**** Here's part 3 of my mostly photo posts on our stay in Tequila
We started our last full day in Tequila, with a birote as I noted in my previous post. We wandered around a bit before heading to a tour and tasting I scheduled. We were in Tequila and it would be almost sacrilegious to not visit the oldest Tequila distillery, right? And to make things more entertaining for the Missus, I decided to do the chocolate and tequila tasting as well.
This would take place at Jose Cuervo's Fabrica la Rojena distillery. I mentioned that Jose Antonio Cuervo was the first person granted permission to produce Tequila for sale in an earlier post. Fabrica la Rojena, the distillery was established in 1812, making it the oldest active distillery in Latin America.
Finding the place was easy…..it's located on, you guessed it, Calle Jose Cuervo. The view up that street is quite lovely.
We met in front of the Mundo Cuervo Hall, where that giant crow statue stands and were soon guided on a tour of the place.
Making it to the back of the distillery where we got to see the "pina", the heart of the agave plants being delivered and prepped.
Like the previous day, it was getting pretty darn warm….this is hard work.
I had worried that doing tequila distillery tours two days in a row might lead to a lot of overlap; but to our extreme pleasure, what we learned here actually added to what we had learned the previous day. We got to be much more close up to things as well.
And there were actual displays along the way as well. I didn't know that American Oak barrels were used for Reposado and Anejo aging.
After the tour, the Missus and I met up with the nice young man who guided us thru our tasting which the Missus truly enjoyed.
What I most enjoyed was chatting with him about his life; he was born in Glendale and his family moved back to Jalisco and Tequila when he was 10 years old. Can you imagine how being seprated from your friends at that age must be? And he was more comfortable speaking English at that time. He also liked that we enjoyed the varied tastes of Blanco. And then we asked him about the new Cristalino Tequila; where Anejo is passed thru a filtering process, making it clear, and taking it back to almost being a Blanco….but charging a person even more than a Anejo? He laughed and said it's kind of a hipster thing right now…..'nuff said.
We enjoyed our tour and tasting at La Rojena.
When we were done; it was…well time for lunch. We just wanted something simple and hearty. And yes, we were in Jalisco; so Birria de Chivo was high on our list. And there was a place named Fonda Chivo y Vaca close by!
Turns out it was a three story restaurant with views of the street. We were seated on the ground floor.
Of course we got some Birria de Chivo and also Carne en su Jugo.
The Carne en su Jugo had a very upfront acidity, which was interesting…..the beans were so earthy and perfectly cooked.
The Birria de Chivo was slightly gamy; nice smokey flavors, a bit of spice.
The meat was on the chewier side. Definitely not like Birriería Las 9 Esquinas, but miles ahead of what we have here in San Diego.
Fonda Chivo y Vaca
Jesús Rodríguez de Hijar 17
Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico
On this day, we actually managed a nice siesta……..
And then we woke and took a nice stroll. On an interesting note, we saw the really nice young man who did our chocolate pairing at La Rojena in the lobby of the hotel talking to the staff. Apparently, Jose Cuervo owns Hotel Solar de las Animas!
As the evening rolled around we took a nice stroll. This was a Thursday and the hotel was getting busier. As we strolled around Plaza Principal we could see the families doing there "evening thing".
We looked for a spot to have a seat and just take in the evening, but it was busy. It was then we saw a couple waving to us, they moved over on a bench and beckoned us over so we could enjoy the sights and sounds. These are the moments that make travel so special!
When dinner time came around; we just decided to head back to the hotel. On our first evening in the town, we enjoyed having a drink at the Sky Bar at our hotel. We also noticed that they had an abbreviated menu of La Antigua Casona, the very popular restaurant in the hotel. So, we just decided to have our last dinner there.
With a nice view of the town.
The Aguachile Negro and Jicama was just as good as what we'd had in the restaurant.
The Ceviche less so; but overall this was a nice, light meal.
Sky Bar (in Hotel Solar de las Animas)
Calle Albino Rojas #14
46400 Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico
And of course, our room with the amazing view was just a minute away.
The next morning, we woke a bit earlier than usual and took a stroll around town before our ride to the airport.
We were indeed taken be the art, the colors…..the Tequila…..but there was more that made our stay wonderful.
It was the warm people….and the pooches…..
That had us contemplating as I got that Birote yet again…..
That we'd return once again, in the middle of the week to enjoy Tequila…both the town and the drink!
My favorite of the two I ordered was the Cabeza. It was tender, beefy, with a side of "funk". Nicely seasoned and cooked, so very juicy. A squirt of lime to cut the richness, cilantro and onion to add pungency, and it was darn good. The tortillas were fine; they were doubled with some queso in between to hold it together.
The piece of battered and fried fish was quite large. But the batter was soggy and the flesh of the pescado was slimy-fishy-muddy, not my favorite flavors and textures when it comes to fish. Not even the lime and the salsas….I preferred the verde (green), which had a bit more acidity and herbaceousness, but I really didn't enjoy this.
This delivered as usual. The tortillas were still warm when we got home; such very nice corn flavor, pliable, yet hearty.
It is so hearty and comforting. It really has that "aaah" appeal. Nothing like rich, beefy, soup dripping out of a maize-y tortilla down your arm and then your throat on a chilly day, right?
The Bun Rieu is now $13.99, but is totally worth the price. A generous amount of very fresh herbs and veggies. And look they still provide a good amount of shredded morning glory, though there's a bit less banana blossom these days. 
So savory, with nice porky-seafood tones. The tomatoes added a perfect amount of acidity. The pork ribs were quite swiney, though a bit more chewy than usual. And the Missus enjoys the tofu a lot. The broth just seemed so good, perhaps it's because we hadn't been back here 
The bone had been really roasted, which was different form what we’d had in Old Town. The marrow was oh-so-buttery. The birria was beefy, with nice pungent-smoky-earthy tones. It’s still not quite what I recall from the San Ysidro days, but a bit better than 
