No Sweat: Finding the Best Tacos al Vapor in Mexico City

On a rainy afternoon in Mexico City, I needed to eat lunch. Normally, when I’m abroad, I choose a spot where all the locals are crowding to eat and I eat there. In a city of nine million people, however, there are crowds everywhere — so how to tell what’s best?

When I first arrived in Mexico a few weeks’ prior, I was concerned about eating street food. And sure, once I dove in, Montezuma had some revenge on me. But Mexican street food, specifically in Mexico City, is some of the most exciting food I’ve ever had: tlayudas (very thin, long, crispy blue corn discs piled high with beans, rajas (poblano pepper strips), a cream sauce and cotija cheese), flautas (deep fried rolled corn tortillas stuffed with cheese), and tortas (a delicious variety of Mexican sandwiches) are my favorites.

Except I’m lying. None of those are actually my most favorite Mexican food.

The clichéd truth? It’s tacos. Yes, tacos.

But not just any tacos. Mexico has versions of tacos like Eskimos have words for snow. Not the soft shell vs. hard shell chicken beef or fish tacos we know north of the border, either. First off, there are dozens of varieties of meat-free tacos (I’m a vegetarian), like flor de calabaza — zucchini blossom tacos — and you’ve got also soft tacos, tacos al pastor, and tacos de asador. I could go into detail on all of them, but that would take the attention off of my absolute favorite taco… tacos al vapor. Specifically, tacos al vapor de papas y rajas.

Let me explain. Tacos al vapor are made of corn tortillas with different fillings that then sit in a basket, covered with a cloth, and the heat steams them so they are super soft. Other names for them are tacos de canasta(basket tacos) or tacos sudados — literally, sweaty tacos. I feel like leading this all off with “I like sweaty Mexican tacos” would have given an entirely different first impression, so let’s stick with al vapor. My favorite is when they take potato (papas) and poblano pepper strips (rajas), and fry that up with love and terrible-for-you-so-just-pretend-you-don’t-knowcorn oil and then make tacos out of them. I had become quite a papas y rajasconnoisseur since hitting superhero levels of street food bravery.

That’s why that day, when I saw a crowd of locals clamoring outside a walk-up taco window somewhere near the Centro Historico, I hopped right in line and joined the crowd, politely elbowing and wiggling my way to the window.

“Dos tacos al vapor de papas y rajas, por favor.”

I paid and then wiggled and elbowed my way to the waiting area to watch, one by one, the supreme satisfaction cross the face of each person before mein line as they poured their sauces from greasy non-descript plastic bottles onto their favorite taco, and sunk their teeth in for the first bite.

What sauce would I choose? What one looks medium spicy? Do I even need a sauce? What if I choose the hottest sauce and can’t even taste the taco? Which one are they using for their kids? That might not be too spicy.

“Dos tacos para la gringa,” he said with a wink and handed me my tacos.

I couldn’t wait. I took a bite right away… It was the absolute best taco I’ve ever eaten. I slowly walked away and lost myself in a mouth full of flavor, gobbling my tacos as I walked by booming music blaring from speakers, honking horns from the bumper-to-bumper traffic and the familiar smell mixture of gas and fresh rain.

I’ll never forget those tacos. The problem is, I may never find them again, either.