Gavin's guide, on SPOT
La Paz Beyond the Fish Taco
5 spots · La Paz, Mexico
The rest of the day in La Paz, in order. Machaca burritos for breakfast in a backyard patio. Gorditas and caldo at the market counter. Coffee on Madero, ice cream on the Malecón, grilled meat when you can't look at another fish. And after midnight, a jate: the bacon-wrapped hot dog this city named for itself.
#1
La Garita
Flores Magón, La Paz · Mexican · $$
Machaca is the ranch food of Baja Sur: dried beef, shredded and fried up for breakfast. La Garita makes the case for it in a patio that feels like a family's backyard, with the kitchen in full view and the cooks clearly enjoying themselves. No air conditioning, big portions, fair prices. Don't skip the fried queso fresco.
Order this
Burrito de machacaQueso fresco fritoPozoleAgua de mango
#2
Gorditas El Cachetón
Centro, La Paz · Mexican · $$
Inside Mercado Bravo, the city's working market, this counter turns out gorditas, empanadas and burritos to a crowd that is almost entirely local. Seating is tight and turnover is fast. Order a gordita and an empanada to start, then look at what the regulars have in front of them. It's usually the caldo de res.
Order this
GorditasEmpanadasBurrito de machaca de resBurrito de rajas con cremaCaldo de res
#3
Doce Cuarenta Coffee & Bakery
Centro, La Paz · Coffee · $$
Named for its street number on Madero, Doce Cuarenta is the city's default third place: laptops, pastries, a back patio and a wait by late morning. The coffee is the best argument for it, the bakery case a close second. It stays open into the evening, which makes it a good place to land between a beach day and dinner.
Order this
Espresso drinksPastries from the caseGrilled cheese with tomato cream
#4
La Fuente del Malecón
Malecón, La Paz · Dessert
La Paz takes ice cream seriously, and La Fuente is the name everyone gives you. The flavors are the point: chongos, the local favorite made from milk curds, sugar and cinnamon; elote; guayaba; and one built on the De la Rosa peanut candy. Cash only, open until midnight, best eaten walking the Malecón.
Order this
ChongosDe la RosaEloteGuayabaPaleta de fruta
#5
Hates El Curra
Malecón, La Paz · Fast Food · $
The jate is La Paz's own hot dog: bacon-wrapped, griddled and loaded, with a name local schoolkids coined in the late eighties. El Curra is a stand in a plaza near the Malecón that has fed the after-bar crowd for years. No tables of its own, just the plaza benches. One is enough.
Order this
Hot dog "letal"Jate with friesBurrito
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