It's 10:00 on a Wednesday night at the book festival in Guadalajara and the Jonathan Gold-led culinary outings have developed quite a following. There was that visit to the regional delights and surprises of Lonche-rita. There was a dinner in El Parian, a historic square in heart of Tlaquepaque, where a dozen small restaurants share a central mariachi-infused courtyard.

Tonight though, Pilar Perez, an organizer of the L.A. portion of the book fest, sets the agenda. First our group, which has grown to require three and sometimes four taxis, heads to a small bar in El Centro, the old colonial center of Guadalajara.

The streets are narrow and the buildings' plaster walls, pierced by balconies, rim the sidewalk in an unbroken facade.