Thirty years. That’s how long it had been since Don Day’s Wife and I had that first date. It was a Wednesday. The restaurant was called Epicure. We ordered the burgers au poivre with blue cheese and peppercorn sauce and a bottle of a Côtes de Rhône from the village of Rasteau.
So I know what you’re thinking. That Don Day must be one helluva romantic guy to remember all of those nitty gritty details. Naaaah! The only reason I know is because, the other night, Don Day’s Wife reminded me.
And why did she remind me? Well, we were at the relatively new restaurant San Burger and there on the menu was a burger called steak au poivre with blue cheese and peppercorns.
It wasn’t our first planned visit to San Burger. But chef Jason Malloff had postponed our first dinner when he thought the classic burger wasn’t quite ready for prime time.
“It would really do me and future clients a disservice to make much judgment or comments based on anything you see.”
Hmmmm! A perfectionist chef. I like perfectionist chefs. San Miguel needs more perfectionist chefs. The world needs more perfectionist chefs.
Then David Conte emailed me. Would we join him and his wife Suzanne? They’d love to experience what I consider the town’s best burger.
Town’s best burger? Damn, I don’t have a best burger. I have a lot of better burgers…The Restaurant, La Frontera, Hank’s, Bastardo…all better but no, no best.
So, I suggested San Burger.
“I don’t know if it has the town’s very best burger but I do know it has one of the town’s very best chefs”, I told him. “And it’s on our list of must-go’s.”
The date was inked on the calendar.
San Burger is not a totally new restaurant. Outside, the sign still says San Mezcal. In olden times, we would have called it an annex (does anyone use that word anymore?).
In simple terms, what the owners of San Mezcal have done is knock a couple of big holes through to the property next door and expanded the menu. Straight ahead is a room with the traditional menu of non-traditional dishes from Chef Malloff. To the left (look for the neon sign) is San Burger (though you can get everything from both menus in both rooms).
Though I hated to use the J word for such a cozy and comfortable room, I wanted to ask co-owner, Juan Leon de Vivero why he thought San Miguel needed another burger joint. Since the so-sad-to-lose-them disappearance of Birdie’s Burgers, no one’s attempted a restaurant risking its existence on a gourmet burger but perhaps that’s reason enough.
There are a hard-to-choose-from six different burgers on the menu: A classic cheeseburger. A Mexicana with salsa verde. A Greek with tzatziki, black olives and feta. A veggie with green goddess dressing. An Asian fish. And that burger au poivre.
David ordered the classic. Suzanne ordered the fish. Don Day’s Wife and I ordered a peppercorn and a classic (with a promise to half and half them when they arrived). Chef Jason also insisted we have a vegetarian for the table to try.
I’m not sure there’s anything that scares a restaurant more than a guy ordering a burger “rare, please” which was David Conte’s request. It, indeed, arrived rare and we liked the lean to fat content (“80% protein” Chef Jason told us).
Everything else inside the classic and the au poivre was also OK but the bun, a brioche, got three thumbs down from David, Don Day’s Wife and I. Just a little too sweet for our taste.
“Call it a work in progress”, the chef told me. “I know the brioche’s not right for everyone. I’m trying and testing, still looking for the perfect bun.”
The news was better from Suzanne and her bunless burger. She told me, “The menu may lead with beef burgers, but the Asian-fish burger deserves attention: well-seasoned, sits atop a tasty rice cake.
It pairs perfectly with the best margarita that I’ve had in San Miguel: a mezcal margarita with tamarind.”
Though it’s difficult to twist my carnivorous mind around anything vegan, I liked the veggie burger as well. Maybe a little too strong a taste of what I thought was chick pea but all of the other flavors worked nicely in harmony with it.
So does San Mezcal have the best burger in San Miguel? No, not after the first visit. And has it joined the long list of better burger places? Possibly. But we did like the ambiance, the atmosphere of the place. And we still have to try the Mexican and Greek burgers. And it did bring back sweet memories of that first date, that so important evening thirty years ago.
