ME-HEE-CO (or avocados every day!)

[BonVivant]

Let's go to the city! But it's not just any city, it's a mega city. Ciudad de México! I have been at the airport a bunch of times but it's the first time I had to exit it after passport control.

 

Ay ,caramba! So good to see you again Benito (as in Juárez, international airport)!

 

Immediately grabbed a taxi to the bus terminal to catch the first bus to a small town in the mountains 2 hours away. It's a massive city from the air, and it's really massive seen from the taxi. Streets are full of cars in pitch black at 4:30am. Getting off the bus in Zitacuaro and another taxi ride to a small village deep in the mountains on the border of Mexico state and Michoacan.

 

We are staying at this lovely guest house, the only place to eat and sleep here. So tranquil and green. Best thing is a hot shower and breakfast after 24 hours straight without sleep. But first coffee. Everything in this part of Mexico is about the butterflies. But it's not just any butterfly, it's the mariposa monarca! Btw, we are off the grid here in Macheros village. The hotel has to build their own communication tower and there's no cell phone service/signal.

 

With cheese

 

My favourite: with tomatoes and onions.

 

Fruits, fresh juice and corn tortillas.

 

Chilli poster in the breakfast room

 

One of the avocado trees in the guest house's garden

 

Some of the things I've brought to give away. I am giving the camera and Chile wool bag (which only this camera fits in) to someone who works here at the guest house, a family member who's also a butterfly guide and one I had been in communication with. Some T shirts, 2 brand new blazers, shoes, headphones, bag, Bolivian cookery books are for the 3 ladies who work in the kitchen. There are also toys, slippers, new underwear and other things that are not in the photo. My rucksack is suddenly half full!

 

Tomorrow off to see the monarcas in one of the sanctuaries. 2 hours on horseback up a steep trail to reach the butterfly colony.

It feels fantastic to be back in one of my favourite countries!

[lemniscate]

18 hours ago, BonVivant said:

Everything in this part of Mexico is about the butterflies. But it's not just any butterfly, it's the mariposa monarca!

Very exciting.  My latitude incubates the Generation 1 of the migration.  I have lots of wild milkweed in my area to help with them along.   I am torn between the Monarch, hummingbird and sandhill crane migrations in my location as to which one is my favorite.   Canada goose, not so much.   

[heidih]

Nice gifts and I covet th monarch pitcher pt.

 

Will be interesting to see the different types of avocados you try. Perhaps even the leaves often used.

[BonVivant]

First dinner in Mexico and I wasted no time eating avocado. When in season a kilo costs about 20 pesos.

 

Good guacamole, not too much onion. Prepared and served in a molcajete (Mexican volcanic rock mortar and pestle).

 

Pan fried local farm-raised trout. The water from the mountain is good (and safe) enough that locals drink it from the tap (we don't). The same water is probably used in the trout pens, they don't taste swampy.

 

This came with the trout. A little sour and weak, shredded tortilla.

 

Basically quesadillas with tomatoes, onions and avocado.

 

Had to take it easy on my first day. Any quick movement and you feel it in your head and heart at this elevation. On top of that I also had a splitting headache due to jet lag and altitude.

 

[BonVivant]

First monarch sanctuary we visited today was Sierra Chincua in Michoacan state. Took some time to get there by car, like 2 hours, I think. I sat next to the driver/guide and still fell physically sick because of the hundreds of speed bumps. Every 10 or 20 metres there's a speed bump, you practically have to stop before driving over each one. They are not painted and thus hard to spot. Ambulances here have to deal with them like all the other vehicles.

 

Entering Sierra Chincua sanctuary

 

But first you get on a horse. It's a short ride in the dust to where you get off and from there follow the trail. It's an easy walk but the dust is so fine and ankle deep you are cover in a thick layer of it, all the way to right under your knees. And of course the dust gets into your shoes and socks. We could have walked all the way. We did exactly that on the way back and paid the horse-handlers the full amount plus extra tips anyway.

 

Start of the trail

 

Thisaway

 

Where you get off the horse on the way up. The horse-handlers wait here to take you back to the entrance.

 

Orange clusters in the middle are monarchs hanging onto branches. They huddle together to keep warm. When the sun shines they open their wings to absorb energy. When they are ready they take flight turning the sky orange. It's hard to photograph them in flight as they are so fast and you can't get any closer (there are ropes to prevent you from entering protected areas).

