mmm-yoso – Page 90

Eurofood Depot Gourmet Market

September 7, 2022 mmm-yoso Markets & Grocers

**** Eurofood has moved to a larger location on Miramar Road. You can find an updated post here.

While in Paris during our last visit I took a Baguette class. One of the great things about the class was the discussion with the Boulangère. I asked a couple of questions revolving around the significant differences between baguettes in France/Europe and those in the states. The instructor was fantastic and had actually worked as pastry chef and baker at a couple of restaurants in LA. Most of the discussions revolved around French Baguettes, by law having only four ingredients. And most importantly, the flour that is used. I'll go into that in more detail when that post comes around. Anyway, I decided to see if I could actually get French flour here….and in my Google search a place came up. One that I'd never heard of, with an interesting name, "Eurofood Depot Gourmet Market". Now, I thought it rather strange to both "depot" and "gourmet" in the same name. Looking at the address was even more puzzling as the place looked to be located in an office park. So, I decided to check them out.

EuroFood 01

I drove on up and saw this little shop in what was indeed an office park in Sorrento Valley. Walking in, I was fairly surprised. It was indeed a tiny shop, but the selection was quite good…….and it really did bring me back to France.

EuroFood 02 EuroFood 11 I just had to smile when I saw some of the brands. Benedicta, Bonne Maman, Fossier, Gavottes…….items that would be right at home at your local Carrefour or Monoprix. For some reason it just made me happy. The gentleman working named Franck was a joy. I believed he is one of the owners.

And yes, I did indeed find French T45 Flour.

EuroFood 12

Though I quickly got distracted by other things.

EuroFood 03

So far I've made a half dozen visits…….

EuroFood 05

The cheeses are not note worthy unless you're a fan of various supermarket brands. The snacks are a nice novelty.

The frozen baguettes; I always verify that what they have in stock is from France is something we now always have on hand.

EuroFood 06

A frozen baguette you might say!!! Well, the one take away I got from my baguette class was how to reheat and revive frozen/refrigerated baguettes. I was already using the technique on various versions bought here in San Diego. It worked fine. And on these baguettes….well, while it's not like going to your local Boulangerie in France and getting "un bagette bien cuite", it's still much better then the typical "San Diego style"…….hard crust, chewy baguette made here.

Now as for the the charcuterie….well, I asked if it came from France, knowing that there are serious importing hurdles. I was told that while Fabrique Delices is indeed located in California, the Owners are from France. Over the last couple of months we've tried quite a few items and here's what we think.

EuroFood 04

The duck confit is good. The Missus says She prefers what I make, but considering that I'll only make it once a year…..well, She'll take this.

EuroFood 07

I like the Smoked Duck and prefer it to the version I get from D'artagnan.

EuroFood 10

They also sell the smoked duck breast in half portions as well.

I like the Truffle Mousse and think the Duck Rillette is decent.

EuroFood 08

As for the sausages, I like the Boudin Blanc, though the Missus prefers D'Artagnan's Toulouse style sauce to the version from here.

EuroFood 09

Overall, it great to have a place like this to shop. Where I can get items that are now staples in our household. The prices for some items are quite good as well. Little did I know it would be in a business park in Sorrento Valley. But, wherever it was; I would be willing to make the drive.

The owners are very helpful.

I'm now a regular customer and I'll do more posts as I find other items here.

Eurofood Depot Gourmet Market
6640 Lusk Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92121
Hours:
Mon – Fri 10am – 530pm
Sat 10sm – 330pm
Closed on Sundays

EuroFood 13

Lunch at Thai Pepper Cuisine

September 6, 2022 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants

Last week I managed to grab lunch with my buddy "JV". Man, we really hadn't chatted since before Covid! JV has had a pretty tough couple of months; knee surgery followed by appendicitis…..so I really wanted to know how he was doing. Since he lives in the Serra Mesa area, I thought it might be nice grabbing some lunch from a place I hadn't been to in over a decade; Thai Pepper Cuisine.

In these times, the tables in the restaurant are nicely spaced. Also JV and I met right when the place opened at 11 in hopes of avoiding a crowd.

