The series continues
with our final post, The Best of the Rest; just a few more reasons to fall in love with San
Miguel de Allende.
Buen Provecho!
Best Bar: Nena Sky Lounge, Nemesio Diez No.10
This intimate patio
gives you a feel for why SMA is at the top of everybody’s list. The fireworks
from the Rosewood next door are so close, you’ll get caught in the afterglow.
Come dressed to kill. The beautiful people who frequent this rooftop make it
the best place in town for your favorite activity: people watching.
Best Caterer - Traditional: Guadalupe Ramirez
Agundis’s Banquetes Marcela,Juan de Dios Peza #37, Colonia Guadalupe
With 56 years of
cooking experience under her belt, she won a major award in 2016 at the
International Summit of Gastronomy, IV Meeting of Traditional Kitchen, in
Guanajuato. Her grandson, Chef Jose Pedro Hernandez Trejo, is in the kitchen
now so Guadalupe can do what she does best; take nurturing care of all of her
long-standing customers.
Best Chef’s Table: Aperi, Quebrada #101
The hottest table in
town has one special ingredient: Chef Matteo Salas. Scoring the chefs table at
Aperi is a priceless experience worth sharing with thirteen of your closest
friends and family. You’ll likely see a rising star here, hoping to polish
their culinary know-how with the master before going out on their own. Look for
a long list of guest chefs - Mexico's Who's Who in the culinary world - in 2017.
Best Club: Bar Plata, Zacateros 73
A talented singer and
inspiring storyteller, our favorite pairing with anything is LADY ZEN. A
one-woman show on Broadway would be perfect for her so let’s embrace her while
we can.
Best Consistency: Café Muro, San Gabriel 1,
Barrio del Obraje
At Café Muro, Gerardo
Artega is a bit obsessed about making his customers really happy, which means
doing whatever possible to make that happen. A feast for the eyes as well as
the taste buds, you’ll not be lacking for anything here. That's what we love
about consistency; you can count on the same great food and service each and
every time you go.
Best Cookbook: The Spice Companion
If you’re like Chef
Mariana Gonzalez Gutierrez at Aperi and read cookbooks in your spare time, you’ll
love this book. I knew about half of the spices listed in the book so it will
give both your brain and taste buds a workout. Author Lev Sercarz offers
historical and buying information with never before published recipes for spice
blends, along with magnificent photography and botanical illustrations on
over100 spices.
Best Cooking Class: El Petit Four, Calle
Mesones # 99-1
When I arrived in SMA,
I wanted to learn how to cook Mexican right and my first cooking class was with
Chef Paco Cardenas of El Petit Four. It’s still one of the best in SMA.
An all day session, you’ll start with shopping for the ingredients at Mercado
Ignacio Ramirez and wrap up with a sit down feast, complete with Valle de
Guadalupe wine. In between, Paco’s expert knowledge of Mexican food will get
your cooking skills ready for some serious entertaining. Best of all, you don’t
have to do the dishes.
Worth the price of the
class was the fact that he introduced us to so many quality vendors at the
Mercado my first week in town that I didn't have to take the time to learn who
the best ones were.
Four years later, I’ve
taken many outstanding cooking classes here in SMA, all of which will be listed
in an upcoming post.
Best Dinnerware: Stelara Ceramica Stoneware,
Mercado Sano, Ancha de San Antonio 123
You can see the most
remarkable and gorgeous place settings at this stand inside Mercado Sano.
Custom designs, like the gordita plates and esquites bowls that are used at
Jacinto 1930. Chef Marco Cruz at Nomada also uses the stoneware.
If Chefs Matteo Salas
and Marco Cruz don’t have elevated taste in food presentation, who does?
Affordable prices for the quality.
