The Street-level Tasting of Tequila and Its Cousins
The Chicago Tribune - Travel / Fork In The Road - Tuesday July 3, 2012
GUADALAJARA, Mexico — In all my days of writing, I’ve never ended up on the dance floor with an interviewee as quickly as I did in Guadalajara, in west-central Mexico.
Stefano Francavilla and his sweetheart, Paula, picked up my wife, Elisabeth, and me in their red beater of a car, and we shot into the heart of the city. We had a long flight to Mexico, so they knew we’d be hungry and took us to the Ta Corte taco stand, a meat lover’s paradise where we tried a vampiro, cubed bits of steak atop a layer of cheese grated directly onto the grill, making something of an overstuffed taco topped with a choice of salsas. It would be disgusting if it weren’t so darn good.
“After this, I’m not eating meat for a week,” said Elisabeth, before leading the Clean Plate Club charge.
While we munched away on a metal bench, four guys in front of us plowed through their tacos, standing on the street and using the spoiler on a Ford Escort as their countertop.
“This is the place you come to before or after you drink to ward off a hangover,” said Francavilla, an Italian transplant who helps run the tiny Calle 23 tequila company (tequilacalle23.com) with its founder, Sophie Decobecq.
We cleaned up and took off again, eager to make the most of the city that serves as the gateway to the tequila and mezcal industries.
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