well, just moderately queasy.