Best Drink Menu:Jacinto 1930, Doce 18, Relox
18
Cocktails share the
reputation with the evolving food scene and rightfully so. Heavy on agave
spirits, this menu respects clean ingredients the way the chefs at Jacinto 1930
do. Always ahead of the curve, you’ll find fresh, new trends you’ll still be
talking about tomorrow. Look for exciting things to happen with the
cocktail culture in 2017; it will definitely be in the limelight if Adrian
Evans, Jacinto’s mixologist from Wales, has anything to do with it.
Best Farm: Rancho La Trinidad, Camino a San
Miguel Viejo #8
No matter where we
search for produce, we keep going back to Rancho La Trinidad, a local,
certified organic farm located just outside of SMA. You can't beat the
freshness… or the prices.
Best Festival Organizer: Angela Lewis Serrano,
Sabores San Miguel
As a former event
organizer, I know how difficult it is to pull off a major event. It’s all in
the details and Angela makes everything look so easy, especially Sabores San
Miguel, the most successful food show in the city.
Best Fireplace Bar: Casa 1810, Hidalgo #8
A large fireplace
dominates the lobby next to the tiny bar. A perfect spot to stay warm and
experience welcoming drinks with friends. If you’re into vino, wander down to
the wine cellar for another glass of Mexican red. Warm and cozy may just be an
understatement. In fact, this fireplace is so good-looking, Chef Linnea Rufo
had one built in her dining room. Fine dining restaurant, Trazo 1810, will open
on the rooftop of Casa 1810 shortly.
Best Fireplace Restaurant: Andanza at the
Sierra Nevada, Calle Hospicio #35
With the most
fireplaces in a single restaurant, you’ll never have to worry about getting the
warmest seat in the house. Every room is cozy with stately ambiance and
beautiful décor. Chef Antonio Arzola is in the kitchen, ready to serve you a
number of delicious dishes off his menu. This feast is well worth going out in
the cold for.
Best Food Art: Nomada cocina de
Interpretacion, Codo #36
Art has featured food
for thousands of years but when did food become art? We’re pretty sure that
anything Nomada puts on a black plate – or a white one for that matter – is
art. Too beautiful to eat? Not to worry; we’ve got this one covered.
Best Food Festival: We LOVED them all!
What was the best food
party of the year?
If you want to try
everything in San Miguel all at once, SABORES SAN MIGUEL is the festival for
you. The Lamb Shawarma Taco created by Chef Donnie Masterton of The Restaurant,
is reason enough to go back. The question is, will the city hold Sabores again
this year? That’s still is a question.
If you want to meet
many of the chefs who make the food you love to eat, try SMA Food Festival
(SMAFF). They also feature guest chefs; last year, it was the celebrated chefs
of Tabasco, brought in by SMA Chef Armando Prats Leal, who has Tabasco roots
himself. The event at the end of the festival is always the best party of the
year.
If you want to stomp
the grapes that make your wine, the San Lucas Fiesta de la Vendimia festival is
perfect, paired with all of the incredible BBQ made by Chef Mariano Alvarez of
Buenos Aires Bistro.
At Billy Mervin’s
infamous celebration of all things lamb and Mezcal, we discovered remarkable
food and amazing, new Mezcals. 16 food and beverage tastings later, we hit our
max. The Lamb and Mezcal Festival is also one of the best deals in town.
In the small town of
Tequisquiapan, we embraced the local food and wine culture with so much gusto,
we almost forgot we were on a detox.
These local festivals
inspired us to travel to the largest food festival in Latin America, MISTURA, in
Lima, Peru last fall.
Best Food Enthusiast: Preston Engebretson
A gastronome, bon vivant, gourmand or connoisseur; any of these words would describe Preston Engelbretson, who is passionate about food and cooking. One could say he’s got that 6th sense about food.
I personally think he’s more of a food nerd; the one person who knows one too many things
about how something is produced or who can tell you the difference between 100 varieties of mushrooms. Knowledge that only the Sheldon Cooper of food world would know.
