It was around 15 years ago when I first laid eyes upon her. Up from Mexico City she was, pedalling bicycles in a hold ’em tournament.

Now you may think that life as a dealer only requires minimal skills. You cut, you count, you shuffle, you deal. But there are many other talents required, the most difficult of which is managing the players. You see, poker players are not normal people. Normal people don’t play games where 80% of them end up as losers. And losers…and, almost as often, winners…can become a little disruptive at the poker table.

This woman handled those disturbances with politeness, tact, diplomacy, consideration, poise and aplomb.

A couple of years went by before I saw her again. But, yes, there she was, that same woman, working front of house at Hank’s. 

“Are you Mariana?”, I asked.

“Yes, I am”, she replied. “And you’re a friend of my Uncle Miguel, aren’t you?

Wow, I was impressed. Guys like it when good-looking women remember them after a couple of years, especially when they’re guys twice their age. I wondered if it was because I was disruptive at the table.

Now, those upheavals at a poker table are just rolling hills compared to the everests that occur in a licensed establishment. And, at Hank’s, you not only have to deal with over-lubricated patrons but some quite opinionated employees and management. Once, again, Mariana always handled it with…there’s that word again…aplomb.

I would be sat at one of the high-tops when she had just assisted someone by personally providing directions to the exit. She would look at me and raise the brows over her hazel eyes and we’d both share tiny smiles. I liked Mariana, a lot.

Her next stop was a restaurant called La Doña but after a couple of visits, once where I discovered that something “house-made” was made in someone else’s house and once where it took 25 minutes to get a warm bottle of white wine, I lost touch with Mariana.

Until one night, back in Hank’s, when, just after showing me his putter grip on a bottle of Victoria, one of the usuals told me there had been a sighting. Mariana had a man, a chef, a daughter and a new job. Mariana was running the restaurant at the Malanquin golf club. 

Now for me, golf is a sport that I occasionally engage in on Sunday afternoons. But not in the great outdoors, in the far greater indoors where, even after a three Caesar lunch at Kenny’s,  I have been known to not nod off during the Masters. But go to a golf club? Wear two-tone shoes and salmon colored shorts? Not for me.

So again I missed Mariana.

It was Don Day’s Wife who tipped me off next. She sometimes hangs out with the golf crowd and, like quite a few of them, she has a deep appreciation of the 19th hole. They told her Mariana and her man had a new gig. In one of my favorite hoods. In La Luz. Where my butcher, Alberto, has his shop. Where Super Jimmy makes, perhaps, Mexico’s best ice cream. Where Lupita almost always has delphiniums. Where I have endured half hour Sunday line-ups at Hermanos Rodriguez just for a sip of their consome. Where I always thought it would be a nice, affordable place to live.

The restaurant was called Don Valente. They had Mariana and, according to another trusted source, something I had been missing almost as much as Mariana. They had truffle cheese fries. 

I hadn’t had truffle fries since Birdies Burgers flew the coop. I wasn’t even sure if anyone had them anymore in San Miguel de Allende. But there they were. In the photo someone sent me of Don Valente’s menu. As a side to a burger which just happens to be the perfect pairing for  truffle fries. The next day I was off to see Mariana. And those fries.

The building that houses Don Valente has always been a bit of a mystery to me. It appeared to have been built as an event venue. But for years, there didn’t appear to be any events.

Don Day’s Wife and I walked under the La Luz arches, up Calle Alondra and wow! Where there was once a decaying skeleton, now there was a patio. With seating for at least 30 people. And, through the massive windows, seating for, probably, at least another 40. Plus a classic courtyard fountain. And a hotel just beyond that.

We went through the entranceway and there she was. Mariana. Now with babe in arms but looking as lovely as ever. And still remembering her Uncle Miguel’s poker buddy.

The server brought the menu and there was that other favorite I’d been itching to see. Those truffle cheese fries. The only decision was what they would accompany. I went for the burger. Don Day’s Wife went the way of the reuben.

There was about 175 grams of Wagyu cross beef on the burger along with crispy bacon, sautéed onions and lettuce. The sesame seed bun was “made right here in the restaurant” the server told me. On the handsome black plate beside it were the fries.

Peel on? Check. Crispy? Check. Generous amount of Parmesan? Check. Good Italian Parmesan? Check. Taste the truffle on the fries? Check. Taste the truffle in the side of aioli? Double check.

I asked Mariana to introduce me to her partner and chef, Erick Rojo, and asked him to detail the fries preparation as he prepped another order.

“We use frozen skin-ons; they’re easier…and better…than fresh”, said the chef. “They’re McCain’s. Yes, Canadian.”

 Olive oil with trufa negra is sprinkled over the fries as they come out of the fat. 

“Olio Fino’s is better than any other olive oil I’ve ever found in San Miguel”, chimed in Don Day’s Wife. “You get a lot of truffle flavor in that bottle.”

“I refuse to scrimp on any of the ingredients”, continued Erick, “The Parmesan (which, from the taste and texture, I’m guessing has 18 months of aging) I source from Los Rehilites (which just happens to be Don Day’s favorite local cheese shop).”

Last but absolutely not least is what goes into the aioli dip. There’s a generous amount of garlic and there’s an ingredient that Don Day’s Wife forbids him to buy if he’s going shopping at City Market. 

“Do you know how many bottles of Prosecco I can buy for the same price!”

Tartufi Jimmy’s Trufa Negra is the shroomiest, fungiest, truffliest salsa I know of that you can buy locally and dipping one of Don Valente’s cheesy fries in it places the crown on the king of vegetables.

The very best dishes are the result of seeking out the best ingredients and the delicate balancing of each in the preparation and cooking. In simple terms, Erick Rojo knows how to do it.

I’ll be back at Don Valente soon for his truffle cheese fries. And, of course, to see his Mariana.

Don Valente is located at Avenida La Luz #7 in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. The restaurant is open from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday; 8:00 am to 9:00 pm, Friday and Saturday; 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, Sunday.