Taquería El Caifän

There are street vendors galore throughout all of Mexico City selling every form and shape of taco and huarache imaginable. But what if you don’t want to stand on the sidewalk munching away at your dripping street taco (which could spell disaster for those fancy Italian loafers you’re wearing)? Well Taquería El Caifän has the answer. Create a restaurant with counter service and low overhead to churn out authentic Mexican street food in a trendy industrial / loft setting.

They do it quite well. You can choose from a variety of tacos (including the “pastor” variety that uses meat shaved from one of those Greek Gyro style spits of roasted stacked meat. The Mexican variety utilizes layers of meat sliced slightly thinner than the Greek counterpart. The result is a slightly more crispy shaving of meat on your taco.

But the star at this restaurant (in my not so humble opinion) is the huarache. This is a corn meal flatbread just slightly thicker than a corn tortilla with fresh lettuce and queso fresco piled up on top. There is a buffet style assortment of condiments and salsas that you can pile on top. All very fresh, I might add. I elected to have a few of the hotter pickled red peppers, some grilled mild peppers (probably ancho peppers) and a relish of assorted beans. It was delicious.

The dining area is clean with wide open view of the sidewalk so you can stare at passersby as you munch away at your street food from the comfort of your own little stool in the dining room.

The small tapa-size tacos (about three big bites each) were about US 80 cents and the huaraches were about US $2.50. That huarache was plenty big. More than enough for lunch. I tried the vegetarian option but you can have it piled high with your choice of meat or sausage for about a buck more.

Looking for a quick and inexpensive lunch close to Plaza Alameda? Look no further than Taquería El Caifän.