The Gringa Who Ate Ajijic

While the friends I was visiting were at work, doing the real world thing, I was wandering around and gawking, doing the vacation world thing. Food, one of my favorite past times, was on my mind. Baguettes and Co., also known as Fajitas and Co., was the first restaurant to catch my attention. It wasn’t so full I felt awkward taking a table for just myself but busy enough to give me hope of good food.

The little brick building was appealing. Chockfull of ferns, palms and other greenery, it held the promise of cool comfort. Furnished with plastic tables and chairs, I didn’t feel uncomfortable in my usual uniform of shorts and T-shirt.

I chose a table and was promptly brought a menu by a very stern looking waitress. One of the owners appeared to give me suggestions and take my order. He then pleasantly held the menu while I, the strange tourist, took a picture of it.

When the waitress, whom I believe was also the cook, delivered my meal, I was quite surprised. It was very geometric; it looked like it was spit out by a machine. My cheese omelet was a perfect circle, served with a rectangle of hash browns, a perfectly circular slice of tomato, a pickle slice, and a cube of butter. Expecting it to taste like painted Styrofoam, I took a bite of the omelet. I was pleasantly surprised; it was delicious and even though I couldn’t see the cheese, I could taste it. The hash browns were acceptable. Overall, the meal was not quite as good as I had hoped but much better than it looked. The service was efficient and the setting was very comfortable. As I was waiting for my change, I saw a baguette go by. It looked very good and not at all machine-made. Baguette and Co. is easy to find; it is in town, on the highway, in between El Torito Supermarket and Farmacias Guadalajara.

Sitting in Jeanne’s house in Ajijic, an overwhelming craving for meat came over me. I wanted beef and I wanted it now. Nearby, a new restaurant, specializing in steaks cooked over a wood fire, had opened. Yippee! Off we went.

The restaurant, fronted by limited parking and a large cactus garden, is metal beams holding up a fiberglass roof. Inside are plastic tables and chairs, a long bar and a loud jukebox. Red-and-white checkered tablecloths and festive cut-paper banners make things cheerful. The bathrooms, at the back of the establishment, were very clean.

We were seated and were quickly brought menus, chips, and four different salsas. There was an avocado sauce, a rough ground red sauce, a typical salsa mexicana, and pickled red onions. All were delicious. Soon a very confused looking waiter brought us our drinks and took our orders. The confused waiter had brought us the wrong drinks. After three attempts, the owner finally brought us the proper drinks.

We started with the melted cheese. It was a large order and still bubbling. The waiter had forgotten the tortillas. After almost a 10-minute wait, he found some tortillas for us. Thankfully, the cheese was still hot. It was very good.

I was the first to be served. I had ordered carne asada (grilled beef) tacos and machaca (shredded dried beef) burritos. The waiter balanced the dinner plate on the appetizer plate in front of me and left. After rearranging my plates, I apologized and started eating before anyone else was served. The tacos were incredible; the burritos were not.

Twenty minutes later Libby was served. She had ordered the arrachera (skirt steak), well done. It was still bloody; she sent it back. After sending it back four times and it was still pink, she wrapped it up to go. She munched on chips.

Jeanne was served a half-hour later. She had ordered the beef fajitas; it was strips of beef with bell pepper and cilantro. It came out extremely well done, even though she hadn’t ordered it that way. It was good. Even Libby’s meat, once it was cooked more at home, was excellent. The restaurant serves beef exclusively from the state of Sonora, a state known for its beef.

El Potrero serves food typical to carne asada restaurants – B-B-Q steaks, tacos, quesadillas, plus burgers, fajitas, ribs, and molcajetes. Their prices range from 8 pesos (US$.70) per taco and 11 pesos (US$1) per quesadilla to 79 pesos (US$7.20) for a rib eye or T-bone.

The restaurant is easy to find. It is on the lakeside of the highway at the west end of town. The service was terrible, but we are hoping things will get better; it was only their first week open. The beef was excellent.

Tex-Mex food is hard to find in Mexico. It is considered fake Mexican food, and is served that way – bland, goopy versions of national dishes served with extra cheese. I was told Ajijic had a good Tex-Mex restaurant and having been outside of the States for a few years, jumped at the chance of going.

El Sarape is on the highway on the north end of town. We found a parking place in front and went in. Arriving between typical lunch and dinner hours, we had the place to ourselves. I liked the place immediately. It was small and cheerful with brightly painted chairs and festive tablecloths. Cut-paper banners, large glass balls and paper lanterns hung from the ceiling. The walls were bright colors and adorned with a few paintings.

