Cheap Eats
By Carol Schmidt September 12, 2008 San Miguel de Allende

The secret is out
Tacos Don Felix
Fri–Sat, 6pm–midnight
Sun, 2–9:30pm
Colonia San Rafael
Fray Juan de San Miguel 15
42–70 pesos

Felix Gomez and Gloria Espinoza run the cafeteria at CBTIS Escuela Preparatoria. Lucky kids. The rest of us get to enjoy our meals at Tacos Don Felix on the weekend. Expats tend to come early, Mexicans later on.

The pair started with a taco stand on Independencia and Ignacio Cruces then added a white canvas tent dining area covering five plastic tables, each with a tablecloth, flowers and a candle. Most of the white-jacketed waiters spoke some English, and they handed you a sample “volcano,” a small, crispy corn tortilla topped with a guisado, hot meat filling, as you sat down. They served the best horchata (rice drink) in town, and they didn’t charge a corkage fee if you brought your own wine to complement their cervesas and other refreshments. 

Soon the crowds discovered it, and recently the couple moved the restaurant into the lower level of their three-story home. On many nights people already wait for tables inside and on the patio. Everybody who writes about Don Felix is torn between wanting to share their “discovery” and wanting to keep it for themselves—kind of like writing about San Miguel.

Prices have gone up since they moved into a real building, but the green chile chicken enchiladas at 45 pesos is one of the best meals in town. My favorite seven-taco combination plate used to be 42 pesos and is now 65 but could be split easily by two.

Fillings include shrimp, chorizo, arrachera, chicken, a couple variations on pork and huitlacoche, the Mexican gourmet corn fungus that tastes a bit like black scrambled eggs. (You can ask them to substitute for the huitlacoche.)

For September Independencia festivities, many Mexican restaurants add chiles en nogada to their menus and here the platter, including a tossed salad, guacamole and chips, is 70 pesos. The colors of chiles en nogada represent the Mexican flag: green poblanos stuffed with a sweet meat and/or chopped nut filling that includes raisins and other fruits, a white cream and ground walnut sauce, and a sprinkling of red pomegranate seeds. Often the dish is served cold. More crowds are flocking to Don Felix this month just for this specialty.

One of the desserts is mantecada ice cream—rich vanilla, prunes and pine nuts—made by a neighbor who also runs the ice cream stand in the Jardín, on the corner closest to Correo, on weekends. Rice pudding and pecan pie are other favorites.

To find Tacos Don Felix, go north on Independencia to Ignacio Cruces, turn left and go three blocks, then turn left and go half a block until you see the sign, and the crowds, on the left side of the street. They’re growing fast and they even have a website: www.tacosdonfelix.com.  “Discover” them yourself soon.

Mexico by the Glass
By Dick Avery

Casa Madero: The grand old man of Mexican wines 

In 1575, the Spanish Crown appointed his Excellency, the estimable Francisco de Urdinola, founder of San Luis Potosí, the governor of the then-to-be state of Coahuila. The good governor founded the first winery in the Parras (grapevines) Valley and produced the first commercial wine in the Western Hemisphere. Although not Mr. Popular among the local indigenous population, we can raise a glass to ol’ Francisco for getting the ball rolling in Mexico. 

Shortly thereafter, in 1597, Felipe II of Spain deeded a land grant to Don Lorenzo García, who founded the Hacienda de San Lorenzo. In the late 19th century, Don Evaristo Madero Elizondo bought the wine production of the hacienda from its French owners and Casa Madero, the oldest surviving winery in the New World, was born. Today, José Milmo, the great-great grandson of Don Evaristo, continues the tradition. Happily, the hacienda and wine cellar structure have been preserved in their original beautiful condition.

The Parras Valley (reputed to be one of Pancho Villa’s hideouts) sits at an elevation of about 5,000 feet and has the ideal climate for grape cultivation. Quite arid, with cool nights and warm days, its mountain spring water creates an oasis for humanm and vinem. Primarily red wine country, with low rainfall (only about 11 inches annually, in the harvest months of June, July and August), superb Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Merlot are produced, and in the right hands, and with careful handling, delicate, delicious whites such as Chenin blanc, Chardonnay and Semillon can wet your whistle nicely.

In the seventies, the Milmo family, who had been producing grapes normally used in brandy (and still do a brisk brandy business, selling primarily to markets in northern Europe), began to replant some of the vineyards with popular varietals such as Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Most of the production each year still goes overseas, but José is anxious to shed the “Mexican wine” label and actively markets more and more to restaurants. Currently, the product split is 60 percent brandies, 40 percent wine (thanks in no small part to José’s passion for wine!). 

The mid-seventies, however, were not kind to José and Casa Madero. The dreaded phylloxera insect, whose favorite breakfast, luncheon and dinner entrées are the roots of grapevines, virtually wiped out the vineyards. So each year, about 100 acres were replanted with vine shoots grafted from European varieties that were free from infection. It wasn’t until 2003 that all the vineyards were replanted, this time with more careful selection of varieties best adapted to the climate. Today, over 1,000 acres, with highly sophisticated irrigation systems, organically produce over 350,000 cases annually.

Since most Mexican wine drinkers favor European-style wines, most Mexican wineries, including Casa Madero, tend to look to Bordeaux for stylistic inspiration. The Casa’s reds reflect that emphasis, with somewhat restrained and complex personalities of fruit and mineral tones. But I found the whites leaning Californian, with the fruit-forward, fat, chewy flavors for which Napa, Sonoma and the Russian River areas are known.

Today, José continues to push the envelope on quality. Each year, he invites winemakers from all over the world to spend a sabbatical summer at the winery to exchange ideas on ways to make the best wines possible. He is determined to improve his wines, increase his presence in the national market and show Mexican consumers what Casa Madero is made of. Having met him, and sensing his commitment, I have no doubt he’ll do it. 

“Summertime with wine and the living is easy.”

Dick Avery is the head sipper at VinoClubSMA, a wine club devoted to the enjoyment of “boutique” Mexican wines through free tastings. He can be reached at vinoclubsma@ gmail.com. Visit the website www.vinoclubsma.com.

House & Garden Tour
By Jennifer Hamilton

There is no House & Garden Tour on September 14, due to the anniversary of the San Miguel Fire Department. All central streets will be closed due to a large parade by the Bomberos on this date. We hope you will join us next Sunday, September 21, for our next House & Garden Tour.