There was only one other table occupied during our meal, though a bunch of folks started coming in as we were leaving.

The menu has changed a bit since my fun meal here with Mr & Mrs Zompus in 2009. Most of the interesting "specialty" dishes featuring duck and wild boar are no longer on the menu. In keeping with neighborhood Thai restaurants there was that collection of "choose your protein, choose your sauce" items on the menu.

JV went with the Green Curry with Pork ($11). I chose the "Special Menu" item of the Crispy Basil Chicken ($12.50). Heat level of 5 in respect for JV and we told the nice gentleman working that we'd be sharing.

The lunches came with jasmine rice which was nicely prepared and fragrant and really bad eggroll which was all filler and no flavor and a standard issue salad.

The curry was very watery and bland, not enough coconut milk and curry paste.

The Crispy Chicken wasn't bad.

Perhaps a bit on the sweet side; the thin chicken strips were nice and crunchy, there was a nice collection of chilies in this which gave it a decent "kick", and good anise-citrus tones from the basil. I'd have this dish again.

Beyond the food, it was great catching up with JV, it seems that the last 2 1/2 years just slipped away.

After lunch we went over to JV's house and he showed me the upgrades they've done and I also got to meet his two pooches and his chickens!

He even gave me a dozen eggs for the Missus!

Man, how I've missed my friends…….

Thai Pepper Cuisine
3361 Sandrock Road
San Diego, CA 92123

Eating to Beat the Heat – The Market at HFS, Zgara Greek Grill, and an Odd Craving

September 5, 2022 mmm-yoso Greek Food, Markets & Grocers, Poke, Seafood

Man, was it hot this weekend or what? And even worse was the humidity!

It actually hit 96 in Bay Park! Crazy…..

So, I've been mainly surviving on cold tofu and salads! But of course this weather was perfect for some Poke. So, after hitting up the Little Italy Mercado, then Nijiya, I drove up to the Market at HFS to pick up some poke. I got there 15 minutes before opening and was the sixth person in line! I'm thinking that a lot of folks had the same idea.

Heat HFS 01

I got the Shoyu Ahi and the Kimchi Ahi, also a Medium Bowl with brown rice, fish in a separate container. I'd be packing the Missus Her lunch and dropping it off at work for Her……and She has some specific requirements for the bowl.

Heat HFS 02

All the Ahi products are now $25.99 a pound.

Anyway, here's what I got.

Heat HFS 03 Heat HFS 04 The quality of the ahi wasn't quite as good as what I'd had on previous visits; with more "sugi" (connective tissue) than usual.

For some reason, I enjoyed the kimchi ahi…perhaps it was the spice and savory components, which was pretty good. It was quite refreshing served ice cold.

The Missus enjoyed Her "yoso-Eats" lunch delivery.

Heat HFS 05

I'm guessing we'll be hitting up HFS a lot more during this heatwave.

The Market at HFS
6491 Weathers Place
San Diego, CA 92121

I'm so happy that Zgara Greek Grill reopened just over 2 years ago (as did the Market at HFS). It's fairly close by and a convenient stop. Eric looked happy and said business was good.

Heat Zgara 01 Heat Zgara 02 And I was happy, because my Pork Gyro was as good as ever.

It really hit the spot. Love the crisp edges on the hand made pork gyros.

Zgara Greek Grill
1229 Morena Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92110

While I was waiting for my pork gyro I got the weirdest craving….so I walked over to Andres Latin Market……

Heat Andre 02

And bought me an Inca Cola…….I mean really, I don't drink soda these days, and I'll have Inca Cola when we're in Peru. Not sure why I "just needed it" on this day!

But along with the pork gyro; that "bubble-gummy" sweetness really hit the spot.

Heat Andre 01

Can you say "aaaahhhhhh"?

Andrés Latin Market
1249 Morena Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92110

I hope everyone manages to keep cool and comfortable during this heatwave!

Pho Lucky Reopening in Mira Mesa and it’s been 900 Days……

September 2, 2022 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants, yoso-silly

**** You can find my post on my first visit to Pho Lucky since the reopening here.

My buddy "Calvin" told me that he heard Pho Lucky was reopening so I headed on over this past weekend. And guess what?

