Cenaduría Memo

Pancho Romero, who helps run Cenaduría Memo with his wife, Alexa Robles, and her mother, owner Maria Hilda Robledo, says his family serves up the five basic “food groups” of Mexican cuisine: tacos dorados, sopes, enchiladas, tostadas, and pozole. Those are five good reasons to come here for dinner.

Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2019, Cenaduría Memo is an Ajijic institution that opens nightly at 7:00 p.m. (and 3:00 p.m. on weekends).

The menu is not extensive and sticks to the core items that have made this one of Ajijic’s most popular late-night spots for so long:

• Tacos dorados — Rolled-up tortillas stuffed with beans or meat, then fried in oil.
• Sopes — Extra, extra-thick tiny tortillas topped with beans, potato or meat and then fried in oil.
• Enchiladas — Tortillas are quickly marinated in a flavorful sauce before being rolled and stuffed with meat or cheese.
• Tostadas — Hard, fried tortillas smothered with beans or meat.

And of course, there’s pozole, which is the cenaduría’s most popular dish. It’s distinctly jalisciense (from Jalisco), though it’s popular in many distinct forms across Mexico. In the states of Zacatecas and Guerrero, for example, you’ll often find green pozole.

Here at Cenaduría Memo, the pozole is red (add your own hot sauce on the side) and perfectly prepared with pork and corn hominy. Top it off with fresh diced onion, cabbage, sliced radish, and limes brought to your table.

Pozole takes a while to make and is a popular weekend dish. It’s sometimes served on holidays such as Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve. With Memo, though, you can get it any day of the year.