There is no doubt at all that the street food in Mexico City is absolutely incredible. This form of eating is a key part of life in the city and you will often see stands with huge lines of people waiting to snap up some delicious, and freshly cooked food. When tourists come here they jump all over this kind of thing, and with good reason. If however you have plans on coming to the city then there are a couple of things which you should be on the lookout for when it comes to the street food here.
Illness
Of course the biggest risk for those who are coming from abroad is the chance that this food could certainly make you sick, but not because the food is bad. In the main it is the mishandling of meat which causes the issue here, which is why you have to be cautious before you buy. Make sure that you buy from a stand which has plenty of people and which handles the meat correctly.
Health
Whilst the majority of the food which is prepared on the streets of Mexico City is delicious, it is important to recognize that it is far from healthy. Now of course if you are on your vacation then this is going to be the last of your worries, but it is important to remember that this is not a healthy diet choice. There is nothing wrong with the occasional snack here and there, but almost all street food is fried in oil, and far from healthy.
Burning Salsa
If you are someone who can eat a lot of chili and who has no problems with hot food then you are going to be just fine when it comes to adding salsa to your meals. With this being said, if you are not, you are going to have to be careful when it comes to picking your salsa. Each street food stand will have a red and a green salsa, but there is no way of telling which is the hottest, this is something which you will have to find out for yourself. Instead of lashing it on however, the key to finding this out is to dip your finger before you go crazy, this will avoid the inevitable burn coming your way.
All The Pieces
And a final watch out, which my friend and chef Javier Burillo was keen to help me with, is that many street food vendors will sell just about every part of the animal, which is why you should be careful if you are not an ambitious eater. In many countries all the offcuts and undesirable pieces are squashed up and put in sausages, but here they are happy to fry it all up and put it in a taco. With this in mind, just be careful what you ask for when you are choosing your meat.
