5 typical (and WEIRD) Mexican food and drinks 🌮

There is one thing that no Mexican can say no to: regardless of how sad, angry, miserable or tired a Mexican might be feeling, they will always says yes to tacos!

In this article you will learn my Top 5 Must Try typical Mexican food and drinks, including some of the weirdest variations! AND you will also learn how to actually make an ultimate Mexican drink! 

1. Typical Mexican food you know 100%: Tacos 

More than a dish, tacos are God’s answer to all ailments! 

A soft, slightly fried corn tortilla, topped con carne frita y picadita (grilled and chopped meat), cilantro (coriander), cebolla (onion), salsa (sauce) y unas gotas de jugo de limón (a few lime drops).

This is the type of taco you will find on the street, in un puesto de tacos (taco stall) or una taquería (a taco restaurant). 

I know that tacos are now world famous and what usually comes to mind when people hear the word taco is that of Tex-Mex tacos, but those are NOT authentic Mexican tacos!

Tip!

Learn this chunk to order tacos:

• ¿De qué hay? (literally: “of what there is”) — This phrase actually means “what kind is there?”. It would be super useful when you are out on the streets getting your fix of Mexican fare. 

The answer to this question may be:

• Hay tacos de (there are tacos made of/containing)
  • suadero (beef tacos)
  • puerco (pork tacos)
  • longaniza, which is some sort of Mexican sausage, similar to chorizo 

There are also strange kinds of tacos como los de cabeza (like those made of head)… yes, head! As in la cabeza de una vaca (the head of a cow), the whole of it: ojo (eye), cachete (cheek), trompa (snout)… Oh, yes, we’re weird! 

Another super popular type of taco is tacos al pastor, which are made of pork and famously served con un pedacito de piña (with a bit of pineapple), cilantro (coriander), cebolla (onion) y limoncito (and a bit of lime). 

2. A daily serving in Mexico: Guisados 

Tacos are the most popular item of Mexican food, but that doesn’t mean that’s all Mexicans eat. In fact, guisados are the kind of meals that would be served in a typical Mexican household on a daily basis. 

For this reason, these kind of dishes are very popular at fondas (small restaurants) selling comida corrida (set lunches).

3. Typical Mexican drink: Aguas frescas 

This could be literally translated as “fresh waters”, but what are they?

Well, aguas frescas are light, non-alcoholic drinks made of one or more fruits, cereals, flowers, or seeds blended with sugar and water.

Some of the most popular are:

• agua de horchata (rice drink) 
• agua de tamarindo (Tamarind drink)
• agua de jamaica (dried hibiscus flower drink)
• agua de limón con chía (lime and chia seeds drink) 

Nothing too weird about them, right? 

There might be a weird one, though! It is made of fermented pineapple rinds and it is called tepache… y lo amas o lo odias (you either love it or hate it!)

4. A weird Mexican snack: esquite (corn in a cup) 

Mexico has some of the best produce in the world, but that wasn’t enough, so Mexicans thought: why don’t we take this perfectly delicious fruit and make it weird?

Algo clásico para botanear (something classic to snack on) is a esquite, which is corn, mixed with mayo, cheese, jugo de limón (lime juice), chile en polvo (chili powder) y sal (and salt).  

5. Another weird drink… plus bonus recipe!

There is good beer in Mexico), which combined with nuestra obsesión con el jugo de limón (our obsession with lime juice) resulted in La Michelada (Mexican beer-based cocktail)!

Depending on where you are in México, the ingredients may vary, but I will share MY version with you!

• jugo de un limón (juice of one lime)
• unas gotas de salsa Tabasco (a few drops of Tabasco sauce)
• unas gotas de salsa inglesa (a few drops of Worcestershire sauce)
• unas gotas de jugos Maggie (a few drops of Maggie sauce)
• tu cerveza favorita, bien fría (your favorite beer, pretty cold) 

By the way, if you want to learn more about food items en español, check out my other videos on the Spring Spanish Youtube Channel. 

6. FREE Spanish Training

¡Muy bien! Now you know that it only takes unas gotas de limón (a few drops of lime) to take tu cerveza (your beer) to the Mexican level! You have also learned about four must-try Mexican food items. 

Have you tried any of these before? Did you like them… or do you think they’re just weird? Is there any other Mexican food you’ve tried that I didn’t mention here? Like fajitas or burritos? Those can be controversial and I have my thoughts on them…  Let me know what you think in the comments! 

Now, if you’re ready to move on from just knowing a few phrases and you want to get serious about speaking Spanish in actual conversations, sign up to the free Spanish training we’re currently offering on our website.

If you do so, you’ll discover the method we use in our Spring Spanish Academy to teach students to speak fluent Spanish. Additionally, you will get free sample Spanish lessons that come straight from our Academy!