Postcard from Guanajuato, Mexico: Meals for when you’re staying longer than a few days

Having already raved about our four favorite restaurants in the historic center of Guanajuato, thought we would share some other photos of meals for you to ponder if you are staying more than a few days. As we set up headquarters there for a month, we sampled a number of places.

When we wanted a fresh and light change of pace, we headed to the new location of Delica Mitsu on Del Tecolote. The bowls were ample and good, but the Japanese bento-style assortment beckoned us several times. We’d each go to the glass case and point to the five things we wanted plated for our lunch. No alcoholic beverages are available, but loved being able to get an intensely flavored iced jamaica (hibiscus) tea without sugar.

Another unexpected spot was Habibti Felafel. The interior was welcoming, but we ordered falafel to-go, the best falafel we have ever tasted, to eat wrapped in lettuce on our rooftop patio. Centro Bharati on Plaza Baratillo was the place I finally found a rustic loaf of multigrain bread to my liking. On weekends, a chef offers a pop-up to-go fresh paella stand in a doorway on Calle del Truco. Hard to beat the price by the kilo.

Any bar on the Jardin de la Union offers great people-watching, but you are mainly watching tourists and vendors trying to hawk things to you and other tourists while listening to the same mariachi songs over and over. It’s a festive atmosphere best enjoyed in small doses. Heading down the street, La Santurrona Gastropub has only a few outside tables adjacent to the Church of San Francisco. If you are lucky enough to snag one, you can escape the vendors and watch a continual parade of locals out for afternoon or evening strolls. The fries are tasty, and my sandwich overflowed with grilled vegetables.

Having developed a little gelato habit in Italy this summer, we dropped by Estacion Gelato to satisfy our cravings. The Mister was partial to the affogata (sort of an espresso float) with a scoop of canela gelato.

Am throwing in a few other photos from places worth trying, but where we had a dish or two that talked us out of enthusiastically recommending them.

 

Postcard from Guanajuato, Mexico: A few more snapshots

Having trouble leaving Guanajuato behind. Random images keep popping up on my computer. Here are a few more….

 

Will Billy Gibbons get nostalgic and drop by to see the guitarist who opened for him at the Teen Canteen?

There was no moment more jubilant in the fledgling days of the humble South Texas Popular Culture Museum than the day ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons walked through its doors to take in the Teen Canteen exhibit.

In the earliest days, ZZ Top played Sam Kinsey’s teen club, and TexPop had on display the canceled check for the blues-rock band’s very first gig. Board member Jeff Smith had cajoled Gibbons with the tantalizing thought of seeing that $150 check once again.

It’s possible Gibbons could walk through those doors again for the new exhibit produced by retired music journalist Margaret Moser – “Standing at the Crossroad: Robert Johnson in San Antonio 1936.”

“Exhibit marks Robert Johnson’s S.A. sessions,” Hector Saldana, San Antonio Express-News, November 18, 2016

an exhibit at the South Texas Popular Culture Center
an exhibit at the South Texas Popular Culture Center

I didn’t bump into Billy Gibbons at the opening of the Robert Johnson exhibit at the South Texas Popular Culture Center, but that was okay because I was with the Mister.

“So….?,” you might be wondering.

Well, the Mister was in a band, Captain Midnight, that once opened for Billy Gibbons at Sam Kinsey’s Teen Canteen.

Sam Kinsey's stable of bands in 1969, collection of TexPop Culture Center
Sam Kinsey’s stable of bands in 1969, collection of TexPop Culture Center

There’s no promo poster displaying this connection, but TexPop does have a copy of Sam Kinsey’s roster of bands in 1969. And Captain Midnight is there.

There are no known photos or recordings of Captain Midnight playing during the Mister’s high school years. The Mister thinks might be a good thing, similar to the way a mercy killing can be viewed as positive.

The Mister’s career has come a long way since then; the blues band he plays with definitely rates seeing. So plan to kick off the New Year with the After Midnight Blues Band at The Pig Pen behind the Smoke Shack on Broadway.

Who knows? Maybe Billy Gibbons will be overcome by a wave of nostalgia and show up to see the guitarist who opened for him at the Teen Canteen.

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After Midnight Blues Band at The Pig Pen