 

From a lowly larva to the prettiest of creatures! There's this beautiful poem by Wilhelm Hey "Knabe und Schmetterling" (Boy and Butterfly). Copy/paste the texts to your favourite translator.

 

Giant thistles. Saw them all the times in the woods here. They also come in yellow and orange.

 

Many souvenir shops on the way back to the entrance. Guide says "all made in China. Terrible idea." Until it's cheaper to set up a factory and cheaper to produce them here. It might never happen.

 

2 avocados. The guest house get avocados from their family farm and the variety is hass. The leaves are not eaten.

 

Beef tacos. Meat is not marinated, no trace of spices/seasoning. Peppers (capsicum) come from the garden.

 

 

Came with the trout so I tried it again. Mild tomato soup with shredded tortilla. It's to cleanse the palate.

 

Their trout speciality. Very nice.

 

Still affected by jet lag and altitude, and today's adventure. I went out like a light from 6pm till 6am.

 

[heidih]

The light tomato w/ tortilla "palate cleanser" is interesting. Never heard of it. I imagine the beef was on the chewy lean side? So cool on the monarchs. I've had swallowtails and monarchs  emerge here and that initial spreading of wings and dryng before first flight is a lesson I had to learn. I almost stepped on one spread out on concrete patio -  And oh the dust - we have trails here with diatomaceous soil Horse riders wear masks - like a cloud of chalk as the hooves traverse. 

Edited February 5, 2023 by heidih (log)

[BonVivant]

Breakfasts

 

 

 

 

Today's visit to another monarca sanctuary at Cerro Pelon.

 

First we walked to the start of the trail, which is right in the village here. Everyone got on their horses and the horse-handlers walked with their horses, either between 1 or 2 horses to the start. The trail got rough almost immediately. Again, ankle deep in fine sand, a mini dust storm with every step the horses made. Now imagine 20 horses in row. I wore a face mask and it turned brown like the dust. A lens cloth for cleaning my spectacles also turned brown, but I didn't find out until I got back and sat down to clean my glasses.

 

Anyway, it's a rough ride. The trail, besides being very dusty, is also rocky. I trusted the horse-handler and his horse with my life. My horse is not very experienced or maybe not very bright. I was afraid it would put a foot wrong, literally, and take a tumble. One hour going down and a little more than one hour going up. I held my breath all the way down, focusing all my energy on not falling off my horse. Luckily, he responded well to his owner's certain sounds and words/phrases. What an experience. Glad I did it.

 

That's Cerro Pelon where the colony is located. Altitude is 3000+ metres. Monarcas choose these specific areas and altitude to overwinter so you must go high up there to see them. But when they arrive on the first of November the mountains are still cold you can already see them everywhere in the villages and towns.

 

Clusters of monarcas on branches. As soon as the sun came out they started opening their deep orange wings. And when the sun disappeared (being blocked by clouds) they closed their wings. It went on and on like this for some time.

 

The clusters when zoomed in a little more

 

The Sheriff, aka my horse. A metal badge on his head is a sheriff star. He gave me a few frightening moments when he wanted to take a different path or just being wayward.

 

My very skilled horse-handler, young Alejandro. I gave him a nice tip. He worked so hard with the horses getting me to the colony and back safely. No specialised footware, in control of 2 horses, walked the trail without stopping. It's steep and rough. It took a lot out of me (anxiety-inducing trail, lots of pain after the rough ride). I just wanted to take a photo of the horse but he posed for me anyway.

 

Food after the horse ride. The guest house's restaurant has a small menu, everything is cooked home-style by female employees who live here in the village.

 

Filled with beans and cheese. No (red) sauce.

 

 

Fried trout with crispy garlic

 

Some beers bought at the bus station in Zitacuaro and brought with us to Macheros to drink in our room.

 

Macheros is a village of about 300 residents. Life here is simple and peaceful. Villagers still use horses on the farm. To be able to live here you had better be content with a simple life, have no health problems, and no carsickness. The next big town (of a few thousands) is half an hour away. The road to get there is endlessly winding with many speed bumps (if you don't have carsickness you might develop it here).

 

 

All the towns and villages in this region have monarca murals and paintings, entrance arches, monarca this and monarca that everywhere you look. The monarcas are much adored and also a source of income. Tourists like ourselves flock to this region in monarca season (November-March), and Mexican themselves are equally crazy about monarcas so they come here in droves.

