IWNA 2019 Issue 2

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28 INTERVAL WORLD n Issue 2, 2019
In fact, shrimp is featured heavily here, from stews to pâté; but you
simply cannot miss eating camarones a la cucaracha: fried shell-on
shrimp seasoned with Nayarit’s Huichol hot sauce. For something
lighter, dig into a fresh aguachile, a variation of ceviche — with a kick.
It’s prepared with shrimp, onions, cucumbers, and avocado slices in
a lime-juice-and-chile sauce. However, the crown jewel of Nayarit’s
gastronomy is the pescado zarandeado , butterflied snapper marinated
with chile, lime, and soy sauce, and grilled over a fire. The dish is gar-
nished with red onion, tomato, and cucumber.
JALISCO: QUINTESSENTIALLY MEXICAN
The birthplace of mariachi music, sombreros, and tequila, Jalisco is
the closest you’ll get to most people’s idea of Mexico. About an hour
northwest of Guadalajara, you can see the iconic landscape of the blue
agave plantations surrounding the town of Tequila, where the coun-
try’s most famous spirit is made. Government regulations dictate that
tequila can be produced only from blue agave, which primarily grows
here. Learn about the production process while on a tasting tour of the
distilleries along Jalisco’s Tequila Trail. You can drive there or take the
Tequila Express or Jose Cuervo Express trains, which are an experi-
ence of their own.
Jalisco also has a long history of ranching and is one of Mexico’s
top beef producers. Needless to say, there’s plenty of barbacoa (slow-
braised meat) to be savored here, but you’ll also find some tasty
dishes you may have never heard of before. For one, the torta
ahogada (drowned sandwich) is an absolute must-try snack. The sub
is made with birote bread (a type of baguette, typically baked in a
stone oven) that is filled with fried pork and doused with a red sauce
made from chile de árbol. A less-spicy version of this platter uses a
tomato-based sauce with chile. Another Jalisco specialty, birria de
chivo (goat stew) is hailed as a powerful hangover remedy — perfect
after a day of tequila tasting.
OAXACA: HOLY MOLE
Oaxacan cuisine is revered because of the wealth of ingredients that
grow here, including extremely rare chile varieties, and the diverse
culinary traditions found within its borders. Oaxaca’s exemplary dish,
mole, has countless variations — despite the region’s nickname as
the Land of the Seven Moles. The most notable, mole negro, is a rich
sauce made with as many as 30 ingredients, including Oaxacan dark
chocolate, nuts, dried fruit, aromatic herbs, and various types of dried
chiles. Many eateries in Oaxaca City have a whole section dedicated
to moles on their menus. The sauce is typically poured over chicken,
pork, or turkey, and served with a side of rice. Also try Oaxacan tama-
les, smothered in mole and wrapped in banana leaves instead of
cornhusks, and enmoladas (enchiladas with mole).
Once you’ve tasted a few different moles, venture over to the bus-
tling Mercado 20 de Noviembre to sample another specialty: tlayuda.
Also known as Oaxacan pizza, this is a large, thin tortilla topped with
refried beans, grilled meat, tomato, avocado, quesillo (a Oaxacan
BLUE AGAVE FIELD
TLAYUDA WITH CHAPULINES