This brought a smile to my face. While perhaps the pho was not always consistent, Pho Lucky made my favorite version of Bo Kho. Though looking at the sign, I'm thinking this might be a whole new set of folks? Hopefully, we'll soon see…..

9326 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126

And it's been 900 days……

I went over to Nijiya to do some shopping….something I do a couple of times a week it seems.

900 Days

And for some reason; I flashed back to this:

Covid shopping 09

Covid shopping 10

And this…..

Covid shopping 05

And then I did a quick check on my date/time calculator and saw, that it was going to be 900 days since "that day". I think of that day being March 16, 2020 when all the closures pretty much started. Like I mentioned in my TK Donuts post it really hit home on the 18th of March. I was already going to work super early; like before 5am and by now nothing was open for coffee, not even 7-11 or Starbucks. I drove down Clairemont Drive and onto the I-5 North and saw not a single vehicle….getting off at Nobel Drive, ditto…..nothing until I passed a police cruiser near Genesee. It was eerie, like I was transported to some sci-fi movie.

I'll never forget that morning.

And of course, since this is a food blog, I mourn the loss of so many places, some personal favorites, and others places with a long history in their neighborhoods. So many places……

Things continue to change; new challenges arise. Frankly there were times when I wondered if I should keep on posting So many have stopped or moved on to the latest platform/app. But the desire to eat and share our meals/shopping/travel hasn't abated. For this I thank all of you for the wonderful comments and emails!

Take care and have a wonderful weekend!

Scotland (2022) – The Kelpies and Lunch at The Drover Inn

September 1, 2022 mmm-yoso British/Irish/Scottish Restaurants/Pubs, Scotland, Travel

We felt that we had lost so much time due to the pandemic. During our trip to Scotland, I decided that we'd do a private Scotch based tour with our own driver. Sean, our wonderful driver picked us up at exactly 9 am And we were off. We'd be spending the night in Oban, then two nights on Islay, visiting several distilleries.

But first we had to get there. Sean made a couple of stops on the way to Oban.

The first was outside Fallkirk at a huge park between two canals. There stood two huge and magnificent sculptures of horse heads called the Kelpies. These 100 foot high metal sculptures represent mythical shape shifting creatures called Kelpies which often take the form of a horse or pony. They can also take the form of a human, often a young woman to lure young men to their "fate". More often it would be in the shape of a pony to lure children.

These statues were quite large. To the right is the Missus standing under the nostrils of "the Kelpie". Just think, what a simple booger from that nostril would do!

From here we headed to Loch Lomond considered to be the largest lake by total area in all of the UK.

We took a short break to stretch our legs and admire the picturesque village of Luss.

Luss is a Conservation Village and is quite charming and beautiful.

We walked thru the village and over to the pier which had many memorials on it.

I can imagine how many loved sitting and standing looking out into the Loch or over to the shore…..

We then headed back out……

Our stop for lunch was at a place in Inverarnan, said to be once be the home to outlaws and even the ghost of a small girl named the Drovers Inn.

The Drover Inn, a "drover" is a cattle herder has been here for over 300 years. And while we stopped for lunch….well, many of the "creatures" on display would surely have enjoyed having me for their lunch.

It goes without saying that there was indeed a certain "vibe" to the place.

The pub had quite the menu of comfort dishes and I got to choose something I've always wanted to try. Folks of Scottish heritage that I know or knew would always make fun of the dish.

You basically ordered at the bar….this is very much the pub and soon enough, I got my Haggis, Neeps, and Tatties…..if you need a translation, sheep's "pluck" with oatmeal, onion, and spices, cooked in a casing. Served with "neeps" (turnips) and "tatties" (mashed potatoes). This was quite delicious, even the Missus thought so.

The offal flavor is quite mild, it's quite earthy and savory, tasting like a milder version of morcilla. I really enjoyed it.

The Missus ordered the Venison Stew which was really tough and quite bland.

So, I guess the Haggis won out!

There was a certain charm and sense of humor we found in Scotland that we really enjoyed. It is said that Rob Roy himself stayed here at Drovers Inn…..perhaps he enjoyed the Haggis too?

