Pati's Mexican Table

Pati stops at a couple beloved restaurants in Guadalajara for two classic dishes. At Super Menuderia Cano, she learns the secrets to their menudo that's so good people line up down the block waiting to get in. Then, she visits Birriera Chololo, where locals say the birria is second to none. In her kitchen, Pati perfects her own recipes for a few Jalisco favorites: menudo, tepache, and jericalla.

Some say that Jalisco is the birthplace of Mariachi. Pati learns about the history, the instruments, and the meaning behind that beloved music that pulls at the heart strings of so many Mexicans. She sits down for lunch with the leader of one of Mexico's most accomplished bands, Mariachi Nuevo Tecalitlán. Pati makes carne en su jugo, tres chiles guacamole, and masa berry shortcake.

Pati experiences a unique and storied part of this part of Jalisco's charro culture: the Escaramuza. An all-female horse riding and skills competition honoring the woman charros who fought for Mexico's independence. In the kitchen, Pati makes Jalisco-style birria and her friend, pastry chef and cookbook author Fany Gerson, joins her to make gelatinas for dessert.

Pati meets chef and historian Maru Toledo who is working to preserve and pass on some of Jalisco's most important regional recipes. She then goes to Hacienda Romo for a first hand look at the influence of hacienda culture. Back home in her kitchen, Pati makes Jalisco-style chicken tamales and chile relleno rice dressed with salsa roja.

Pati meets the young chefs behind one of Guadalajara's most exciting restaurants, Xokol, where they are using heritage corn to create a menu full of delicious dishes. In Tequila, Chef Marin from Solar de Las Animas creates a drink and dessert inspired by his grandmother. Pati invites her friend Francisco Migoya over to make conchas to go with pellizcadas with chicharrón in salsa verde.

Pati visits the birthplace of Mexico's most famous spirit, the town of Tequila, where she learns about the history of tequila making and gets an up-close look at the whole process from the agave fields to the tasting table. At home, Pati makes a big brunch of corn tortilla egg nests with salsa verde con chile de árbol and traditional arroz rojo.