The best, and only, sea urchin I had in CDMX was a daily special at Contramar.
Earlier today I ran into some C+M readers while eating lunch at Warung Selasa, and I had to apologize for my recent lack of posting. You see folks, I was in Mexico City for a week celebrating my 50th birthday. I did my level best to eat every taco in town. There will come a time to speak of tacos, but now is the time to speak of the best two bites of seafood I had on my trip.
“D.F. is 1,500 miles from the sea,” a pal pointed out, when others recommended I book a table at Contramar, a white tablecloth seafood specialist in La Condesa. I did not let my friend’s commentary on D.F.’s geography deter me. Everybody suggested that I try the tuna tostadas, but when I found out that there was a Spanish language specials list, I promptly ignored that advice, and peppered several of the patient waitstaff with translation requests. And that’s how I wound up with a gorgeous plate of ceviche de erizo, or sea urchin ceviche from Ensenada. Served with chips, it was the best sea urchin I ate in Mexico City and not just because it was the only one I ate.
El K-Guamo’s incredible blue crab tostada.
The second best bite of seafood that I ate in Mexico City was at Marisqueria El K-Guamo, a seafood restaurant located in the city’s bustling Centro district, that got its start at a nearby street food stand. It was the first stop on a food tour from Eat Mexico, which by the way was an awesome introduction to the city. Our stop at K-Guamo began with a glorious shot of seafood soup that had a marvelous crab flavor. Next up, our choice of seafood tostadas pulpo (octopus), camaron (shrimp), or jaiba (blue crab). The other dudes on the tour went for the pulpo, but I struck out on my own and went with the blue crab, which was superb.
So there you have it, even though CDMX is not so near the sea, there is excellent seafood to be had, and I can’t wait to return to try more of it.
Contramar, Calle de Durango 200, Roma Nte., 06700 Ciudad de México, CDMX, Mexico, +52 55 5514 9217; Marisquería el K-Guamo, 10, Ayuntamiento, Centro, 06000 Ciudad de México, CDMX, Mexico, +52 55 5915 5495
Mas mariscos:
ROMULO’S is muy del pueblo, delicious and good fun for marisqueando and day drinking https://goo.gl/maps/RXQCCb8o3Rk
Mi Gusto Es (multiple locations) has aguachile as good as Contramar
P.s. ¡feliz cumple!
Gracias amigo!
Mexico City is about 250 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, not 1,500.
Aha! That explains why the seafood was actually good. Serves me right for trusting someone else’s geography instead of mapping it myself.
My gf and I just spent a week in the Hipodromo section of La Condesa a month ago, my first time: the neighborhood is too delightful for words. We ate SO well, and wanted to visit Contramar, but weren’t able to get to it. Looking forward to more tales of your adventures there!
It is a big delicious city, and I can’t wait to go back!