A little over 60 years ago I entered the wonderful world of working. The most wonderful part…OK, maybe the only wonderful part…was the day that each and every week, Mr. O’Leary, aka Chief, would walk around with these little brown envelopes that were perfectly sized to hold what we called  sawbucks and fins that were decorated with pictures of HRH, her majesty the queen.

On those wonderful days, there was no brown bag beside me on the bus. On paydays, I tucked that brown envelope into the inside pocket of my loden green corduroy jacket and walked the few blocks to the middle of my hometown of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada to do two things. 

First I dropped off my shirts (always white…”it’s company policy”, always button-down collar, box pleat and hanger loop) at Fotheringham’s to be one-hour martinized (still don’t know what martinizing is though The Urban Dictionary defines it as “the act of making a complete ass of oneself due to heavy intoxication”). 

The second thing I did was dine out. I even liked saying the words: “No, Chief, I won’t be joining you in the lunchroom today, I’m dining out.”

I had two favorite places to dine out. They called themselves variety stores; we called them five-and-dimes. The first was Kresge’s and it was there that I would rotate an orangey pink naugahyde stool and dine out on the hot turkey sandwich.

The second was called Woolworth’s and it was there that I would rotate a rosy red naugahyde stool and dine out on the “smothered in gravy” Swiss steak. I thought I was rather privileged in those days to be able to afford to dine out.

I hadn’t thought of the five-and-dime luncheonettes in quite a few decades until a supermarket opened in San Miguel de Allende called City Market.

Now City Market is a far cry from Kresge’s and Woolworth’s. The five-and-dimers were definitely downscale. City Market is absolutely, definitely upscale. The employees there are dressed better than any single San Miguelense I know. Yet City Market has these food counters that, in many ways, bring back sweet memories of the luncheonettes.

I was going to start with a list of the similarities between 1960 and now. But apart from the servers at both wearing hairnets, I realized the memories were more of an emotional than a factual thing. So I thought, instead, I’d tell you what I like about City Market.

There are are two restaurants in City Market that have that luncheonette look. One is Pintxos. The other is called Bar Do Mar. I prefer Pintxos. And I eat there every time I shop at City Market. I can’t help it.

Because Pintxos has, perhaps, the most exotic menu in San Miguel…sobrasada, morcilla, solomillo, angulines, boquerón…yes, I had to look up what a couple of those delectables were.

And because I can eat four of these little delights for less than $150.

So Bar Do Mar, that other City Market eating spot with the luncheonette look had been neglected by me. Well until last week. 

I was asking the maître d’ at yet another restaurant in City Market, this one a white tablecloth Italian, if he could swing a way to get a fresh-out-of-the-oven pizza delivered to my home.  

“No problem”, he told me, “it’s all online, this restaurant and the others…almost the entire menu from all the restaurants. Place your order and your pizza margherita should be there within an hour.”

It was there in 45 minutes but it wasn’t a pizza we ordered. There were too many other things on that online menu to lead us astray. We decided we’d do a seafood smorgasbord from that other luncheonette in City Market, the one I’m always neglecting, Bar Do Mar.

Here’s what we ordered and one brief comment on each:

Baja style fish tacos. A very nice sauce on a fish with more taste than tilapia.

Tuna tartare tostadas. The tuna, unfortunately, had swam a little too long in vinegar.

Smoked marlin tacos. A reminder of the bargain that marlin is these days.

Octopus tostadas. Very tender and loved the leeks.

Croquettes. Lost a lot of crisp in their travels but still one of San Miguel’s creamiest.

So, did we enjoy the seafood delivered from City Market? Yes, we did. Especially when the five courses cost a mere 500 pesos (plus 39 pesos for delivery). And would we do it again? Probably not. If you’re not sitting on a stool at a bar in City Market, you don’t get those good ol’ days recollections of luncheonettes, those fond memories of Kresge’s and Woolworth’s.

The stools may not be covered in naugahyde. But I still feel that I’m special, that I’m dining out when I’m sitting at those City Market lunch bars. Even though, apart from their employees, I’m almost always their one and only customer.

Pintxos and Bar Do Mar are in City Market, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.