I’m a bit embarrassed to tell you that I’ve joined the born-again movement. For years I’ve been obsessed with counting my protein, fats, and carbs and building the ultimate performance body. It’s not that I’m throwing that all away. But I’ve plopped myself in the middle of a gourmand paradise for the winter and you know how the saying goes, “When in Rome…”
| San Miguel de Allende |
| Is “Foodie” an Acquired Title Reserved for Older People? |
| The Brunch That Blew Me Away |
| Not My First Rodeo |
| The Blueberry Compote Homemade Pancake Experience |
| Foodie Training in Niagara |
San Miguel de Allende
It’s no secret to my blog readers, or my social media friends that we are overwintering in the Mexican highlands. We moved to San Miguel de Allende to spend six glorious months to escape the cold Canadian winters. It was on a whim that we visited this cultural mecca last November where I declared:
I'm coming here to live for the winter
Something captivated my spirit during those five days we spent here. I had been searching for a creative paradise my entire life. San Miguel gained notoriety in the 1930s when a young Sterling Dickinson planted the seeds for what is romantically known as “an art colony.” As an idealist and romantic, I was hooked! Heck, this place isn’t even reasonable as it’s expensive, and coming from the land of “beach or die in the winter,” there is not a drop of water in site! Heck #2: Today was “freezing” with a high of a mere fourteen degrees Celsius!
San Miguel de Allende is three and a half hours north of Mexico City and sits at just over six thousand feet in elevation. It is located in the highlands of Mexico meaning winter mornings can be quite cool. The closest beach is around a ten to twelve-hour drive.
You can read more about the grand leap of faith I took to overwinter in San Miguel here
Is “Foodie” an Acquired Title Reserved for Older People?
I have been contemplating if I should tell people I have transitioned into a Foodie. I mean, I am not a huge fan of the kitchen unless it’s to prep for a party. Last year I barely lifted a finger in the kitchen except for the time I went to town baking and preparing food for a surprise birthday party in the woods for my husband. I made prosciutto, arugula and shaved parmesan pizzas from scratch. Our friends helped to haul in a massive amount of wine, hors d’oeuvres, and yummy dessert into our secret spot in the forest (and of course my homemade gourmet pizzas!)
I was doing bodybuilding shows at the time and felt I was at odds with decadent food (I definitely did not hold back at the birthday party in the woods!). That had me wondering if I had been denying myself a gourmand lifestyle because of my athletic pursuits or like fine wine, being a foodie is a title reserved for people as they mature and develop more exquisite tastes?
Do we only begin to appreciate the subtle differences between foods and food combinations as our taste buds mature with age? I mean, why had I not raved about prosciutto, arugula, and shaved parmesan pizza paired with a spicy cab sauv years earlier?
It’s probably a combination of reasons but it was that first trip to a foodie mecca like San Miguel in 2022 that opened my eyes, or should I say my taste buds to the foodie world.
The Brunch That Blew Me Away
It’s official. As of Wednesday, November 22nd, 2023, I’m calling myself a Foodie. I’m reborn. There’s no stopping me and there’s definitely no turning back. I had the brunch that blew me away.
Now I have to put a disclaimer on this brunch. I cheated. I had to look at a list of highly-rated coffee houses in San Miguel as I found myself going to the same ones over and over again. I may only be out of the closet about my foodie title, but it’s no secret that I’m a coffee whore.
I have been for quite a few years. It’s the cappuccino that led to my whoring ways. Let’s face it, it’s the milkshake of coffee for adults.
I digress – the disclaimer. In searching for another blogger’s opinion on the best coffee houses in San Miguel I learned that the cafe at the Biblioteca is home to not only an amazing brew but also an amazing foodie experience (“Biblioteca” = library). It’s called the Santa Ana Gastro Cafe and is how we landed here for lunch on this moody Wednesday.
Back to the brunch. It was “just eggs” with the usual accompaniments – bacon, potatoes, etc., etc. My husband had some kind of omelette that looked delicious but after my non-stop raving he swears he’ll have my dish next time.
Onto these eggs. I like to try my best to communicate in Spanish so I proudly declared my eggs to the server “mas duro” – over hard and “papas por favor” as I did not see potatoes on the menu. As a side note, my husband and I have “papas” and “totopos” down pat in Spanish. We love potatoes (papas) and Mexican-made tortilla chips (totopos). My server responded in English “French fries ok?” To which I replied, “Yes ma’am!”
Now I was starving. So I saw my husband’s dish had chorizo sausage. I had already ordered “tocino” (bacon) and then blurted out “chorizo por favor!”
The dishes came. I salivated. Our server put down a nice dark Americano coffee by each of our plates to wash down our salty, fatty meals. I love that feeling of a hot, acidic coffee that follows on the tip of a tangy bite of food.
My over-hard eggs were unlike any other over-hard eggs I’d ever eaten. Was there a spice they used? Was it the oil? Were they perfectly flipped to make the yolks hard? It didn’t matter. I plunged my fork into my eggs, speared a crispy piece of bacon, and slid the fork into my mouth. My eyes closed. Silence enveloped the room. The texture of the perfectly crisp bacon serenaded the inside of my mouth. I swallowed with enthusiasm my first bite, opened my eyes, and suddenly felt this warm glow of love all around me.