 

 

Knabe und Schmetterling (Wilhelm Hey)
Boy and Butterfly

 

Knabe:                Schmetterling, (Butterfly,)
                            kleines Ding, (little thing,)
                            sage wovon du lebst, (tell me, what do you live on)
                           daß du nur stets in Lüften schwebst? (that you always float in the air?)

 

Schmetterling:     Blumenduft, Sonnenschein, (Butterfly: scent of flowers, sunshine)
                            das ist die Nahrung mein. (that's my food)

        

                            Der Knabe der wollt ihn fangen. (The boy wants to catch him/the butterfly)
                            Da bat er mit Zittern und Bangen: (then butterfly asks with trembling and trepidation)
                            Lieber Knabe, tu es nicht, (dear boy, don't do it,)
                            laß mich spielen im Sonnenlicht. (let me play in the sunlight)
                            Eh' vergeht das Abendrot, (before the sunset passes)
                            lieg ich doch schon kalt und tot. (I'm already cold and dead.)

 

Edited February 7, 2023 by BonVivant (log)

[BonVivant]

Leaving Macheros after breakfast

 

After a nauseating 4 hour journey on endlessly winding mountain roads we reached the capital of Michoacan where we had our first meal in Morelia.

 

Nice salsa picante but still not "super hot*" for my taste. The partner liked it. (*I like heat level of scotch bonnet chillies)

 

Finally, an IPA. The brewery is far from the city centre but they do have a tap room 3 streets from my lodging. Going there tomorrow to make up for the 2 days they were closed).

 

Ale brewed with native Michoacan blue corn. OK/interesting beer.

 

Uchepos are steamed fresh sweet corn puree. Served with a red sauce, some green peppers and fresh (double cream).

 

So good! Sweet and fluffy. If it were me I would eat uchepos with cream and fresh cheese. An idea for when sweet corn is in season at home.

 

Corundas is a type of Michoacan-style tamal(es), but the texture is super dense and totally different from the typical tamales in other parts of Mexico.

 

What the corundas look like. I broke the top one in 2 so you can see the thickness. This restaurant makes corundas in this shape, but usually they come in triangles and are thicker. There's some tender pork on top in previous photo.

 

Mexican limes are tiny and not too sour. Much better than the crap we get at home imported from a certain country. The little "bowl" is actually the hard shell of some fruit, similar to coconut.

 

We demolished the salsa picante and got another bowl, twice as big.

 

Cecina is a super thin big sheet of beef. Michoacan-style is deep-fried. In Oaxaca I had them grilled over coals.

 

The restaurants sells molcajetes

 

But not this one right behind where I sat

 

Yesterday was Sunday. Mexicans love to go out on Sundays, to sit in the park, socialise, have a picnic etc. After the meal we walked to the centre and just to enjoy watching them.

 

Street musican. The ipad replaces music sheets now?

 

There are many ice cream shops in town. I saw mamey flavour and bought a cone. No mamey taste! I still remember it in Oaxaca last year. Mamey is intensely aromatic and sweet.

 

 

Edited February 7, 2023 by BonVivant (log)

[heidih]

Well monarchs = tourism $. Our horses on steep trails often chose paths I would not have - perhaps they see elevations and footing differently. As to spice level, my employees from Michoacan were most comfortable with a milder chile level. Those smll thin skinned limes we also get here do tend to be super juicy.  The Schmetterling poem is lovely. I disgraced myself in Saturday German school when I direct translated the word as Butterfliegen! Never lived it down. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

26 minutes ago, BonVivant said:

Leaving Macheros after breakfast

 

After a nauseating 4 hours journey on endlessly winding mountain roads we reached the capital of Michoacan where we had our first meal in Morelia.

 

Nice salsa picante but still not "super hot*" for my taste. The partner liked it. (*I like heat level of scotch bonnet chillies)

 

Finally, an IPA. The brewery is far from the city centre but they do have a tap room 3 streets from my lodging. Going there tomorrow to make up for the 2 days they were closed).

 

Ale brewed with native Michoacan blue corn. OK/interesting beer.

 

Uchepos are steamed fresh sweet corn puree. Served with a red sauce, some green peppers and fresh (double cream).

 

So good! Sweet and fluffy. If it were me I would eat uchepos with cream and fresh cheese. An idea for when sweet corn is in season at home.

 

Corundas is a type of Michoacan-style tamal(es), but the texture is super dense and totally different from the typical tamales in other parts of Mexico.

 

What the corundas look like. I broke the top one in 2 so you can see the thickness. This restaurant makes corundas in this shape, but usually they come in triangles and are thicker. There's some tender pork on top in previous photo.

