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We've compiled the best of the best in Side Trips from Mexico City - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
The colorful flagship branch of the popular ice cream and sorbet parlor stands out for its beautiful displays of Day of the Dead figures and other sculptures and crafts. You'll find an encyclopedic menu of flavors, including local fruits and vegetables (date, mango, mamey, beets, corn) and other distinctive options like coconut with chiles, pine nut, rose petal, and tres leches.
Easily the most famous---though also touristy---dining option in the area, this hulking restaurant dates to 1906 and is set within an immense cave with dramatic rock ceilings. The traditional Mexican fare served here is consistently good, including hand-made corn quesadillas filled with seasonal ingredients, tortilla soup, albóndigas (meatballs) in a tomato-chipotle stew, and traditional barbecue. There's a pretty good kids' menu, too. Reservations aren't required, but they're a good idea on weekends and holidays. Although open every day of the year, La Gruta closes at 7 nightly.
Hung with colorful papeles picados (paper cutouts), this family-friendly restaurant with bright pink walls and regional folk art serves great soups (try the creamy fava bean or earthy lentil varieties), sopes topped with grilled chicken or cecina, and mole enchiladas made in an open kitchen. A specialty is the huauzontles (a broccoli-like vegetable you scrape from the stalk with your teeth).
