The Best Destination For Affordable Dining, According To Guy Fieri

While Italy may be the best country for fine dining according to Guy Fieri, the Mayor of Flavortown always has a place in his heart for more affordable options. In an interview with Travel and Leisure, Fieri said he believed that Mexico was the number one spot for low-cost eats.

While there are plenty of tastemakers on the Mexican food scene, there's an infinite number of mom and pop operations to delight the taste buds, all at the cost of just a few pesos. Fieri even found inspiration for a sparkling water flavor in Mexico after sampling some local mixed fruit sprinkled with Tajín, saying in his interview that, "you can taste the difference in the fruit in Mexico." Mexican food is famously inexpensive, not cheap, thanks to factors like labor availability, locally grown ingredients, and how interchangeable those ingredients are in so many different dishes. Combine that with a cultural emphasis on small operations, and you get dozens of vendors competing to provide the best flavor, at the best value, on the same block.

This is good news for any food tourists, since regional variations of everything from the moles of Oaxaca to the endless arguments about what makes proper al pastor give you infinite sampling options. To eat properly in places like Mexico City and other urban areas, feel free to grab a bite here and there at different establishments rather than sitting down for a full meal.

From taco stands to cocinas económicas, there's no shortage of affordable restaurants, stalls, and bike-pulled carts in Mexico just waiting to satisfy your hunger. If you want to sample a wide variety of small-portioned foods or are just looking to quiet your belly for a few pesos, look for the holy trinity of affordable Mexican dining: protein, masa, and salsa.

There's perhaps no greater icon of affordable Mexican food than the simple taco. You can order some hot meat, a fresh tortilla, and a little dazzle of salsa verde or roja either as a quick walking snack or in enough quantity to choke an elephant, all for between 60 cents and a couple dollars. However, if you're on a quest to find the best taco in Mexico, good luck — there are over 100,000 different taco purveyors in the country.

If you've already had your fill of tacos, there are still plenty of other options. You can find tamales on just about every street corner, especially in the mornings when folks are looking for a quick breakfast before work. Tortas, a type of soft bread sandwich, come with just about anything — from spam to fried eggs — all for just a dollar or two. Wash it all down with some fresh juice or atole, and you'll be stuffed before noon and begging to take a nap before doing it all again.