Here are a few that
we think hit a high mark recently.
Buen Apetito!
MiVida
Calle Hernández Macias 97, Centro
Italian Sausage Pizza:
This dish isn’t new but it’s the best kept secret in SMA. It’s only available
on Sunday night because the dough ferments for 5 days before it’s turned into
an incredible pizza topped with homemade Italian Sausage and parmesan cheese. You
can order a different topping on the other half. I ordered Bianca; mozzarella,
parmesan, gorgonzola, goat and camembert cheeses.
I was introduced to
this dish by Marene Flores Silva, Pastry Chef at Jacinto 1930, who mentioned it
to me in an interview when I was just a few days into my 21 day detox. Marene
called the pizza “exquisite”. I had to wait 3 weeks to eat it but it was well
worth the wait.
So what’s MiVida’s secret?
The Italian flour; Chef Greta Ortega says it’s all in the Italian flour they
use to make their pizzas and pastas. They also use very high-end ingredients which
was obvious when I tasted the pork cheek; marinated in red wine for two days, braised
and then reduced to construct the sauce. It was delicious.
The
Chefs: Watch for
more on Chefs Greta Ortega and Ana Cecilia Alvarez Godínez in our article on
female chefs in San Miguel later this month.
El Vergel Bistro and Market
Camino a El Vergel
No. 17
Bring on the French! After
spending a month in Oaxaca, it was really great to come back to something
special: French food…really, really good French food.
Here
is what we ordered off the menu:
The
Burger: anytime you use 100% grass fed beef, you’ve got a good start. It
doesn’t require either ketchup or mustard to enhance the taste. Its burger
perfection…just the way we like it.
Steak
Frites: A mouth-watering ribeye with pommes frites; laden with butter and
typically French.
Lyonnais
Macaroni and Gruyere cheese with red wine braised Oxtail. I can eat two buckets
of this dish; a new favorite indulgence.
French
onion soup: lightly caramelized onions and good broth. Like every great soup,
it’s all in the broth… and the bread you dunk in it.
Anyone
who loves French eats at least two desserts: Lavender infused poached pear and
a Tart Tatin. The poached pear was my favorite. I am helpless to refuse a good
pear and this dish was flavorful with the addition of blackberry.
The Chef: Watch for more on our favorite French chef, Magda Elisa,
in the article on female chefs in San Miguel later this month.
Nomada Cocina de Interpretacion
Mercado Centro, Codo 36
After taking me through a
21 day detox, Nomada gets my vote for the most accommodating restaurant in SMA.
Chef Sofia Antillon put me through 3 weeks of creative and healthy dishes, some
of them new.
When I was done, I was 12
pounds lighter and had a new respect and appreciation for Mexican ingredients
and flavors; the ones that Nomada always does so well.
If you can get a
restaurant to do the cooking for you, it eliminates half the battle of a detox.
This was the easiest of the nine detoxes that I’ve done over the past four
years.
The chefs: Chefs Sofia
Antillon, Pablo Nicacio and Marko Cruz team up to bring you the best combination
of flavors in SMA.
Milpa
Doce-18, Relox 18
We love the food at
MILPA because they have dishes on the menu you can’t find any other place in
San Miguel like a classic, Puebla cemita, made with beef instead of pork or
chicken.
Also try the sirloin
sandwich, the green bean salad and a beautiful bowl of chicken soup with
crunchy vegetables.
Alberto Flores makes
the best green juice in the morning from oranges, celery, cucumber and spinach.
Look for his signature smoothie soon.
They also offer a
large variety of craft beers including my favorite, Diablo, from San Miguel de
Allende brewer Dos Aves.
The Chef: Chef Marko Cruz.
Chef Cruz will be one of the guest
chefs at the Sabores San Miguel Guest Chefs Dinner at The Restaurant, Sollano
16, on Thursday, June 16, 2016 at 7:00 PM with proceeds to benefit Feed the
Hungry San Miguel.
Other
Guest Chefs include Paul Anders (Sweet Basil. Vail, EUA), Paul Bentley (Magno Brasserie.