As soon as we were seated, the waiter brought the menu over. It was long and varied, having plenty of Tex-Mex items but also offering national dishes and grilled meats. The Tex-Mex side of the menu was sort of a make your own combo plate thing. There were tostadas, crispy tacos, soft tacos, enchiladas, flautas, tamales, burros, chimichangas, beans, rice and guacamole from which to choose. You order how many of what ever you want and it comes out served on one plate. The prices seemed reasonable, running from 14 pesos (US$1.25) for a red tamale filled with meat to 47 pesos (US$4.25) for a machaca chimichanga, until the items were added up. The total could be surprising. The other side of the menu had prices typical to the area, with prices starting at 42 pesos (US $3.80) for chiles rellenos, up to 94 pesos (US$8.55) for a T-bone.

Our orders were taken and our food was delivered shortly after. We were sitting close to the kitchen and could see in; it looked very clean. I had ordered cheese enchiladas and crispy beef tacos. The tacos were OK but lacking toppings; the enchiladas were wonderful, with a thick poblano pepper gravy on top. Libby ordered the Tampiqueña – a thin steak served with guacamole, beans and an enchilada. It was good. Jeanne’s dinner by far was the best. She had the chamorro (pork shank) which was baked slowly in a fabulous red sauce and served with beans and rice. It was delicious. Unfortunately it was a daily special and not always available.

Overall, I enjoyed my experience here. My dinner wasn’t quite the Tex-Mex I was hoping for but was much closer than anything else I have had recently. All the food was good, the chamorro and enchiladas were excellent. The service was pleasant and surprisingly fast and the atmosphere was decidedly cheerful. Friends have told me El Sarape went through a bad period but is now consistently good again.

As usual, I woke up famished. I didn’t even let Libby have her coffee before dragging her out the door. In a confused state, we drove along the highway figuring we would spot something and sure enough, there it was, La Casa del Waffle. We stumbled in, were seated by an annoyingly cheerful waitress and immediately served coffee. The haze started to clear.

The restaurant is very pleasant with indoor seating and patio seating. The outside area is especially nice, covered by a huge tree and surrounded by bugambilias and potted palms. Because it was still morning it was a bit cool but not uncomfortable.

Once we looked ready to order, the cheerful but no longer annoying waitress appeared. Even though we were in a waffle house in Mexico, we both took our chances and ordered the Desayuno Country – an English muffin, topped with breakfast sausage and scrambled eggs, covered with country style gravy and served with hash browns... We should have known better.

After a bit of a wait the meal was served. It looked good. We suspiciously poked at the gravy. Country gravy is not something you come by often in Mexico. I immediately devoured the wonderfully buttery hash browns and then inspected the gravy-covered morsels again. I took a bite. The eggs were good, the sausage was OK, the English muffin was some other kind of bread, and the gravy tasted like bland raw flour and felt like glue. I poured on the salt and pepper and scarfed it all down anyway.

Judging this restaurant by their gravy would not be fair. We ordered it knowing we would probably be disappointed. The menu offers an assortment of breakfast foods. There are Mexican egg dishes, omelets, egg sandwiches, egg burritos, Belgian waffles with a variety of toppings, pancakes also with an assortment of toppings, bagels, blintzes, biscuits, French toast, and chilaquiles. Waffles and pancakes cost between 39 (US$3.55) and 49 pesos (US$4.45), egg dishes run about the same with the Country Breakfast being one of the most expensive items at 51 pesos (US$4.65). The prices aren’t bad and the portions are decent.

Staring at other people’s food, a bad habit I have recently picked up, I noticed the omelets and the Belgian waffles looked very nice. Most people seemed to be ordering waffles but at La Casa del Waffle, I guess that would make since.

I would recommend this place because of the nice setting, the friendly service and the promise of good waffles.

La Casa del Waffle is easy to find. It is on the mountain side of the highway, at the west end of town. It is wedged in between Villa del Sol and Ajijic Hacienda. There are other La Casa del Waffles in Guadalajara and Morelia. The restaurant is only open for breakfast and closes at 3pm. Credit cards are not accepted.

The restaurant in La Nueva Posada hotel is beautiful. Inside it is dark and luxurious with stone walls, arches, and Mexican art. Outside it is bright and airy with a tree-shaded patio, overlooking the lake, surrounded by flowering gardens.

We called ahead to make sure we could get a table outside. It was no problem as once again we were eating at an off time. A very formal looking man seated us. As we were led through the restaurant toward the garden, I felt very underdressed in my shorts and T- shirt but once outside things seemed more casual and I felt right at home.

