So there we were in the Mexican state of Guerrero, perhaps the world capital of pozole, and I had two mysteries to solve. First, how did Thursday become the traditional day to enjoy pozole? Second, where in Zihuatanejo would I find the best?

I may have solved the second problem first.

The restaurant is called La Casa Vieja. It’s right in centro. It has been apparently been there for over 30 years, the last 22 with the same family.

We decided on mango margaritas all ’round (cannot resist those spicy rims) and contemplated the choices. There were four. The three standards, rojo, blanco and verde plus a house specialty, pozole de mariscos.

We ordered two green, one red and a seafood (I can never convince anyone, including myself, to order white pozole).

A good pozole broth, whether it’s made with poultry or chicken, has to be hearty. La Casa Vieja’s is made with both meats. It has oomph. The ratio of corn to liquid in a cazuela of pozole should be about one-third to two-thirds. La Casa Vieja’s was. The chile taste in a red pozole should be from guajillo. It was. The pork that was added to the red should be shoulder and leg and generous. It was.

The chile taste in a green pozole should be jalapeño. It was. The chile taste in a pozole verde  should not overpower the freshness of the tomatillos. It didn’t. The chicken added to a green pozole should be leg and thigh. La Casa Vieja’s was breast. Perhaps no pozole’s perfect. But perhaps this was the best pozole verde I’d ever had.

Sherry ordered the seldom-seen-away-from-the-coast pozole de mariscos. In the seafood version, the shrimp should be shell-on and jumbo. La Casa Vieja’s were at least a size 25. The unusual is welcomed in a seafood pozole. There were two very tender octopus tentacles in Sherry’s.

The restaurant’s pozoles are served with a platter of six different botanas. They were very simple (you want to complement not compete with pozole) and very good.

Also on the side were six traditional condiments including, another mystery, the “how did they ever become part of the pozole tradition?” radishes.

There was one more consideration. The price. The value. Not including drinks or tip, the total came to $815. We toasted the extraordinary bargain. I congratulated and thanked the restaurant’s owners, Catalina, Alejandro and Quitzia.

There are still some highly recommended Zihuatanejo pozolerias on the list. I haven’t tried Teocintle or Vista Hermosa or invested in extra cab fare to venture off to Coacoyul and check out El Profe. But for now, the mystery of the best pozole in Zihua has been solved. It’s at La Casa Vieja.

And what about that other mystery? Pozolero jueves. How did Thursday become the day to eat pozole? I’ve narrowed it down to five possibilities. Though I very much doubt the Acapulco disco tale.