Restaurants

Guadalajara has many excellent restaurants either for fine dining or for typical local fare. Most of the fine-dining spots are on the west side. Tlaquepaque has some good choices, but most close by 8pm. Good local fare can be had in the Centro Histórico, but for fine dining, head to western Guadalajara or, if it's early in the day, to Tlaquepaque. For a quick bite, there are several Sanborn's in the city. This is a popular national chain of restaurants known for their enchiladas suizas (enchiladas in cream sauce). If you're downtown and looking for baked goods and coffee, go to El Globo (tel. 33/3613-9926), an upscale bakery at the corner of Pedro Moreno and Degollado. This is also a chain with a couple more locations around Guadalajara. Tip: When taking a taxi, keep the address of the restaurant handy; taxi drivers cannot be relied upon to know where even the most popular restaurants are.

Local dishes include birria (goat or lamb covered in maguey leaves and roasted). It comes in a tomato broth or with the broth on the side. Another favorite is the torta ahogada, a sandwich with pork bathed in a tomato sauce. I'm not particularly fond of them. The most popular drink here is the paloma, which combines tequila, lots of lime juice, and grapefruit soda on ice. I am fond of these.