Best Food Resource: Daniel Estebaranz, B’ui
cocina de campo and Milpa
From wines to the
latest trends in Mexico, this guy knows food. He’ll try things nobody else
will, like a Pueblan- style cemita and then make three more versions of it just
to get it right. Owner of B'ui Cocina De Campo in Otomi and Milpa in SMA
Centro, Daniel is the winner of the 2016 Grand Luxury Award from the
Association of International Hospitality. He’s unquestionably given me plenty
of food for thought. Gracias Daniel!
Best Foodie Day Trips:
Foraging for Mushrooms with Arif Towns Alonso
One of the best day
trips we took last year was foraging for mushrooms with local expert Arif Towns
Alonso. We found dozens of species of mushrooms and a little bit of paradise in
the mountains of Santa Rosa de Lima. We left off some of the Lactarius Indigo
blue mushrooms for Chef Magda Elisa Pablos and her sous-chef Ari when we
stopped by her kitchen at El Vergel on the way back to SMA to have lunch. The
very next day, Chef Maro Cruz of Nomada prepared the most delicious dinner of
blue mushrooms in a mezcal and miso sauce. It was the best meal we ate all
year.
Quesos del Rebano, Mar Meridional 2A, Col. Las
Hadas 76160 Querétaro.
Get cultured with the
queen Maestra Quesera, Gabriela Flores Silva, in a defining moment of cheese
making. Gabriela is the sister of Marene Flores, the pastry chef at Jacinto
1930. Quesos del Rebano is Gabriela and Marene's family cheese farm outside of
Queretaro where they create some of the best cheese in Mexico. We loved the
property and grounds but most of all the Maestra, who is extraordinarily
knowledgeable about cheese making worldwide.
Best Food Gift: Russet Potatoes
OK – the secret’s out.
Buried in a box on the bottom shelf at an unnamed organic grocery store, these
were a birthday gift from food and travel blogger Valen Dawson.
I haven't seen them
lately so I guess I’m back to potato chips.
Best Food Trip: Lima, Peru – the highlights
After 17 courses of
elevations, the food experience at Central, the #4 restaurant in the world and
the #1 restaurant in Latin America, was the best we’ve had; one that everyone
should do at least once in their lifetime. So what were my taste buds telling
me I needed after feasting on 17 courses that were innovative,
thought-provoking, and artistically complex? A day off from eating.
Meeting Chef Pedro
Miguel Schiaffino of Malabar was also a highlight. He’s known as the
"jungle chef" and works incessantly to highlight the foods of the
Amazon jungle and Amazonian cuisine.
My heart belonged to
Lima five minutes into my first meal at MAIDO. At the ultimate Amazon Nikkei
Experience, Chef Mitsuharu Tsumura’s multi-course Nikkei, Japanese inspired
Peruvian menu, was the perfect beginning to my education on Peruvian cuisine. I
definitely started at the top and every meal I had in Lima was compared to this
one. Although many of them were outstanding, none of them ranked higher than
MAIDO.
In Lima, the most
important decision of the day is deciding where to eat. We hit the Surquillo
district to try out two popular spots for street food: Al Toke Pez and the
Surquillo Market. My tab for breakfast and lunch: S/25 or $7.45 USD.
Canta Rana is a go-to
place in Lima for both locals and tourists alike. A landmark since 1985, this
little hole-in-the-wall was the perfect come down from my 17 course meal at
Central, walking to the Barranco section of Lima in less than 30 minutes.
Filled with Argentine soccer memorabilia, this place is long on atmosphere and
good ceviche. The price was right at 60 soles. Barranco is Lima's Soho; one of
most trendy areas with historic buildings, bars, restaurant, cafés, street
artists and musicians. It’s also where the restaurant Central is moving to.
MISTURA Food Festival:
The VIVA MEXICO pyramid colorfully stood out against the gray, Lima sky. In the
Gran Mercado, 300 Peruvian growers educated me on the ingredients of Peru; many
of them dressed in their native clothing and all of them excited to talk about
their produce. This was the highpoint of the show.
