Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Night's song in Mexico City

A night well spent in Mexico's fun-loving cosmopolitan capital.

View from Euro Stars Reforma Hotel in Mexico City's financial district.
View from Euro Stars Reforma Hotel in Mexico City's financial district.

I woke up this morning feeling like there was something in my head — knocking, asking me to let it spill out. There was a rhythm and a beat and a step. I was being asked to groove.

Labor Day weekend this year gave me and my best friend/pseudo-sister, Nicole, the opportunity we always crave: to adventure.

And adventure, we did.

After a sloppy, adrenaline-spurred search on Kayak and a quick look at a world map, we decided Mexico City was our plan of attack. It was just far enough to "feel far," without the ugly weight of international jet lag — and, honestly, the price was so right we could in no way resist.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Stroll through Roma Norte

We discovered the beauty of Roma Norte's vegan co-ops, lush gardens, and dreamy cafes that go virtually unnoticed amidst the slow roll of the day, reveled in the USD-to-MXN Peso exchange rate, and laughed our way through a seduction of Mexico City's mezcal collection.

We met with not one foreign person, only Mexican locals and the occasional Spaniard who had claimed this former European territory as home. Cuidad de Mexico was singing us a beautiful lullaby. Instead of sleeping, we stayed up and let the rhythm lead us through the city.

Our midnight daydreams went something like this:

9:00 p.m. An Italian feast at Macelleria Roma of gnocchi and ravioli equipped us with stamina and carbs for a successful night of binge drinking.

The scene was romantic and the waitstaff spoke both English and Spanish. The La Roma neighborhood serenaded us as we came and went, and the night carried on.

11:00 p.m. The evening began to rear its sexy head when we strolled less than a mile to Felix, our cozy pre-disco stop in Roma Norte that served a scrumptious clamato natural, a bloody mary–esque mezcal fixie that costs no more than $2. The lighting was Instagram-worthy, and the people quite chic — despite their spewing cig smoke like a poorly ventilated chimney.

We enjoyed a slow-winding start to the evening over mezcal and deep house. The vibe, and momentum to the night, were palpable. I felt the edges of my mouth turn up at the promise of a dance.

12:45 a.m. Café Paraiso was our favorite salsa spot, and it seemed to be the place to see and be seen. Crowds of beautiful Mexicans, and dos gringas, gathered around the door while security and a bouncy little door woman in a white fur vest hand-chose the people that were able to enter through the unmarked doorway.

Shrouded in neon pink flamingos, Café Paraiso had the whimsical, frivolous atmosphere Nicole and I craved. The room was full of music, and small table rounds out of Casablanca sat on cream and black subway tile. Night's song was clear now. The partying continued and we danced until she finished her encore, just past 5 a.m.

Night found me this morning and begged me to listen to her because I slept through her performance.

I'll have to make it up to her soon.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

East Village Tree Lighting & Holiday Market, Holiday Gondola Cruise

Events November 30-December 4, 2024
Next Article

Live Five: Greyboy Allstars, Acoustic Revolt, Scary Pierre, Thee Sacred Souls, Glass Spells

Anniversaries, record releases, and fundraisers in Solana Beach, Ocean Beach, Little Italy, and Midway District
View from Euro Stars Reforma Hotel in Mexico City's financial district.
View from Euro Stars Reforma Hotel in Mexico City's financial district.

I woke up this morning feeling like there was something in my head — knocking, asking me to let it spill out. There was a rhythm and a beat and a step. I was being asked to groove.

Labor Day weekend this year gave me and my best friend/pseudo-sister, Nicole, the opportunity we always crave: to adventure.

And adventure, we did.

After a sloppy, adrenaline-spurred search on Kayak and a quick look at a world map, we decided Mexico City was our plan of attack. It was just far enough to "feel far," without the ugly weight of international jet lag — and, honestly, the price was so right we could in no way resist.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Stroll through Roma Norte

We discovered the beauty of Roma Norte's vegan co-ops, lush gardens, and dreamy cafes that go virtually unnoticed amidst the slow roll of the day, reveled in the USD-to-MXN Peso exchange rate, and laughed our way through a seduction of Mexico City's mezcal collection.

We met with not one foreign person, only Mexican locals and the occasional Spaniard who had claimed this former European territory as home. Cuidad de Mexico was singing us a beautiful lullaby. Instead of sleeping, we stayed up and let the rhythm lead us through the city.

Our midnight daydreams went something like this:

9:00 p.m. An Italian feast at Macelleria Roma of gnocchi and ravioli equipped us with stamina and carbs for a successful night of binge drinking.

The scene was romantic and the waitstaff spoke both English and Spanish. The La Roma neighborhood serenaded us as we came and went, and the night carried on.

11:00 p.m. The evening began to rear its sexy head when we strolled less than a mile to Felix, our cozy pre-disco stop in Roma Norte that served a scrumptious clamato natural, a bloody mary–esque mezcal fixie that costs no more than $2. The lighting was Instagram-worthy, and the people quite chic — despite their spewing cig smoke like a poorly ventilated chimney.

We enjoyed a slow-winding start to the evening over mezcal and deep house. The vibe, and momentum to the night, were palpable. I felt the edges of my mouth turn up at the promise of a dance.

12:45 a.m. Café Paraiso was our favorite salsa spot, and it seemed to be the place to see and be seen. Crowds of beautiful Mexicans, and dos gringas, gathered around the door while security and a bouncy little door woman in a white fur vest hand-chose the people that were able to enter through the unmarked doorway.

Shrouded in neon pink flamingos, Café Paraiso had the whimsical, frivolous atmosphere Nicole and I craved. The room was full of music, and small table rounds out of Casablanca sat on cream and black subway tile. Night's song was clear now. The partying continued and we danced until she finished her encore, just past 5 a.m.

Night found me this morning and begged me to listen to her because I slept through her performance.

I'll have to make it up to her soon.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

City Lights: Journey Through Light & Sound, Hotel Holiday Tea Service

Events December 7-December 11, 2024
Next Article

Aaron Bleiweiss: has guitar, has traveled

Seattle native takes Twists and Turns to assemble local all-stars
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader