Every year, for an entire month I travel to one of the most charming, beautiful and quaint colonial cities in Mexico, San Miguel de Allende in the state of Guanajuato. For those who have read my blogs on San Miguel, you know what a food and restaurant junkie the city turns me into.
This year the adventure began after spending five days in Port au Prince, Haiti for my niece's wedding. I have several traditions once I arrive in San Miguel. I go to the great house that we rent every year, drop off our luggage and head to the local grocery store Bonanza for essentials.
After Bonanza, it’s off to ‘the blue doors’ (La Colmena Panaderia), my favorite panaderia (bakery) for Mexican pan dulce (sweet bread). It’s the traditional breakfast in Mexico and perfect accompaniment to have with a great cup of coffee in the mornings sitting on the patio, under the portal, while the patio fountain trickles away. Yes, the house is really that charming!
San Miguel de Allende is a colonial city in Mexico’s central highlands. It's known for its baroque Spanish architecture, flourishing arts scene and many wonderful and unique cultural festivals. In the city’s historic center lies the church, La Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel, whose dramatic pink towers rise above the main plaza known as ‘El Jardín’ (the garden). The Templo de San Francisco is only a couple of blocks away and is distinguished by its 18th-century, churrigueresque (Spanish High Baroque) facade. The city has an elevation of over 6,000 feet, with a population of over 140,000. One of my favorite things about San Miguel is the cobblestoned streets that are a part of wherever you step. I always know that I’m once again in my home away from home when my feet touch those cobblestoned streets. I always have the goofiest of smiles on me as I walk along them.
There isn’t a night that goes by that we don’t visit the El Jardin for a wonderful stroll before calling it a night. On weekends there’s always several Mariachi bands filling the night with festive songs. It easily becomes the battle of the Mariachis with each band vying for the attention of someone willing to pay to have them serenade them. There always seems to be a festival going on in San Miguel and the Jardin is usually the place where the festivals begin and end with a fireworks display. During the day you can find vendors selling balloons and toys for the kids, straw hats for men and women, ‘elotes’ (the Mexican grilled corn on the cob that has butter, mayonnaise, parmesan cheese and chili pepper). You can always find street vendors selling tacos, hot dogs, hamburgers, snacks of all kinds and my favorite ‘helados’ (ice cream). Mexican ice cream is sold in all types of tropical flavors, with varying ingredients and some with the most interesting fresh fruits. I try to limit myself and only allow myself an ‘helado’ once a week while in the Jardin.
There are festivals that occur almost weekly in San Miguel. My favorite festival to attend is Mexican Independence Day festival, probably the largest one in San Miguel. People come in from all over to be a part of the festivities that are always capped off with an enormous display of fireworks. It’s thrilling! But if you’re squeamish about being in a crowd of thousands of people, you might prefer to watch it from afar.
This was my first time visiting during the month of June, and I got to experience one of the greatest food festivals that I’ve ever attended. The Sabores San Miguel Food Festival is held in the Parque Juarez, a beautiful park just southwest of the Jardin. You are surrounded by incredible food/beverage booths serving up some of the most inventive, creative and delicious small tasting plates and cocktails, for only 30 pesos! It was an experience that I will never forget. One of the tasting dishes featured a beef bone that was sliced open and filled with a combination of bone marrow, chiles, spices and bits of avocado. It was amazing! There were smells wafting through the air, one of which was a gigantic paella pan! We just so happened to be sitting at a table that was directly across from where the paella was being prepared. We were so hungry that it seemed like we waited for hours for the paella to finish being prepared. Once it was finished, for 30 pesos you got a delicious blend of paella rice, blue crab, shrimp, octopus, mussels, clams, chorizo, all cooked in a delicious seafood and saffron broth. There was entertainment, dancing, great people watching, endless food choices and catching up with our dear friends, Jeff and Marty, now living permanently in San Miguel as well as meeting new friends. It was a very memorable night!
The Parade of the Locos was another festival I attended this year, and it’s exactly what the name implies. It’s the parade of the crazies! Well not literally crazies, but it's a parade of people that are dressed in homemade costumes and elaborate makeup. Costumes ranged from superheroes to cartoon and movie characters. Think of Mardi Gras in Mexico. A float that played specific music for the crazies to dance to preceded each group. One of my favorites was the group dressed in the animal costumes from the movie “Zootopia”. Their costumes were elaborate, and they gave the crowd along the parade route exactly what they wanted, ‘dulces’ (candy). The crowds would scream ‘dulces, dulces, dulces’ while handfuls of candy is tossed at the crowd by the parade ‘crazies’. Children and adults frantically jumped in midair hoping to catch the candy.
One of my favorite new finds to dine in San Miguel was a Peruvian restaurant called La Parada. After meeting a couple visiting from the U.S. while walking along the street (which happens to us all the time), we stopped and talked about places to eat and visit in San Miguel. We suggested a couple of restaurants and they mentioned La Parada. We could not have been any happier about this restaurant suggestion. It has a very open, modern patio setting and seemed like the perfect place to try out one of my favorite cuisines that I don’t have very often here in Chicago. I was totally blown away!
We started out with a couple of very delicious and pretty potent Pisco Sours.
The first appetizer was served in 4 ‘caballitos’ (long, slender Mexican shot glasses, usually used for tequila or mescal). Each one contained a broth. One was seafood, the other ginger, there was a mango broth and the last one wasn’t a broth at all, it was a Pisco infused with Serrano chiles!
We split an appetizer of Sea Bass Ceviche with ginger, sesame oil, lime juice, sesame seeds and avocado which was spectacular.
For our entrée we split a dish called Tacu Tacu Power. First of all, what chef wouldn’t want to order a dish with the name Tacu Tacu Power? It was a dish made with shrimp, fava beans, a salsa criolla and rice. Very simple and so tasty! One of the most interesting things about Peruvian dishes is the Japanese influence on its cuisine, and La Parada highlighted those influences extremely well.
Toward the end of our stay in San Miguel, our good friends Ernesto and Isabel visited us from Xalapa in the state of Veracruz. We took them to La Parada, and we were a bit nervous because they’ve traveled several times to Peru and really love Peruvian cuisine. It was a huge relief to know that they loved the restaurant and the food.
You never know what you might find simply strolling along the side streets of San Miguel. In the neighborhood of San Antonio is a restaurant that we discovered called Agua Miel. It’s a small restaurant with a delightful menu. I love restaurants with small menus because they are perfect for a very indecisive person like me. If you enjoy a delicious cocktail, they have a version of a Negroni made with tequila that is out of this world! They also have a Tamarind Margarita that is also pretty amazing as well. My favorite dish was their Duck Tacos. Inspired by Moo Shoo Pork, it consisted of moist, shredded duck meat from the leg and thigh, in a peppery and sweet sauce presented beautifully in a colorfully painted, Mexican wooden bowl. In the bowl are several other bowls containing all the necessary ingredients to make some of the tastiest duck tacos: cilantro, mint, jalapenos, radishes, scallions, a sweet tamarind sauce, avocados and basket of warm flour tortillas. You are instructed to spread the sweet sauce on the tortilla first and then layer on the duck and the other ingredients.
The owners, Gaby who is the chef and her partner Jennifer, were two of the nicest, most hospitable and accommodating people. Their appetizer of stuffed squash blossoms with goat cheese in a silky tomato sauce are some of the best I’ve ever eaten. Another one of their appetizers are the pot stickers that are stuffed with shrimp and shitake mushrooms and served with a sweet, tart and spicy tamarind sauce.
But my favorite are the ‘Corn Cakes’, (mini sopes) filled with bone marrow and with a very spicy guacamole served alongside.
I also revisited several of the old tried and true restaurants. My favorite restaurant in San Miguel is Mare Nostrum and it’s where I always have my second meal and my last meal each trip. Chef/Owner Guilio and his wife Brenda are two of the reasons why it’s my favorite restaurant in San Miguel, other than the great food. We’re like family there! We walk in the door and Brenda says “Hola Chico’s”! I chuckle and smile, give her the biggest hug and know that I’m in for one warm, special, great food eating night. Their pizzas are the best! But any of Guilio’s handmade pasta dishes are pretty special. We had dinner there with a friend and he ordered Guilio’s hand rolled and stuffed Ravioli with spinach, pumpkin, herbs and topped with a pumpkin and sage butter sauce. Let’s just say that he was very pleased and happy that we introduced him to Mare Nostrum.
I can’t quit La Sirena Gorda (the Fat Mermaid) seafood restaurant!
Their oyster shooters and the Aguachile (a regional Mexican take on ceviche) keep me heading back for more. Pescau is another one of my favorite seafood restaurants. You can’t go wrong ordering any of their ceviches or seafood ‘cocteles’ (cocktails). It’s a seafood bar restaurant and they have a saffron seafood cream soup with shrimp, scallops and clams that I must have whenever I’m there. One of my favorite things about Pesacu is their array of bottled sauces to put on any of the fresh ceviches, cocteles or aguachiles they offer. The only sauce they have that isn’t already placed on the table is their habanero sauce. That one you specifically have to ask your waiter for, because it’s so hot and spicy that before you try it, they want to warn you about its ferocious heat.
Another one of my favorite things to do in San Miguel is to visit the Saturday Organic Market. Every Saturday a portion of the grounds of the Rosewood Hotel property is used for vendors to come in and sell their organic vegetables, fruits and food items, such as pestos, salsas, pickled vegetables, jams, marmalades made with exotic fruits, and pastries. Vendors also sell incredible organic meals and here you will find some of the best tacos, gorditas, enchiladas and burgers all made with fresh, local organic ingredients. Every Saturday there is something new to purchase to take home and be inspired to create a meal or snack with. My last visit there I bought a jar of Mango Chutney and a jar of Italian Hot Bell Pepper Sauce that was so good that I had to bring more back home with me.
The open air Mercado in San Miguel is the place to go and find fresh veggies, fruits and flowers. They also have several stalls where you can find some very hearty and authentic Mexican street food. I was lucky to have been in San Miguel during wild plum season. I’ve never eaten anything like them before. They’re tiny little plums with the sweetest, freshest taste. I was addicted and it was kind of sad when the wild plum season ended while there.
Speaking of authentic Mexican street food. I cannot forget to mention some other of my favorite places to eat in San Miguel for authentic Mexican food. There is La Alborada restaurant for their pozole, which means hominy in Spanish. Other than Fernando’s mother’s pozole, this pozole is one of the best that I’ve ever eaten. You can order the red or green pozole with your choice of chicken or pork. A few minutes later, out comes all the vegetables, limes, tostadas shells, salsas and chile peppers you could every need to customize your Pozole.
For Gorditas that are bigger than the size of your head, I always head over to El Comal De Dona Meche. No forks or knives needed, just your hands. But there are plenty of napkins for the mess that’s going to happen and believe me there will be a mess. For the best Tortas, the Mexican sandwich made with the savory Mexican bread called bolillo, the Mexican version of the baguette, there is Tortillan Torta Shop. They have two locations close to the house that I rent and you’re not going to get a bad sandwich at either location. I’ve never known the names to any of the great taco stands that are located not to far from the house on Ancha de San Antonio. But you don’t need a name! If you’re hungry and they’re open, which is usually from late evening to late night, go!
Other than Mare Nostrum, if I could take a restaurant and put it in my back pocket to bring back home with me, it would be Café Contento. It is one of the finest breakfast/lunch places to eat in San Miguel. The waitress Marta and Chef Jose Bossuet Martinez are extremely hospitable, gracious, kind and customer service driven. Chef Martinez always creates some of the most innovative breakfast and lunch creations. His chilaquiles divorciados are some of the best that I’ve ever eaten.
