After years of eating
at some of the world’s best restaurants, you cultivate certain expectations for
the level of food and service you expect. Recently, I was blessed with “The
B’ui Experience” and it raised the bar on what my expectations will be in the
future.
I
call it “The B’ui Experience” because I was captivated, not just by the setting
- in stunningly beautiful Otomi, just outside of San Miguel de Allende - but by
everything… from the outstanding food and wine, to the extraordinary service
and the state of its’ simple, country elegance.
You
can credit Daniel Estebaranz, who is definitely not your typical restaurant
owner.
Daniel
is an architect by training, has exceptionally high standards and a remarkable passion
for what he does. I’ve met a lot of restaurant owners but few have achieved his
level of dedication to excellence. But these high standards don't just pertain to
the food at B'ui - cocina de campo. He applies them to every aspect of his
restaurants, B'ui - cocina de campo in San Miguel de Allende and La Estacion in
Mexico City, which Daniel started along with Chef-legend Enrique Olvera.
Daniel has a talented crew
at each restaurant and he and Executive Chef Marko Cruz travel between Mexico
City and San Miguel each week to maintain B’ui - cocina de campo’s current schedule;
1:30 PM – 9:00 PM on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. They are planning to open on
Thursday in a few weeks.
Daniel Estebaranz is a
man who appreciates beautiful things and B'ui spoke to his roots the first time
he saw it. In the native tongue of Mexico, B’ui is an Otomi word which means
“to live”. After easily persuading the owners of Otomi (they came to La
Estacion and fell in love with the food) that he should take over their
restaurant, Daniel breathed life into what is, in my estimation, one of the
best restaurants I’ve eaten at anywhere, including Paris and Mexico City.
I know, that’s a
pretty bold statement but to tell you the truth, I never expected to find a
place like this in the middle of central Mexico. Mexico City yes, but certainly
not in San Miguel de Allende.
The first time I laid
eyes on B'ui - cocina de campo, it took my breath away. You could sense the
perfection even before you experienced it.
One thing I know as a
food writer. If a restaurant is going to succeed, it must be consistently great.
This is true whether the executive chef is in the house, out on the floor
chatting with customers or on a well deserved vacation. B'ui - cocina de
campo’s food is consistently great.
On a visit in July, sous-chef
Pablo Nicasio did the cooking and we didn't notice because the meal was so remarkable.
Daniel told me after I ate, that’s how confident he was that the food was going
to be just another B’ui’s standard serve.
Sous-chef Pablo
Nicasio arrived at La Estacion five years ago and started out as a dishwasher.
After six months of hard work, he respectfully asked Daniel if he could help
out in the kitchen. They trained him until he had his own stage and ultimately
made him sous-chef, the second command in the kitchen. Pablo had no prior
background in restaurants but Daniel and Marko were taken in by his sense of
responsibility, his passion for cooking and his growing talent. I’ve eaten at
many of the top restaurants in Mexico and his meal was as good if not better
than many of them. Executive Chef Marko Antoine Cruz trained him well.
Executive Chef Cruz not
only worked at Au Pied du Cochon, a highly rated restaurant in the Polanco
district that is noted for its French food, but he managed Hotel Condesa DF, and
was part of Enrique Olvera’s team. After a short stint with Chef Enrique Olvera
at Pujol, he joined Daniel to open La Estacion. In the beginning, Olvera created
the menu and Marko applied his recipes and techniques. Two and a half years
ago, Marko took control of the kitchen and is the now Executive Chef at both
B'ui - cocina de campo and La Estacion.
Estebaranz
credits Chef Enrique Olvera with turning his focus to restaurants…
Daniel Estebaranz loves
to cook. He is the product of a few cooking classes at Pujol himself. It all started
about 15 years ago at his architectural practice, when he would close his doors
at 2:00 PM on Friday, go to the market and head home to cook. “It was relaxingly
for me, almost therapy” he said. He invited family and friends to join him and
these food therapy sessions got him thinking about the value of sharing food, wine
and high-quality time with the people he loves.
