Cool Chillies, Tequila & Tostadas

The beautiful city of Oaxaca, in southern Mexico, has a really cool arty vibe. Little galleries are scattered throughout the city and the whole place is painted a veritable array of different colours. Art, music, dance and food form the cornerstone of life in Oaxaca, and it provided a fantastic backdrop for my quest to find the best tostadas. Tostadas are the crunchy backbone of Mexican food – a crispy corn tortilla base covered in delicious toppings. It makes the perfect on-the-go street food.

I went high end with beautifully grilled octopus tostadas served on a fancy slate board and ate shredded pork tostadas with avocado and chilli from a food cart. I also hit on Mercado Benito Juárez, a huge indoor market that was filled with wonderful fresh produce and awesome street food. They had deep-fried grasshoppers covered in salt and chilli (the Mexican equivalent of crunchy chilli peanuts to have with cheeky cerveza), spicy broths flavoured with coriander and lime, black beans served with soft tortillas for dunking and ginormous tostadas. The tostadas were actually more like pizzas – a crispy base slathered in refried beans and topped with the famous Oaxaca queso (cheese).