“Mexico is a country where everyday people fight to live. All too often they lose that battle. A magnificent, heartbreakingly beautiful country. The music and food and a uniquely Mexican, darkly funny, deeply felt worldview. Right down there, cuddled up in ethos, our brother from another mother.”

Escuela de Box Rudy Perez

Boxing gym · Cuajimalpa

Tony visited this boxing gym to speak with boxer Jorge Lacierva

MIGAS La Guera

Restaurant · Unidad Candelaria Los Patos

Located in a large public market in the neighborhood of Tepito, which is known to be a rough area to live in. Bourdain had: A michelada (from a nearby stall), migas (hambone broth prepared with garlic, onion, peppers, and epazote, thickened with stale bread and leftover tortillas). Breakfast dates: Jorge Pedro Uribe Llamas, popular blogger on Mexico City society and author of El gran libro de la ciudad CDMX; Alfonso Hernández, renowned historian of Tepito’s underworld and director of the Centro de Estudios Tepiteños (Center for Tepito Studies).

pARTS UNKNOWN

Maximo

Restaurant · Roma Norte

Tony ate in Chef Eduardo Garcia's kitchen at this restaurant, one of the hottest places in Mexico. Bourdain ate: abalone with chiles, lemon, and brown butter; confit of suckling pig, topped with grandma’s salsa and served on a tortilla. Lunch date: migrant worker–turned–Máximo Bistrot chef Eduardo García.

Monte Albán

Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán

The Zapotec ruins are here. Tony and his guide drank mescal here.

Central de Abastos Oaxaca

Fresh food market · Oaxaca City

Chef Alejandro Ruiz Olmedo and Tony visited this Central Market where they ate barbacoa tacos, consommé, and tlayudas (perhaps best described as a Oaxacan pizza).

Tlamanalli

Mexican restaurant · Teotitlán del Valle

Tony visited a small town called Teotitlán del Valle and met Abigail Mendoza, a descendant from pre-Spanish Mexicans. She cooked a Chicken mole for him, using 35 kinds of chiles. The dish takes 2 weeks to prepare. She also made cow and pork brains cooked with chiles, tomatoes, and yerba santa.

PARTS UNKNOWN

ESPACIO ZAPATA

Museum · Oaxaca City

Tony spoke with street artist Yescka about revolutionary art.

Cantina El Danubio

Bar · Cuernavaca

Tony had drinks with poet and activist Javier Sicilia.