As an Architect, he
designed a few restaurants but what tipped the balance for him was dining at
Pujol and meeting Chef Olvera.
Daniel describes the
experience and observing what Olvera did, from the food to the service, as the
turning point in his decision to move forward.
And so “The B’ui Experience”
was born.
High
Quality Customer Service…
One of the most
important factors in a restaurants’ success is the service. No matter how great
the food is, if you get bad service, you usually don’t go back.
The B'ui - cocina de
campo team is well versed in the fine art of customer service. Angel and
Gabriel, the nephews of Daniel’s wife Lizette, are so committed to giving the
best service that you’ll barely notice which one of them refilled your wine glass.
Of course, they are identical twins, so you may have a problem telling them
apart.
Angel and Gabriel are also
beer connoisseurs. Mention any beer and they will not only recognize the brand
but can probably tell you the technical data as well.
Daniel says he’s lucky
to have people that are young, energetic, educated and love what they do.
Training was the easy part. His advice to other restaurant owners is to pick people
carefully and instill passion. The rest will follow.
Daniel treats his
staff like one, big extended family. Daniel takes that responsibility seriously.
In Mexico, family is the highest priority.
So
let’s talk about price…
A lot of incredible food
can be found in the high-rent districts but they usually come at a very high
price. Not so with B'ui - cocina de campo.
When I asked Daniel
about the $400 peso price tag on his seven course tasting menu, he responded
that “B’ui is making an effort to reach as many people as they can in this
stage of the restaurants’ growth. I will always strive to stay down to earth in
every sense, one of them being pricing.”
The
Tasting Menu…
On a gorgeous Sunday
afternoon in both July and August, we opted for the tasting menu, which gives
you the widest variety of culinary experiences.
July Tasting Menu
Amuse-bouche:
The term Amuse-bouche is French, literally
translated as "mouth amuser.” You get all 3 to start out:
Tuna seared, pineapple
pure, habanero syrup, recado negro
Mole squash, cauliflower,
baby corn, yellow tomato
Squash blossom
tempura, black bean pure, epazote, chihuacle powder
We
chose these selections to round out the meal:
Black Bean, star
anise, chochoyota, truffle oil, bean pure, watercress
Ceviche (black)
octopus, shrimp, tuna, scallop, Aguachile, chile ashes
Picana bacon, morel
mushroom, bean pure, black bean salsa with pork broth
Honey pollen
cigarette, avocado, honey and ricotta cream, black Zapote sorbet
We also ordered this selection off the regular
menu:
Pork ribs (sous vide10
hours) glazed house BBQ + chile sauce finished at the mesquite grill
Lucky for me, the
group at the table next to us insisted I photograph their food as well. Almost
too beautiful to eat, don’t you think?
August Tasting Menu
Amuse-bouche:
La milpa; mole xiquilpac (chamomile) squash
pumpkin , squash blossom , cherry tomatoes
Plantain risotto with
avocado
Cold soup; lemon
grass, spinach and panela cheese
This
is the complete menu and will give you a sense of some of the choices:
1st
Course
Corn soup, saffron,
shrimp , potato pure
or;
Carnitas broth,
avocado , Serrano chile , radish
2nd
Course
Portobellini , ragout
, parmegiano
Infladita (inflated
corn dough) stuffed with black bean pure , tatemada sauce , egg poche
or;
Salad; mix beans ,
colored tomatoes , baby carrots , olive oil , homemade vinagrette
3rd
Course
Mole de olla; Short Rib
(sousvide) carrot pure, baby corn;
Dorado (white fish);
squash blossom, olive oil emulsion, squash blossom sauce
or;
Picaña; Morel mushrooms
, thyme , brandy reduction
Dessert
Yogurt Panna Cotta
with fruits of the forest
Raspberry sorbet,
grapefruit syrup, raspberry meringue
We also ordered the tuna
tartare off the regular menu; the tuna coming all the way from Japan
and was some of the best we’ve had anywhere.
