My Top 10 Mexican Junk Foods

I love to eat, and for me, half the fun of moving to Mexico was learning how to cook my favorite foods from restaurants in the US, and the other half was perusing Mexican grocery stores. I love them all and could spend hours walking up and down the aisles. From the fruteria on the corner to the mercado down the street to the nearby supermercados and hipermarts, the foodie fun just never ends.

#fatgirlproblems

These are some of the Mexican junk foods, in no particular order, that I have fallen in love with over the last couple of years. I'm not including street foods here because let's be real; that's a blog of it's own.

Hi my name is Emily and I am a Nutellaholic. The discovery of the Kinder Bueno solidified my addiction to sugar and hazelnuts in a way I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy. Our friends over at Ferrero describe this candy as a hazelnut cream filled wafer with a chocolate covering. I think a more accurate description would be
 "God Himself hugged by a crispy coat of angelic perfection and dipped in orgasms."
I guess that's why I'm not in advertising.

Queso Asadero. Chihuahua is famous for it's cheese and that is something I've known about for a long time. I remember living in the absolute hood of Mesa, Arizona and having random men knock on my door asking if I would like to buy some cheese, "Fresco y directamente de Chihuahua!" I have fully taken advantage of all that Juarez has to offer in the cheese department. My favorite isn't Queso Mennonita as many would assume. It's actually Asadero. I freaking love it. It comes in many forms, knots and blocks and shreds, but my favorite is the cut you see above. Please excuse my creepy extraterrestrial looking hand, I just wanted to show you how thin the slice is. They make these slices perfectly sized for a quesadilla. This is "last meal" shit people.

Cheap ass vodka. The Popov of Mexico. This isn't much cheaper than the bottom shelf US versions but I like it. This is a new drink for me (I've been pretty stuck on Presidente since we moved here) and I'm having fun playing bartender and making mixed drinks. There are just endless possibilities with vodka since there are no additives.



Speaking of getting shit faced... If you're going to drink, you're going to need some nuts. Cacahuates Estilo Japones (Japanese Peanuts) are my favorite nut choice. Despite countless lessons from Cortney, I never could master the sunflower seed. This is my drinking nut of choice and damn is it good!

I don't have a lot of memories of my father from when I was younger but the ones I do have typically revolve around The Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri. I remember going to Topsy's where they make gourmet popcorn.  I would always want this candy coated cinnamon version. One day Gordo and I were out de compras at Soriana San Lorenzo and a sexy big busted vendor girl was handing out samples of Poppin' Pop. It tasted like my youth and is the perfect combination of sweet and salty. Fantastic late night snack.



I'm a cheap drunk and my close friends know I am a boxed wine fanatic. Much to my surprise, there is boxed wine in Mexico. And when I say boxed I mean wine in tetra pacs. Franzia/Vella style boxes cost upwards of $20.00 US. No thanks. This red table wine from Valle Redondo California is my absolute favorite here and rings up at only $38.99 pesos a liter. In fact, I love it so much that I now wrinkle my nose at Franzia because it is just too sweet.

This one is pretty much a no-brainer. Mexican Sweet Breads. You can get them fresh from a baker for pennies and there are out of this world Panederias on practically every single corner. On the weekends, people line up at 7am at the door of the Superette by my house just to get their conches and marranitos. My personal favorite is not pictured because I ate it before the camera had a chance. Duh. I think they call it a cuernito de queso.
It's basically a croissant filled with sweet cheese.

I hate chips in Mexico. I hate Mexican Doritos, I hate Takis, I hate their weirdo version of kettle chips and all of the chili/limon combinations that are so loved in this country. Cheetos Poffs are the ONLY exception to my hatred.
They are only slightly different from their American counterpart and every bit as delicious.
Oh, and if you've never had wine with Cheetos... Well friend, I don't know how you live with yourself.
No seriously, how do you lay your head on your pillow each night? 

The food my husband misses the most from the US is Hot & Spicy McChicken Sandwiches from McDonald's. Go figure. They do not sell them in El Paso so he has only gotten to have one once since we moved to Mexico. I brought them for him from Ruidoso, New Mexico, which is a little ski resort town that I had to travel to for a licensing class. He devoured four in one sitting. The chicken pictured can be found at S Mart and taste exactly the same in my opinion, although Gordo disagrees. Whatever, they are off the chart delicious. They are sold as Milanesa de Pollo con Especias. Fry those bad boys up and... Mmmmm.

If a Magnum and an ice cream sandwich could make sweet, sweet love and then miraculously give birth to God in ice cream form, it would be a Tandem. These are so good and have the uncanny ability to make me feel like a 12 year old girl all over again. There is something special about novelty ice cream bars that just make me smile and this combination of strawberry and chocolate is off the charts good. I have totally chased down a Mexican ice cream truck for one of these.

What are your favorite treats from other countries?