And hopefully, I'll be getting some good haggis again one day soon!

The Drovers Inn
Inverarnan North Loch Lomond, Arrochar
Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park G83 7DX Scotland

Avian Sandwiches Revisited

August 31, 2022 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

I had to do some shopping at Thuan Phat Market and was feeling a bit hungry. It had been quite a while since I'd had the Banh Mi from Avian Sandwiches and Water. In fact, I believe the place was still named Flavaful Yogurt/Avian Water at that time. The fro-yo side of the business is long gone though.

Avian Rev 01 Avian Rev 02 As I walked toward the shop I noticed several gentleman sitting facing the front of the store and then noticed that they have a television facing the parking lot, so folks can watch from outside of the place! Funny thing. Though I'm quite used to the Vietnamese Men "doing coffee" thing…..I don't ever recall seeing them watching Paw Patrol before, which is what was streaming at the time I entered the shop.

The shop is, well….they do pack things in pretty tight. With all the lottery stuff posted everywhere; it seems that it's a big part of the business here as I saw fours guys come in to buy lottery tickets while I waited for my sandwich.

Because of how tight things were in the shop, I waited outside for my Banh Mi Dac Biet now priced at $6.95. It took about 15 minutes for my sandwich, after which I headed home.

Avian Rev 03 Avian Rev 04 The bread seemed to be at that overly dry, almost stale stage as it was quite crumbly and hard. Check out all the cilantro, that wedge of cucumber, and all those pickled veggies! I guess they wanted to make I was getting my daily allowance here! Of course that threw the balance of the banh mi off a bit. The jalapenos weren't overly spicy, the pate nice and funky, the Cha Lua sliced super thin, and the Thịt Nguoi standard issue.

This was ok, but not something I'd go out of my way for.

Avian Sandwiches & Fresh Drinking Water
6937 Linda Vista Rd.
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours:
Daily 8am – 7pm

On an interesting note, while waiting for my sandwich I saw the hours posted which threw me off at first…..

Avian Rev 05

Sun-Mon 8am – 7pm…….but open 7 Days????

Saffron 12 Years Later and Harper’s Topiary Garden

August 30, 2022 mmm-yoso Exploring San Diego, Thai Restaurants, yoso-silly

I received an interesting email after doing my post on El Zarape 10 years later from "MattT". It was a very nice email, Matt is a rather newish reader, and he said he enjoyed our posts……except he totally disagreed with how I felt about the chicken from Saffron. He mentioned moving to San Diego himself, not knowing his way around, finding Saffron, and really "connecting" with the chicken there. I took a look at my last post post on Saffron, and holy-moly, it's over 12 years old! Well, a lot can happen over 12 years. In 2016, beloved Su-Mei Yu either sold or went into a partnership with Karina's Group. If I recall, the group tried opening a location of Saffron in La Jolla, but that didn't last long. I know that the airport location is still in business.

So, I decided that it was time to try that chicken again at Saffron. So, after hitting up Lazy Acres and making another short stop (more at the end of the post), I headed on down to India avenue and instantly found free parking on the street. Maybe things were looking up.

It was just after eleven and Saffron looked to be doing some good business.

Saffron 12 01

I hadn't been here in so long……a few years back Karina took over the old chicken shop location and Saffron condensed its menu and moved all operations to the restaurant.

Saffron 12 02

I just went with what I thought would work best in terms of flavor and ordered the Two Thighs Combo with the Sweet Pepper Sauce ($12).

Before I show you what my meal looked like; here's the chicken in 2006:

Saffron12

This is 2010.

SaffronChicken03

And this is what I got on this visit.

Saffron 12 03 Saffron 12 04 Yikes. Well, the chicken was nice and moist, but the skin lacked color, was really rubbery, and worst of all the whole thing lacked flavor. I mean it really lacked flavor. Like I've said before, I really can't call this Kai Yaang. Strange thing is, I've made recipes from Su-Mei Yu's cookbook and things have turned out well. In fact, there's a "Gai Yang" recipe in Cracking the Coconut and it utilizes her "Big Four Paste" (coriander seeds/peppercorns/garlic/cilantro), more garlic, fresh ginger, cumin, caraway, and tumeric. None of which was present here.

