Thursday, April 27, 2006

Guadalajara, Mexico






The biggest draw to Guadalajara is the food. R.G. ate better here than she ever did in Mexico City, thanks to the excellent recom- mendations of David Baird and Lynne Bairstow in their Frommer's Mexico 2005 guide. (R.G. has a friend who is an editor at Frommer's and gives her free guides. R.G.'s glad she does have this friend, because otherwise she would have never consulted such a booshie guidebook.) R.G.'s willing to go out on a limb here and declare the best food in Mexico to be the morsels she devoured at La Fonda de la Noche (see picture in introductory post). La Fonda de la Noche offers incredibly delicious Durangoan cuisine at very easy prices; pretty, retro '40s decor; and charming, early Twentieth-century, Mexican background music. The owners, artist Carlos Ibarra and his childhood friend Raul, are wicked cool. R.G. could go on raving, but she'll stop now.

La Fonda de San Miguel is another fonda with fine, fine eating in a lovely atmosphere. R.G. doubts you'll be able to maneuver partying with the owners hours after the place has closed, but the restaurant is located in the beautiful colonial courtyard of a converted convent (see third photo, with stars hanging from the ceiling; photos before and after are of Posada Regis) and the food is tops.

Unlike in many Mexican locales, R.G. did not traipse around Guadalajara wishing she could stay in all the gems of yesteryear. She pretty much nailed her accommodations on the first try, which were in the converted, 1850, French-style mansion, Posada Regis. As a single-family mansion, Posada Regis must have been very strange. The layout does not make any sense for a house. For a hotel, the arrangement of rooms around a central courtyard, like spokes of a wheel, is very nice. For $35, R.G. luxuriated in a huge, well-appointed, corner room with private bathroom and shower, which her photos do no justice. Also magnificient is the aforementioned covered courtyard outside the private hall attached to her room. Corona, while not terrible, is not the quiet, little street R.G. covets. As a result, she was able to detect street noise from her bed, a situation about which she was not 100% crazy. That withstanding, Posada Regis is a charmer.

Posada Regis, 171 Corona, ph. 01 (33) 3614-8633, 3613-3026, or 01 (800) 734-4746, www.posadaregis.tripod.com, http://www.posadaregis.com/index.php

La Fonda de la Noche, 251 Calle de Jesus, ph. 33-3827-0917.

La Fonda de San Miguel, 25 Donato Guerra, ph. 33-3613-0809

6 Comments:

Blogger jennyg said...

Done.

12:02 PM  
Blogger Don Tony Clifton said...

Raul is the name of Carlos' childhood friend...

I wish I was back in my beloved Guadalajara having an Indio beer at La Fonda...

Nice pictures.

8:20 PM  
Blogger Grit said...

I booked the Posada Regis for four nights. Happy to know it is well liked and repeats occur. I'm also visiting Zacatecas and Morelia, any reccomendations?

9:02 PM  
Blogger star1441 said...

hello-
been trying to book a room at the posada regis, but they do not answer emails and phone doesn't go thru..
help???
thanks
star1441

5:09 PM  
Blogger julio said...

Hi my name is Julio, I'm a friend of Raul & Carlos, is there a way u could get me there email adresses, havent herd of them in a long time. They are a cuple of smart & very nice guys, love that place, cant wait to go back to Guadalajara & take my wife to that romantic place.

8:12 PM  
Blogger mega said...

Is there current contact info for Posada Regis? The one on their new web site bounces back. Thanks

2:53 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home