White water kayaking. Skydiving. Helicopter skiing. Motorcycle acrobatics. I love those extreme sports. Those sports where man risks life and limb in order to be considered the best at something.

Most of them are strictly spectator sports. But today I actually participated in what is probably the world’s most dangerous game. I went to lunch with Before and After. With X and Y. With Don Day’s Wife and Don Day’s Former Wife. Before today, I never really understood what Jim McKay meant when he talked about “the agony of defeat”.

Where should we go I thought. Obviously somewhere that wouldn’t have steak knives on the table. Obviously somewhere without any extremely hot liquids. Obviously somewhere that served alcohol. Obviously somewhere with something spicy that might dull the tongue a little.

Spicy? I knew where. Gaby Green and Jennifer Posner, the partners in Aguamiel. had just returned from Thailand and Myanmar and Gaby was putting some of her newfound culinary knowledge to use in Aguamiel’s kitchen. Including what I heard was a very spicy red curry.

It didn’t take long before the action started.

“Does he still not wash his hands before he eats?”, said Don Day’s Former Wife.

“Doesn’t he realize that he’ll get more disease from not washing his hands than he’ll ever get from all of that street food he eats?”, said Don Day’s Wife.

“Did you see how good those garlic crisps look?”, said Don Day, picking up the biggest piece with his filthy fingers.

There are quite a few Southeast Asian delights on Aguamiel’s most recent menu. I suggested we order most of them and, ever the diplomat, I asked that all of them be placed in the middle of the table for sharing. Ever the strategist, I brought up the subject of Don Day’s Mother, the only person whose faults Don Day’s Former Wife and Don Day’s Wife enjoy talking about more than Don Day’s. It worked.

As Don Day’s Wife told the story of Don Day’s Mother sending back her meal not once, not twice, but three times at…get ready for this…Denny’s, we dug in to the Burmese (because Myanmarese gets underlined when I type it) and Thai dishes.

The fish cakes had a light, crumbly texture with just a hint of lime. They really came to life when the soy based sauce was sprinkled on top.

What the menu called Kin Pound Kyaw and I call onion fritters were fairly simple and absolutely delightful. The tamarind sauce had a peppery bite that was perfect.

You cannot go to lunch with two women and avoid a salad. Aguamiel has crafted a Thai version that combines red cabbage, bamboo shoots, cilantro, peanuts, yellow peppers, spinach leaves and shrimp. The dressing was fresh with the taste of citrus.

There’s been a good red curry available for years in San Miguel de Allende. But it’s not in a restaurant; it’s in a retail store called Luna de Queso where you take the paste home and combine it with your chosen ingredients. I suspected that Aguamiel’s curry would come from Luna de Queso. I was wrong.

“I know about Luna de Queso’s curry”, Gaby told me, “but I made this myself”.

“How many ingredients?”, I asked.

“Nine”, she replied.

Gaby even had some of Luna de Queso’s curry in the kitchen and brought out both for a taste test. Trust a woman with a reputation for making great Mexican moles to be able to make such a good Thai curry. Trust a woman who makes a great mole to make a golden paste that was even better than the town’s previous gold standard.

While the ladies imitated Don Day’s Mother’s extremely annoying (but extremely effective) technique of tapping the side of their wine glass whenever it neared empty, I spoke to Gaby Green about how good Asian food is as scarce in San Miguel de Allende as bad Asian food is in Bangkok. And how delighted Don Day’s Wife and Don Day’s Former Wife were that she’d introduced it to Aguamiel’s menu.

“Good to the last six drops”, said Don Day’s Wife, referring to the memories you know who had left on the tablecloth.

The ladies washed down Gaby’s flan with their last drink and, as they walked out of Aguamiel arm in arm, they agreed on one more thing. Even though she could often be the wickedest witch of the north, Don Day’s mom was, down deep, an extraordinarily wonderful person. They also agreed that Don Day was much more like his Dad.

The Southeast Asian dishes will be available at Aguamiel Cocina Rustica until, at least, the end of December. The restaurant is located at Pipila 3A in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. It is open on Monday, Friday and Saturday from 1:00 to 9:00 pm and Sundays from 10:30 am to 2:30 pm.