It was the comments on a post in SMA Foodies that caught my eye. Someone was asking about the best burger in town. And the usual names were on the recommendations list. 

Grandpa & Son. Absolutely. Birdie’s. Of course. Hank’s. Definitely. Chilly Billy. La Chope. Pork Belly. The Restaurant. Yes, yes, yes and yes.

But there was one I’d never heard of before. Las Aguacatosas. 

I checked the spelling. Twice. And put the tongue twisting (and twirling) word into the Google Maps app. Up it came. On Salida a Celaya. Close to the bars I sometimes inhabit. And open every evening. I sent the new five syllable word up to my old brain.

A few days went by and I was making my habitual hike up to the Tuesday market with the habitual warning…”Yes, I know, Honey, I already have about twenty too many v-neck sweaters”…when I noticed that the taco cart that had sat empty forever in front of the Hotel Primavera had a new word on it. It was that word.

Could there be decent burgers? Three blocks walk from my home. Ten minutes walk from my home. The closest of any of the other seven burger reckies was about fifteen blocks and forty minutes from my home. Las Aguacatosas obviously had a second location on Salida a Queretaro. And as the real estate agents say, location, loca…

It was only four nights later when Don Day’s Wife presented me with the opportunity to check it out.

“What do you fancy for your dinner?”, she asked, revealing that she had no definite cooking plans.

“How ’bout burgers”, I said.

“Can’t”, she replied, “no burger meat in the fridge.”

“How ’bout I go pick up burgers”, I said, telling her about our new neighbor just up the street.

It’s not hard to spot Hamburguesas Las Aguacatosas but it looks a little strange at first. Like somebody had decided to camp out in the parking lot. And had some old Coleman lanterns glowing through the window of their bright red tent.

A walk around to the side reveals a couple of tables and ten or so stools.

A walk a little closer reveals the biggest field of cornrows I’ve ever seen. Six, maybe seven colors and down to the woman’s knees. Worth the journey I thought, no matter what the burgers are like.

The menu has two burgers plus a dog. The El Goliat burger (perhaps a Spanish spelling of the biblical bully?) weighs in at 200 grams, the perfect fit for Don Day’s appetite. The smaller one (not named David as I expected but La Aguacatosa) is a decent size as well at 150 grams.

I order two Goliats and an order of fries. And watched.

Short order cook Jesus glides back and forth behind the counter, slapping the sirloin patties on one side of the grill, gently laying four sizeable strips of bacon on the other.

I prefer my beef grilled rather than fired; you lose two much juicy fat on a barbecue.

Next comes a slice of ham, one of those yellow squares that put a lot of bucks in Kraft’s bank account, and a wedge of under-appreciated panela cheese. This is going to be one very big burger I think.

Jesus piles everything on to what the menu calls pan artisanal and what I call a Bimbo bun, (though I must admit I do really like seeded bimbollos) and, reciting a long list, asks what would I like on them. Trying to remember what Don Day’s Wife would choose and trying to decide my choices is handled by the one word answer. “Todos” please. “Well todos except mayonesa.”

Now the whole time I’ve been standing there, chitchatting in Spanglish to Valentina, the woman sporting the awesome cornrows, I’ve been thinking why Aguacatosas? Why would you choose something that sounds like an avocado allergy for the name of a burger joint?

Then I saw the answer. Jesus was slicing an aguacate and putting a full half of it on each burger. An aguacatosa is, I guess, an avocado burger. Hmmmm! Well I like burgers. And I like avocados. Why not?

Jesus salted the fries while Palantina boxed the burgers and I was off and running…well, OK, walking. But quickly. I was anxious to try the new contender.

The beef was nicely spiced and very moist. The bacon and the cheese enhanced the flavors and the juiciness. The quantities of mustard, ketchup, pickles, etc. were appropriate. And the avocado…well apart from it trying to slip slide its way out of the bun…it worked as well.

The previously frozen fries, though they looked a little pallid, surprisingly had sufficient crisp and one order was plentiful enough for two.

Don Day’s Wife had one major complaint. “It’s way too big”. But I can solve that the next time by ordering the one not named “David” but La Aguacatosa. And there definitely will be a next time. Yes, the convenient location has a lot to do with it, but I think there’ll be quite a few next times.

Hamburguesas Las Aguacatosas is located at Salida a Celaya #94 as well as on Salida a Queretaro next to the entrance to the Hotel Primavera, in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. The Salida a Celaya location is open Monday to Friday, 5:00 to 11:00 pm; Saturday and Sunday, 4:00 to 11:00 pm. The Salida a Queretaro location is open Friday, 5:00 to 10:00 pm; Saturday and Sunday, 4:00 to 11:00 pm.