Most Carnitas El Michoacano (note; it’s now closed) patrons take the tacos of “little meats” – the translation of carnitas – to go, but we dined in. Sitting in Coca-Cola patio chairs and eating off plastic plates wrapped in clear bags to keep them clean gives the illusion that carnitas are easy to make, but don’t be fooled. To achieve pork shoulder that is this tender and flavourful takes hours of braising and a delicate balance of spices.
Alex led us to other family restaurants but none more multigenerational than Cevicheria El Guero. Every day the middle Guero, Antonio, goes to the fish market for the day’s catch of red snapper and mahi mahi. While his son served us Jamaica, a cool hibiscus tea, and his father delicately cleaned chili peppers with a dry cloth, Antonio chopped and soaked the fish in lime juice for 20 minutes and tossed it with diced onions, tomatoes and cilantro. The cool, sweet and tart ceviche arrived on a tostada topped a creamy avocado wedge, and tasted as fresh as you’d expect for something made on the spot every afternoon.
After a brief tour of a tortilla factory, Alex and I stopped for fresh coconut water sipped right out of the nut. There are several setups, like Caesar’s Coconut Stand, around the city, but I was too intimidated to approach the machete wielding purveyors without adult supervision. After the green, shaved coconut was dry, I handed it to Caesar. He briskly chopped it up, tossed in a clear bag and sprinkled with salt, pepper and chili powder. The coconut meat was suddenly an addictive snack, staining my fingers like a bag of Doritos, but much, much more satisfying.
Not all of the city’s top fare is casual, of course. Mama Rosa is the kind of restaurant where Jalisco families go to celebrate birthdays. It’s also one of the only places to find sopa Tarasca. Like tortilla soup but made with black beans, it’s thicker and richer and gives a slight kick care of pan-fried guajillo chilies. Named for the Aztecs’ enemy empire, the Tarascans, the soup is difficult to find in Mexico because little of the Tarascan culture was retained. Thankfully, this dish made the cut.