We were brought bread, butter, and menus. Soon our drinks were brought and we were ready to order. We started with the breaded zucchini. The squash was wonderfully fresh, fried in a tempura-like batter and served with marinara sauce. I then had the beef tenderloin with a Dijon cream sauce. The steak was juicy, tender and cooked perfectly. It came topped with a Dijon sauce, which was a little lumpy but very flavorful and accompanied by carrots, cauliflower, and a baked potato. Libby had the milanesa, which is a breaded beefsteak and came covered with salsa and cheese and came with rice. It also, was good; the meat was tender, the sauce was tasty and the cheese was abundant. Jeanne started with the garden salad, which was small but very fresh looking. She then had the chicken fried steak. It was tender and came served with a large pile of mashed potatoes and everything was covered with very good country gravy. Overall, our meal was excellent.

The service was great. The waiters were pleasant but not intrusive. Our ashtray was never dirty and our water glasses were always full.

sample menu
salmon mousse – 45 pesos
deep fried steak fingers with a country dip – 55 pesos
Surimi and avocado crepes in a Veracruzano sauce – 45
Thai spicy salad served with grilled marinated beef strips - 62 pesos
French almond and strawberry chicken salad with a mimosa dressing – 55 pesos
Poached pacific salmon served over a tomato, caper and poblano pepper sauce – 90 pesos
Beef tenderloin with chipotle sauce and melted cheese – 95

Because of the large American and Canadian retired community, the restaurant now has a comfort menu offering favorites from home at a low price. The meals come with a choice of soups or salad, a choice of potato, rice or vegetables, and a choice of main course for 72 pesos. The choice of entrees is fish and chips, chicken fried steak, beer battered chicken strips, stuffed pork chops, ground sirloin steak, enchiladas, rigatoni, quiche, and chicken ala Mexicana. One of the yummy desserts can be added on for 24 pesos.

La Nueva Posada is also open for breakfast, which I have been told, is as good as lunch.

I was just arriving in town when wonderful smells wafting across the street caused me to slam on my brakes. Not even five minutes into my visit and I was already a hazardous tourist, gawking with my nose in the air while traffic piled up behind me. Finally, I found the source of the aroma; it was Pedro’s Gourmet. I made a mental note of the place and screeched off to my destination.

The next day we decided to eat lunch at Pedro’s Gourmet; it was closed. And the same the day after and the day after. . . The place had closed for Easter weekend and Monday. Finally, on Tuesday, my wish came true: we ate at Pedro’s Gourmet.

The restaurant sits behind a big gate with covered seating around a courtyard and limited seating indoors. The courtyard is bursting with potted plants and brightly colored flowers. The walls are painted shades of yellow and orange. There are several fireplaces to keep things warm on chilly evenings and paintings adorn the walls.

We were offered one of the umbrella tables in the courtyard but because the sun was beating down, we opted for a table on the edge of the courtyard, under the cool tile roof. An English-speaking waiter immediately appeared with bread and pate, gave us huge menus and took our drink orders.

By the time drinks were delivered, we had decided on appetizers. We started with the bruschetta of tomato and sweet yellow and red peppers, and a stuffed mushroom plate. Both were presented beautifully. The bruschetta was sweeter than I expected but extremely tasty. The mushroom plate was white mushrooms stuffed with shitake mushrooms – tasty but not very exciting.

For the main course, I had one of the daily specials, the chicken breast huitlacoche. The chicken was grilled, topped with a huitlacoche (corn fungus) sauce and served with a sweet corn, roasted pepper and sesame salsa. A small salad and a choice of potato were also included. I chose the potato pancakes. Everything was delicious. The huitlacoche sauce was sweeter than I’m accustomed to, but I enjoyed it very much. Jeanne ordered the pasta special of the day. It was fresh tomato and spinach fettuccini in a four-cheese sauce made with reblochon, Gouda, camembert, gorgonzola, shrimp, and squid. It also came with a salad. Jeanne said it was very good; it sure did smell cheesy. Libby ordered the roast loin of smoked pork with a peach puree. It also came with salad and a choice of potato. It looked very pretty but unfortunately it was boring.

Overall, I found the prices reasonable with main courses costing between 55 (US$5) and 90 pesos (US$8.20). Sandwiches, burgers, salads and appetizers cost between 30 (US$2.70) and 45 pesos (US$4.10).

Pedro’s is open Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 9pm and credit cards are not accepted.