October 17, 2022
October 17, 2022 — the day I arrived in La Ciudad de México, not yet realizing how much the city was about to change me. Mexico City is one of those places that hits you before you're ready — the color, the heat, the chaos, the sound, the life. I didn't come for a vacation. I came for flavor, hospitality, inspiration, and connection.
Somewhere between mezcal bars, markets, taco stands, and Arena México, the city shifted something in me — quietly but permanently.
At the center of the trip was building an entire guest menu for Handshake Bar, one of the most celebrated cocktail bars in CDMX. But everything around that moment — the food, the culture, the people — made it unforgettable.
The Guest Menu at Handshake: Four Cocktails, Four Colors, One City
🟠 Naranja
Bright, fresh, herbal — inspired by the morning markets.
Ingredients: 2 oz Mango-Infused Siete Leguas Blanco, 1 oz Dry Vermouth, cilantro oil. Served in a Nick & Nora.
🟡 Amarillo
Warm, corn-forward comfort inspired by masa and street food.
Ingredients: 1.25 oz Siete Leguas Blanco, 0.25 oz Nixta Licor de Elote, 0.5 oz Cappelletti Pasubio, 0.75 oz sweet corn syrup, egg white, chili salt rim.
🔴 Rojo
Bold, spicy, sparkling — nightlife in a glass.
Ingredients: 0.75 oz mezcal, 0.75 oz Agave de los Andes Reposado, 1 oz lime, 0.25 oz cinnamon syrup, topped with Mundet soda, garnished with a chile-dusted dehydrated apple.
⚪️ Blanquita
Delicate, smoky, intentional — the softer side of CDMX.
Ingredients: 1.5 oz Siete Leguas Reposado, 0.5 oz mezcal, 0.25 oz tepache syrup, 2 dashes saline, dehydrated pineapple chip.
Behind the Bar at Handshake — The "¡Vamos Katie!" Moment
Handshake is intimate — refined but unpretentious — and that night, every seat filled. Not chaotic, just the perfect buzz of a bar that knows something special is happening.
As I settled behind the bar, building drinks and keeping rhythm, I suddenly heard the team chanting:
"¡VAMOS KATIE!"
It wasn't loud enough to disrupt guests — just loud enough for me to feel it. A warm, supportive push of energy that made me stand a little taller behind the bar.
It wasn't chaos — it was camaraderie. And I'll remember that moment for the rest of my career.
"Mexico City doesn't just stay with you. It follows you home."
The People Who Made the Trip What It Was
Moments matter because of the people in them — and Mexico City gave me some truly special ones.
Juanfer González Olivares (@esjuanfer), Director of New Projects for Siete Leguas, played a huge part in making this trip possible. His support, hospitality, and belief in what I do set the tone from day one.
Eric van Beek (@ericvanbeek.carino) brought creativity, humor, and brilliance into the experience. Conversations with him don't just pass the time — they spark something.
Rodrigo Urraca (@rurraca) was the soul of my Handshake experience — warm, intentional, magnetic. The kind of presence that turns a bar into a second home.
These three didn't just welcome me into their world — they made me feel like I belonged in it.
What Mexico City Taught Me About Hospitality
CDMX hospitality is different — humble, intentional, intuitive. Bartenders move with precision and purpose. Service feels personal, not performative.
Watching the Handshake team felt like watching choreography — clean, synced, disciplined. I learned more in a few nights behind that bar than I could've imagined.
Markets, Food, and the Tacos That Humbled Me
One of my wildest food moments happened at a tacos de cabeza stand in Juárez, Cuauhtémoc. The meat was rich and tender — and the salsa? A weapon.
A group of men on their lunch break stood nearby, faces turning red, quietly battling the spice while refusing to admit defeat.
So of course… I ordered two.
The spice was unreal. The flavor even better. We all laughed through the burn — strangers sharing a very human moment on the street.
The Bars That Inspired Me
During the trip, I visited some of the best bars in Mexico City:
- Handshake
- Licorería Limantour
- Baltra
- Hanky Panky
- Tlecan
Each had its own heartbeat — but Tlecan, with its Aztec-inspired mezcal energy, stayed with me the longest. Smoky, spiritual, reverent. A reminder that mezcal isn't just a drink — it's a lineage.
The Dahlia Tattoo — A Small Piece of a Big Memory
Before leaving, I got a small tattoo to mark a big experience: a dahlia, Mexico's national flower.
Done by Diego Vago (@yo_soy_vago) at Nomadttt. Simple, clean, intentional — a quiet reminder of a trip that left its mark on me long before the ink did.
It wasn't an impulse — it was a grounding moment. A way to carry the city with me, even once I stepped back into my life in New York.
Arena México — The Night I Accidentally Started a Chant
Arena México was pure chaos — pure joy. The kind of energy that vibrates through your ribcage before you even find your seat. Families, die-hard fans, couples on dates, groups of friends — everyone buzzing, everyone loud, everyone ready.
Two male luchadores got inches from each other's faces, chests heaving, the crowd rising with them like a single organism. And without thinking — without hesitation, without even deciding — I yelled:
"¡Beso! ¡Beso! ¡Beso!"
Given the machismo of lucha libre, it was bold. Maybe even reckless. But before I could second-guess myself, the entire section around me erupted with the same chant — laughing, shouting, leaning into the moment with me.
It was ridiculous, playful, unexpected… and somehow so perfectly Mexico City. A place where strangers become co-conspirators, where the line between spectator and participant blurs, and where joy shows up full-volume whether you're ready or not.
I walked out of that arena with my throat sore, my cheeks hurting from smiling, and one very clear thought: this city has a way of pulling you all the way in.
"I left with a menu I'm proud of, a dahlia on my skin, and a crowd yelling '¡Beso!' with me. I'll be back."