Pilar Ortiz. And the power of personality.

Pilar Ortiz. And the power of personality.

I don’t remember their exact words. But it went something like this. “I don’t get Trip Advisor. A little hole in the wall like El Pato is constantly in the top ten and a gorgeous place like Bovine is down in the 200’s.” I could have taken it a step further. How can...
Different venue. Different cuisine. Same chef. Same great grub. 

Different venue. Different cuisine. Same chef. Same great grub. 

It’s been more than 30 years since JJ Casteñeda first walked into the California Culinary Academy and started a career in the restaurant biz. It’s been more than three years since he brought that career to San Miguel de Allende. JJ’s first stop in San Miguel was at...
Solving the mystery of Sal y Canto.

Solving the mystery of Sal y Canto.

Featuring the fine photography of Scott Allison. It was last January when the mystery began. There was a press release announcing the new edition of the Guía México Gastronómico, the guide to Mexico’s top restaurants, and I was scanning the list for the new and...
ODing on fresh truffles at Casa Nostra. And loving it.

ODing on fresh truffles at Casa Nostra. And loving it.

It’s always been a problem with Don Day’s Wife and I. I want to do it, she doesn’t. I’m talking, of course, about splurging on truffles. “They’ve got fresh ones at City Market, Honey. They’re only $12,000 a kilo. We could get a second mortgage.” Yes, they’re an...
Reuben a la Ruben. At Silveyra’s.

Reuben a la Ruben. At Silveyra’s.

Let me start by saying that, without any doubt at all, the reuben is one of the world’s ten best sandwiches. And, despite the fact that it contains Swiss cheese and German sauerkraut, a sandwich doesn’t get much more American than a reuben. In San Miguel de Allende, a...
Pass the bottle and praise the agave.

Pass the bottle and praise the agave.

It didn’t go quite as planned. The plan was just to be a spectator on the sidelines at the cathedral, the chapel, the temple, the tabernacle, where, on each and every Friday, the all-powerful of all spirits is raised and praised. I had come to watch not to worship....
Escamoles? Aren’t they the eggs of…?

Escamoles? Aren’t they the eggs of…?

Lent. For some it means one meal a day. For others it means no meat all day. For me it means something with four times more protein than a lot of meat. For me, it’s the start of escamol season. Escamoles. The first mention of them was early in the 16th Century, when...
El Xoconoxtle. Precios muuuy economicos! And worth every peso.

El Xoconoxtle. Precios muuuy economicos! And worth every peso.

There has definitely been what one Mexican friend recently called a “whitening of San Miguel restaurants” in recent years but there is one that is steeped in Mexican history, one that is like walking into a museum, one that takes me back to Mexican food, circa 1975,...
Soltribe. Everyone should go once. Vegans should go once a week.

Soltribe. Everyone should go once. Vegans should go once a week.

I liked Peter Levitan’s idea to lunch at a vegan restaurant. I’m intrigued by vegan cuisine. I wanted to see how far it had come from those not so good old days of celery smoothies and soyburgers. I wanted to know if a vegan restaurant could possibly tantalize my...