We had a bit of walking scheduled for our full day in San Miguel de Allende, so I thought getting a "good start" in terms of breakfast and caffeine was important. A few blocks from our accommodation was a place that I had read about named Lavanda Café. One of the key elements about this café was that they featured specialty coffees for the "coffee snob" in the household along with some good looking breakfasts for yours truly. I had also read that the place gets pretty busy with folks waiting in line. So, we made it a point to get there by 815, 15 minutes before opening time. There were two parties already in line when we arrived.
Soon enough the place opened up. The folks working here were very warm and accommodating. We requested and got a table upstairs which was nice and relaxing; which seemed miles away from the busy dining room below.
Looking at the coffee list the Missus immediately found something She wanted.
And at 50$ MX – about $2.50/US, this is the cheapest Geisha we've ever got.
And while She thought it to be on the "weaker side" with regards to Geisha, I thought it was still a bargain.
As for me….well, the Missus "strongly recommended" that I try the Café Lavanda, a lavender based pour over.
I just didn't enjoy the strong floral tones in this.
The Missus wasn't very hungry so we decided to share one dish and went with the Cazuela (148 $MX – about $7.25/US).
This was quite lovely and came with bread and butter. The egg was nice and perfectly done; still oozing with goodness, the rustic bacon was also quite good. The roasted tomatoes adding acidity and tangy touches. The red chili based "sauce" was rich but not overly spicy and we enjoyed the earthy mushrooms in the dish.
We enjoyed the service so much that we decided to return the next morning.
Lavanda Café de Especialidad
Calle del Dr Ignacio Hernandez Macias 87, Zona Centro,
37700 San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
After breakfast we headed right uphill for about three-quarters of a mile. The view during the walk was quite stunning. We got up to Salida Real a Querétaro and to the lookout named El Mirador.
And while the view from El Mirador was quite nice, we actually enjoyed the view from the street on the way up more.
From here we headed north on Salida Real a Querétaro then took a left (downhill) at Capilla del Cavalio ("Calvary Chapel").
Whenever we passed a building with the gates open, we'd take a peek at the courtyards; some of which were stunning.
It was a nice little walk to the Mercado de Artesanías.
This sprawling market is quite large with everything from jewelry to shawls to produce.
There seemed to be quite a few Ex-pats and tourists in the artisan portion. While the food, produce, and hot food areas seemed to have more locals.
We enjoyed our time visiting the market, but really didn't see anything that grabbed our attention. We also noticed that prices here were a bit higher than those in CDMX.
We weren't ready for our afternoon break yet and decided to make one more stop before getting some lunch……
Stay tuned!
So, first off, let me say that the former "weak link" in the combo, the miso soup, while still being kind of weak overall, was much better, less watery. The rice however was hard and very dry. So, perhaps it's not worth the extra three bucks for that? I can probably do better with what I have at home.
Man, the tonkatsu is the best I've had in a while, even better than on 
I'm sure you've noticed all the signage and artwork with ostriches in the University Heights area.
The shrimp was rubbery, the tortilla didn't hold up and fell to pieces after my second bite, even with a protective layer of cheese. This was just so very bland, I didn't expect the sweet-richness of wild caught shrimp, but this just had so little "shrimpiness"….take a look at what the shrimp taco 
was dry…..though the crema and the avocado sauce helped things out a bit; the sliver of fish made this more a cabbage taco with a garnish of fish.
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.
Which was quite striking in its own right.
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'. 
