Las Jirafas y la Mula in Santa Maria la Ribera

Back in December, John, friend Susan & I went on a long overdue visit to one of Mexico City’s up-and-coming neighborhoods, Santa Maria la Ribera. (Read as: no Starbucks yet) For additional colonia commentary, check out SMlR resident Jesus Chairez’s blog, or Lesley’s post re. her visit.  There are several cute little spots, like the oft-mentioned Russian restaurant Kolobok. We did not commit to a full meal of Russian food, but I can speak highly of both the empanadas & the wheat bread sold at the to-go window.  Jesus also recommends Salon Paris, one of the local cantinas.

But one place I’ve not seen heralded is the restaurant “Las Jirafas y la Mula” (the giraffes & the mule). They get double-bonus-points for having a sweet website complete with animated giraffes running across the screen.

Why is Las Jirafas y la Mula worth a visit? So glad you asked…

• They have a cohesive, witty marketing theme: everything is tall or long, like a giraffe!! (ok, fine, so I’m not sure where the mule fits in…)
  • The quesadillas are an impressive 45 cm long
  • The beer is served in yard glasses

This mammoth quesadilla happily provided a light snack for 3, when combined with agua de jamaica & a 1/2 yard of beer.

• They have a display case full of kitschy giraffe accoutrements, which speaks to me since I feel giraffes are probably my closest animal relative (tall and elegant…?).

Hello giraffe pals. I always like to see a theme maximized to its full potential.

• The yards of beer are stabilized by metal rods that slip into holes PRE-DRILLED into your table. Brilliant!

A well-engineered beer holder, if I've ever seen one. Sidenote: John & I were not intentionally trying to dress/act alike this day... I swear, we are not one of those couples who wear the same brightly colored hawaiian shirt whenever we travel together. Honest.

• They have a salad-bar-esque station with various toppings for your quesadilla, including an excellent salsa verde (& plenty of chopped-up nopales for anyone who likes the slimy little devils).
• Flour tortillas for the quesadillas! (yes, it’s true….I kind of like flour better than corn…pls don’t tell anyone in DF)
• You can order either just plain dark or light beer, or beer with a variety of crazy flavors added to it. We wussed out on our first visit & just got a straight-up dark beer, but we will probably have to go back to try the cerveza de sabor….

We will be making a return trip soon to further bond with my giraffe friends, so will try to report back on the edgier beer options. This could also be a great lunch option after a visit to El Chopo on a Saturday afternoon– it’s just a few blocks west of that market, across Insurgentes.

Las Jirafas y la Mula: Calle Manuel Carpio #93, a la esquina con Doctor Atl, Colonia Santa Maria la Ribera

Here you can review the options for quesadilla fillings & strategize in advance on what you would like your "45 centimetros de sabor" to contain!