Antojitos Ruth

Judith Cortés Ruiz Osorio and her husband Sigifrido Quiroz Rojas are over 18 years old sharing stories about traditional Tepoztlán food that they gladly offer visitors to the market at the municipal capital of this Pueblo Mágico, located in Morelos, Mexico.

They live most of their lives in the establishment called Antojitos Ruth, where they witness many daily anecdotes while waiting on diners who arrive hungry to enjoy traditional takeaways or a quesadilla with a special guisado (stew).

"It is a pride that they come to eat our food, the takeaways, which is the main thing, typical of Tepoztlan."

"The takeaway from before, of our grandparents and great-grandparents, they told us that it was the food they took to the fields, but before they used to eat it with gallo chilis, roasted chili peppers to which they added onion, lemon and salt, and with that they used to eat it", Judith explained.

He said that his mother taught him how to make the takeaways, which are made with sweet masa dough, oil, cheese and salt.

It is kneaded as if it were masa dough for tamales and they are made by hand into a triangle shape.

"The takeaway they don't make anywhere else other than in Tepoztlan. It's typical from here."

"There are some who try just one and then eat two, three, because they like them and take them away when it's time to reheat them and eat them back at home."

One of the main attractions of "Antojitos Judith" ("Judith Street Food") is that it offers a variety of 20 types of salsas to accompany the takeaways and the quesadillas, among them pineapple, peanut, habanero, sesame, tamarind, red chili, green chili, pasilla chili, cranberry, walnut, spring onions, carrot, passion fruit, among others.

For Judith and her husband the food they offer is their main source of income and they are pleased that foreigners visit them from everywhere: French, American, Chinese, European, Russian, those who are always happy to try their antojitos (street food), although they are also often surprised by the food of Mexicans, such as the chapulines (grasshoppers) and the huitlacoche (Mexican truffle).

"They see the chapulines (grasshoppers) and then don't want to eat them, and then they taste them and do like them, although there are also those who don't, like with anything. Or the huitlacoche (Mexican truffle) who say that it isn't eaten elsewhere and they come here and like it."

Once they finish their working day at the food booth, Judith and her husband enjoy taking a walk around the town, mainly near the waterfalls.

They enjoy their time together a lot, whether they are united by the food, by the chat and by their walking around the beautiful town of Tepoztlán.