Our journey begins in Oaxaca’s historic center, just as the night shift of food stalls starts to emerge and a whole new set of aromas begins to fill the air. Our first stop, a vendor outside one of Oaxaca’s main markets, has been serving tortas and tostadas to workers heading home since 1930. Joining the after work crowd, we’ll get a taste of their rightfully famous – and filling – creations. From there, we’ll continue to a new family-run restaurant that has already become a neighborhood staple thanks to its devotion to one of the most elemental of Oaxacan ingredients: Beans, served out of large clay pots. Here we’ll taste a sampler of their homey dishes, which respectfully riff on traditional Oaxacan cooking. Continuing our exploration, we’ll next stop by the small shop of a local woman devoted to all things cacao and chocolate, where we’ll enjoy some of her artisanal creations. As we make our way through the neighborhood, we’ll visit another iconic streetside business, this one of a family that’s been selling tortillas stuffed with chicken and mole since 1965. Now run by the family’s fourth generation, their stand has become a strategic stop for hungry workers heading for their evening shifts, hungry locals and, of course, people looking to fuel up before getting the party started.
Our journey begins in Oaxaca’s historic center, just as the night shift of food stalls starts to emerge and a whole new set of aromas begins to fill the air. Our first stop, a vendor outside one of Oaxaca’s main markets, has been serving tortas and tostadas to workers heading home since 1930. Joining the after work crowd, we’ll get a taste of their rightfully famous – and filling – creations. From there, we’ll continue to a new family-run restaurant that has already become a neighborhood staple thanks to its devotion to one of the most elemental of Oaxacan ingredients: Beans, served out of large clay pots. Here we’ll taste a sampler of their homey dishes, which respectfully riff on traditional Oaxacan cooking. Continuing our exploration, we’ll next stop by the small shop of a local woman devoted to all things cacao and chocolate, where we’ll enjoy some of her artisanal creations. As we make our way through the neighborhood, we’ll visit another iconic streetside business, this one of a family that’s been selling tortillas stuffed with chicken and mole since 1965. Now run by the family’s fourth generation, their stand has become a strategic stop for hungry workers heading for their evening shifts, hungry locals and, of course, people looking to fuel up before getting the party started.
Summary
Oaxaca’s food scene is really a tale of two cities, both equally delicious. In the morning, a dizzying array of eateries open their doors and vendors pop up, ready to help Oaxacans get their day started off right. But come sundown, things really get interesting, with a whole new crop of stalls and vendors opening up in their place to keep Oaxaca’s culinary parade going. Ask locals and they will tell you: In this city, the eats only truly come out at night.
Oaxaca’s food scene is really a tale of two cities, both equally delicious. In the morning, a dizzying array of eateries open their doors and vendors pop up, ready to help Oaxacans get their day started off right. But come sundown, things really get interesting, with a whole new crop of stalls and vendors opening up in their place to keep Oaxaca’s culinary parade going. Ask locals and they will tell you: In this city, the eats only truly come out at night.
Cancellation notes
90% refund if given 1 week notice prior to walk.
50% refund if given 72 hours notice or more.
Less than 72 hours before the beginning of the activity or no-show: no refund
100% refund if given 1 week notice prior to walk.
50% refund if given 72 hours notice or more.
Less than 72 hours before the beginning of the activity or no-show: no refund
Know Before You Go
bring an umbrella if you’re traveling in oaxaca’s rainy season, wear comfortable shoes, wear shirts in layers — it can be cooler at night
bring an umbrella if you’re traveling in oaxaca’s rainy season, wear comfortable shoes, wear shirts in layers — it can be cooler in the morning and warmer in the afternoon
Version 3 – May 10, 2025 11:40
Current Version
Previous Version
Short Description
On this afternoon-into-evening tour, we’ll explore this culinary changing of the guard, tasting our way through some of the city’s best nighttime food spots while also gaining an understanding of their important role in maintaining Oaxaca’s civic life. Along the way, we’ll stroll through historic neighborhoods and public spaces, experiencing a side of the city few visitors get to – day or night.
On this food tour in Oaxaca, we’ll get an edible crash course on the elements that are a bedrock of traditional Oaxacan cooking. We’ll go through neighborhood markets and visit home-based restaurants and the stalls of streets vendors, stopping to taste some of Oaxaca’s most iconic dishes and street snacks, from memelas to eggs cooked on the comal. We’ll taste local corn in various forms and see how it’s transformed from kernel to tortilla, while learning about the key role it still plays in Oaxacan cuisine and culture. Along the way we’ll meet market vendors who have been holding steady for decades and even visit the gallery of a group of young artists who are doing their part to document local life. We’ll end our journey with a meal in a family-run market restaurant, sampling several different types of the city’s most famous creations, mole – a dish that, much like Oaxaca’s rich culinary heritage itself, is the result of numerous ingredients being carefully mixed together.
Description
Our journey begins in Oaxaca’s historic center, just as the night shift of food stalls starts to emerge and a whole new set of aromas begins to fill the air. Our first stop, a vendor outside one of Oaxaca’s main markets, has been serving tortas and tostadas to workers heading home since 1930. Joining the after work crowd, we’ll get a taste of their rightfully famous – and filling – creations. From there, we’ll continue to a new family-run restaurant that has already become a neighborhood staple thanks to its devotion to one of the most elemental of Oaxacan ingredients: Beans, served out of large clay pots. Here we’ll taste a sampler of their homey dishes, which respectfully riff on traditional Oaxacan cooking. Continuing our exploration, we’ll next stop by the small shop of a local woman devoted to all things cacao and chocolate, where we’ll enjoy some of her artisanal creations. As we make our way through the neighborhood, we’ll visit another iconic streetside business, this one of a family that’s been selling tortillas stuffed with chicken and mole since 1965. Now run by the family’s fourth generation, their stand has become a strategic stop for hungry workers heading for their evening shifts, hungry locals and, of course, people looking to fuel up before getting the party started.