San Burger is located at Recreo #88 in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. The restaurant is open Wednesday through Saturday from 3:00 to 11:00 pm; Sunday and Monday from 3:00 to 10:00 pm.
Our favorite burgers and homemade skinny fries in SMA are served at La Carpa burgers.
Tinajitas #28, corner of Refugio Sur in San Antonio. Menu is only classic burgers on homemade buns and fabulous salmon burgers… The best burgers we’ve had in SMA.
I think the burger at Berlin should be candidate for your list
Tio Pablo in Mexiquito has an excellent burger. The pablo especial comes with blue cheese caramelized onions and mushrooms on a baguette. Quite delicious and the price is right. There are some other interesting dishes on the menu as well, including a chile relleno con camarones
I love the burgers at Vivo Rojo….plus the location can’t be beat
My favorite burger is at the street food stand on the corner of the Ancha and the street that runs up to the Rosewood. The stand backs up to the liquor store. You sit on the planter wall to eat. Inexpensive and yummy!
That’s Fernanda’s cart, it’s fabulous. She had a restaurant in Morelia for years.
I always look forward to Don Day’s recommendations and will try San Burger on my next visit. We’ve had several disappointing burgers in San Miguel and a few VERY good ones. Our highest grade given to date is La Choperia! Medium rare, perfectly cooked, with a wonderful brioche bun which did please our palates. One burger certainly of sharing size with a small serving of traditional frites. Well worth a return visit.
Another nice story! Thanks!
I always find it funny when someone is asking for recommendations on Facebook and the replies are so and so is the best on a subject that is very subjective, it’s almost always the “best” instead of excellent or amongst the best. I wonder if it’s a cultural thing?
My husband and I would agree and give a double thumbs up to La Choperia. We miss their two for one Covid time special on Thursdays. Burger buns have always seemed more practical (just something to hold the goods) rather than special and highly complimentary to the meats they hold. My mother, who had a weekly cooking show on local TV, decided to come up with a solution. She created the best hamburger/barbecue bun which was a homemade white flour bun with chopped scallions throughout. They hold up their end of the burgers.
I, too, search for the perfect burger. But! To be the perfect burger it has to be accompanied by the perfect fries. I don’t want skinny fries (more often than not most of them are hard, and…. ew, just ew…) – I want the perfect, twice-fried Belgian fries – crispy on the outside, moist potato on the inside. If the fries aren’t good, I don’t care what the burger tastes like – I don’t go back. Too, some served seasoned fries. Um, in a word: no. All I want on my fries is salt. Can’t eat paprika, and oy vey, most “seasoned” fries are way over-seasoned. I want to taste perfectly cooked potato and salt. Seasoned fries will ruin a meal for me. The menu should state they’re seasoned and with what, though many don’t. If the menu states they’re seasoned and I ask for plain there’s usually an additional charge. Go figure.
I understand your thoughts on a brioche bun being too sweet. I agree. And yet I’m hard-pressed to say where I’ve found a good bun in town. Vivo Rojo is great, but if you don’t have a car the taxi ride to/from adds too much to the lunch/dinner bill. It’s not an “I’m in the mood for a great burger, let’s go” type place.
The Restaurant does do a great burger, but the potatoes they serve with it, while good, don’t do it for me. If I ask to exchange those for traditional fries there’s an upcharge, and I don’t consider 2 drinks, a burger, and fries for 800 pesos a deal. Not by a long shot.
So I guess bottom line is I’m missing Birdie’s Burgers as well…..
Love San Mezcal and the burger looks great. But those sad-looking, undercooked fries … boo hoo.
Birdie’s Burgers has or will shortly reopen in Guadalupe. I don’t recall the street name.
Try La Martina Burgers on Prol. de Pila Seca 48. One of the best burgers I’ve had. The homemade buns and fries. Wash it down with a tamarindo Margarita.