 

Mexican limes are tiny and not too sour. Much better than the crap we get at home imported from a certain country. The little "bowl" is actually the hard shell of some fruit, similar to coconut.

 

We demolished the salsa picante and got another bowl, twice as big.

 

Cecina is a super thin big sheet of beef. Michoacan-style is deep-fried. In Oaxaca I had them grilled over coals.

 

The restaurants sells molcajetes

 

But not this one right behind where I sat

 

Yesterday was a Sunday. Mexicans love to go out on a Sunday, to sit in the park, socialise, have picnic etc. After the meal we walked to the centre and just to enjoy watching them.

 

 

Street musican. The ipad replaces music sheets now?

 

There are many ice cream shops in town. I saw mamey flavour and bought a cone. No mamey taste! I still remember it in Oaxaca last year. Mamey is intensely aromatic and sweet.

 

 

 

From what country do you get your limes?

 

[weinoo]

11 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

From what country do you get your limes?

 

 

Is Shoprite a country?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

10 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

Is Shoprite a country?

 

However my question of from what country for once was serious.

 

[heidih]

1 hour ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

However my question of from what country for once was serious.

 

I think you directed to @BonVivant My little inexpensive juicies in L.A. are from Mexico generally at ethnicmarkets..   Mainstream groceries here tend to carry the larger thicker skinned type. Oh how I miss my prolific dwarf lime tree from many years ago - until I discovered on a party day squeezing many and gardening in the sun https://www.healthline.com/health-news/beware-the-margarita-burn-this-summer Freaked me out.

Edited February 8, 2023 by heidih (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

14 minutes ago, heidih said:

I think you directed to @BonVivant My little inexpensive juicies in L.A. are from Mexico generally at ethnicmarkets..   Mainstream groceries here tend to carry the larger thicker skinned type. Oh how I miss my prolific dwarf lime tree from many years ago - until I discovered on a party day squeezing many and gardening in the sun https://www.healthline.com/health-news/beware-the-margarita-burn-this-summer Freaked me out.

 

Typically I prepare my lime beverages after 10:00 pm, under dim indoor illumination.  I wonder if different varieties of limes have different degrees of risk?  What I look for in limes is smooth skin.  The thickness of the skin does not seem to matter much for juice.  However gnarly, rough skinned limes do not work well for me.

 

 

[BonVivant]

The next morning in Morelia. Had to hit the market looking for fresh fruits. Going through the food section first was a mistake. Fresh fruits after breakfast then. It was early in the morning so less than half the stalls were open. After walking round and looking 3 times I picked one that had more people eating. The stallholders were vying furiously for customers. The setup is very much like in Oaxaca (but not as atmospheric).

 

Chilli sauce on the counter. Not very hot.

 

Chicken broth

 

My second dish being prepared

 

 

Forgot to ask what this this was on the counter. Green pepper schnitzels?

 

Now I must have fruits. One of the best things about visiting warm countries is eating (tropical) fruits. They are always perfectly ripe and flavourful every time.

 

I got mango and melon, in big chunks.

 

Standard size is tiny pieces. I miss Oaxaca's fantastic fruit stalls. One can get a massive bowl of mixed fruits and other fruity things.

 

My first chicharon taco. Wonderfully light and crunchy.

 

 

2 surtido (mixed meat and probably organ bits as well) and 1 shoulder. This is a busy local restaurant not in the city centre. Had to wait a bit for a table.

 

Both were good but if I had to choose... surtido.

 

The meat was enough for 2 tacos.

 

Late in the afternoon at a chocolate place near my lodging. We are desperate for chocolate as we eat it every day at home. Hard to find pure/100% chocolate here. This contains 100% cacao.

 

Please rise for the national anthem of Mexico. Thanks for the chocolate, chillies, vanilla, corn, avocados, pumpkins and many more!

 

Wooden frother

 

Re limes I buy at home, they come from Brazil. But lately they also come from Spain. It's good to have choices.

 

Edited February 9, 2023 by BonVivant (log)

[BonVivant]

To market, to market. On a shopping spree (chillies, avocados, ginger for the bus rides, fruits).

 

Be still mi corazón... cheese!

 

 

Red and green chorizo. After a week I've only noticed 2 bald men. The gene is not prevalent here. At home (we are one of the top baldest countries) it's every other men. In Albania I counted exactly 8 in my 3 weeks there.