The rice was nicely cooked, the Cambodian Salad, like on my previous visits was the best item of the meal.

Saffron 12 05

Overall, it's just not my thing. I do understand that Su-Mei Yu is much beloved here in San Diego. In fact, while waiting for my food, I was treated to a video of Su-Mei Yu cooking with a very familiar figure.

So Matt, I'm sorry that I didn't quite enjoy the chicken from Saffron. And that's ok. I'm sure there are folks who read posts of my sentimental favorites and wonder, "what the heck is wrong with Kirk's tastebuds here". We all have our favorites and sometimes it may not that gastronomically great meal…….but it may take us back to a certain time or place or event and that is great as well.

Saffron 12 06

Thanks for the revisit reminder Matt!

Saffron Thai
3737 India St.
San Diego, CA 92103
Hours:
Daily 11am – 9pm

Before heading to Saffron, I decided to finally check out a sight in the area that had been on my list for ages; Harper's Topiary Garden. So, I made the drive to Union and Vine Street and finally laid eyes upon this wonderful, whimsical creation.

I loved all the different characters….you can't help but smile when looking at this wonderful labor of love.

If you're wondering what the story is check out the story here. You'll love it!

And also check out CC's post on Harper's Topiary Garden! Hope to see a new post one of these days CC!

Monday Meanderings – LouZiana Food and SuperNatural Sandwiches Closes, Ramen Hanyuzur Coming to UTC, But it Appears JJ Chicken is Not

August 29, 2022 mmm-yoso Cajun, Southern, and Soul Food, Ramen, Sandwiches, yoso-silly

So, I go on vacation and all hell breaks loose….sheesh…. So, this past weekend, I decided to take a short drive to see what happened while I was away.

LouiZiana Food Closes:

Soo mentioned this in his post just before we left on our trip.

They closed on August 21st and the signage is already down.

Really nice folks. I'm sorry to see them go.

7128 Miramar Rd.
San Diego, CA 92121

Strange thing is, I actually visited during the end of June and all seemed well.

Louziana Rev 01

SuperNatural Sandwiches Closes:

**** SuperNatural Sandwiches has reopened with new owners

So, this past Monday, I woke to a text message from Cathy, mentioning that SuperNatural Sandwiches had closed. I then checked my email to find 7 emails messages mentioning the same thing. All of them linked to SuperNaturals Instagram. I gotta say; I've been a pretty regular customer thru Covid and they've always seemed busy, so this was indeed a shock.

And I've got quite a history with them; from the days at the San Diego Public Market,to when they opened their first brick and mortar location in the same mall, to the current location.

I wish them well and perhaps one day the Siren will rise again!

7094 Miramar Rd.
San Diego, CA 92121

It Now Seems that JJ Chicken is NOT Coming to UTC:

I need to thank "Patty" for the heads-up on this one. She mentioned that there's no indication at JJ Chicken is opening in the comments section of my post from last year. Turnover in Renaissance Towne Center seems pretty high. I drove on into the parking lot and yes, looks like the sign for JJ's is goners…..

I did a quick search online and found nada……bummer. So, if anyone has any info….

Thanks for the heads-up Patty!

8895 Towne Centre Dr.
San Diego, CA 92122

But Perhaps Ramen Hanyuzur is Coming to UTC?:

**** Well, it now looks like this location will be Ujin Ramen?

I noticed this on the other side of the mall while checking things out.

It's the unit between Star Anise and Cote D'Azur. I believe this used to be an Italian restaurant?

Of course, after what happened with JJ's perhaps I shouldn't be counting my Ajitsuke Tamago before they're ready?

8935 Towne Centre Drive #113
San Diego, CA 92122

Guanajuato (2022) – Estacion Gelato and Dinner at Mestizo

August 27, 2022 mmm-yoso Cocktails, Desserts, Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt, Mexican Restaurants, Mexico, San Miguel de Allende/Guanajuato, Travel

Our Uber picked us up right on time in SME and we headed off to Guanajuato. Our driver was fantastic and the hour-and-a-half drive came out to around $30/US! Our hotel, the Casona de Don Lucas was located on Plaza de la Paz and our room, which had two floors also had a small balcony with a view of the Plaza.