We like to think of Oaxaca as the heartland of Mexican cooking. All those things that seems so classically and elementally Mexican – corn, chiles, moles, mezcal – can be traced back to the fertile area that surrounds this historic city. This is true about not just ingredients but cooking techniques as well. The use of smoke and fire to flavor food and of the comal – the large circular griddle that is essential for making tortillas – are all deeply connected with the Oaxaca region and its indigenous people. Oaxaca plays another important role: that of a place where many of Mexico’s traditional ingredients and techniques are maintained and protected. Here, the seemingly simple act of growing a strain of heirloom corn is also a deeply political one, an earthy act of resistance against the forces of corporate agriculture that have pushed Mexican farmers in other parts of the country to change the way they work the land.
Highlights
bean-based comfort food in a beloved neighborhood spot, culinary walking tour , iconic street eats with generations of history, market visit - eating grilled meats in the smoke corridor, untouristed local stops
culinary walking tour , market visit - eating grilled meats in the smoke corridor, sampling a variety of mole, tracing corn from raw material, untouristed local stops
Version 2 – May 10, 2025 11:39
Current Version
Previous Version
Name
The Late Shift: Tasting Oaxaca, By Night
Earth, Corn & Fire: Tasting the Roots of Oaxacan Cuisine - Clone
Short Description
On this food tour in Oaxaca, we’ll get an edible crash course on the elements that are a bedrock of traditional Oaxacan cooking. We’ll go through neighborhood markets and visit home-based restaurants and the stalls of streets vendors, stopping to taste some of Oaxaca’s most iconic dishes and street snacks, from memelas to eggs cooked on the comal. We’ll taste local corn in various forms and see how it’s transformed from kernel to tortilla, while learning about the key role it still plays in Oaxacan cuisine and culture. Along the way we’ll meet market vendors who have been holding steady for decades and even visit the gallery of a group of young artists who are doing their part to document local life. We’ll end our journey with a meal in a family-run market restaurant, sampling several different types of the city’s most famous creations, mole – a dish that, much like Oaxaca’s rich culinary heritage itself, is the result of numerous ingredients being carefully mixed together.
On this food tour in Oaxaca, we’ll get an edible crash course on the elements that are a bedrock of traditional Oaxacan cooking. We’ll go through neighborhood markets and visit home-based restaurants and the stalls of streets vendors, stopping to taste some of Oaxaca’s most iconic dishes and street snacks, from memelas to eggs cooked on the comal. We’ll taste local corn in various forms and see how it’s transformed from kernel to tortilla, while learning about the key role it still plays in Oaxacan cuisine and culture. Along the way we’ll meet market vendors who have been holding steady for decades and even visit the gallery of a group of young artists who are doing their part to document local life. We’ll end our journey with a meal in a family-run market restaurant, sampling several different types of the city’s most famous creations, mole – a dish that, much like Oaxaca’s rich culinary heritage itself, is the result of numerous ingredients being carefully mixed together.
Description
We like to think of Oaxaca as the heartland of Mexican cooking. All those things that seems so classically and elementally Mexican – corn, chiles, moles, mezcal – can be traced back to the fertile area that surrounds this historic city. This is true about not just ingredients but cooking techniques as well. The use of smoke and fire to flavor food and of the comal – the large circular griddle that is essential for making tortillas – are all deeply connected with the Oaxaca region and its indigenous people. Oaxaca plays another important role: that of a place where many of Mexico’s traditional ingredients and techniques are maintained and protected. Here, the seemingly simple act of growing a strain of heirloom corn is also a deeply political one, an earthy act of resistance against the forces of corporate agriculture that have pushed Mexican farmers in other parts of the country to change the way they work the land.
We like to think of Oaxaca as the heartland of Mexican cooking. All those things that seems so classically and elementally Mexican – corn, chiles, moles, mezcal – can be traced back to the fertile area that surrounds this historic city. This is true about not just ingredients but cooking techniques as well. The use of smoke and fire to flavor food and of the comal – the large circular griddle that is essential for making tortillas – are all deeply connected with the Oaxaca region and its indigenous people. Oaxaca plays another important role: that of a place where many of Mexico’s traditional ingredients and techniques are maintained and protected. Here, the seemingly simple act of growing a strain of heirloom corn is also a deeply political one, an earthy act of resistance against the forces of corporate agriculture that have pushed Mexican farmers in other parts of the country to change the way they work the land.
Summary
Oaxaca’s food scene is really a tale of two cities, both equally delicious. In the morning, a dizzying array of eateries open their doors and vendors pop up, ready to help Oaxacans get their day started off right. But come sundown, things really get interesting, with a whole new crop of stalls and vendors opening up in their place to keep Oaxaca’s culinary parade going. Ask locals and they will tell you: In this city, the eats only truly come out at night.
On this food tour in Oaxaca, we’ll get an edible crash course on the ingredients and techniques that are a bedrock of traditional Oaxacan cooking and meet some of the people in the kitchen protecting those traditions.
Redemption type
MANIFEST
Has Height Restrictions
true
Version 1 – May 10, 2025 11:36
Current Version
Previous Version
Name
Earth, Corn & Fire: Tasting the Roots of Oaxacan Cuisine - Clone
Earth, Corn & Fire: Tasting the Roots of Oaxacan Cuisine