2016 was the year to be in SMA. With the addition of so many good restaurants, you could eat your way through a 4 week stay and never go to the same place twice.
Then there are those of us who live here. Some of us get stuck on a few good restaurants and never go anywhere else. 2017 is the year to break out of your restaurant rut. When a new restaurant opens, give them time to work out the kinks. One of the restaurants on our list below got spotty reviews the first month they were open. Into the second month, the management worked out the service issues. It’s one of our favorite restaurants.
When we walk into a restaurant, we have no expectations. We’re totally open to every eating out experience we’re fortunate enough to have. In 2016, there were over 600 of them. Eating out is entertainment – someone cooks for you and you don’t have to do the dishes afterwards. That’s reason enough to celebrate.
(Photo: cupcakesandcrablegs.com)
Some people buy art or collect cars; we eat. We eat with all of our senses; we’re passionate about great food. We like cooking at home almost as much as we love going out to eat. We try to order something different every time we go out. That doesn’t always work; we have our favorites too. Dishes like Chef Matteo Salas’s duck breast in champagne sauce at Aperi or Chef Marco Cruz’s blue mushrooms with miso and mezcal sauce at Nomada cocina de interpretacion feed our soul. We read cookbooks like novels, research recipes and get excited when we talk about ingredients. When it comes to getting them, we’re delighted with all the purveyors that were added to SMA’s source list last year. We think high-quality ingredients are worth the price; we can taste the difference.
Some say its people and circumstances that make a great restaurant experience and we don’t disagree. Although we place a great deal of importance on getting good service when we go out, to tell you the truth, for us, it’s always about the food. The mark of an exceptional restaurant is one that delivers great food every single time. We’ve had fabulous dinners in five star restaurants but have also eaten meals at taco carts and tiny palapas that we believe are some of the best we’ve ever had. If the food isn’t good, it doesn’t work for us.
Donnie Masterton, The Restaurant, Birdie’s Burgers, Taco Lab and El Vergel Bistro and Market (Photo: cupcakesandcrablegs.com)
After traveling this past year, we’re convinced that San Miguel de Allende has some of the best restaurants in the Mexico, some of them world class. Here are our picks for the Best Chefs and Restaurants of 2016.
Next week, from agave spirits to vegetarian, a list of where to get some of best food in SMA.
