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You can tell a lot about a city by what it’s known for. I’m from Fresno, a city in Central California known for its agricultural contributions, affordable real estate and raising Kevin Federline—in other words, it’s not a place to put on your travel bucket list. Guadalajara, on the other hand, is a city known for tequila, mariachi, and art. This place bangs.
At midnight in Guadalajara, I’m at El Rey Mezcalería on the recommendation of a barback from my hotel, Casa Fayette. It takes ten minutes of waiting on line with trendy youths to wedge my way inside of the densely packed mezcalería. The move here would have been to order one of the many mezcal options on display behind the bar, but I order a beer, then drop all of my peso change onto the sticky bar floor. I assume a place in the corner and watch the local DJs do their thing under fluorescent blue lighting.Making friends is easy; Tapatíos (the people of Guadalajara) are friendly as hell. I start talking to the guy crammed next to me, find out it’s his birthday, and move to the bar’s back patio to join his friends. There is more space out here—but only slightly.
Introductions are made, joints passed, more beers ordered. I’d come to sun-soaked Guadalajara to learn about tequila from the source, and any visitor here should do the same. In a couple hours from the city center, you can be in the Jalisco highlands out in blue agave fields, dodging the plant’s razor-sharp leaves. Visitors can see where tequila is made up in the highlands around Arandas, or drive into the valley town of Tequila. For the most educational experience, you’ll want to set up a tour at a distillery (like La Alteña where El Tesoro, Tequila Ocho and Tequila Tapatío are produced). Back in the city, days can be spent walking down the tree-lined streets, stopping into the Palacio de Gobierno and Instituto Cultural Cabañas to see the epic masterpieces of muralist José Clemente Orozco.
At some point you need to eat a torta ahogada, Guadalajara’s famed “drowned” pork sandwich and famed hangover cure. Just make sure you a have room for dinner—there’s no shortage of great restaurant picks. Are bleached bones part of your aesthetic? Go to Hueso. Chef Alfonso Cadena’s restaurant can’t get much better between the ribeye and pork belly, creative cocktails and those 10,000 animal bones decorating the place. Then there are the bars where you can enjoy the region’s tequila in all of its glory. I took down tequila cocktails at Guadalajara newcomers Guilty and the industry insider pick, El Gallo Altanero, which opened in February. On the nightclub front, you have spots like Kin Kin and Bar Americas for taking things up a notch.
My night ends back at Casa Fayette, not just a place to get bar recommendations from the staff, but a chic boutique hotel with muy comfortable beds. The breakfast spread is your friend when it’s time to tackle your hangover if you can’t make it to a nearby torta ahogada spot. Smother the pain with coffee, Mexican cheeses, cured meats and fresh fruit. I nearly crawl to the hotel gym to sweat out the booze that way. There’s a pool to hover near should you need more recovery time, and a couple bars on-site if some hair of the dog is in order. Because when in Guadalajara, it’s never not tequila time.