Huaringas Bar has been
at MISTURA since the beginning; all 9 years of the fair. In addition to the bar
in Lima, they have another location by the same name in Cusco. The bar is
renowned for its take on the traditional Pisco Sour; infusing passion fruit and
grapes with Pisco. The recipe was created by my friend Rosario Dulanto’s daughter
and chef, who recently died at age 35. Young Rosario researched and tested
ingredients from different regions in Peru, creating an extraordinary range of
cocktails with Pisco and fruits. The bar has over 200 different cocktails and
is renowned for changing the Pisco culture in Peru. Look for the altars in the
bar that pay tribute to Pisco and Chef Rosario.
The top restaurants
were not at MISTURA but the top Chefs were; promoting the food of Peru is both
their mission and their passion. What restaurant’s were there - regional ones
like The Ramadita Campestre Warmy Pepe and Laura from Huaral, 78 km north of
Peru; an expert in cooking meats over firewood where I spent a great portion of
my time. The lines to get smoked pork were long but the flavor was
unbelievable; seasoned only with salt. At this station alone, I think they
cooked enough pork to feed all of SMA.
Peru is a
multicultural country filled with people who love to eat. Honestly, I’ve never
met more people who love to talk about food so it was only right on my last day
in town that I made a stop at Astrid & Gaston. With restaurants in over a
dozen countries, Gaston Acurio is the unofficial ambassador of Peruvian food
and is responsible for taking Peruvian food global. What I wasn’t prepared to
love was the tomato butter that accompanied the homemade bread; it was topped
with blackened tomato skins. When I asked our waiter what was in it, because at
that point I had eaten two platefuls, he smiled and insisted the ingredients
were simple: tomatoes and butter. Who would have thought that something so simple would taste this good.
My last supper was a testimonial to the food
of Lima. I was finally full.
Best Food Truck: Mio Bistrock SMA Julian
Carrillo 7
Lorelai Cordova, sister of Maye
Cordova and Aunt of Jimena Tamayo Cordova, who own Garambullo Fonda Gourmet, opened
this delightful food truck in Colonia Guadalupe in a colorful, little lot
that's full of local charm and adorable, mismatched furniture. Lorelai, who
cooked in Acapulco, Cuernavaca and Italy, specializes in Mediterranean food and
has a large variety of seafood on the menu. We delight in everything she
cooks, especially the lamb burger.
Best Gourmet Dinner: Blue Mushrooms with
Mezcal Miso Sauce at Nomada cocina de interpretacion , Codo 36
We like to think that
the wild mushrooms foraged in Santa Rosa de Lima – one of our favorite small
towns in the mountains of central Mexico - tasted so good because we picked
them but Chef Cruz and Chef Nicacio at Nomada turned these blue mushrooms, the
elusive Lactarius indigo, into a work of art with a sous vide and a sauce of
miso and mezcal. Leave it to great chefs to change your mind about what you
will or will not eat. I've never loved mushrooms; just photographing
them. And did I mention they tasted just like truffles?
Best Hospitality: Gabriel Avila at Nomada
Cocina de Interpretacion
You wonder how anyone
this young can know so much. Gabriel Avila is always well versed on the food
and beverage offerings at Nomada cocina de interpretación. We love dining
at a restaurant that takes hospitality to this over-the-top level.
Best Influencer – Food, Art and Fashion:
Victor Hugo
The word that comes to
mind when I think of Victor Hugo is impeccable. After reading his Facebook and
Instagram posts this past year, I believe that if I have another life to live,
I would come back as Victor. We don’t think that anyone in SMA has more fun
than he does.
Best Ingredient: Sweetbreads
Sweetbreads; they’re
revered by chefs and food aficionados everywhere, especially in Mexico.
The first time we had
them, Chef Eduardo García of Máximo Bistrot in Mexico City prepared them in a
rich, brown sauce. Instant addiction.
Chef-owner Elena
Reygadas of Rosetta, Mexico City, prepared our second taste of sweetbreads with
yogurt, peppermint and Granada. Milk-fed veal sweetbreads are the best and it
was another food moment.
