Where to Get Organic and Farm-to-Table Food in Oaxaca

Oaxaca has a well-deserved reputation among foodies for its rich food heritage. We personally have a friend who carted home from Oaxaca several liters of mole — the famous savory chocolate sauce — right in her suitcase.

Still, if you’re the kind of person who usually grabs an organic smoothie from your local cafe at home, it might feel like a leap to sit down at just any old table and chow down on chicken, even if it is slow cooked in the traditional way in a rich stew of spices.

You have a right to be precautious. Mexico has a thriving factory farm industry and plenty of horrendous human rights abuses, so unless a restaurant can tell you where it gets its chicken or pork from, the cheap meat is just as suspect as it is in the U.S. More so, because Mexico doesn’t have a well-run organic certification system.

On the other hand, you absolutely should immerse yourself in Oaxaca’s food culture–taste some of Oaxaca’s unique flavors and ingredients, and support the locals with your dollars.

(Also, here’s what to pack if you’re traveling to Oaxaca.)

So when you get to Oaxaca, seek out these establishments:

La Cosecha

At this outdoor organic market, you’ll find prepared food–juices, smoothies, tlayudas, tacos, and other lunch items–coffee, fresh coconuts, and ice cream, plus some basic organic groceries, like cheese, eggs, granola, coconut milk, honey, and citrus fruits. If I had known about this market earlier (my Spanish teacher told me about it) I would have come her our first day for groceries, and every day after that for lunch! And it’s a low-waste spot, too. I got a smoothie for USD $1.50, and they brought it to my shaded table in a glass with a metal spoon.

Open Wednesday through Sunday | Macedonio Alcalá 806, Oaxaca City 

Criollo

A humble outpost of the A-list chef behind the Mexico City restaurant Pujol (Enrique Olvera) this serene restaurant in a modern setting outside of the city center adheres to the same farm-to-table concept as his other restaurants. Your only choice is to get the seven-course tasting menu, filled with fresh takes on Oaxacan comfort foods. Yes, mole is in there, and freshly-pressed tortillas, spicy sauces, a salad, a soup, and bruléed citrus fruits for dessert. Make sure to ask for a recommendation of a good mezcal to slowly sip alongside your meal. After we paid, we wandered to the back, where children played with the restaurant’s pet rabbit, and a empty hammock beckoned us for an after-meal siesta. This is slow food at its finest.

Origen

This beautiful little gem in the center of Oaxaca has a more traditional architectural vibe, but gets more adventurous in the cuisine, with ingredients like flying ant salsa and toasted agave worms in the greens salad. All the ingredients are local, and you can even enjoy a drink if you’re not into alcohol, because the sodas have flavors like passionfruit from Vera Cruz, and quinine from Colombo.

Mercado 20 de Noviembre

This famous market is not expressly a farmer’s market, but it’s must visit to get a sense for the local, authentic ingredients that go into a good Oaxacan meal. The food stalls, which are run by families sell the classics (tacos, quesadillas, chicken mole), along with the famous oajecate, a semi sweet cacao drink with flowers and seed protein served in a nut shell at Mayordomo, plus any edible insects you could desire. Go ahead, be adventurous! Or just grab basic freshly made tortillas and some local produce for a home-cooked meal back at your AirBnB.