Calle Regina, a newly repaved pedestrian street on the south end of the Centro Histórico of Mexico City, is hip. Now, I haven't been to any of those places cited there, but I did have an unexpected Shangri-La moment on Regina while cutting through on business the other day.
At Regina 43, El Black, not much more than a hole-in-the-wall, offers what just might be the best bottled beer selection in Mexico City. (Please correct me if I am wrong.) They pop open Guinness, Kirin, Duvel, Stella, Chimay, even Duff. They've got all the Mexican beers and good artisanal options like Malverde. There's no stylish design elements or moody music -- just a few shelves of sample beer bottles and plastic patio tables.
I spotted my favorite whenever-ale back in the U.S., Newcastle, and had to sit down, in awe. The standard Mexican lagers are good and all, but this how you end up reacting when on most days in Mexico your primary beer options are "clara" or "obscura."
Just inside the door at El Black, there's a quesadilla set-up. When I asked the ladies who hand-make the kekas about the almost unbelievable bottle selection -- "You really have all these beers in here?" -- they just shrugged and looked at me like, 'Are you going to have a beer and a quesadilla, or what?'
Blessed be, I will.