Third time’s a charm
when Chef-owner Rodolfo Castellanos of Origen Oaxaca and Top Chef Mexico, used
them in a crispy, mini-gordita with nopales.
Fourth time was at
VINO + TAPAS, Insurgentes 63, where Chef Stefania Rosales pulled off a
sweetbread tapa with cheese like she’s been cooking them all her life.
We would love to see more
sweetbreads on the menus in SMA.
Best Kitchen Store: Williams Sonoma, Queretaro
This one was
easy…because we went to cooking classes at the one in Chicago every week and
bought every piece of kitchenware there for the past 30 years. We know the
quality and continue the tradition in the Queretaro store that just opened last
year. It’s good to know that the latest Le Creuset and All Clad are just 45
minutes away.
Shopping isn’t our
thing but we could certainly get in trouble in this store.
Best Lunch: La Parada, Recreo #94
It’s always a treat to
eat with Chef Alexandra Gutt, one of the best chefs in SMA. Her specialty
dishes, like Ceviche Contracorriente and Higaditos Asaltados or Sauteed Chicken
Livers, are delicious and served with Papas La Parada. We could eat her papas by
the pound. The secret is to fry them, smash them and fry them again. The
chicken livers don't taste like liver at all; we love the texture and the
taste. They are sauced in anticucho sauce with a base of dried chili, vinegar
and oregano.
The sauce is also used in a Peruvian street food dish
incorporating beef hearts that are marinated, skewered, and seared over the
grill. We had them this past year at MISTURA, the food festival in Lima. Ale
is also responsible for recommending the best meal we’ve ever eaten at MAIDO in
Lima.
Best Property Manager: Angela Nieto of Doce
18, Relox 18
With a consistent enjoyment
for what she does, we frequent Doce 18 just to get her daily dose of sunshine.
It's contagious, so we
like to pass it on!
Best Meal: The Chefs of SMA
We traveled a lot last
year. One of the things we learned early on - some of the best meals we’ve
eaten in Mexico have been in our own back yard.
We salute all the chefs who feed us
well and have created some of the most interesting and artistic menus in
Mexico.
Best Meal outside SMA: Maido, Calle San Martin
399, Miraflores, Lima, Peru
This Amazon Nikkei
Experience was the most amazing meal we’ve ever eaten anywhere. Don’t miss this
experience if you visit Lima in 2017.
Maido is lucky #13 on
the World 50 Best Restaurants in Latin
America; it was our favorite place to eat in Lima. Here’s a list of the
courses that wowed us:
Snack: Crispy chicken
skin, pachikay sauce.
Rice senbei, regional
sausage, roasted plantain, sachatomate emulsion
Churros: Rivers
snails, chalaca, dale dale foam
Paiche sandwich:
Steamed bun, crispy paiche, lulo criolla
Amazonic cebiche:
River prawns, pejerrey, nikkei leche de tigre, charapita, chonta, farina
Chancho con yucca:
Pork belly stew with yucca, mishquina, crispy pork skin, ramen reduction,
cocona
Sacha soba: Sachapapa
soba, vongoles, crab
Sushi – earth: A lo
pobre- sweetbreads
Gindara: Gindara,
miso, fermented casho, bahuaja nuts, sangre de toro potato cream
Short rib: Wagyu short
rib – 50 hours, egg yolk, cecina fried rice, amazonic chilli (this dish is the
best we’ve ever eaten)
Cacao: Amador cacao –
piura – 70%, yazu, shica shica ice cream, mochis, bahuaja nuts, cacao nibs.
Best Mercados:
Daily: Mercado Sano, Ancha de San Antonio 123
The open-air Tianguis
Orgánico San Miguel de Allende (TOSMA) farmers market is held here Saturday,
where most of SMA enjoys breakfast and the one-stop shopping for the organic
and sustainable.
The Don Petro family
leased the space to local merchants, 90% who are Mexican, and that for me is
reason enough to support it.