Guadalajara, México), Carlos Zamora (Moxi. SMA), Matteo Salas (Áperi and
Jacinto 1930, SMA) and Victor Palma (Rosewood. SMA). Host chef: Donnie
Masterton, The Restaurant. Tickets are available at The Restaurant, Sollano 16,
or online.
Jacinto 1930
Doce-18, Relox 18
The quality of the tortilla makes
the Taco. That’s why Chef Matteo Salas brought in Luvia
de la Rosa Avendaño from Oaxaca and put her at the station that makes “all
things corn.” He’s the first restaurant in SMA to do so. The result: shells that
hold a wet filling, do not fall apart and
have incredible flavor; you can really taste the corn, like in this gorgeous,
grilled pulpo piled on top of a blue corn tortilla and the Chicharrón
gorditas.
Matteo’s menu gets another plus for the prices and the creative
cocktail menu (Mole Martini anyone?) created by Adrian Garcia-Evans, Beverage Manager
at Cumpanio and associated restaurants including Jacinto 1930.
The Chef: 2016 Top Chef Mexico finalist Matteo Salas and Luvia de la Rosa Avendaño, one of six female chefs from Matteo’s restaurants that will be featured in our upcoming article on female chefs in SMA.
Birdies Burgers and Taco Lab
Doce-18, Relox 18
Hamburgers are nothing
new in SMA but this hamburger is; a real, American-style burger made with meat
from cattle naturally fed with 100% local grasses without hormones and
antibiotics. Fast food redefined, I haven’t eaten a burger this good since I
left Chicago. Paired with fries and a shake, you’ll have a tough time not repeating
this triple treat daily. We also like the taste of their chicken thigh
sandwich.
Speaking of triples,
at the Taco Lab, the three crispy taco combination listed under appetizers
gives you one pork belly, one fish and one short rib taco. This is one of the
best and tastiest taco deals in town.
The chef: Chef Donny
Masterton and Angela Lewis Serrano are putting on San Miguel’s biggest food party, Sabores San Miguel, in
Juarez Park, on June 17-19, 2016. Sample from some of SMA’s best restaurants
for just 30 pesos a taste. www.saboressanmiguel.com
Pork Belly
Cinco de Mayo #10
Chef Erick Medina gets
on his London style with some of the best French fries in town; triple fried
and dashed with a bit of vinegar before serving.
We also loved the
perfectly seasoned bone marrow but could have done without the dried, green
parsley because it’s good-looking enough on its own.
The chef: Chef Erick
Medina studied at the Culinary Center of Ambrosia and worked with Chef Inaqui
Izaguirre at Labexo Extea in Irun, Spain. He then went to the Rotter Ocshen
Boutique Hotel and Brewery in the Black Forest, Germany, and move to London
where, for 13 years, he cooked at Green and Red, Hawksmoor and Machete. He
managed pop-up dinners with Portuguese, Michelin star chef Nuno Menedes and
collaborated with the Embassy of Mexico in London for special events. He and his wife, Carmen Torres, moved to Mexico and launched
Pork Bellys. He is getting ready to open a food
truck that he’ll park at the new Don Pedro’s market this summer. Stay tuned.
And we can't wait for...
And we can't wait for...
Carnevino Grill
Ancha de San Antonio #22
Located inside the
famous wine store with the same name, Carnevino Grill will open shortly and
feature grilled foods; seafood, steaks, vegetables along with wines, food-friendly
champagnes and spirits.
It’s summer and I’m up
for trying one of their grilled steaks. Take a look at the attractive space in
the back of the store when you go in CarneVino to buy your wines and specialty,
grocery items.
The outdoor patio space will
be perfect for trying their summer wine offerings. You can expect the same top
quality in the products that you find at CarneVino. Who better to teach you more
about wine than Jorge Alarcon L, one of the most knowledgeable experts on wine
and spirits in SMA.
Jorge, Daniel Estebaranz
and Ricardo Pare Trejo team up to bring you the SMA Food Fest, July 15-17, 2016,
at Hacienda Los Picachos.
Kickoff dinner with Chefs Enrique Olvera and Matteo
Salas at Moxi in Hotel Matilda on July 14, 2016.
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