Our room was ready when we arrived so we quickly dropped off our bags and headed out to do some exploring. We quickly took to Guanajuato as it was less touristy than SME. We loved the everyday hustle and bustle, the city seemed just a colorful and vibrant.

The first thing we did was head off to the Mercado Hidalgo. Much of Guanajuato is not car friendly; in fact, the main arteries are located underground in tunnels. There are many alleyways, no grid pattern, we were told that much of the city center was built along the walls of the canyons which surround the city. So, we'd often be walking down an alleyway, which would then open up onto a plaza!

The Mercado is located in a huge building. According to legend, it is said that the structure was initially designed to be a train depot. We just took a quick look since we'd be exploring a bit further the following day when we had a private tour scheduled.

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After our short visit, we decided to check out some possibilities for dinner and also walk past the University before settling in for a short break. We ended up walking down one of the many winding and narrow streets.

At the curve in the alleyway stood a little gelato shop. The Missus and I decided to take a short break here.

It turned out to be a good choice. The service was very friendly, the gelato refreshing, and the Missus and I enjoyed sitting on the small balcony.

Estación Gelato
Cantaritos 29
Zona Centro, 36000 Guanajuato, Mexico

Once refreshed and relaxed, we strolled over to Positos and looked over the menus of two places I had on my "list". We'd end up eating a both of them on this short trip, but we'd end up returning to one for a second meal!

We strolled on over and took a quick peek at the University of Guanajuato. The University has over 30,000 students……which is why I kind of consider Guanajuato to be sort of a college town….with a ton of history.

We then headed back to the hotel for a short break before heading out for an early dinner. Since we didn't have reservations; we decided on an early dinner and got to Mestizo at 430pm and easily got a table.

The chef at Mestizo is the son of a well known ceramic artist, so the decor of the restaurant is quite lovely.

While perusing the menu, the Missus had the house version of Sangria, while I had an Old Fashioned.

First thing we noticed was how inexpensive items were versus San Miguel. And as is our MO, we found items on the Entrada menu the most interesting and ended up ordering 5 starters for our meal.

Things started out rather auspiciously with the Tostada de Pato ($180/MX)

While the presentation was very nice. The duck was bland, stringy, and dry.

The Ceviche de Robalo ($280/MX) was a slight improvement .

The marinade was bursting with wonderful citrus flavor, the overall seasoning was nice and complex. The fish however had not been marinated long enough and was overly chewy. Still, this was not bad.

Things turned around in a big way when the Chinchulines con Guacamole ($170/MX) arrived.

Perfectly fried and crisp pork intestines; wonderful porky-mild offal flavors, offset with a creamy-mildly sweet guacamole, with pungent onions and cilantro. Not only was this texturally wonderful, the melding of tastes were fantastic. Why haven't I seen this on menus everywhere?

Next to arrive was the dramatic looking Tartar de Atun en Chile Viejo ($200/MX).

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A nice tuna tartare nestled in a smoky, mildly spicy toasted dried chile, this was quite good. The tuna, was of decent quality, nice and meaty with no off flavors, the flavors counterbalanced with clean and briny cucumber and pungent onions, the nutty-sweet pistachios added a nice layer of flavor as well.

And then the show stopper arrived; the Tuetanos Mestizo ($190/MX).

Good lord, this was so delici-yoso, perfectly roasted, the bones were bursting with buttery-beefy marrow, which just melted in your mouth. A perfect amount of salt and the herbs added layers of flavor. This was so darn good, that we immediately made reservations to return on our last night in Guanajuato.

We really enjoyed most of the meal. Service was friendly and professional and the prices were quite reasonable. The tortillas were decent and up to the task of handling the food.

Mestizo
Positos 69
Zona Centro, 36000 Guanajuato, Mexico

We strolled back to our room, feeling quite satisfied. As we got to De Paz, we decided to grab a nightcap before heading off into dreamland. We saw this doorway and headed down the stairway from the sidewalk.

And walked into almost a speakeasy like bar bathed in greenish light.

