Dare to Eat Fried Ants and Other Regional Flavors

Mornings in Pahuatlán smell of freshly baked bread (puros, buches, camelias) from the wood-fired oven. When the rains come, it’s chícales-eating time (large ants prepared in salsa or fried with chiltepín chili). Any time is a good time for cecina ahumada (smoked jerked beef), onion tacos with chunks of pork cracklings, and molotes. They also make liqueurs and aguardiente from acachul (a wild grape), pineapple, passion fruit, coffee, and jobo (similar to tejocote—Mexican hawthorn). Be sure to try the pahuas—elongated avocados that grow in the region. The Mercado Municipal, Fonda Güina, Fonda Toña, and El Gusto de Pahuatlán are all places you’ll find food and drink rich in Nahua and Otomí tradition.