 

"Chinese"  garlic

 

And right opposite... the same garlic but then "Japanese".

 

Thin-skinned purple potatoes

 

I bought the first chillies here. Then I couldn't stop when I saw more chillies at other stalls. Got pasilla, pulla and morita. Pasilla and pulla are used a lot in the gastronomy of Michoacan.

 

 

Bought my avocados here, but later found a avocado specialist 2 streets away selling for 25 pesos per kilo.

 

 

 

 

These spiral pods are called guamuchil in Mexico. I ate them decades ago in Asia. They are quite dry.

 

Interesting fruit (covered in chillies)

 

Bought a small bag and ate it when I got back to my lodging. I felt a tingling sensation straight away like when eating pineapple, but with these it got more intense by the second. My mouth and lips were on fire it was unbearable so I decided to stop eating. As I moved my hands away from my mouth there was blood everywhere (on my hands and the fruit). Ran to the bathroom to look in the mirror... blood was dripping from my lips. Whoa. I have multiple allergies and turns out I'm badly allergic to bromelain in this fruit. 2 other people ate the fruit but didn't experience any discomfort.

 

Butchers and carnitas shops (for takeaway) everywhere. They usually have this display of chicharonnes in front.

 

A big vessel in which to fry the chicharon

 

 

 

Wandered far away from the market and happily ran into this shop. It's my favourite thing to drink and eat at the same time. My system can't digest coconut milk or cream but no problem with young coconut meat and the water.

 

I drank all the water in a plastic bag, now eating the meat. With chilli sauce, lime juice, salt. The Mexican way.

 

 

[KennethT]

Are the pasilla chillies there heavily smoked like the pasilla de Oaxaca?

[heidih]

The "green schnitzel" looks like a form of chile relleno. Mild green chile, often stuffed with meat/cheese, egg batter coating and then fried.  Your wild pineapple reaction sound truly wild and horrible!  Guessing ginger works for you against nausea of the curvy bus rides.  I misread the "not allowed" list and tried to bring green coconuts across border for a friend when they were hard to get here. US agricultural inspector very aggressively seached my car for further contraband. 

[BonVivant]

Every morning at 08:00 I go to the market for fruits and fresh tortillas. Tried another stall this time. Pineapple and papaya.

 

10 pesos worth of fresh corn tortillas. You can buy them by weight. We can't finish a whole kilo (about 13 pesos). These avocados are twice as big as ones we get at home, literally butter with avocado taste. When you eat an avocado grown in Michoacan (biggest producer and best quality) you'll know why some people say avocado is like "butter from the forest". We hate giant bananas at home but love these tiny bananas in warm countries.

 

Ran into a juice stall somewhere inside the market, time I had more fruits. Milk + fruits are called licuados. I sometimes forget to tell them to leave out the sugar and cinnamon. Sugar + cinnamon ruin everything for me and then the partner will have to drink it. The other day I mentioned the mamey ice cream didn't taste too much of mamey. I wanted to know for sure if it's the dairy that suppresses the mamey taste so I ordered this milk drink to find out. As I had suspected, this drink tasted just like the ice cream in liquid form. Now I know, mamey is best eaten as a fruit and by itself.

 

 

Michoacan is the birth place of carnitas. Tried it at this unknown restaurant in a residential area. The owner of my lodging goes here sometimes for carnitas. He said "there's no tourists here". It's very dark inside and the lighting over my table is yellow (apologies for the crappy photos).

 

 

 

Pickled vegetables

 

Second time trying to drink beer at this beer bar, and finally it's open again after their 2 day break. Very bitter beers, the way I like it. Best craft beers so far on this trip is at this bar in Morelia. Emloyees were most kind and friendly, like almost all Mexicans I've encountered.

 

 

 

This second bar was a disappointment. They were also closed for 2 days, but today they had only 1 (one) beer on tap. Music was so loud it hurt my head and I had heavy duty earplugs. So we fled in record time.

 

 

Bought 3 bottles to go from the first bar.

 

17 century aqueduct. They say it has 250 arches but I didn't walk all the way to the end (several kilometres in length).

 

On 2/9/2023 at 5:25 PM, heidih said:

The "green schnitzel" looks like a form of chile relleno.

 

These are not stuffed. They are flat and whole. I have seen them served as is on the same plate with beans/rice/other things.

 

On 2/9/2023 at 2:32 PM, KennethT said:

Are the pasilla chillies there heavily smoked like the pasilla de Oaxaca?

