”Let’s do the time warp again.”

We walked into the place singing a little Rocky Horror ditty. 13 years had gone by and nothing had changed. The same whitewashed walls in a room best described as a garage. The same mismatched furniture. The same in-your-face tablecloths. The same iridescent colors here, there and everywhere. The same Virginia Creeper crawling over the ceiling. The same papel picado hanging from it.

“But I think the streamers were paper the last time we were here. Now they’re plastic.”

CC, one half of the husband and wife team that runs the place describes the interior as, “Una decoracion muy original”. Others may simply call it tacky. I call it exactly the look I dreamed of when, 40 years ago, I decided San Miguel was where I wanted to spend my senior years.

The place is called Cha Cha Cha. I’d always liked the name of the place. It reminds me of when, as a fourteen year old, I used to try to cha cha to Della Reese’s “Whatever Lola Wants”. And foolishly do it on a shag rug.

The last time I Cha Cha Cha’d in San Miguel was in 2009. It was the year the restaurant locked the doors for what we thought was for good…or, perhaps, more appropriately, for bad. It was the toughest year ever for San Miguel de Allende. We had an economic crash, new passport requirements, the arrival of a cartel and swine flu. The Texans stopped coming and the restaurants started closing. Cha Cha Cha was one of the early casualties.

Mario, the other half of the team, was in the doorway when we arrived. Still sporting the mextache and apron. A little more grey but not a lot more years on his face.

We wended and wound, this way and that, and found our way to the dining area, there to be warmly welcomed by the wide-eyed smile of CC. She’s still wearing her hat, there’s still barely a line on her face, and she still can’t speak without waving her hands (which isn’t easy when you’re carrying plates).

There were five of us, all five of us foodies, all five who’ll eat almost anything placed on a plate. I asked CC if she’d do something a little special. Now some restaurants frown at a request like this. Others rejoice in the opportunity. 

Ceci’s response: “Oh my god, I would to love to do that!”

My request: “Take the four or five dishes that Chef Mario is most proud of and, one at a time, put a double order of each in the middle of the table which we’ll eat family style.”

After a taste of Cha Cha Cha’s guac and chips, we dug into the quesadillas. But not your usual quesadillas. Chef Mario was born and raised in Mexico City and, in the capital, they make very different quesadillas. Though I doubt they’d dare in Mexico City, Cha Cha Cha calls them Quesadillas Chilangos.

Mario’s quesadillas look more like Argentinean empanadas. And so do the fillings…your choice of eight different…I suggest you ask CC to choose which ones as she did for us. Their description on the menu includes the words “deep-fried”. Deep-fried quesadillas versus pan-fried? I liked Mario’s quesadillas.

Second up, chiles rellenos. I’m fond of poblanos but rarely order them. Maybe it’s because they’re often vegetarian. But, except for animal flesh, there’s nothing much more meaty than cheese and mushrooms and the amount is generous in Mario’s chiles rellenos.

Next up was Cha Cha Cha’s enmoladas which are enchiladas with a mole replacing the green chile sauce. Mario doesn’t try to re-invent the most traditional, the most common Mexican mole, he just does it as it supposed to be, not too sweet, not too spicy, a little nutty, a little chocolatey, and very, very tasty.

The enmoladas were a special treat because I never eat mole at home. Don Day’s Wife (or her husband) are never going to spend three hours shopping and another three hours chopping the ingredients for a mole.

I imagined Mario’s mole on left-over turkey on Boxing Day and if we weren’t having beef on December 25, I would have bought a half litre.

We still had one more main to share but I thought I should tell you what we were washing things down with. But I can’t do it without repeating my biggest bitch when it comes to San Miguel restaurants. It’s about their wine prices. I have even made a vow that I will not write about a restaurant that doesn’t have at least one bottle priced under $1000.

So what a welcome surprise at Cha Cha Cha. A very drinkable Chilean Sauvignon Blanc, better than many of the Mexican Sauvignons with four figure pricing at other San Miguel restaurants, for a measly $320. I felt like cheering. I think I actually did a couple of times.

The last main was Enchiladas Suizas, an appropriate finish because, many years ago, when traditional Mexican restaurants could be found throughout San Miguel, it was a dish you’d rarely find in other parts of Mexico. Good Enchiladas Suizas have lots of cheese. These were very good Enchiladas Suizas.

The very congenial CC was back at our table (and still unable to speak without waving her hands). I asked her about the very quiet, somewhat mysterious Mario.

“He’s not a chef, he’s a cook. He doesn’t experiment. He doesn’t invent. He cooks the dishes he grew up with. The ones his abuelita cooked for him. The ones he loves to eat. The ones he loves sharing now that we’re open again.”

There was one more course. I think we all could have guessed what it would be. And we would have guessed right. In a very traditional Mexican restaurant, what else? Of course, a flan.

La cuenta arrived. I looked at it and, for the first time, the prices on the menu. The most expensive item on the one page list is $150. I already had this great feeling of contentment from the food. Now I had a feeling of joy from the cost.

Cha Cha Cha’s food isn’t fancy food. It’s fill your belly and make you feel good food. It’s a place you’ll want to share with friends. It’s a place you might want to be a regular. It’s a place you can probably afford to.

Welcome back, CC and Mario. See you again soon. No, make that very soon.

Cha Cha Cha is located at Calle 28 de Abril #37 Norte in Colonia San Antonio, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. The restaurant is open from Wednesday through Saturday, 1:00 pm to 7:00 pm.