Our wonderful driver; Aaron made getting to San Miguel de Allende a snap. Our accommodation, the very comfortable and well appointed Casa Lani Luxury B&B was just at the edge of the somewhat busy, touristy Centro area.
We were the only customers staying at the B&B during the two evenings which made for a relaxing and peaceful stay.
The first order of business after quickly getting settled was to take a stroll around the downtown area and get our bearings.
Most cities and towns in Mexico have a main square (the "Zócalo"). Here in San Miguel, it's the Jardín Allende.
A wonderful green space, which is fairly peaceful in the morning, but gets more lively as the days passes and is really buzzing at night.
Right across the street is the Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel. Made of pink sandstone it is quite striking. The church was closed at the time of this visit; we'd return later. We headed next door to the Iglesia de San Rafael.
Which was quite striking in its own right.
Notice the statue of Saint Anthony Abad to the right. Notice anything? The pig perhaps? Well, in case you didn't know, Saint Anthony the Abbott is the Patron Saint of pigs! Yes indeed, you can read more about it here if you're interested. And if you desire; the next time you're in Paris you can get a dish from Au Pied de Cochon, named La Tentation de Saint-Antoine ("The Temptation of Saint Anthony") which consists of deep fried pig trotters!
San Miguel is known for being quite artsy and is indeed very colorful. We loved checking out the courtyards and various nooks and crannies……
We decided to stop for a little caffeine boost on the way back to our room and dropped into a quiet and quaint little cafe; Oso Azul.
And enjoyed being the only customers in the place…..
Cafe Oso Azul
Zacateros 17, Zona Centro,
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
I wanted our dinners in San Miguel to be fun and special. I had been told about and had read about Luna Rooftop Tapas Bar in the Rosewood Hotel. The view at dusk is said to be wonderful. So, I made reservations. We walked on over and were showed our way to the rooftop and yes, the view was amazing.
The staff were friendly and accommodating. And the residents with wings made sure we knew who "really" ran the place.
They basically had very little fear of hooo-mans…..
It was a great place to have cocktails….
And watch the sunset….along with our new fine-feathered-friends…..
Things in San Miguel were more expensive than CDMX….for instance, the Guacamole; which was pretty good cost 250 $MX, about $12.25/US! For a bowl of Guacamole…
Which came with Tlayudas, Tortillas Chips, and Chicharron.
In what would become the running joke of the evening….the Missus loved the chicharron. So, we asked if we could have more….the guys working were surprised. I'm guessing most folks aren't into the pork rinds here? They also found this amusing and quickly brought the Missus a serving of just chicharron.
For the rest of the evening, whenever the Servers would come by they would ask the Missus; "more chicharron?? More chicharron??" And when She did say "Si…muy chicharron…" They would all crack up! They were really a fun bunch!
As for the food. Well, let me just say that the presentations were nice, but the flavors were quite mild, and dare I say somewhat mutes for our tastes.
The shrimp in both the Shrimp Ceviche (275$ MX – $13.50/US) and Aguachile (280 $MX – $13.50/US) were cooked! And thus quite tough. Both dishes really needed more citrus and were on the bland side.
The Duck Confit "Carnitas" (295 $MX – $14.50/US) were dry, but at least had some gamey duck flavor.
The Manzano Peppers on the duck was really good though….sweet, fruity, with a slight kick.
And of course the Missus had more chicharron!
But of course, the main reason we came here was for this.
As we finished up and the wonderful staff bade us farewell, we could really see why San Miguel de Allende was a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Luna Rooftop Tapas Bar (In the Hotel Rosewood)
Nemesio Diez 11, Zona Centro
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
San Miguel de Allende was indeed colorful; the people friendly, and we were hoping that our upcoming meals would be as delicious as San Miguel was beautiful.
This came with some really tasty black beans. Surprisingly, at least for us, we really enjoyed the parsley rub more! It had nice garlic tones; some cumin, and you could really taste the mild, almost sweet flavor of the snapper, which was grilled perfectly! Don't get me wrong; that adobo rub had some nice smokiness and spice; but you really couldn't enjoy the great quality of the fish as much.
Panadería Almuerzos
While some of the pieces of zucchini were under cooked and too hard for my taste, there were a couple that were nice and creamy. These were nicely seasoned and not overly salty.
As we strolled on over to our car, the Missus and I remarked about how much we enjoyed the vibe of Los Olivos. We just wished there were better accommodations (like under $400/night) and perhaps a nice destination restaurant.
Each of the buildings has an underground "Guest parking" area before their respective security gates. 
There is usually a soup of the day, always Mom's Chicken Soup and always Mom's Beef & Bean Chili. Here's the chili ($5.75). An excellent, from scratch chili -not too spicy and very flavorful- the coarse ground beef and fresh cooked kidney beans make the texture of the chili very pleasant. 
At the bottom corner of the menu board are Monday-Friday daily specials. 
We also were here on Meatball Monday ($10.75) Mom's from scratch meatballs (five) covered in a from scratch marinara, melted Provolone and served on a toasted French roll. Excellent. The large meatballs were light, meaty and flavorful with basil, garlic and parsley. 
Bros, not 'Brothers', Bros. Waiting inside to pick up 'to-go' orders, you'll hear the phone answered 'China Bros'. 
There's a menu on the wall. If you are eating in, there are wipeable, one page menus handed out. I do appreciate attention to cleanliness.
As usual, I ordered hot tea ($2.25) which was kept refilled. Egg drop soup (with corn) was brought out for both of us. A very eggy version made with a rich flavored (not salty) chicken broth.
The Shrimp Egg Foo Young ($12.95), of course, had to be ordered for our first eat-in meal. What a lovely version! 
Fluffy eggs, light top and bottom crusts, plenty of plump, juicy shrimp. Served with rice and a good brown (again, not salty) gravy, this is an excellent meal with plenty of leftovers which reheated well. 
Lunch Specials (until 4 p.m. daily) are served with steamed rice, fried rice or chow mein or half and half of your choice, as well as the corn egg drop soup. This was L-19, "Fish filet with black bean sauce" ($9.95). The pieces of fish were lightly breaded and fried to a light crisp, which remained crispy even under the slightly thick, garlic-y, salty black bean sauce. The vegetables were very fresh and also remained crisp. The chow mein seems to be requested a lot here and has a slight smoky 'wok hei'. 
Located at the South East corner of Broadway at H Street, next to the new/current location of Aqui Es Texcoco (
Señorita bread is sold hot from the oven; that's why there is a short wait; it's never 'day old'…even if you take it home…
You can buy it by the bag or the box. You really should at least buy the minimum of five pieces as long as you are in the neighborhood. Buy more to give to friends. Buy some to eat in the car while driving home. Seriously, 60¢ for one piece. A piece of happiness. Joy. Deliciousness.
You might have noticed there are other bakery items in the glass case and on the counter. Many (sweet) baked goods are here (donuts, cupcakes, small poundcake). This is a guava jelly filled 
Take a look at the color of the ginger-scallion sauce to the right and compare it to 
On occasion I would take either my or the Missus's car to Victor's next door for a hand carwash, especially after roadtrips. So, during one of those sessions I decided to have some tacos while waiting for the Missus's car.
Again I was the only customer and even though it was just 1045 in the morning I was the only customer, which made me a bit concerned about sustaining business.
I should have known better, but perhaps I was 
I enjoyed the textural contrast of the Chorizo with Nopales….but of course I enjoy the supposed "mucilaginous" texture. I do think I'd enjoy a more assertive flavor component.
