There are fancy names that I’d prefer to be called. Like epicure or gourmand, connoisseur or bon vivant, even gastronaut. But usually I’m just called a foodie. And it’s true. I’m a glutton for absolutely any dish that’s different and delicious. And rarely go to what might be called a traditional restaurant.

So what was I doing in the way out west of Colonia San Antonio eating a very conventional lunch at Cafe 1910? 

The word is “recommended”. It’s one of the most important words in the hospitality biz. And it had happened a lot with 1910. Recommendations on my blog site, by message, by word of mouth. Recommendations like: “…every dish is always done so well…and the people are so nice.” Or “…a friendly neighborhood cafe with wonderful and amazing service.”

The recommendation this time came by email. From fellow foodie Cactus Jack Jacobs. Friend of almost fifty years, Ben Penman, was getting the guys together for lunch and Cafe 1910 was Jack’s restaurant of choice. If Jack Jacobs says it’s good, it’s good. I was in for lunch.

Most of the restaurant is in the cool green-filled courtyard of an old home and the first thing I noticed was that there wasn’t an unoccupied table. A restaurant full at 1:00 pm on a Tuesday is as rare as hen’s teeth in San Miguel de Allende

The second thing I noticed was a familiar face, a guy I have an enormous respect for as a restauranteur. I’d heard that Bob Remak had helped when the restaurant moved to its bigger and better premises about a year and a half ago. I didn’t realize that he was actually working at Cafe 1910.

“It started as one day a week”, Bob told me, “but you know how these things can grow.”

I’d first met Bob Remak thirteen years ago when he opened a much-welcomed burrito joint on San Miguel’s Ancha. His first employee was a man named Miguel. His third employee was a woman named Ana. These days, Ana and Miguel are a married couple. These days they have a son who’s almost five and Ana’s five months pregnant. These days, Ana and Miguel own Cafe 1910.

The restaurant is a breakfast and lunch spot with a very typical, mostly Mexican menu including chilaquiles, French toast, huevos rancheros and a BLT sandwich. It’s not a foodie’s menu but there are a lot of things on there a foodie like me likes to eat.

 

I contemplated the burger, considered the burrito, mulled over the enchiladas, but, with a bit of nudging from Bob Remak, chose the fajitas with steak as the filling and flour tortillas as the wrap.

Despite the persuasive powers of Cactus Jack to order the “national drink of Texas”, I chose my usual Diet Coke over what he called “one of the best iced teas you’ll ever taste”.

Before the mains arrived, there was a big surprise, a foodie surprise. I usually resist the complimentary chips and dip at a restaurant. They fill me up way too much. But there was something about the color of these chips and dip plus a little encouragement from my friend Lloyd. I took a bite and was absolutely wowed by the sauce. There was jalapeño, avocado but I wasn’t sure what else. If Henry J. Heinz was still around to taste it, he’d be bottling it. But this wasn’t bottled by anyone I was told, it was made in the kitchen by Miguel.

The fajitas arrived in three stages. First the tortillas, then the sides, then the sizable serving of still steaming, fog up your camera lens steak. The moist meat was arrachera so still had a bit of expected chew but it wasn’t overpowered by its marinade that’s so often the case in restaurants these days.

The best part of the fajitas though was hidden underneath. The fried onions and peppers went beautifully with the meat when I rolled them in the tortilla. 

Though people like me may always be searching for the most unusual, these fajitas were still fit for a foodie. And those recommendations were right. The atmosphere is lovely. The service is efficient. The prices are reasonable. The owners are charming.

So will this finicky foodie who rarely eats breakfast be returning to Cafe 1910? Yes, he will. Because in addition to having a passion for what touches his tongue, he also cares deeply about what enters his ears.

Yes, I’m a foodie and an audiophile and, on the way out, I caught a glance of a couple of posters. “Yes, that 9:30 is an AM not a PM. We have live music on most mornings”, Bob Remak told me.

Hmmmm! A cheese omelet with chorizo and peppers with a bit of bluegrass as a side. Sounding very tasty.

Cafe 1910 is located at La Esperanza 22, in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. The restaurant is open from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, Tuesday to Friday; 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, Saturday and Sunday; closed Monday.