Poor old pork. Always the bronze medalist. Always seeming to lag behind behind beef and chicken in the popularity poll, despite it often being half the price.

That thought was spinning through my head again last week. I was lunching at the relatively new to San Miguel Silveyra’s. I was feasting on one of the world’s best treatments of pork.

There are a lot of names for this dish. Schnitzel in Germany, cutlet in Britain, milanese in Italy, milanesa in Argentina and Mexico (including in Don Day’s home) and pork tenderloin on Silveyra’s menu. You’ll see it on menus made from beef and veal and, more and more, from chicken, but the very best meat for what I call milanesa is pork.

It’s a simple-to-make dish but, like many simple-to-make dishes, it’s easy to make a good milanesa but difficult to make a great one. The ingredients are usually only bread crumbs, egg, a little dried seasoning and thin slices of that chosen meat. It’s what you do with them that makes the difference.

The best part of the pig for my milanesa is the loin. At Silveyra’s, Chef Ruben Silveyra uses the loin.

The best thickness for my milanesa is very thin. Chef Ruben hammers his pork down to a skinny, 1/8” thickness.

The best coating for my milanesa is also very thin and fried to a crispy, golden brown. I’ll let the picture do the talking about Chef Ruben’s talents there.

The result is one of the best milanesas you’ll ever have. In San Miguel or anywhere.

Silveyra’s serves their milanesa on a bun, a slim but wide (hope that makes sense) home-baked bun that’s ideal for holding the already breaded pork. Credit for the bun (and the rest of Silveyra’s baked goods) goes to another Silveyra, Ruben’s wife Keli, who, as is easily guessed by the restaurant’s name, is also the co-owner.

Almost as important as grilling the breaded pork is grilling the buns for the milanesa. That responsibility falls back on Ruben and he toasts a little sunshine on them that matches the glow from the crust of the pork.

The buns then head back to Keli to be plated with a very welcomed homemade aioli, some soon to be homemade (I’ve seen the mason jars) dills and your choice of five different sides.

Keli, in addition to being a chef is also the maitre d’, head server and chief accountant at Silveyra’s. She is a delightful person to discuss the charms and harms of the restaurant biz with.

Ruben and Keli Silveyra and their five…yes, five…kids arrived in San Miguel around the same time that covid did. I’m not sure there was ever a tougher time to open a restaurant in this town. I’ll let Keli tell you the story”

“Born and raised by restaurants, I always seem to find a way back to my roots, my passion. Ruben came to Kansas City from Veracruz, Mexico. Twenty years of experience running upscale kitchens laid the foundation for the food experience we are now delivering.

Two summers ago, we were about to make the move to open a Veracruz style restaurant in Kansas City. Then Ruben was deported. After careful research, I decided our family would call beautiful San Miguel de Allende our home. Home-cooked, from scratch, real American comfort food is what we’re very proud to serve.”

The milanesa sandwich wasn’t the only pork dish I tasted that day at Silveyra’s. They also feature another of the most delicious things a chef can do with the under-appreciated meat.

I was having lunch at the restaurant with fellow foodie and food writer Bob Glaze (you’ll find his recommendations at globalphile.com). Like Keli Silveyras, Bob is from Kansas City. Like Keli, Bob considers Kansas City to be the world capital of barbecue.

Bob ordered the sandwich that helped raise the flag for that reputation. Bob ordered the pulled pork sandwich.

He asked Keli for an extra fork, stabbed a juicy chunk, and handed it to me.

“What do you think?”, he said.

“More important, what do you think?”, I said. “I’ve never ever been to Kansas City.”

“This is as good as any I’ve ever had there”, Bob replied.

Silveyra’s is located at Privada de Prolongacion de Aldama #8 in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. The restaurant is open from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, every day except Tuesday.