Tried and True Restaurant Favorite

La Carreta on the main street near Plaza de Los Angeles is known for its chicken roasted over a wood fire but If you're bored with the usual Guanajuatos lettuce and tomato, know that they serve a creditable cole slaw. You can even ask for a plate of slaw without the chicken. Copies of old Mexican photos on the walls. A casual place popular with families.

I keep forgetting to mention Truco 7 on the street of the same name between the Baratillo and the Basilica. Facing the Basilica, it's the street to the right. Sometimes a wait, especially at comida time 2-4. From 11-1, my favorite time there, it's also a busy place when many Mexicans sit over coffee with their friends.

At Truco 7 I'm not a fan of the usual comida menu. A la carte is more likely to satisfy, whether a chicken sandwich on a roll accompanied by a limonada made with agua mineral. Or consider the Florentine chicken, enchiladas or a beef dish. Truco has at least four dining rooms. The waiters rush about but because they are responsible for many tables, service is slow. Go when you can take your time, the service is slow. Has a loyal Mexican and foreign following. Prices moderate.

Earlier, I've recommended Sabor y Arte but I think the standard there has fallen. Another restaurant with the same owner but a different cook and menu is Las Cruces on Sangre de Cristo. The comida includes some of the best soup in town. Go early, meaning around two. Often closed on Mondays. A good place to try typical Mexican cooking. Usually has a vegetarian option. Inesxpensive.

Restaurant Update

El Burladero is looking for a new location. Meanwhile, alas, it's closed. For its fans, this nostalgia photo.

Cafe de la Presa, just beyond the Governor's Building, has reopened after remodeling and maintains its reasonable price for a set comida, generous portions.

El Midi (Mediterranean buffet owned and micromanaged by Veronique who has lived in Mexico for many years) in San Fernando offers outdoor and indoor tables. Charges 11 pesos per each 100 grams. Sometimes soup is available but always hearty and light salads, delicious desserts, and what may be the best aguas in town.

Las Cruces in Sangre de Cristo features a comida that starts with a delicious soup, then on to the other choices. Not expensive. Go early as it's popular with students. Pro: the decorated walls Con: tuning out the traffic noise

La Fonda Antigua, near Bancomer. The awning is clearly visible but you have to wind your way inside the building. Terrace and indoor dining, quiet music. Simple, dependable comida corrida. Attentive service.

El Abue, in the Baratillo, a little more expensive but not much. Booths and wooden tables, excellent location. Expensive at night.

I continue to like La Torta de Sancho Panza, nearly opposite the Casa de Diego Rivera. Good, inexpensive Guanajuato food. Popular with students. Open Saturdays as well as weekdays, go early for a seat during the week.

Moderate prices: Sabor y Arte. Marfil; Mexico Bonito y Lindo (or is it Sabroso?), Paseo de la Presa, opposite the Governor's Building; the restaurant opposite the Post Office downtown, bland, somewhat international food but a quiet, classy place. There is a new Italian restaurant reported to have a range of tasty choices up near the glorieta Santa Fe (toward the bus station) and another that I think is in San Fernando Plaza, also a new Japanese-Mexican restaurant with Japanese owners up from that plaza.

A San Miguel friend has told me about good, authentic Thai food in Dolores Hidalgo about six blocks from the main plaza there, open well into the evening.

Enjoy, enjoy!

An Afternoon's Work

The day before I took this picture, refrigerators were visible behind the plain glass door. In a single afternoon the nieces of Restaurante Ofelia's owner transformed the door with butterflies and background, all created with plastic paint. First, they did the outline in black, then filled in the colors. I didn't have my camera with me while they were working but I came back to photograph the result.

Restaurante Ofelia, on Paseo de la Presa before the Saucillo callejon, offers a low-priced comida corrida which can be eaten inside or in their patio. Bright blue furniture from Morelia and good service add to the cheer. At night, Ofelia serves higher priced dishes at cena time. The owner, who spent 20 years in Los Angeles, lived in Los Angeles for 20 years.

Low-priced comidas with style

I eat out several times a week in Guanajuato. Among the restaurants I like are:

EL MIDI: Good for hot weather, as all its South of France dishes are served cold. This buffet style restaurant, owned and run by Veronique, has tables inside and outside in San Fernando Plaza. You choose your own portion size here. Veronique charges per $9.50 (pesos) per hundred grams, with a typical meal between $30-40 (pesos). Most of the dishes are vegetarian but there is usually something for carnivores, for example potato puree wrapped in ham. El Midi is also known for its agua frescas such as strawberry-guava and lime-cucumber and oh yes, Veronique's tortes. Open noon-6 weekdays.

EL BURLADERO: If you like eating where the locals eat, but where the menu usually has more class, try this restaurant just beyond the bronze statue of popular singer Jorge Negrete on Manuel Doblado (nearly to the Cervantes Theater). The owner-cook, Juan Jose, offers two choices for each of the first three courses: soup, salad (a specialty), main course (may be homemade pasta; usually small). Dessert (often homemade)) is also included and either bread or tortillas, and the agua of the day. $30 pesos, Monday through Friday, serves the comida from about noon to 5pm. Pullfight posters on the walls. In case you're wondering, a burladero is the part of the bullring where the toreros stand for safety before entering the ring. Apt because the restaurant is where buses make a sharp turn.

LA TORTA DE SANCHO PANZA; Across from the Diego Rivera Museum. Students start filling up the several rooms of this restaurant about 2:00 so that it's best to go about 1:30. One generous glass of the agua of the day, choice of four soups, then a plate with a generous main course and spaghetti or rice plus a little salad. Simple dessert such as gelatina. Main course choices range from acelgas-wrapped cheese (called a torta) to their pork in guajillo, spicy but not super-hot. If you're lucky you can distance yourself from TV. When you leave, you'll be pleasantly full. $25.

YAMUNA; Hindu-style vegetarian restaurant. The meal begins with a substantial dal-vegetable soup and goes on to salad, main dish, rice (sometimes Basmati), main dish such as cauliflower fritters, dessert such as fruit or fruit-flavored yoghurt, and agua fresca served in stemmed glasses. Tableclothes. $40 pesos. On Calle del Sol, one block up from the Post Office.

LA FONDA ANTIGUA: On Avenida Juarez near Bancomer on the first floor. Sra. Letitia creates a pleasant atmosphere where you'll be surrounded by old books about Cuba and French cooking while eating traditional Mexican food. Soups especially good. 30 pesos.

EL ABUE: Graham Gori's restaurantjust above the Baratillo where you see a double set of steps, expensive at night or on weekends, serves a $40 peso comida during the week. His A,erican-style vegetable soup, followed by a generous salad and main dish. Agua fresca, often Jamaica. A restful place with soft music, lightcolored tables and chairs. Good service. Graham is proud of his apple pie served with ice-cream, an extra that weighs in at nearly the price of the comida.