It was Susan Knight York who alerted me and there’s no one who knows more about where to find the best restaurant values in San Miguel de Allende than Susan York. Perhaps I shouldn’t say restaurant though because many of the town’s best bargains aren’t found in bricks and mortar buildings, they’re found under tin or canvas covers.

Almost every Tuesday morning, I go the Tianguis de los Martes and, on many of those Tuesday mornings, I run into Susan York. One of the prime reasons both of us are there? This town’s best food bargains.

The home of this bargain was not exactly in the Tuesday market, it was on the fringes, on the corner of the lot occupied by San Miguel’s firefighters. The place is officially called Tacos Ramirez. Most people call it the stand near the fire station.

We were both a few minutes early for our 11 o’clock meet-up. The inviting charcoal aromas  were already wafting out from under the green tarps.

“Let’s get in line before the crowd arrives”, said Susan. “It’s supposed to open at 11:00 but, hey, this is Mexico, that’s más o menos.”

I looked at the sign beside us, “en horario aproximado de 11:00 am”. Aha, that approximate word.

The taco stand opened at 11:13. We were second in line. The crowd was 15 deep behind us.

There were a lot of temptations sizzling on the fire but Susan’s guidance was firm: “You must have the beef sandwich, the steak torta.”

The sandwich started with a steak about the size and shape of a New York strip. It went on the parilla to be well done, then about half of one was macheted into little chunks and placed on a good-sized grilled bolillo. I asked for onions and cilantro on top and added a sprinkle of red sauce. On the side I chose onions grilled in foil and jalapeño peppers.

After you’re served your food, you do a little search for where to order your drink and where to pay and then the big search begins for where to sit.

There are no chairs, no tables at Tacos Ramirez. So, what you do next is find a short wall or curb at the fire station that hopefully is in the shade. We found a wall, half in the shade.

The first thing that was impressive about the torta was the size. I’m guessing there was about 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of meat on the bun.

The second thing that was impressive was the taste. The beef was perfectly spiced and, though it didn’t have the marbling of a ribeye, it matched it in its beefiness.

The third impressive thing was the chew. Yes, it’s pretty obvious that you’re not going to have to worry about tenderness when the steak is chopped that fine but the texture was much more pleasurable than meat ground for a burger.

Last but absolutely not least impressive was what it cost. Susan York picked up the tab and when she told me the cost I was flabbergasted. My beefsteak torta was only 40 pesos. I thought the price was absolutely ridiculous. I’ve been back twice since then.

Tacos Ramirez is located at the corner of Boulevard de la Conspiracion and Calle Heróico Cuerpo de Bomberos in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. The stand is open from approximately 11:00 am to approximately 11:00 pm, seven days a week.

Susan Knight York covers the San Miguel de Allende food scene extensively on her website, cupcakesandcrablegs.com.