San Miguel now has some of the most elegant restaurants in the world, many of them converted from what were once 18th or 19th Century residences. The most magnificent one I have seen so far is where Don Day’s Wife and I dined last night. Every aspect of the interior decoration is extraordinary…the sturdy columns, the graceful arches, the boveda ceilings, the tile floors, the bold statuary, the classic ironwork, the exquisite lighting. The sophisticated elegance is matched by the tableware and by the attitude and manners of the staff.
The restaurant is called Mansion Calavera and the word mansion is very apropos. The place is not only very beautiful, it’s very, very big. I’m guessing it could comfortably seat more than 200.
We chose two chairs in the central courtyard nestled beside a tinkling stone fountain topped by a towering bronze figure. We began to peruse the menu and ordered wine. I thought $140 for a 75 ml glass of Santo Tomas Merlot was pretty decent in such fancy surroundings.
A quick perusal of the menu showed that the flavors were Mexican, very Mexican, with hardly a nod to any other country. We liked that. When you’re offering one of the world’s most wonderful cuisines there’s no reason to stray.
The smartly dressed server brought a plate with two sparkling spoons wrapped in a linen napkin. It was followed by an amuse bouche, cups of caldo de camarones.
“The taste is a little spicy”, said the server, which it was, along with lots of welcome shrimp shell (hard to say without getting tongue-tied) nuances.
Before we were finished with the broth the server was back, this time with bread and two more bowls, this time for dipping and, again, complimentary.
The warning came again, only was a little more stern. “This one is very, very spicy”, she said pointing at a salsa macha that the chef later told us consisted of olive oil, chile de árbol, chile morita, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, peanuts and sesame.
This other bowl had green tomatoes, cilantro, onion, serrano chile and avocado and, according again to our server, “is a lot less spicy”.
Now some people might get upset that the kitchen hadn’t catered to the everyman’s palate. My opinion: When in Mexico, when in a Mexican restaurant…
It was a chef who had led us to Mansion Calavera, a chef we have the utmost admiration for, a chef we have followed on his journeys between San Miguel de Allende, Mexico City and Queretaro. Now he was back in San Miguel, designing and implementing the menu at Mansion Calavera. His name is Julían García and not only is he one of Mexico’s most talented chefs, he is one of Mexico’s most charming chefs.
When he came over to our table to warmly greet us we caught up on some of the best of our memories and, before he headed back to the kitchen, we asked him to recommend a couple of starters that he was most proud of. He suggested the smoked tuna and the shrimp aguachile.
The menu comes on a bit of a clumsy clipboard. Don Day’s Wife started flipping until we found the entradas.
“Do you see what I see”, she said.
“Yeh, twelve different, how are we going to choose?”, I replied.
“No, up at the top of the page”, she continued.
I saw it. The number. The price. $115. For any one of those starters. Here we were in what might be the town’s most upscale looking restaurant and there was this very downscale price. From a kitchen manned by a great chef. We took Chef Julían’s recommendation and ordered the smoked tuna enchiladas and the shrimp aguachile. We asked our server, now known to us as Alejandra, to bring them one at a time.
Alejandra started with the aguachile.
Now I’m an old-fashioned guy…OK, plain and simple, I’m an old guy…and, when I first became food obsessed, it was all about the tongue, all about the taste; now, it seems, it’s as much about the eye, about the presentation. So, to wow me with the look, you’ve got to hit me right between the eyes.
Pow! What Chef Julían had done, visually, with the shrimp dish was amazing. “Suitable for framing” and “home hangable” are two mostly forgotten terms that came to mind.
Impressed again I was by the service. Lifting food with a fork and spoon with a single hand is almost impossible to do. Alejandra boldly took on the challenge.
There were five good size raw shrimp with just the right amount of marinade and the rest of the fresh ingredients were as appealing to the tongue as the eye. I try not to think in terms of cost when I’m spending money on one of the things I love most but I couldn’t help it. All of this for 115 pesos!
The table was cleared. Clean plates and cutlery were brought. The enchiladas were packed full of tuna and, though not as photographable, they were just as delightfully edible. Again, the cash register in my head couldn’t help ringing up that 105 pesos.
My brain hit the total button. So far, we had spent $230 and we were getting full. We ordered another round of wine to help contemplate the predicament. The mains were totally ruled out by our stomachs but there were a couple of taco courses. It was a toss-up between the chamorro and the suadero.
My Spanish is absolutely awful but I’m semi-fluent in comida española. Chamorro is one of the most wonderful things that any country has ever done to a pig’s leg. Beef that is suadero might be translated as sweaty. We chose the pork. The price: Another $230. As good as it was, more of it went into a styrofoam container and ultimately into our frigidaire than went into our stomachs.
Throughout our meal, I couldn’t help keep thinking about the massive size of the place and what it would be like when the place is discovered and the balcony is filled.
“Did you know there’s also a rooftop?”, said Alejandra. “Would you like to see it.”
The wow when we stepped outdoors was similar to when I first saw Chef Julian’s aguachile.
It was time for la cuenta. No, not quite. A guy was doing a sound check. “Pruebas. Pruebas.” A woman was joining him on stage.
Chef Julían came out from the kitchen. Now if he had asked, “Another drink?” we might have consider leaving but instead it was the more continental “A digestif?” We decided to stay for a set.
The music was like the cuisine. Mexican. Very Mexican. Without one English word being spoken. And we loved it.
OK, back to the headline I started with and maybe what made you read this far. No, our bill wasn’t 500 pesos. Our bill was more like 2000 pesos. Because we often drink a little and, sometimes, when we’re really enjoying ourselves, we drink a lot.
But our three food items added up to $460. Split a bottle of water and you’re up to around $500. But please don’t do that. Come to Mansion Calavera and eat, drink and be merry. I want this place to make a profit and be around for as long as I am.
Mansion Calavera is located at Umaran #20 in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. The restaurant is open 8:00 am to 10:00 pm, Sundays; 1:00 to 10:00 pm, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday; 1:00 to 11:30 pm, Thursdays; 1:00 pm to Midnight, Fridays; 8:00 am to Midnight, Saturdays.
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