A trip to Tlalpan, “what Coyoacán used to be”

Lately it seems like I’ve been reading everywhere about the hipness of Tlalpan, a suburb south of here. The local city magazines, Chilango and Dónde Ir, always seem to include Tlalpan in their roundups of cool taco shops and cafes. And several of the cafes are mentioned in my very hip DF de Culto guidebook.

I corralled Alice into taking a trip there after reading that Lonely Planet called Tlalpan “what Coyoacan used to be.” Meaning, bohemian and colonial, but less crowded.

Sounds nice, no?

The Metrobus stops pretty close to the square, so we went last Friday. The place was serene and adorable: Narrow streets, cobblestones, bouganvillea blooming over fencetops. The occasional open door — old, weathered, oozing charm — revealed a patio overflowing with plants, or the occasional fonda restaurant.

We bought tacos de canasta from a lady in front of the mercado and drank agua frescas in the cute little square. We gushed over the cute restaurants, but didn’t visit any of them, because we were too full. Stupid extra-creamy horchata con fresa.

We wandered through a few parks, and walked over to the Antigua Hacienda de Tlalpan, a fancy restaurant and popular wedding site. We browsed in a Tlalpan bookstore, where I debated buying a 1970’s “Gelatins for all Seasons” cookbook because I’m fascinated by Mexican milk-with-Jell-O desserts. But then I decided against it because really, how many Jell-O molds am I going to make?

Before we left, we hit El Jalisciense, a cantina off the square. We slurped spicy caldo de camarón from plastic cups, and drank Palomas and Victorias. Mmmm.

I would definitely go back, hopefully next time with Crayton. It seems like the perfect Saturday day trip.

Although next time, I’m bringing an umbrella. Turns out Tlalpan does not have many gutters, so rain = huge puddles. (=soaked shoes on the Metrobus.)

UPDATE: My dear hubby has wondered why would bringing an umbrella would have any effect on me stepping in any puddles. What I meant was: We got SPRAYED by several CARS that drove through the puddles, because drivers in Tlalpan are not very cautious. In case anyone else out there was wondering too.