Weekly: Tuesday Market - El Tianguis
A real market
experience, I go every Tuesday because nothing in SMA says local like
the Tuesday market. Three tents full of colorful stands give you
everything you need or want just for the sake of a bargain; from daily
essentials to kitchenware, produce and plenty of gifts and souvenirs.
For anyone who loves
food, Tuesday can't come soon enough. I’ve eaten everything there at
least a dozen times. If you don’t eat street food, you’re missing out on some
of the best food in SMA. I usually start my day with a tasty plate of Carnitas
or a torta at Bautista Brothers, then on to Don Santos for Beef Tacos or if
it’s a cold day, nothing tastes better than a cup of the Rodriquez Family Caldo
loaded with Barbacoa. Fresh squeezed juice and a churro finish off my weekly
rounds but like all the vendors there, we change our routine weekly.
Monthly: Mercadito Rural (Rural Market)
This market is held
the first Sunday of every month in front of Via Organica, Margarito
Ledesma 2, Col. Guadalupe. The market is small but includes a wide-variety of
authentic items for purchase. With the beautiful hand painted tortillas by Cocinera
Juana, we always go to eat and never fail to finish the morning off with
something sweet.
Gourmet Market: El Vergel Bistro and Market,
Camino a El Vergel 37880 San Miguel de Allende Phone: 4151102254
Because any product
you want, that’s the finest quality you can find, is on the shelf here, from
cheese and charcuterie, to wines and beers, Bosco ice creams, breads, cookies,
organic grass-fed beef from La Canada de la Virgen, olives, coffee, teas,
pastas and super foods.
Our mind-set on good
food: it’s always worth the drive to get the best.
Best Mexican Food Destination: Oaxaca
They say that travel
changes you and this trip did. A month of immersion in Spanish language and
Oaxaca cuisine included eating at all of the best restaurants, taking a trip
down the Mezcal trail, visiting the markets at Tlacolula, Octolan and Etla and cooking with
award-winning, international chef and culinary expert Susana Trilling at
Seasons of My Heart in Etla and Top Chef Mexico winner Rodolfo Castellano at
Origen Oaxaca. Both are considered to be two of the best chefs in Mexico and we
wouldn’t pass on the opportunity to cook with either one of them again.
Everyone has their
reasons for taking a cooking class. The most important thing it did for me was to
resurrect my love of cooking; I suddenly wanted to be back in the kitchen
again. That was a defining moment for someone who has spent the last four years
eating out every day.
If you can pick one
place in Mexico that will change you, Oaxaca is it.
Best Newcomer: Marsala, cocina con acentos,
Hernandez Macias 48
Eat just once at her enchanting, new restaurant and you’ll find
out why she’s on Top Chef Mexico this season. The Mediterranean food is some of
the best in SMA; the caramel pudding legendary…not to mention her pink hair.
Make a reservation; it's always packed, especially when Top Chef Mexico is on TV and the hometown crowd is there to cheer her on.
Best Newly Discovered Cuisine: Tabasco, Mexico
I’m always open to new
tastes but a whole new cuisine? Last year at the San Miguel Food Festival, I
discovered the food of Tabasco, Mexico. It was an eye-opener.
Chef Nelly Cordova
Morillo of Cocina Chontal made an extraordinary dish called Horneado de Cerdo
en Barro, a pork dish; typical Tabasco comfort and fiesta food, that challenged
explanation. It was served on a plate called comal de barro ahumado that’s
smoked in a Barro oven for months before using. The flavors of this dish were
both surprising and complex. Nelly also made a beautiful Estofado de Lengua de
Res at the Chefs table at night.
Chef Lupita Vidal
Aguilar was also there. Last year, she received the Excellence Award to the
traditional culture of Mexico. Her restaurant, La Cevicheria, is a restaurant
that rescues, safeguards and showcases the culinary values of the state of
Tabasco. This award was granted by the Conservatory of the Mexican Gastronomic
Culture during the World Forum of Mexican Gastronomy in Mexico City. It's was
the first time anyone in the state of Tabasco has ever received this award.
