Menu of the Day for $3.00–4.00 USD

A treat I enjoy in Mexico

A full meal: Soup, either rice or pasta, a main dish, crispy rolls or tortillas, and a pitcher of lemonade or other drink made from fresh fruit. Oh yes, often a simple dessert is included, too. It can cost 50 (under $3.00 USD) to 75 pesos, depending on several factors. The cheaper ones may only offer pasta soup, a drink made from a package, and gelatin for dessert. Vegetables may or may not show up, but are often found in the soup or rice, even a side salad.

This “comida corrida” translates loosely as “meal on the run,” an option many smaller restaurants offer in Mexico, starting at 1:30 or 2:00 p.m. Some of them are mom-and-pop affairs. As a rule, they won’t be found around your pricey malls or tourist hotels, but you can find them in markets, downtown, near universities, and so on.

Let’s get this straight: I do not live in a tourist trap area, in particular near high-priced beaches, but in the large colonial city of Puebla, a couple of hours from Mexico City. The places I go to for a simple meal cater to students and middle-class families. Nowadays, many also offer take-out food, especially since the pandemic.

In our part of the country, three- or four-course meals are traditional. It took me a while to get used to having the “sopa seca” (“dry soup”: pasta or rice) as a separate dish before the main dish, and it seems like it creates excess dishwashing, but traditions die hard! Once in a blue moon, you may be offered salad instead. On occasion, ex-pats in particular ask to have their rice served with the main dish, especially if it has a sauce that begs to be sopped up. An example is chicken or pork with tasty pipián sauce, made of chiles, tomatillos, and ground pumpkin seeds.

Usually, you’ll find several items to choose from: Two soups (perhaps a cream soup and a vegetable or lentil soup, for example), pasta or rice, and two to four main dishes. Often the day’s menu will be posted on a whiteboard or chalkboard visible from the street, so where there are several restaurants, you can choose the one that looks most appetizing to you.

Mexican “aguas frescas” — also known as “aguas de sabor” or flavored water — are a treat. They include lemonade and any variety of drinks involving fruit: guava, pineapple, mango, cantaloupe, or whatever’s in season. In fact, they go beyond just fruit, as in the case of some that include cucumber or parsley, and the famous “horchata,” usually based on rice and cinnamon.

In the past, most restaurants offered a fish dish on Fridays, but that is one custom that seems to have disappeared, as the Catholic church doesn’t require it anymore. All the same, during Lent, there tends to be at least one vegetarian or fish option on menus, particularly on Fridays.

I mustn’t forget. In Mexico, for many people, meals are never complete without a spicy, fresh salsa. An additional complement is often tangy sliced limes, not only for soups but also for salads and other food items.

Excuse me, but my mouth waters just thinking about my next “comida corrida!”