Which is more a telling sign that your civilization has crested and is about to batter itself into oblivion on the rocks of history: an excessive pursuit of leisure, a la the decadent court of Caligula, or a tendency towards self-flagellating, obsessive internal criticism – which, come to think of it, occurs mainly in societies with too much leisure time on their hands?

“This doesn’t seem like a fusion,” remarked my dining companion as we perused the menu at Heidi’s Restaurante Alemán y Biergarten (German restaurant and beer garden) in Guadalajara.

I’d like to underscore two key dining appreciation issues for all Ajijic diners.

In the event you were contemplating a maiden voyage to Mexico’s capital, don’t let the above review put you off exploring its dining and drinking scene.

During the planning stages for my first journey to one of the world’s most daunting urban wildernesses, my traveling companion and I decided that a lunch at Quintonil, regarded almost universally as one of Mexico City’s best restaurants,  just hours before our return flight back to Guadalajara would be a fitting way to end the trip, a gilded cherry atop our otherwise (fairly) fiscally cautious five-day blitz into the beating heart of Mexico.

When it comes to jumbo fruits, look no further than the mighty yaca (jackfruit) – cultivated in abundance on the Nayarit coastline and, of course, used in Asian cuisine for centuries.