Best New Ingredient: Hoja Santa
If I had a green thumb,
I would be growing it. I’m so addicted to the taste. I first had it in the
chicken soup in San Martin Tilcajete, Oaxaca. It's now one of my favorite
Mexican ingredients. I brought back a starter plant from Jane Robison’s garden
at Casa Colonial where I stayed for the month. Interestingly, one of her older
plantings had grown to the size of a giant tree.
Best Opening Party: Doce 18 and L’Otel, Relox
18
Doce 18 and L’Otel
opened at Relox 18 this past year and changed the face of SMA forever. Even when L'Otel was being built, it was stunning.
Powered
by impressive food, top-notch VIP service and glamorous people, these two
parties defined the social calendar for 2016.
Cutting out the
supermarket distribution chain is your first step to finding good produce. We
like to know where our food comes from and there are four places we shop for
hard to find vegetables and fruits:
Alex’s stand in front
of the old Mercado Centro
Leo, the vegetable
guy, in from of the old Luna de Queso
Saturday Organic
Market, Mercado Sano, Ancha San Antonio 123
Via Organica,
Margarito Ledesma 2, Col. Guadalupe
Best Service: La Azotea, Umaran #6
Eduaro Perez Calvo
sets the gold standard for service in SMA. This Centro favorite will always
treat you like the king or queen you are. In fact, we think the service is almost
as memorable as the Jicima Tacos.
Best Spanish Food Word: ENCAMOTADA
I never heard the word
before until Chef Armando Prats Leal used it in a Facebook post on MARSALA,
cocina con acentos. He explained the term to me: "In the restaurant jargon
in Mexico it means that the workload is such that you cannot even think
straight, the kitchen looks like a bunch of "headless chicken.” We’re
still laughing.
Best Street Food Chef: ANDY of Andy’s Tacos,
at the corner of Insurgentes and Hidalgo
Because, after all
these years on the street, he confessed that he still loves cooking for you.
Best Surprise Food City: TULSA
You heard us right and
you’re surprised as we are. When we lived in Tulsa years ago, great restaurants
were hard to find. Now, you get an unforgettable food fix just about everywhere
you go. At The Tavern, Chef Ben Alexander’s local preparations use simple
ingredients; he created one of the best meals we ate in Tulsa last Christmas. We’re
also devoted to the food at Burn Co BBQ, Tallgrass Prairie Table, Mahognay
Steak House, Napa Flats, Bordean Seafood, and Red Rock, just to name a few. Also, the Celebrity Club in
Tulsa started out as a private club in 1963 and in 1984, founder Mike Samara
contributed to the writing of a bill to legalize liquor by the drink in Oklahoma.
I remember; I lived in Tulsa then. Celebrity Restaurant was issued the state’s
first liquor license and opened its doors to the general public. Known for
their table side Caesar salad - named Oklahoma’s “Best of the Best” 10 years in
a row – they are also famous for their Lobster, steaks and cast-iron skillet
fried chicken served with biscuits and gravy. The delicious brandy ice tasted
just like the Brandy Alexander my dad use to make back in the 60's. For that
reason alone, we would have loved it.
Best Sweet Shop: Artenasa at the Rosewood
Hotel, Calle Nemesio Diez #11
We can eat a dozen of
their chocolate fudge cookies in one sitting… and then start on all the rest.
Without a doubt, the
sweetest tables in town without the view are in front of the window at La Canica and Buenos
Aires Bistro.
Of course, that
would all change if Chef Donnie Masterton created that table for two on the
roof at The Restaurant. Just saying
Best View: Luna Roodtop, Rosewood Hotel, Calle
Nemesio Diez #11 AND Antonia Bistro, San Francisco #57 AND Quince Rooftop, Cuna
de Allende #15 AND ZUMO, Calle Orizaba 87-9
A feast for the eyes,
devouring the beauty of San Miguel is on the top of the list of things to do in
SMA. Tourists will tell you it’s one of their favorite things to do.
