I'm catching things up on our trip to Jalisco. Basically doing a "Clearing Out the Memory Card" and mainly posting photos as it brings back some nice memories. I'm dividing this visit into 3 parts.
We had an awesome driver who was quite prompt and made the hour and a half drive from Guadalajara to Tequila a breeze. Why Tequila? Well, personally, I enjoy my Mezcal. Meanwhile, the Missus enjoys Tequila more. We had already visited Oaxaca so the Missus requested equal time for Tequila. So, I went ahead and booked us three nights in the town. I was told that we should just do the Tequila Express from Guadalajara to Casa Sauza and more or less to a day trip. I thought spending a few nights in one of the Pueblos Mágicos would be fun.
We knew we were getting close to Tequila when we started passing all the fields of Blue Agave.
We were dropped off at our accommodation; the Hotel Solar de Animas, which turned out to be a fantastic choice as it was centrally located, had beautiful gardens, a restaurant, two bars. The place was super quiet…..I was told that during the middle of the week Tequila is more mellow. And we ended up with a top floor room in one of the towers.
With a small patio and awesome views.
And most importantly, a potent A/C, since the temperature was no joke!
After settling in, we decided to take a stroll. First exploring the hotel grounds.
The center of town is basically around the corner from the hotel.
We quickly noticed all of the artwork. This one is in the Edificio Municipal, basically the city hall.
Which stands across from the Plaza Principal…the main square with even more lovely public art.
Much of which feature the all important Jimador.
Right across the street is this lovely church; the Parroquia Santiago Apostol.
Here's a bit more info on it.
The street that bisects Plaza Principal and the Municipal Building is named Jose Cuevo….you know why, right? We had a tour lined up for Jose Cuervo and Fábrica La Rojeña on our last full day of our stay, so we just took a quick look.
The name of that sculpture is named "Cuervo", by artist Carlos Terrés. Why the crow you may ask. Well, Jose Antonio Cuervo was the first person granted permission to produce Tequila for sale by King Charles IV of Spain in 1795. And the crow adorned those bottles and has become the symbol of Jose Cuervo.
Also just a block away is the Municipal Market which is full of stalls and eateries, but the place was closing up for the day.
It was pretty darn hot out.
So we decided on taking a break in the air conditioned comfort of our room.
We also decided on an early dinner. The restaurant in the hotel La Antigua Casona, "The Old Mansion" seemed to be highly rated, so we decided on having an early dinner there.
Even though the dining area is located in a patio/courtyard area, it is protected from the direct rays of the sun, making it quite comfortable.
And a nice cocktail; this is called the Afortunado does help things out.
We ordered a bunch of smaller dishes and a salad. Strangely, our favorite item was the simple jicama. With the nice salsa rojo, it was so refreshing. Tied for second would be the rather refreshing Aguachile Negro and the Soft Shelled Crab Tacos which was fried perfectly.
The Barbacoa Flautas were nicely put together, but the barbacoa lacked the savory-spice we enjoy. It seemed a bit dumbed down.
The House Salad was fine, but nothing special.
Service was superb, as would be expected.
La Antigua Casona (in Hotel Solar de las Animas)
Calle Albino Rojas #14
46400 Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico
We took our typical after dinner stroll. Thru Plaza Principal.
Right across form Parroquia Santiago Apostol is this.
It's the Capilla del Antiguo Hospital de Indios. Built in the 16th Century by Franciscan Monks, the hospital served the local indigenous people who were ravaged by the diseases brought by the Conquistadores. The red finish was part of a redesign that took place in the 1940's.
After this, we decided to do more of an extensive walk, so headed down Calle Juarez, which turns to Hidalgo, all the way down to Toluca. Heading toward Toluca gives you a more realistic view of the town.
Though Toluca has quite a few hotels on it.
It was fun checking out all the well behaved pooches.
We headed back to the hotel via Calle Leandro Valle because there was a statue I had wanted to see. Near the corner of Calle Francisco I. Madero and General Atreaga stands this statue.
It is of the Goddess Mayahuel, the goddess of the Maguey (Agave) plant.
From here we headed on back to our hotel. While walking past Parroquia Santiago Apostol, this pooch came rushing toward us. I wasn't sure what was going on. But as soon as she got to us, she rolled over……she just wanted some belly rubs!
Her owner came rushing over to apologize, but we used our poor Spanish and hand signs to indicate that we loved it!
It was still pretty warm when we got back to the hotel.
I had read that the hotel had a "Sky Bar" with a nice view; so we decided to check it out. It was quite relaxed and lovely.
And the view was nice as well.
We relaxed. The Missus had a Margarita; I got myself a beer.
We noticed that there was an abbreviated menu of La Antigua Casona available. It had our favorite dishes from that meal, so we'd end up having dinner here on our last evening.
It was lovely way to end the day.
And I had a lovely view as I typed away on my laptop…..
The hustle and bustle of city life seemed galaxies away.
Thanks for stopping by!
Well, this was a miss in my book. The "dumplings" seemed like fried frozen chicken gyoza you'd get at the market. Cardboardish wrappers, salty – chewy filling.
To me; the best part of this dish was the consomme, not because it had the complex, beefy-savory tones of a good consomme; but because it at least had some decent flavor. Though, it really tasted like "San Diego sweet" pho broth with some birria and beef flavoring. Perhaps this is what the "Birria Pho" on the menu tastes like?
The broth had an abundance of cilantro and scallions which was good. It was very clear, though not seriously defatted. It did lack a definite beefiness and the anise tones I enjoy. As is typical of much of the pho in San Diego, it had that somewhat sweet background to it, in addition to being a bit too salty.
This was comprised of five pieces; two huge drumettes, and three "flats". The seasoning was quite good, some spice, perhaps a bit too much MSG, but I enjoyed it.
Not to belabor the statement; but the color is totally different! As for the dish itself? Well, the sauce/stew was super thick; way too thick, lacking in the nice smooth creaminess of kare kare. Coconut milk had been added and this was overly sweet for my taste. Think of getting a jar of peanut butter and throwing in some coconut milk…..this lacked a satisfying savoriness for me.
The soup was nice and beefy. Unlike the usual Seolleongtang, this had a perfect amount of salt…usually you need to season to your taste. The Tteokguk, the flat rice cake like Nian Gao still had a nice chew to it. 
So, here's the score using the 
STUFFS: While eating, I noticed a gluey component under the eggs. Not a fun texture and quite bland. Looking over the menu; I guess they also include sausage gravy with this? Overkill in my opinion. 1.0
Not sure about the Pico de Gallo as a side….funny, at first glance I thought it was Lomi Salmon! Four rather slices of Port Sausage; based on the texture and taste, I'm thinking this seemed like Redondo's? I'm fully "team Purity", but this was fine. Two scoops rice and two easy over eggs completed the set. The scoops of rice seemed on the smallish side; but I can't put it away like I used to, so this was fine. The rice was perfectly cooked and the eggs nice and runny.
