In Part Two of Taqueando’s three-part Mexico City (CDMX) series, James Beard-winning journalist Bill Esparza is joined live on mic for the first time by producer Robert Haleblian to go beyond tacos and into pura vitamina T: antojitos, street snacks, fondas, comedores, cantinas, tortas, and the dishes that define everyday eating in Ciudad de México.

Bill maps out a DIY walking tour you can actually follow, starting at Palacio de Bellas Artes and weaving through Mercado San Juan, El Moro, the Zócalo, and República de Cuba, with specific stops for tacos al pastor, tacos de canasta, tlacoyos, aguas frescas, pulque, suadero, quesadillas, and more. Then he breaks down how to eat like a local at a comida corrida (three-course market meal) and why Mexico City’s cantina culture — botanas that scale with your drinks — is one of the best values and most underrated food experiences anywhere.

Plus: Bill’s quick Antojitos rundown from Tijuana (birria, carne asada, and the details that separate a great taco from a weak one), and a teaser for Part Three, where he’ll get into where to stay and the “high-low” side of CDMX: fine dining, reservations, and the fancier hits.

In this episode, you’ll get:

• A step-by-step CDMX street food walking route (with landmark navigation)

• What to order at classic markets, fondas, and cantinas (and what to skip if you’re short on stomach space)

• The essential tortas of Mexico City: chilaquiles, tamal (guajolota), and the Cubana

• A cheat sheet for antojitos: quesadillas, sopes, huaraches, gorditas, flautas, and pambazos

SEO keywords: Mexico City food guide, CDMX street food, antojitos, cantinas, fondas, comida corrida, Mercado San Juan, Zócalo, tacos de canasta, suadero, torta de chilaquiles, guajolota, esquites, tlacoyos, pulque.

Produced by Robert Haleblian

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This week on Taqueando, Bill Esparza sits down with Chef Ivan Ralston of Tuju — Brazil’s top restaurant and one of the most important dining rooms in South America. A two-Michelin-star, Green Star destination recently named Best Restaurant in Brazil by Latin America’s 50 Best, Tuju isn’t just redefining Brazilian fine dining — it’s rewriting how kitchens work.

Ivan traces his unlikely path from studying jazz bass at Berklee College of Music to leading one of South America’s most acclaimed restaurants, explaining why playing jazz on stage is more stressful than running a 10-course tasting menu. From Brazil-first ingredients (Bahia cacao, Amazonian duck, Brazilian truffles) to a seasonality system based on rain cycles — not European calendars — Tuju is deeply rooted in place.

The conversation also dives into São Paulo as a global immigrant city, why Brazilian cuisine can’t be reduced to churrasco, and how Ivan ditched the militarized brigade kitchen for a calm, humane, headset-driven system inspired by music and orchestration. Plus: Ivan’s essential São Paulo eating guide — from botecos and PFs to sushi, pizza, and modern Brazilian classics.

A must-listen for anyone obsessed with Brazilian food, South American fine dining, Michelin restaurants, Latin America’s 50 Best, chef culture, and the surprising overlap between jazz and hospitality.

Produced by Robert Haleblian

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In this episode of Taqueando, Bill Esparza sits down with Chef Byron Gomez, executive chef of Bruto in Denver, Colorado, the Michelin-starred restaurant redefining modern Costa Rican cuisine in America. Gomez, who made national waves on Top Chef and trained at some of the world’s most influential kitchens including Eleven Madison Park, shares his journey from Costa Rica to becoming the first Costa Rican chef to earn a Michelin star.

The conversation dives deep into Costa Rican food culture, from roadside sodas and pulperías to essential dishes like gallo pinto, chifrijo, chorreadas, and Costa Rican ceviche. Gomez explains how these humble traditions shaped his cooking philosophy and how he translates those flavors into Bruto’s wood-fire-driven, fermentation-forward tasting menu.

Bill and Byron also explore how immigration, DACA, and the restaurant industry intersect, with Gomez speaking candidly about how DACA shaped his career, his advocacy work, and why immigrant labor is foundational to American dining. The episode closes with a fascinating look at fermentation, sustainability, and terroir in Colorado, including house-made misos, garums, and ancient techniques adapted for the Rocky Mountain climate.

This is a must-listen conversation about identity, resilience, Costa Rican gastronomy, and the future of fine dining in America.

Produced by Robert Haleblian

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On this episode of Taqueando with Bill Esparza, we head to Portland to sit down with Chef Angel Medina, co-owner of Republica Hospitality (Republica, Lillia Comedor, Komala) and one of the key architects of the city’s modern Mexican dining scene. Bill and Angel trace how Portland went from “Burrito-Gate” and appropriation headlines to a post-pandemic boom driven by Mexican chefs, indigenous cooking traditions, and a deeper, research-driven approach to cuisine.

Along the way they dig into burgeoning Mexican food culture in Portland, the role of immigration and travel, and what makes modern Mexican food different from nostalgia-driven Mexican-American menus. Angel also talks about the chefs he’s developing, the tasting menu evolution at Republica, and how he’s building platforms like Todos Media to document the culture.

The conversation then widens to the political and economic headwinds hitting hospitality — from Canadian tourism collapsing at the border to inflation, tariffs, ICE raids, and Trump-era policy shifts that have reshaped how independent restaurants operate. Bill and Angel discuss what this means for workers, for immigrant communities, and for the future of dining in cities like Portland, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, and beyond.