We can now claim four
restaurants – soon to be a fifth with FATIMA -
with landscapes to take in the views. Even the locals get nostalgic when they
get the 360-degree shot that takes your breath away at sunset.
Best Wine Bar: Vino + Tapas, Insurgentes #63
It started out as a
wine store but Vinos+Tapas, opening just one year ago, now carries many labels
from both Mexico and Europe. They are priced a bit higher than other
restaurants but all you have to do is taste these wines to figure out
why. We have a lot to learn when it comes to wine and Chef Rosales is a
willing educator. Look for the rooftop to open next month. Getting a ride to
and from the restaurant is just one of the perks of being a customer. Think of
how many wines you can get into with a ride home.
Best Wine Cellar: Seleccion de la Casa by
Santisima Trinidad, Doce 18, Relox 18
Seleccion de la Casa,
the inviting wine cellar by Santisima Trinidad at Doce 18, also houses SMA's
most beautiful tasting table.
Best Wine Expert: Arael Gomez Tello of Argot
del Vino
Arael Gomez Tello, a
passionate culinarian and promoter of the world of wine, is one of the most
knowledgeable wine experts in SMA. We kept making the rounds but it was
at his booth, at a local food festival, where we experienced some of the best
wines from Mexico. Arael’s company, Argot el Vino, has a wine portfolio that
includes close to 300 labels and continues to grow.
Best Wine Store: Cava Sautto, Hotel Sautto,
Hernandez Macias # 59
This wine store,
hidden behind the registration desk in Hotel Sautto, has a remarkable cellar
that is stocked with well-known labels, including Casa Madero and other fine
wines from Mexico, South America and Europe.
The most expensive
wine they sell? Dominio de Pingus is a Spanish winery located in Quintanilla de
Onésimo in Valladolid province with vineyards in the La Horra area of the
Ribera del Duero region. Their wine is considered a cult wine and sold at
extremely high prices while remaining somewhat inaccessible. Hand over 20,300
pesos and it’s all yours at Cava Sautto.
You can spend hours
hanging out in their one-story-up wine cellar studying labels but you’ll have
more fun taking them home to taste.
Farewell…
One of SMA’s most
respected chefs, Victor Palma of the Rosewood Hotel,
was appointed Executive Chef of the Rosewood CordeValle in San Martin, Ca. this
past year. CordeValle’s cuisine is true to the standards of its’ five star
quality. The resort also has an 85 acre winery and vineyard. We’re
already missing his fabulous cooking, especially the Roasted Beetroot and Date
Salad with caramelized pumpkin seeds, rocket lettuce, marinated cherry
tomatoes, fine herb vinaigrette, Granny Smith Ice Cream and Medjol
dates.
Returning chef, Carlos Hannon, has some big shoes to fill.
Sad to hear of the
passing of culinary legend Dona Reyes. Dona Reyes was your beloved grandmother
reincarnated. She owned Fonda Dona Reyes in Mercado Ignacio Ramirez for over 46
years. Caldo de Pollo con Arroz with a whole chicken leg and a bouquet of fresh
cooked vegetables, smothered with chilies and condiments, was a jolt you never
experienced at breakfast before. Miss you, dulce abuela.
Now, there’s one less
place for those addicted to good food to eat. We heard a lot of speculation as
to why it failed. Our though: it shouldn’t have and we’re really sad it’s gone.
La Abastera Nacional at Clzda. La Estacion 59
We loved the
high-quality of the just-picked produce and the generally good vibe of this
market. It was a great effort by Pablo Torres, but the timing was off. We’re sorry to see it close and hope that he'll open another location in SMA. Thanks Pablo!
The sauce is also used in a Peruvian street food dish
incorporating beef hearts that are marinated, skewered, and seared over the
grill. We had them this past year at MISTURA, the food festival in Lima. Ale
is also responsible for recommending the best meal we’ve ever eaten at MAIDO in
Lima.
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