Tuesday, July 06, 2010

Visitamos La Ciudad de México a Las 42 Años. Parte 3

Well, amigos, it's time for the Mexico City wrap-up.

 We stayed over an extra night a the Hotel Milán, so that Doña Cuevas could rest and recover from her lingering illness.

She was eating Bimbo toast and drinking KaoPectate and Pedialyte, but I had an appetite.

Fortunately, there are many dining options close by.

A recent addition is El Diez, an Argentinean style steak house and sports bar, located on the corner of Álvaro Obregón and Orizaba, Colonia Roma Norte.

The Big Fútbol match was in progress on the several big TV screens inside, so to escape the pervasive bbbbzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!, I sat at a sidewalk table.

Ordering was simple. I chose a 300 gram Bife de Chorizo, $199 MXN, which is a nice, juicy cut of beef.  Other cuts, such as vacio or arrachera, were considerably less. It came with a simple salad, already dressed with a mustardy vinaigrette. There were small bowls of chimichurrí and a spicier red sauce in two small bowls. Decent bread was served, but one bolillo at a time. It was hard to get my harried young waiter's attention. I had a nice glass of a red wine, but can't for the life of me recall the oeniphiliac details. I'm a failure at Wine Appreciation 101. Maybe it was a Malbec or Merlot. I also had an agua mineral.

The steak was excellent and perfectly cooked to my taste, the salad fine, but I wished that they had thrown on some Papas Francesas. But that was an extra, at a whopping $45 pesos Mexicanos. At La Parilla Argentina, Calle Manzanillo # 81, Colonia Roma Sur, the PFs are included, but the meat is much less tender. It's also a far calmer place, also. But it's a 30 minute walk from the Hotel Milán, so El Diez was nearly perfect.

A couple of street kids wandered by and asked if they could have a piece of my steak. I decided to give them some, wrapped in doubled napkins, but I supplemented my meal with an Empanada de Carne, filled with picadillo. It was just "o.k." but not recommendable. (The best empanadas de carne, although considerably smaller, are from Alejandro the Roving Pastry Man in Pátzcuaro.)

The street scene was entertaing, including a two man band playing (somebody's) favorites, and great looking chicas walking by and some sitting at a table near me.

So, in the end, the meal was $314 or so, for one, and that put it in the $$$ category. But, you could also get a big hamburger for under $60, or some Argentine pizza, sold by the meter and half meter.

El Diez Col. Roma, one of several branches of the small chain, is a casual fun spot for a meal. It can get very crowded at times, especially on the weekend.
(Sorry, no pictures because no camera.)

My Ratings:
Food: *** 1/2

Service: *** 1/2

Price: $-$$$$

Ambience: Buzzzzzzzzzzing; sports bar.

1 comment:

Calypso said...

DF prices - U.S. prices - ouch!

We are back in Mexico looking forward to less expensive eats ;-)