One of my other favorites things about Café Contento is the basket of grilled breads that come with butter and marmalades and at times something called 'nata', a rich creamy, buttery spread, similar to Devonshire Cream.
This last time there, Chef Martinez surprised me, came over to the table and handed me a container of his special seasonings made with coarse salt, ground chili peppers of all types for me to take back home with me. Which is another reason why I love San Miguel. Those types of things happen to me all the time when I’m there!
Another restaurant that I would like to take home with me is Lavanda. It’s another great place for breakfast and wonderful coffee. They have an Eggs Benedict that has the silkiest Hollandaise on top pf eggs that are poached perfectly. It looks like they’re poached in some type of cloth, so that when they’re placed on the plate, they maintain this perfectly round shape. Served on top of rich buttery, toasted brioche, with a couple of very thin and very crispy slices of bacon, sliced avocado and grilled asparagus spears. It’s unbelievable! At The Chopping Block we offer classes where we teach our students how to make a simplified version of Hollandaise that is rich, silky and lemony (watch our video on how to make it). The one at Lavanda comes pretty close in flavor to the one that we teach our students.
We visited several of our other tried and true restaurants: La Posadita for their amazing roof top dining terrace. Mi Vida for their amazing take on Italian cuisine. Chef’s Greta Ortega and Davide Girabaldi, always bring a combined knowledge of Italian foods, wine and great service. Every year there is at least one trip to Pegaso for their Chiles En Nogada. Their walnut cream sauce that’s placed on top of the roasted and filled poblano chiles is so rich with cream, dried fruits and walnuts, and then garnished with fresh pomegranate seeds. I love Via Organica for their fresh organic salads and soups.
I cannot imagine a trip to San Miguel without stopping by San Agustin Restaurant for churros y chocolate (churros and hot chocolate)! It’s not something that you want to do every night, but it’s a special treat. They have three types of hot chocolate. You order the type of hot chocolate you prefer (Mexican, Spanish or French) and along with the chocolate they bring out a plate of warm, cinnamon, sugary, crispy-soft churros. The churros at San Agustin are so worth the wait on weekends as lines form outside the restaurant in the evenings.
So many new restaurants have popped up since my last visit, and I hope to visit several of them on my next trip. One that I must try when I’m there again is Aperi, which is considered one of the finest new restaurants in San Miguel.
A visit to San Miguel wouldn’t be complete without having one of my favorite soups ever that is served at Casa del Diezmo Restaurant. The restaurant specializes in foods from the Yucatan region of Mexico. On their menu is a soup that is made from pumpkin, flavored with epazote (a unique Mexican herb) and habanero chile. I’ve tried several times before to recreate this soup, and I am always left stumped. So I guess I’ll just have to continue going to Casa del Diezmo and have them make it for me.
I’ve always described San Miguel as the place that makes my heart smile. Well it’s also the place that always temps my taste buds and being a chef having your taste buds constantly tempted is a great place to be. It’s also the place that creates the sometimes forgotten inner kid in me. Like when I spot my very first mojiganga (giant puppets) walking along the Jardin. It never gets old and every mojiganga makes me laugh with their hilarious sometimes over the top dresses and jewelry.
And on a warm day after having one of those long walks that I love to do in San Miguel, there is no better way to cool down then to stop in the Jardin and order a chico (small) sized helado. My favorite is still the mantecado flavor, a vanilla egg custard made with prunes, cinnamon, and pecans, sublime! But this year the zarzamora flavor, which is made from fresh blackberries, gave the mantecado some serious competition.
From the old friends whom I’ve known since my first visit to San Miguel, to the new ones that I meet every year, from the discovery of a new restaurant, or a new place to walk, festivals and art fairs to visit, to the great market finds I’ll bring back home, I can always count on San Miguel to bring me back year after year.
To tide me over until next year's trip, I'm looking forward to The Chopping Block's upcoming Mexican cooking classes such as our Grilling Fiesta this Friday at Lincoln Square.