SMA Day by Day
By Carol Schmidt, Dec 1, 2006

Q: Where are the best cheap eats in town?

We have so many favorites that I’ll need two columns. Today’s column looks at inexpensive eateries north of the Jardín. In two weeks I’ll write about places we like to the south. Please write in with your favorites, too, and send questions about daily living in San Miguel to smadaybyday@hotmail.com.

Even the more expensive restaurants usually have breakfasts and some lunches under 50 pesos, about US$5, our cut-off for this column. But we’re looking at the smaller restaurants and stands.

Here are some criteria to consider for a street stand: Is there a line of locals who obviously know a good thing? Does the stand come out for just a few hours or does the food hang around all day with no turnover? Is there sufficient heating and/or cooling? Is raw food kept separate from cooked foods (i.e., the same tongs aren’t used on both raw and cooked meat, and juices from cooking meats don’t drip on food going onto plates)? Is the same person handling food and money? 

I didn’t dare try the ears of corn slathered with mayonnaise and rolled in grated cheese, then sprinkled with chile and lime, until I determined the mayo was just opened and the corn just coming out of hot water was safe. 

A favorite lunch is a 10-pesos elote and a 15-pesos cone of ice cream from stands in the Jardín; my favorite flavor is dried prunes and pine nuts in a rich vanilla base. 

La Enchilada on Relox 40A near Insurgentes is a walk-in restaurant with a pleasant upstairs dining area and many dishes under 50 pesos. We order their chicken enchilada platters.

Aquí es México/La Fonda on Hidalgo 28, almost to Insurgentes on the second floor, offers three comida corridas for 45 pesos: chile relleno or chicken with a small salad and a big bowl of excellent chicken and rice soup, or a large mixed salad with the soup.

Around the corner on Insurgentes and Relox, across from the Biblioteca, is one of the many Mexican restaurants in town with no name. Look for the gorditas on a grill extending out onto the sidewalk.

Choose among a dozen fillings, from 11 to 13 pesos. I like the steak and potatoes filling with guacamole; Norma enjoys scrambled eggs and chorizo. Sodas are in the cooler. Many expats like Café Colon and El Infierno on Mesones just west of Plaza Cívica, but they’re too bland for us. The Tortitlan shop at Juárez 17 (and also on Ancha de San Antonio 75) is busy all the time. They deliver delicious sandwiches.

We rave about the Tortillas de Harina Burritos place on Mesones between Hidalgo and Relox, though it’s only open from around 10:30am until around 3 or 4pm. Order four burritacos and a Coke for 20 pesos total. Look for one of the few seats while you point to your choice of a dozen fillings. We like pollo verde.

The tacos al pastor on Colegio four doors north of Mesones are tasty and around four pesos each. TexTamale, our favorite four-pesos tamale stand, is at the end of Insurgentes by Plaza Cívica and the Oratorio church and is open most mornings and evenings. They are mostly well-seasoned, moist masa, not much meat, but we like them a lot. Add a cup of steaming atole. Another tamale stand sometimes appears at night in the doorway of the hotel next to Mesones 5 (Dr. Vásquez’s clinic) that has more meat for five centavos more.

Apolo XI on Mesones 43, just east of Bonanza, is our favorite in-town carnitas place. You can order a quarter kilo of roast pork, tortillas and salsa and leave very happy.

Out on Aurora just north of Calzada de la Luz is a shrimp cocktail restaurant with just a few seats. The grande shrimp cocktail is over our 50-peso limit, but it can serve two as a small meal. Mexican shrimp cocktails are a bit too sweet for us, so we add lots of lime and salsa.

The Broasted Chicken place on the corner of Aurora and Calzada de la Luz (also one on Ancha de San Antonio) offers two pieces of fried chicken or a hamburger, french fries and a soft drink for around 30 pesos. Their chicken tastes the closest to KFC you’ll find in SMA. 

Rotisserie chickens at storefronts throughout town are great bargains at around 45 pesos-half the price of Pollo Feliz by the El Pípila glorieta.

Our favorite stand is Don Felix on Independencia, three blocks north of the school and a block south of the La Conexión mailing service on that same side. It only appears Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights at around 7pm. Don Felix puts up a white tent next to his trailer and adds white tablecloths and candles to the tables.

Most tacos are 6 pesos each; some combinations are 10 pesos. The corn tortillas are a bit smaller than the usual 6-inch size. You can get a sampler plate of six kinds for 42 pesos—maybe pollo verde, chorizo, shrimp, arrachera, pork, and huitlacoche. Even I tried the corn fungus—kind of like scrambled egg texture and very good once I got past the black color and knowing what it was. A platter of four chicken enchiladas for 29 pesos looked delicious, too. Besides soft drinks and beer, they serve a wonderful horchata, the drink that tastes like creamy rice pudding.

What are your favorite cheap eats in San Miguel, north or south of the Jardín?

Carol Schmidt and her partner of 27 years, Norma Hair, have a website with forums and blogs called www.fallinginlovewithsanmiguel.com  and recently published Falling…in Love with San Miguel: Retiring to Mexico on Social Security, available on Amazon and in local shops.