If you’re interested in Mexican cuisine, restaurant culture, immigration, food media, and the future of hospitality, this episode is a must-listen.

Keywords: Portland restaurants, modern Mexican cuisine, Republica Portland, Lillia Comedor, Komala Portland, Todos Media, Angel Medina, Bill Esparza, Mexican food podcast, hospitality crisis, immigration & food, Mexican chefs in the U.S., post-pandemic dining, Mexican food culture, Substack food writing

Now streaming on Taqueando.

Produced by Robert Haleblian.

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The taco hounds have been waiting for this one. On this episode of Taqueando, Bill Esparza launches a 3-part Ultimate Mexico City Guide, starting with the food Mexico City does better than anywhere else: tacos.

Bill breaks down 11 essential taco styles in CDMX and tells you exactly where to find the best versions of each. Think pastor, suadero, carnitas, tripita, canasta, and more, plus key context on why these tacos matter and how they fit into the fabric of Mexican food culture.

If you are traveling to Mexico City, planning a street food crawl, or just want to understand tacos at a higher level, this is the guide to bookmark.

Parts 2 and 3 will cover fine dining and street food in the months ahead.

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On this episode of Taqueando, Bill Esparza sits down with Edgar Núñez, chef-owner of Sud 777, for a wide-ranging conversation that moves from breaking food-culture controversy to one of the most thoughtful culinary careers in Mexico City.

The episode opens with a deep dive into the viral backlash sparked by a British baker’s comments dismissing Mexico’s “bread culture” and the beloved bolillo. Edgar unpacks why those remarks struck such a nerve, touching on culinary identity, cultural memory, gentrification, and who gets to define value in Mexican food. It is a candid, nuanced response from a chef who has spent his career navigating both global influence and local responsibility.

From there, Edgar traces his own trajectory from working at Noma to shaping the singular vision of Sud 777. He talks about how his cuisine has evolved, his philosophy around technique versus tradition, and why Mexican food does not need European validation to be great. The conversation also digs into influencers, social media, and the tension between visibility and substance in today’s dining culture.

To close, Edgar shares where he actually likes to eat in Mexico City, from everyday favorites to places that still excite him as a chef. Equal parts timely debate, personal journey, and essential listening for anyone thinking seriously about Mexican cuisine today.

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In this special Best of 2025 episode of Taqueando, host Bill Esparza looks back at the conversations that defined the year in LA food culture.

From interviews with chefs like Enrique Olvera, to cultural icons like Pepe Aguilar, to deep dives on taco crawls, Valle de Guadalupe wine, Panamanian cuisine, and the forces impacting restaurants and street vendors across Los Angeles, this episode captures the highs, the challenges, and the voices that shaped 2025.

The year wraps with reflections on the LA Times 101 Best Restaurants, including the unprecedented decision to name an entire mercado as the number one spot.

Whether you’re a longtime listener or new to the show, this is Taqueando at its most reflective, political, and hungry.

On this week’s episode of Taqueando, Bill Esparza sits down with Nayomie Mendoza, owner of Cuernavaca’s Grill, for a reflective year-end conversation. Together, they share their most memorable meals of 2025 while taking stock of a difficult year for restaurants shaped by wildfires, ICE raids, and ongoing instability across Los Angeles. It’s a thoughtful discussion about resilience, community, and what it meant to keep cooking, eating, and showing up in a year that tested the city’s food scene.

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On this episode of Taqueando, Bill Esparza sits down with Kaila Yu for a deeply personal and wide-ranging conversation recorded over bowls of congee at her favorite San Gabriel Valley restaurant, Lu’s Garden.

Kaila Yu is a Los Angeles–based luxury travel and culture journalist whose work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Rolling Stone, Condé Nast Traveler, National Geographic, and more. She’s also an on-camera correspondent, certified PADI scuba diver, freediver, and mermaid. In this episode, Kaila and Bill talk food, identity, and the SGV as a cultural anchor, using the intimacy of a shared meal to explore topics from food to fetishization.

They also dive into Kaila’s powerful new book, Fetishized: A Reckoning with Yellow Fever, Feminism, and Beauty, a deeply personal memoir-in-essays examining Asian fetishization, feminism, beauty standards, and the ways media, pop culture, and colonialism have contributed to the oversexualization of Asian women. Drawing from her own experiences as a former pinup model and lead singer of Nylon Pink, Kaila reflects on reclaiming narrative, agency, and voice.

This episode of Taqueando blends food culture, journalism, and lived experience, offering a thoughtful conversation on representation, identity, and why the San Gabriel Valley remains one of the most important food regions in America.

Now streaming.

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This week on Taqueando with Bill Esparza, Bill sits down with LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison for a deep, reflective conversation on the brand-new 101 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles list.
They dive into how the 2025 list came together, what it says about LA dining during one of the toughest years the industry has faced, and why the city’s chefs, workers, and communities continue to show unmatched resilience.

From neighborhood gems to breakthrough tasting-menu projects, Bill and Bill talk through the themes shaping LA dining right now, the evolving role of food criticism, and what makes Los Angeles one of the most exciting and creative food cities in the world.

If you care about LA restaurants, food writing, culinary culture, or understanding how the 101 is made, this is a must-listen.

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