Sourcing
Locally…
About 90% of B'ui -
cocina de campo’s food is locally sourced. The produce is purchased from Jalpa,
Toyan, and Trinidad and when they can’t find something they need in San Miguel,
they bring it back from Mexico City´s San Juan Market, the culinary gem I was exploring
in DF just last week.
Exceptional
Wine Choices…
Daniel views the
restaurant as an extension of his home. He appreciates good wine, especially from
Mexico, and takes frequent trips to the vineyards in order to bring back new
labels for his guests to enjoy. “When stocking wines, there are some must haves,”
he said, “like Casa Madero 2v.”
B'ui - cocina de campo
doesn’t have a wine list because the wines change depending on what they happen
to find during the week.
B'ui - cocina de campo
also sells wine by the glass, along with Tequilas, Mezcals and other fine spirits and liqueurs.
Chef Marko Cruz
likes to get in the mix every now and then and makes his now famous Nopal
Sorbet Margaritas.
Here are the
wines we enjoyed:
Espacio en Blanco, Chardonnay, Mexico, Valle
de Guadalupe
Daniel discovered Espacio en Blanco on a shelf
in a wine shop he wandered into and out of curiosity, he took a few bottles home
to taste and see if it would pair well with their menu. He said of Espacio en
Blanco “It was beautiful to drink and so easy to pair.”
What more can I say? I’m a Chardonnay drinker
and this is the best Chardonnay I’ve ever tasted.
Casa Madero 2v, 50% Chardonnay, 50% Chenin
Blanc, Mexico, Parras Coahuila.
Founded in 1597, Casa Madero is the oldest
winery in Mexico. We love the entire line of Casa Madero wines including some
of the reds, which I rarely ever consumed until I tasted them at a local wine festival
two years ago.
Terras Gauda, 70% Albarino, 18% Loureriro, 12%
Caino Blanco, Espana Rias Baixas, Valle de O Rosal
Terras Gauda is a fine Spanish wine from the extreme southwest of
the province of Pontevedra, in the O Rosal Valley,bordering
Portugal and was coincidently already on our itinerary when we visit Northern
Spain next summer. Now that I’ve tasted Terras Gauda, I am even more eager to
visit the winery.
What’s Ahead…
When I asked Daniel
about future projects, he said YES! The enthusiasm was evident. So here is the
news:
Around November, he
will be opening a farm to table concept inside of Casa Doce #18, formerly Casa
Cohen.
This confirmed the
rumors I’ve been hearing about a work in progress at the old Casa Cohen that I
walk by almost daily. Personally, I’m excited to have another first-class
restaurant in San Miguel’s Centro. Stay tuned.
At B’ui:
Starting the weekend
of August 22nd, B'ui - cocina de campo will serve brunch on Saturday and Sunday.
Want to see Bradley
Cooper in Burnt? So do I!
On Thursday night at B'ui
- cocina de campo, you’ll get drinks, botanas, and a foodie movie.
B'ui - cocina de campo is also starting a wine club. Buy a paired dinner and
taste three outstanding Mexican wines. A few weeks later, the wines will be
delivered to your front door.
Earlier this year, Daniel
partnered with Ricardo Pare Trejo and Jorge Alarcon L to run the highly
successful SMA Food Festival which will repeat again in 2016. Watch for a date
and mark your calendar. You don’t want to miss this event.
So,
Daniel Estebaranz pretty much defines
the art of giving pleasure through food but will B'ui - cocina de campo be your heaven on
earth food experience?
Just
ask for Angel and Gabriel when you get there…oh, and a glass of Espacio en
Blanco. I’m betting you’ll be back before the menu changes in September.
Buen
Apetito!
B’ui Cocina de Campo is located on the equestrian
grounds at Otomi’s residential area outside of San Miguel de Allende. Km 2
Camino a San Miguel el Viejo, C.P. 37 700, San Miguel de Allende, Gto. Phone:
415 688 0021 http://www.otomi.mx/bui. The
restaurant is open to the public.
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