The Late Shift: Tasting Oaxaca, by Night

Fueled up ourselves, we’ll next join the locals in a nearby park for one of the most traditional – and satisfying – of Oaxacan street eats, corn in a cup, perfect for strolling while snacking. Cup in hand, our night parade will next take us for an encounter with the heavyweight champ of Oaxacan late-night meals, the tlayuda, a large, thin and crisp tortilla that piled high with a variety of toppings. Like what the taco is to Mexico City, the tlayuda is to Oaxaca – cheap, filling, endlessly customizable – and we’ll visit a local favorite that’s been selling them since 1952. To finish, we’ll taste traditional Oaxacan sweets from a stand in a church courtyard and then sit down for – what else? – a mezcal tasting led by a young master distiller who is one of the few women making the agave spirit. It’s a fitting nightcap to an outing filled with the keepers of Oaxacan culinary traditions and their nocturnal work.