Eating off of food carts is pretty normal in the streets of Mexico. Tourists though are cautioned as to eating off these food vendors as some may not be properly cooked to sit well in the stomach. As many chef travelogues say, one can truly sample the richness of a culture when eating what the locals eat. So, when in Mexico, eating a la carte should be tried out and the following are the food samples of great street food in the urban setting.

Chicharron. This is essentially deep fried pork skin. This is crunchy and slightly oily often eaten with guacamole. Sometimes, chicharron is cooked in a mild chili sauce and served with eggs.

Enchiladas. This is soft tortilla with both chicken or meat stuffing and green, red or mole sauce. Some preparations either have melted cheese inside or on top. Often deep-fried or prepared as a sandwich for the passer-by.

Tacos. This is essentially a sandwich where soft corn tortillas are filled with meat. The meat filling is either asada or steak strips, pollo or shredded chicken, carnitas or shredded pork, lengua or tongue, cabeza or cow skull meat, sesos or cow brains, tripa or cow gut or pastor which is chili pork beef. Tacos here in Mexico are soft shell and not the crispy taco shell elsewhere.

Tamales. This is a preparation where corn dough shell is filled with either meat, vegetables or fruits and nuts.

Tortas. This is the Mexican sandwich. A bread roll is grilled and filled with lettuce, tomatoes, jalapenos, beans, onions, mayo and avocado. Tortas can also be filled with cold cuts or even hotdogs.

Quesadilla. This is simple preparation of cheese and other ingredients that are grilled between tortillas. The main ingredient of the filling is cheese with some other ingredients mixed in, like chicken, pork, beans and vegetables.

Mole. This is a chili-based sauce made of cocoa and peanuts over meat, often of mild to medium heat from the chilies. This sauce is poured over either shredded chicken or some other concoction. Depending on your location, there are many different kinds of mole, such as green, yellow or black, with ingredients usually available in the area.

Guacamole. This is crushed avocado fruit with green Serrano chili, chopped red tomatoes, onions, limejuice, salt and poured over thick tortilla slices. This is also used commonly as a dip for a number of other Mexican food items.

Barbacoa. This is often made from sheep or goat meat cooked with maguey leaves from a stone oven, often a hole in the ground. Usually served with condiments, salsas in corn tortillas or spread over a torta bread roll.