A humid institution

If you find yourself stressed by the pressures of navigating one of the most populous cities on earth, you can do what a lot of chilangos do: take a steam bath. There are many bathhouses in the city, but my favorite is Baños Señorial in the centro histórico, on Isabel la Católica #92, between Izazaga and Mesones. If  your thing is a communal steam room, they have those, but I go for the private ones. Their most deluxe version -- the turco privado -- costs about 135 pesos per person (couples tend to come here to, um, unwind together).

This is the changing room where you get undressed and can chill out if the steam gets too hot. Note the TV above the dresser, for those who can't do without it.

This is the shower room, where you can rinse off your perspiration and lie down on that table. I tried to take a picture of the actual steam room, but of course the steam clogged up the lens on my camera.

You've got to love their logo.

If you have the stomach for this

Are organ meats an acquired taste? Perhaps, but I suspect if you don't acquire it at an early age, it's not going to happen. When I was a little boy I wouldn't go near the tripe that my mother prepared, Polish-style, in a creamy sauce. But by the time I was a teenager, I saw the light. When I got to Mexico, in my 20s, I was ready to eat sesadillas (quesadillas stuffed with brains), sopa de fideos con menundencias (noodle soup with giblets) and pancita -- stomach soup, pictured here.

Most people I know won't eat any of this stuff, period. I suspect whether or not you go for offal may have to do with how many generations ago your forebears lived in poverty. Or in Europe, where innards are still considered a delicacy, at least by older folk.

In any case, if you like pancita, or are at least willing to give it a try, I suggest you go to Pancita Rebeca, at calle Golfo de Adén #41, in Colonia Tacuba, where they have been serving it since the 1940s from 6 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon. At Rebeca it's served with a quesadilla (stuffed with cheese, not any other organ), fresh tortillas, lime and verduras -- "vegetables," as chopped onion, cilantro and chile are referred to in these parts. Three freshly prepared sauces adorn the table, including a killer habanera.

My friend, the writer Juvenal Acosta, brought me to Rebeca. Here he is, doing his best to look dignified while wearing the establishment's apron. Is it a lost cause?

The cut in my strut

Entrada Goodbye

Not long ago I saw a friend of mine wearing some very cool shoes. He told me he'd got them at a small store in the colonia Roma Norte. It's called Goodbye Folk on Calle Colima #198. They also sell accessories and clothing, and you can even get your hair cut in the back. But their strong point are shoes.

Shoes

When I went, they did not have the shoes I wanted in my size. So they measured my foot and had them custom made for me. All this for the same retail price -- 2,100 pesos. That may not be inexpensive, but just as a frame of reference, if you were to go to John Lobb Bootmaker in London for custom-made shoes, they would set you back about 46,000 pesos. These babies will put the cut back in my strut and the glide back in my stride.

For a limited time, with each pair of shoes they sell, they are giving away a six-pack of Miller Genuine Draft. The pilón left me nonplused, to say the least.

Brunch in Mexico City

In New York I used to be married to a woman who claimed she hated Sunday brunch. She felt it was a gringo anomaly, evidence of pitiable culinary indecisiveness. Since it was neither breakfast nor lunch, she didn't think it was anything at all, at least not anything worth eating.

It was easy to be supportive of her. I didn't care one way or another about brunch, and I tend to encourage any strategy that will keep me inside the house all Sunday morning. So I never ate brunch in New York and of course in Mexico City never even thought about it.

Until now. My friend Juliet Lambert, the founder of Spice Catering, has opened a restaurant Sundays only called Spice Everywhere, at a fonda that had been closed on the weekends, at Calle Puebla 301, almost at the corner of Salamanca, Colonia Roma Norte. I went last Sunday and can only use superlatives. Juliet served the creamiest and most lemony eggs Benedict I've ever had. Accompanied by perfect hash browns: impeccably greasy, crunchy and salty.

Although I was almost weaned on them in New York I can't remember the last time I had lox and bagel. Eating the one pictured above was a little like Marcel and the madeleines.

There are even Belgian waffles cooked by an actual Belgian.

There he is, poaching an egg while Juliet makes the hash browns. When he is not assisting her, Olivier Dekeyser is the best pastry chef in the city.

The most awesome thing about Juliet's Sunday brunch is that you don't have to get up early for it. She begins serving at 11 am but most of the people who arrive early are deviant gringos. Unlike in New York you can have brunch on Calle Puebla until 6 pm. I think even my ex would be seduced.

Jews in the centro

Photo from awtravelogues.com

Trotsky was not the only Jew who emigrated to Mexico. Most of us who've come here have been luckier than he. If you are interested in the history of the Jews in Mexico City, next Sunday, June 16, Mónica Unikel will be giving a guided tour of Jewish history in the Centro Histórico. Among the places she will take you are a housing complex that, before Jews moved in, used to be a convent. She'll also show you where Jewish street vendors sold their wares, former tailor shops, Yiddish theatres, and kosher butchers. I have taken Mónica's tours before and they are a delight --  both informative and entertaining. If you would like more information or want to reserve a spot on Sunday's tour you can write to sinagogajustosierra@gmail.com.