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 Oaxaca, Mexico: Two more dining destinations

The enclosed patio of Los Danzantes is always a favorite, with top-notch service and a diverse menu. With the accompanying tortillas, the queso fundido appetizer with an abundance of huitlacoche, corn smut, is hearty enough to completely fill up two. The delicate tuna tartar tostadas are a more manageable starter for venturing farther down the menu. A giant leaf of hoja santa is filled with goat cheese and surrounded by a tangy sea of tomatillo sauce. Regional goat cheese flavors the creamy rice and fills a hearty serving of chicken with a huitlacoche sauce. The chocolate cascada releases warm, molten chocolate, and crème brulee is tinged with fragrant rosemary.

Many people head to El Olivo Gastropub for tapas, but we found their main seafood dishes are amazing, even after spending six weeks in Spain this past summer. The arroz negro, blackened with squid ink and fortified with an assortment of seafood and vegetables, was the Mister’s favorite dish during our month-long stay in Oaxaca. The pernod flavoring the shrimp dish had me hooked. The coffee ice cream with nut brittle tucked under it was both better and, amazingly, less expensive than the helados peddled on the Plaza Socrates in front of Soledad. The rooftop is fanned by breezes on even a warm afternoon.