 

Nothing at all like the incredible Pasilla Oaxaqueños. Pasilla and Oaxaqueños are 2 different types of chillies.

And sorry I have bad news for you, Pasilla Oaxaqueños are rare in the rest of Mexico so you need to go to Oaxaca to buy them. I will have to return to Oaxaca someday. My 3 kilos won't last forever.

Edited February 12, 2023 by BonVivant (log)

[BonVivant]

Second part contains market photos. I bought more chillies, some of which have no name in the photos. They told me the names at the time of buying.

 

 

 

 

 

These dried prawns were tempting. They said for soup stock.

 

Red corn

 

Blue corn

 

White corn

 

All the herb stalls have this thing

 

Probably for boiling and drinking like a "tea"

 

 

Mamey. I kept seeing strawberries.

 

Aromatic and sweet papaya

 

 

Edited February 12, 2023 by BonVivant (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

@BonVivant, I love your travelogues.  Do you ever spend any time at home?

 

By the way, if age is of no importance, just wait till you're a cheese.

 

 

[heidih]

Is there no place in the world where Driscoll's doesnlt control the strawberry market?!  Those various dried chiles must smell wonderful. 

[BonVivant]

Made it to the capital of Jalisco (4 hours in first class bus. Leg room big enough for the almost 2m tall partner this time).

 

Peinecillo is a cut of beef

 

Fatty flatfish a la plancha

 

Craft beer bar closest to my hotel is 15 minutes on food. The streets are full of cars and people it's fine to walk back at dusk.
Quality of craft beers from Guadalajara (and this state) is OK.

 

 

 

Hardly saw tourists in Morelia and only a handful here Guadalajara. So much fear-mongering about travelling in Mexico. If you do a search you'll get endless results asking about safety. Certain governments are hellbent on telling their citizens to avoid many places in Mexico (including places I have visited). Many of those citizens will tell you it's safer in Mexico than in their own cities/countries! Just use common sense, be humble and respectful.

 

 

On 2/12/2023 at 5:11 AM, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Do you ever spend any time at home?

 

I am only there because I have a house and to cook my own food, planning my escape from (food) hell again.

 

It's different every year. Some years the holidays happen to be closer to each other. I have to plan them with several factors in mind: weather conditions, avoiding high season, costs, availability of flights, best time to see certain animals etc.

 

[BonVivant]

First breakfast at the central market in Guadalajara. We sat right in front of the tortilla maker.

 

She lifted the tortillas, charred them briefly on a hot surface and into a tortilla basket. Reached over and put the basket on the counter whilst standing in the same spot the whole time.

 

We can't get a lousy coffee for $2,50 at home

 

Salsa-drenched sandwich filled with slow-cooked meat/carnitas. I rather this than Porto's version ("Francesinha").

 

One of the times that you don't use your bare hands

 

Transparent shoes. I did see transparent boots in Reykavik.

 

Many old phone boxes are still around, some are still plugged in.

 

The partner is so happy for me being here in fruit paradise.  I can eat fruits in my weight multiple times a day.

 

 

Never walk away from a coconut stall

 

Chili shopping at another market far away from the centre. First time seeing habanero seco.

 

If the seller has a bunch of good quality chillies I make them happy by buying almost every type. He was delighted to see this photo I made of his chilli display.

 

Chile de Yahualica has Denomination of Origin status.

 

Lunch at a big restaurant with outdoor sittings and a stage for a mariachi band.

 

 

Ordered 2 of their specialities. Goat birria. The other dish is a butter tender cut of beef in a green sauce.

 

 

Jalisco is the birth place of mariachi. The performance is a big attraction at this restaurant. The stage is in the middle of the outdoor sitting area.

 

Today we tried another beer bar. It's very small with a few taps. Worthless list of beers without stating the styles and alcohol percentage content which makes it harder to order. We didn't stay long.

 

 

 

 

 

Back in my hotel room later. Bought a few bottles at Nacional Morelos taproom in Morelia and took them with us to Guadalajara. Theirs is better than many of the beers here.

 

 

 

Edited February 14, 2023 by BonVivant (log)

[heidih]

That flour(?) tortilla roller/cutter is interesting. Never seen that before.  I confess - not a mariachi fan having lived in an apartment opposite a fish market that had live mariachi Friday thrugh Sunday. I was on 3rd floor amd going out on balcony to enjoy ocean view and weekend energy was an onslaught of the sound. They drowned out the waves and the seagulls...