Pachuco
By Claire Gledhill
Wallet depleted after the summer vacation? With an air of Mexican dive bar, Pachuco’s generous portions washed down with peso-priced micheladas mean good food and drink doesn’t have to be out of reach. Consider a michelada, the beer equivalent of a Bloody Mary and the perfect accompaniment to the chili pork, pork rinds, guacamole, black beans or cactus filling an assortment of meat and vegetarian tacos, quesadillas, snacks or huge servings of nachos on the menu.
End the meal with a dessert such as fried green banana with cream and sugar, or better, be a little pachuco (elegant Mexican gangster-type) yourself and savor a shot or two from the “book of mezcal.” This menu of around 30 types of the agave spirit drink details the characteristics, provenance and distillation methods of each. So whether rich or poor after summer away, as the Mexicans say: “Para todo mal, mezcal, y para todo bien, también.”