House & Garden Tour
By Jennifer Hamilton
November 7, 2008 San Miguel de Allende

Juarde, flying Indonesian puppets, Chinese apothecary cabinet

House & Garden Tour
Sun, Nov 9, noon
Biblioteca Pública
Insurgentes 25
US$15 or 150 pesos
Breakfast at Café Santa Ana starting at 9am

1. This eighteenth-century home was renovated in 1978, with old portions retained and restored to preserve the structure’s originality. During reconstruction, documents dated 1812 were found in the walls and are framed in the sala.

A pool surrounded by plants and trees was added at the back of the property, as well as a deep Jacuzzi adjoining the master bedroom. They continue to add antiques, art and collectibles following annual world travels. This home was purchased in 1977 through the late Martha Campbell, who started an English-speaking telephone book named Juarde (“Who Are They”) in 1960 when more foreigners started making homes in San Miguel. 

2. The entranceway of glass and iron in this new home leads into a wide hallway flanked by two guest bedrooms; in one corner are flying puppets from Indonesia, half mermaid and half angel. The home’s wide open spaces and softly curved arches are captivating; large windows bestow light from all sides. The sala has comfortable seating areas, a chandelier, candles, rounded windows, French doors and a sloping ceiling with wood beams.

The dining room with its huge carved mirror overlooks the lush garden with its oversized cantera fountain found in Escolasticas.

A dramatic painting and family photos are over the fireplace. Against another wall, a gold Burmese Bible hangs on a large slate block. An indoor fountain divides the living and dining rooms.

The master suite contains a vaulted ceiling, a pharmaceutical chest from China and a four-poster bed carved locally from Brazilian mahogany. The den/entertainment area is filled with art and tapestries, seating areas and family photos. Pots on the stairwell ledge are from Bahrain. For entertaining outside there is a hammock, two seating areas, cacti, palm trees, flowers, an herb garden and a delightful pond behind the fountain. The dazzling furniture, art and statuary indicate a great deal of time spent in the Far East—every piece has a story behind it. 

3. This spacious, bright home is a real treat! The owner installed light wood for extra warmth and filled the home with artwork, furnishings and objets d’art. The table in the sala came from China and is made of stone bordered in wood.

A long, arched hallway has a vaulted ceiling and copper walls filled with photographs by John Spencer. The north side of the hallway’s glass wall affords garden access from several points. The turquoise-colored master bedroom is filled with color from the walls to the fireplace and artwork, with a cut-metal screen in the corner. Local artist Anado McLauchlin created many of the images and whimsical collages. The master bath, painted in gradations of green and blue, contains an impressive Chinese apothecary cabinet.

A television room has an Indian cabinet, a painting by a Monterrey artist, skylights and a brick fireplace. Guests are ensconced in a pink and green bedroom with a white ceiling, rounded fireplace and a white four-poster bed. The star lamp had to be disassembled to fit through the doorway! Outside, a bodega was transformed into an office.

An old door against the back wall is simply an adorno. Organ cactus, plants, flowers and vines are placed in the brick, stone and gravel garden with its beautiful fountain. The owner, a talented actor who appears frequently in local stage productions, is also a gifted decorator and many of the homes he has designed are House & Garden Tour favorites.

The House & Garden Tour thanks the following for opening their beautiful homes on Sunday, November 2, 2008 Jordan & Jody Feagan Jennifer & Bob Haas Tim Sullivan

Food & Wine
Cheap Eats
By Carol Schmidt

When authentic won’t do

El Burrito Bistro

Mon–Sat, noon–8pm

Correo 45

30–60 pesos

Sometimes you don’t feel like an authentic small Mexican taco or burrito—you want the humongous burrito that you remember from the States, a taste of the Old Country. Head for El Burrito Bistro.

Noreen Caceres opened the restaurant five years ago, living upstairs with her two kids the first four years. Now, the upstairs is available for private gatherings and overflow seating. Raised in San Francisco, where she loved the variety of cultures and cuisines, she studied creative writing at Emerson college—no restaurant experience at all. 

She had the good sense to start with a six-item menu owing to limited space and refrigeration in the family kitchen and show off her love for eclectic Indian, Moroccan, Thai and Middle Eastern foods only as daily specials. 

Some specials “stuck,” such as the Thai chicken noodle soup, 30–60 pesos; the large Mediterranean salad or wrap with grilled eggplant and green olives added to the expected salad ingredients for 60 pesos; and the large Arab wrap with falafel, baba ghanouj, hummus, tabouli, cucumber, tomato, mint, and a mint and yogurt dressing for 60 pesos. Smaller sizes cost less.

A bestseller is the Squirt, a loaded plate of rice, beans, melted cheese, slices of cucumber, tomato and avocado, and your choice of grilled beef, chicken or veggies served with tortillas for 45 pesos.

If you want unauthentic, non-Mexican nachos, recreate your stateside memories with piled-high chips, beans, cheese, guacamole, sour cream and pico de gallo for 50 pesos, or add beef or chicken for another 10 pesos. 

That gringo-ized burrito is 40 pesos for the “medium” (plenty for most diners) and 55 for the large, including your choice of grilled beef, chicken, ground beef or veggies. Drown it in salsa, melted cheese, guacamole, sour cream and pico de gallo for another 10 pesos. Or leave off the flour tortilla and have it as a burrito salad.

Turkey, roast beef or salmon can come as a salad, sandwich or wrap for 45–55 pesos, depending on size. Wraps and salads include your choice of dressings: creamy cilantro, garlic tofu, vinaigrette or ranch. Whole-wheat tortillas are available.

Making no pretenses of eating healthy that day? Add a chocolate cream or fruit burrito, fried like a chimichanga and topped with vanilla ice cream for 30 pesos. The range of refrescos, coffees, teas and beers also includes red or white wine for 30 pesos a glass, or organic wine for 35 pesos a glass. Make your beer a spicy michelada for another five pesos.

Check out the deli case for foods to go and catering ideas, and ask for the lunch specials. She’s still trying new foods from around the world while also helping you remember your US favorites at “Cheap Eats” prices.

Update: Carnitas Vicente, featured in the first “Cheap Eats” column, has closed on Aurora. You’ll have to go to Dolores Hidalgo again for the 14-peso gorditas and hot dog/bean soup at the nine-restaurant chain that flourishes in our neighboring town but twice has not made it in San Miguel.

Carol Schmidt and Norma Hair run www.fallinginlovewithsanmiguel.com,  which features more than 70 “Cheap Eats” restaurants, Carol's Blog, a thousand SMA photos, their 700-member forums, SMA FAQs and Mexico news.