The super friendly young woman manning the bar spoke perfect English. There seemed to be an interesting mix of older folks and students having drinks. So the Missus and I each had a nightcap…..

Along with some gratis chips, before heading back across the street to the hotel. I'm still not quite sure what the name of his place is….I'm thinking it was Don Beni Taberna, but am not certain.

Regardless, we really enjoyed our afternoon and evening in Guanajuato. And of course I had bone marrow dancing in my dreams…..

San Miguel de Allende (2022) – Dinner at The Restaurant and a Revisit to Lavanda Café

August 26, 2022 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Caffeine Fix, European Restaurants, Fine Dining, Mexican Restaurants, Mexico, San Miguel de Allende/Guanajuato, Travel

We headed out for dinner on our second (and last) night in San Miguel. As with our previous dinner I had taken a recommendation and made reservations for the meal. It was a nice, short stroll to dinner, just a short distance from the main square.

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Located in a restored mansion, The Restaurant apparently created quite a buzz when it opened in 2008, and has been credited with changing the food scene in San Miguel.

The dining room is situated in the lovely courtyard (so many beautiful courtyards in SME) and the menu is somewhat globally focused.

Since we had a late lunch we would stick to one of our favorite strategies and go with several appetizers and one main to make our meal.

We started with the Beef Carpaccio – $300/MX.

The beef was tenderloin and quite lean, the truffled ponzu was quite pronounced in flavor and to be perfectly frank served better as a dressing for the nice crisp veggies and potato strings. Loved the addition of mint and cilantro on this.

The Charred Octopus ($300/MX) was indeed quite charred and a bit more chewy than we prefer.

The overall bitterness of the charred Cephalopod marred the dish, though the tomatoes were sweet, with the perfect acidity, and the avocado puree helped balance out whatever heat that was provided by the habanero sauce.

I was intrigued by the Shrimp and Scallop dish ($510/MX), which featured curry dusted scallops and shrimp, and a cauliflower puree, with lentils.

This was pretty good as the shrimp and scallops were perfectly cooked, the curry flavor was tempered and really harmonized with the creamy, nutty-lightly sweet mashed cauliflower. Loved the lentils which added a nice earthy flavor and textural contrast to the dish.

The most interesting item we ordered was the Cheese Plate ($285/MX).

Yes, that's right, the cheese plate. Why? Well, it's all local/regional cheeses and except for the bleu cheese….I'm thinking that it's basically based on the type of edible mold from the area, all the others were pretty good.

The Missus enjoyed the wine selection and the service was professional and accommodating.

The Restaurant
Diez de Sollano y Dávalos 16
37700 San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato Mexico

After dinner we strolled on over to the heart of SME, the Jardín Allende. The Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel looked lovely as the sun slowly set.

And unlike when we visited earlier, the church was open and wasn't having any special event going on, so we went to take a peek inside.

After taking a quick look into the church, we crossed the street to the Jardin and had a seat and enjoyed the passage of time.

It was a nice evening for us.

The next morning we slept in for a bit. The owners of the B&B sent me a text and asked if we wanted them to make us breakfast. Since we were the only customers staying in the place we told them to not go thru the effort. Plus, the Missus wanted to try another pour over from Lavanda Café. So we headed on over a bit before they opened and were the first customers on this morning.

The Missus got Her pour over which She enjoyed.

And we shared a Salsa Verde con Chicharron which the Missus enjoyed.

IMG_1840 (2) The eggs were perfectly cooked, nice tanginess, a bit of heat, a nice, hearty breakfast.

Lavanda Café de Especialidad
Calle del Dr Ignacio Hernandez Macias 87, Zona Centro,
37700 San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

Since we were the only folks staying at our accommodation, we were told to just take our time, and that we could check out at noon instead of eleven. This would make things work out better for us in terms of getting to our next stop Guanajuato, which would take around 2 hours via Uber.

It was a pretty quiet morning around the Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel.

IMG_1841 (2)

Since the clock was just striking ten, we decided to check out the Museo de San Miguel de Allende right across the street that opened at ten.

Most of this museum is dedicated to it's former resident; Ignacio Allende, who became a hero of the Mexican War on Independence. The Allende family was a wealthy family and the museum is housed in the family's former home.