I was smitten. My fellow blogger was right. This food was to die for. I delved with an unbridled eagerness into the rest of my meal. The avocado. the red sauce (Ketchup? Salsa?) The chorizo! I was expecting a big, fat sausage and instead, it was presented like ground beef that tickled every little bud in my mouth as I spooned it in. Sometimes I mixed it with my perfect eggs, sometimes the bacon. No matter how it entered my mouth it was the best ground chorizo I ever tasted!
And then the french fries. They looked like ordinary fries. Pedestrian fries even. Fries that may have been served at any Mcdonalds. But they weren’t. What the heck had they done to these fries to make them so outstanding? It didn’t matter. It wasn’t time to question the fry. It was time to descend into french fry ecstasy. I closed my eyes once again and felt the slightly crisped edges, the soft, delicate juice that quietly caressed the inside of my mouth when I bit into them. Had I potentially found the perfect fry?
Meet the Chef
I could not contain myself. A fellow came by who I recognized from behind the serving counter. Being the polite Canadian I am, I asked:
Hables Ingles? (Do you speak English?)
To which he replied:
“Poco” (A little)
And then I said “Tu es el Chef?” (Total “Spanglish”)
To which he replied “No”
My face welled up. Even though he was not the chef, he represented the brand behind this amazing sensual foodie experience. I took my hand and gently pounded my heart, pointed to the food, and then scrunched my fingers to my lips as I made a kiss as if to say:
“I am humbled by the food you all have prepared for me.”
And that is how I proudly became born again as a Foodie.
Architectural Paradise
Like everywhere else in San Miguel de Allende, even the surroundings of the cafe in the Biblioteca are an architectural paradise. Does this make for an even more profound foodie experience? Probably. It’s like all your senses are being stimulated while you eat in San Miguel.
Not My First Rodeo
I have to confess that my experience at Santa Ana Gastro Cafe was not my first time at the rodeo, so to speak. I tend to document my experiences that break the bounds of sensuality when they happen. It’s like I know that I have to inevitability share the gospel when the time comes. And now is that time.
As someone who has food sensitivity flare-ups, I developed a “backup plan” when we were hitting the restaurants last November during our first trip to San Miguel. I’d order totopos (tortilla chips) and guacamole or salsa. It’s not a foodie tragedy. Tortilla chips in many of the restaurants are made from scratch. They are warm, crunchy, baked-to-perfection chips unlike any tortilla chip I’ve tasted before in all of Canada and the U.S. And guacamole and salsas are also made from scratch here. The veggies are so fresh, often chunky, and spiced just right.
Just the other week, we ended up in a restaurant in mid-afternoon. Now is the time that I have to make another confession. I’ve become quite fond of tequila. And Mezcal is even stimulating my interest! I’m sure there will be a future post about tequila’s sultry cousin, Mezcal but for now, I will share with you how my relationship with tequila has matured from my university days.
Tequila is quite complex. Margarita is my drink of choice to explore tequila and it tastes quite different depending on what brand is used and how it is prepared. Margaritas also pair wonderfully with totopos!
This one particular afternoon we started with a traditional margarita and homemade totopos and guacamole. It was the appeal of our drinks that spurred us into ordering seconds. We decided to venture out and try their salmon with goat cheese and olive tapenade appetizer. While I’m not sure the margarita was the perfect pairing for this hors d’oeuvre, it was quite tasty on its own.
The irony is that I usually don’t tolerate dairy well. A little can be fine and I could not pass up the chance to try the goat cheese/salmon/olive tapenade combination with this appetizer.
After this experience, I felt like I wanted to “spread the good word” to others but held back. I was unsure if my experience was overshadowed by the fabulous margaritas. Turns out I have a desire to experience sensual delights that titillate and stimulate my taste buds.
The Blueberry Compote Homemade Pancake Experience
I have to share one other experience that I’ve been having in Mexico that has been over the top. I wasn’t sure if my feelings were valid or if this was some kind of “first-time” euphoria. To top it off I shared my first blueberry compote homemade pancake experience on social and it fell flat.
I felt exposed. I was titillated and no one responded. Was I speaking to the wrong crowd? Was this mundane and others knew it? I kept subsequent blueberry compote homemade pancake experiences to myself. I am at the stage of coming out though that I feel compelled to share the gospel of this righteously stimulating breakfast experience.
God damn, maybe I’m losing it but the blueberries and bacon in Mexico are so much more flavourful than back home. Our blueberry compote homemade pancakes are “that” exceptional and rocking our taste buds as they’ve never been rocked before by blueberries or bacon.
Whatever it is, I declare myself a Foodie and I’m out to share my near-religious experiences with others!
Foodie Training in Niagara
I always like to sing the praises of my home turf so will share with you how you can start your foodie training in Niagara. Heck – my taste buds were tantalized back home without me even realizing I was being “food swooned.”
During the pandemic, I ordered tapas for a cigar party I had in our backyard for my husband’s birthday. The place I chose to order from in our hometown of St. Catharines was The District: Tapas Bar & Grill.
I remember being amazed at how delicious everything was and was delighted when there were leftovers for the next day. Of course, everything is that much more yummy the next day, even tapas!
Fast forward to this past winter and we found ourselves at The District several times when eating out with friends. In fact, our friends would suggest this awesome restaurant to us! I would say their foods are sinful. It’s the type of place where everyone orders a dish so you can try a little bit of everything.
If you’re coming into Niagara for a weekend, The District is on the main strip downtown – St. Pauls St. near the intersection with Ontario St. And heck #2, if you’re really looking for a different experience, book our Niagara Wine Country Art House!