Jalisco: its best stands for tostadas

Among the corn derivatives, tostadas play a fundamental role in Mexican street food, and there are states that have a special fondness for this tortilla transformed into a crispy option that can withstand any onslaught of proteins, vegetables, and plenty of salsas. In Jalisco, there is a preference for the version scraped on the comal with the metlapil or mano de metate, and here I share three places where you are sure to eat the real ones. Tostadería Doña Pachis As they say, let's start at the beginning, with Tostadería Doña Pachis, in Santa Cruz de Bárcena, a town an hour from Guadalajara and very close to the Guachimontones Archaeological Site. There, traditional cook Francisca Flores Chocoteco, “Pachita” or “Pachis,” personally prepares tostadas in the style of southern Jalisco, as she is originally from Tuxpan, where there is a great tostada tradition. Just a year ago, this 72-year-old from Jalisco was able to start for the first time doing what she knows best: tostadas that she prepares arranged with beans, meat or cueritos, and plenty of vegetables, salsa, and dry cheese. She also sells packaged tostadas to go, along with her incomparable tejuino. Address: Calle Lázaro Cárdenas 6, in Santa Cruz de Bárcena, municipality of Ahualulco de Mercado, Jalisco. Hours: Saturdays and Sundays, from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Due to the pandemic, I suggest looking for them on Facebook under Mujeres del Maíz, the group to which she belongs. Cocina Doña Lupita López-Granero As its name indicates, the one in charge of the kitchen is Lupita, who inherited the culinary craft from her family in this establishment located in Sayula, famous for its knives and cajetas. Word of mouth has made this place, which opened in 1972, not go unnoticed by locals and visitors, who have heard a lot about its salchichón tostadas, a famous sausage in the area, as well as options with leg, foot, and loin. I want to share that this is a municipality full of great cooks; I remember Felicitas Mercado “La Güera,” who, at 91, was still cooking her famous sopitos in the Sayula style, or Micaela, who started this preparation in the 1940s. Recipes that have come to stay and that Lupita also sells. Address: Calle Daniel Larios 70, Centro Histórico, Sayula, Jalisco. Hours: Due to the pandemic, call (342)422-0517 to find out their days and hours of service. Tostadas El Pinche ViejoZapotlán El Grande, or for many still Ciudad Guzmán, is another nearby point to Guadalajara that takes pride in its famous figures; for example, Juan José Arreola, José Clemente Orozco, and Consuelito Velázquez were born there, and of course, great tostaderos like Don Rubén Campos, father of María del Carmen Campos Montes de Oca, who, due to a family anecdote, was nicknamed “El Pinche Viejo.” For 17 years, his daughter Lulú has been inspired by this nickname to name her business, where she prepares filling tostadas that can be served with just foot, loin, cueritos, ear, panela, or combined, served in front of a plate with spicy salsas that pay homage to the traditional chile de uña, named because it was made without the use of a knife, that is, by pinching the ingredients it contains. Address: Calle Carlos Villaseñor 127, Constituyentes, Zapotlán El Grande, Jalisco. Hours: Due to the pandemic, call (341)413-7354 to find out their days and hours of service. By Wendy Pérez, gastronomic editor and founder of Mezcal Aguas Mansas.