Mexican Lifestyles

For seven years, the tiny Guadalajara restaurant Goa has been beckoning customers in from Lopez Cotilla near Chapultepec with its vibrant multicolored lamps hanging from its vibrant yellow porch and of course its vibrantly seasoned northern Indian cuisine.

Malted milkshakes, root beer floats, cherry cokes, Philly cheese steak, chili dogs. These are the things that make your taste buds salivate over a certain era — when Dwight D. Eisenhower was president and cholesterol wasn’t on the radar.

How encouraging it is to see a flurry of new art-oriented cafes, bistros and gourmet restaurants sprouting up in the city, now that Guadalajara has been designated “the cultural capital of the Americas.” La Mata Tinta, a great new bistro recently opened its doors to a standing-room-only crowd Wednesday. This is an off-shoot of the flagship operation in Tlaquepaque at La Parian, where they have curried experience catering to exquisite tastes for the last eight years.

To compensate for the  heat, an abundance of deliciously ripe fruits of all flavors, sizes and colors can currently be found in Mexico’s  mercados and supermarkets.

Chocolate eggs may be a long-standing Easter tradition north of the border but are not considered a culinary holiday treat in Mexico.

Growing up near Boston in the 1960s meant you ate fish every Friday. Now the Roman Catholic tradition is only observed with any regularity during the 40 days of Lent, even in traditional Guadalajara. With cod and haddock going for upwards of ten to 20 dollars per pound in New England, one can appreciate the reasonable prices found in the metro area’s markets for Mexico’s Pacific coast seafood.