The Place: Dulcería de Celaya: Over 100 Years of Traditional Mexican Sweets!
The Experience: Gringo G, your favorite Gringo Mexico City Foodie, has been satisfying his sweet tooth at the Roma Norte Dulcería Celaya since he arrived in Mexico City years ago ... once the Gringo G even took sweets back, incurring a rigorous inspection by U.S. Customs, to the USA for his Grandfather!
Walking into the Dulcería, which has been serving sweets of all shapes/sizes/varieties/colors/textures and flavors since 1874, in its original location on 5 de mayo in the Centro Histórico is like walking into the past. The first thing you notice are the huge windows stocked full of sweets, in forms of fruit, animals, disks, little drops of goodness; an almost overwhelming, hedonistic exhibition of decadent sweets. Then you walk in the door and see all of the ornate decoration maintained since the 1800's and you see even more sweets all within a cloud of a rich, thick smell of fatty, sugary goodness.
Just the experience of walking around the Dulcería is interesting, and then you get to buy whatever sweets that tickle your fancy and walk around the picturesque Centro Histórico or Porfirian Roma Norte (the "new" location which is actually over 80 years old) taking small nibbles off of whatever decadent treat purchased.
What almost no customers of the Dulcería know is that all of the sweets are hand made in copper pots (from Santa Clara del Cobre, Michoacán), with fresh fruit and natural ingredients a Slow Food tradition at its best. During the Gringo's visit to the sweet production plant it was discussed that only the freshest ranch milk and ingredients are used to make sweets and that if quality ingredients could not be purchased the Dulcería is willing to halt production of a sweet to maintain quality, as they have been doing over the past several months with pistachio sweets due to a drop in pistachio quality available in the market.
In the end this sweet Mexican tradition still brings you back to a time in the past and makes you just for a moment think you are there as well and that it must have been just as SWEET to eat them then!
The Location:
Centro: 5 de Mayo #39, between Bolívar and Isabel La Católica, Centro Histórico, DF.
Roma Norte: Orizaba #37, between Puebla and Plaza Río de Janeiro, Colonia Roma Norte, DF.
Centro: 5 de Mayo #39, between Bolívar and Isabel La Católica, Centro Histórico, DF.
Roma Norte: Orizaba #37, between Puebla and Plaza Río de Janeiro, Colonia Roma Norte, DF.
GOOGLE MAP LOCATION LINK
Dulcería Celaya
Dulcería Celaya
Lime Cocada
Crystalized Oranges
Ate de Membrillo in the form of a fish
Ate de Membrillo in the form of a fish
VIDEOS & PHOTOS OF THE PROCESS OF MAKING MEXICAN TRADITIONAL SWEETS
The Famous Hallelujahs
VÍDEO OF LIMES FOR "COCADAS" & JAMONCILLOS
Jamconcillo in a Wooden Mold
VÍDEO SHAPING A BUÑUELO BEFORE FRYING
Frying a buñuelo
CHECK GRINGO G FOOD TV ON YOUTUBE FOR VIDEOS
The Specials: The specialties of the house are the buñuelos (huge thin disks of fried dough with honey and cinnamon on top), cocadas (coconut sweets in many forms), fruta cristalizada (crystalized fruit, many varieties), Hallelujahs (little disks of sweetened, condensed milk) and the classic Spanish Mazapán de Almendra (almond paste sweet from Spain) ... basically every old school Mexican sweet you can imagine is hand made and sold artesanally at their two stores in Mexico City!
Buñuelos
Crystalized Figs
Tips: Especially if you are in the Cento Histórico location, take time to enjoy the old, ornate architecture and look at ALL the sweets before choosing what you want. Both the buildings housing the two locations as well as the artistic sweets themselves are a treat for the eyes as is the wonderful smell of all of the sweets in the shops ... so take your time!
The Roma location is less popular and some people come to the conclusion that the sweets are different. They are not ... all of the sweets from both locations are made in the same production center!
The Roma location is less popular and some people come to the conclusion that the sweets are different. They are not ... all of the sweets from both locations are made in the same production center!
Price Point: $ (only in the sense of price and seating)
$: Takeout or fast food $$: Casual sit-down $$$: Formal sit-down $$$$: La Crème de La Crème
Website: dulceriadecelaya.com/
Contact: Telephone - Centro: +52-55-5521-1787 Roma Norte:
Coming Next: Mexican Tradition Series Part IV: Mexican Slow Food!
