El Bajio

El Bajio Restaurant Review:

While El Bajío is a long cab ride from central Mexico City, it is well worth the effort to go because, plate for plate, you will be served the best traditional Mexican food in the city. Decorated in festive red and green, and festooned with papel picado (tissue paper with cut-out patterns), the menu spans all of Mexico, although emphasizing the state of Veracruz, where the restaurant’s chef-owner, Carmen “Titita” Ramírez Degollado, was born. Among its specialties are fried empanadas made with plantain dough and stuffed with beans; tacos filled with crab meat and cooked in a banana leaf; and a meal-in-itself soup called mole de olla. But without a doubt, the specialty of the house is carnitas, pork braised in spices and milk, then fried and cut into tiny pieces from which you fashion your own tacos. The squeamish order “pura maciza”---just the lean white meat---while the brave order “surtida,” which includes parts of the pig you probably don’t want to know about. Most of El Bajio's customers choose traditional Mexican beverages to accompany their meals: tequila, beer or water flavored with seasonal fruits. There is a full bar and a limited wine selection.