7 Don't-Miss Dishes in Guadalajara

Experts say that birotes salados—the salted sourdough bread used for these drowned sandwiches—tastes specifically of the climate and altitude of Guadalajara and thus can be made nowhere else. The crusty rolls are sturdy enough to accommodate the sandwich’s filling of carnitas (long-cooked fried pork) with a garnish of red onion and, most importantly, to stand up to the bath of mild tomato or spicy pepper sauce poured on top of everything. Yes, you eat this specialty like any other sandwich—using your hands—so prepare to get messy.

Jalisco is this popular food’s home region, and the spicy-paste-rubbed meat—cooked low and slow to maximize flavor—shows up in many fine forms here. Once you’ve tried the basic stew presentation, move on to the barbecue-like tatemada version (which comes with consomé on the side), then try the modern quesabirria, a griddled tortilla filled with birria and melted cheese. Locals consider the fork-tender meat served in a full-bodied bright-red broth a hangover cure (it works well for jet lag, too), so most birria places are most crowded from around mid-morning and through lunchtime. If you want some guidance, you can get to know birria and other stewed meats on a tour of the enormous Libertad Market.

A comforting classic invented right in Guadalajara, this dish doesn’t look like much; it is overwhelmingly brown in color and difficult to categorize on the soup-to-stew spectrum. The name, “meat in its own juice,” also doesn’t do it justice. And yet, carne en su jugo’s appearance and moniker belie the dish’s Technicolor flavor. Just one dunk of a tortilla into this combination of beans, beef, and bacon mingling in a boldly flavored broth will turn you into a true believer. The dish usually comes with a garnish of crispy bacon, crunchy radishes and onions, and a sprinkle of cilantro; most people feel it also goes best with an ice-cold beer.

Like everything else in Guadalajara, beans here often get transformed by broth and served soup-style. Cooked with onions, garlic, bacon, and sometimes tomatoes or chile peppers, these hearty legumes show up all over town, served as an accompaniment for meaty main dishes. Though versions of this stew also show up around northern Mexico, Guadalajara and its surrounds are the birthplace of charrería (Mexican rodeo), and thus have a reasonable claim to the dish, which is named for cowboys—who purportedly cooked it over campfires.

Dessert menus and sweets stands all over Mexico feature flan, but only in Guadalajara do they display the mottled top of its kissing cousin, the jericalla. Supposedly invented by nuns looking to pump up the protein for the orphans in their care, this cinnamon-infused custard uses egg yolks and is baked until the top blisters and browns. Light and creamy, with a nuttiness from the caramelization on the surface, jericalla makes a fitting finish to meals of the region’s soupy specialties.

This frothy corn-based beverage descended from the traditional drinks of the area’s Native Huichol people and tastes like the lovechild of tortillas and beer (tejuino itself is very low alcohol). It’s made with masa (similar to the kind used for tortillas) that is boiled with piloncillo (raw sugar) and left to ferment for a few days. The bubbly results are sweet and tangibly refreshing—made even more so by the local method of serving it over lime sorbet. Look for it at restaurants or try it on a food tour of the Santa Tere neighborhood.

When Spanish colonizers in Mexico ran low on brandy supplies, they adapted their distilling techniques to the light fermented drinks made by locals using a native succulent. As they honed their “agave wine” methods, they eventually named their new spirit after a town at the center of its production. Tequila (the town) sits about an hour outside Guadalajara, and makes for an easy day trip. Bars in Guadalajara also carry an assortment of the spirit from all over the state, giving visitors an excellent opportunity to sample small producers and specialty bottles that you won’t find far from the spirit’s home.