August, 14 2009, House & Garden Tour, By Jennifer Hamilton, Centerpiece of farm, school and store, plus Atascadero vistas, Food & Wine, Santa Julia margaritaville, By Kennedy Poyser

House & Garden Tour
Sun, Aug 16, tour departs at noon
Biblioteca Pública
Insurgentes 25
US$15 or 150 pesos
Breakfast at Café Santa Ana starts at 9am

House & Garden Tour
By Jennifer Hamilton

Centerpiece of farm, school and store, plus Atascadero vistas

1. This lush, green property has only recently become inhabited as the centerpiece of the network of farm, school and store named Vía Orgánica, an organization established in 2009 to promote healthful organic food and agriculture, fair trade and sustainable living.

Spread over 20 acres of land, this green riverside property was built in the early nineties. Vast ceilings of awe-inspiring trunks are used as support systems. Outside is a large full-length terrace stretching into the palm-shaded yard bordered by a botanical garden and home to many species of birds. The walls are thick stone, allowing the rooms to stay naturally cool during the hottest months of the year. Down the cliff, following a staircase of stone and walled by many plant species, is a round adobe suite with a palapa roof and large round bathroom. The views are lush and tranquil, looking down upon fields which are slowly being converted into organic vegetable gardens. An Ofuro Japanese bath and steam room is one of the biggest attractions of t
his private, cozy home. Small pools filled with fish, ferns and lilies send trickling waterfalls down part of the cliff. The organic gardens, chickens and other farm animals living at Rancho Vía Orgánica are part of the reason for its name. In October 2008, the garden was revived and replanted. Rows of vegetables are expanding, replacing the water-guzzling alfalfa fields with drip irrigation and more sustainable practices of plant cultivation. The water that comes out of the ground is around 90°F and is used to fill the lap pool located near the main sala, then fed weekly into cisterns and a large bordo where it is used to irrigate the gardens. Visitors are invited to visit the store in Col. Guadalupe at calle Margarito Ledesma 2.

2. What was once a neglected house has been turned into an enchanting home. Everything about this sophisticated property speaks of blending traditional and contemporary Mexico.

Mexico City-born and raised, the owner has lived in Paris and traveled to many parts of the world. Highlights in the garden include a traditional carreta covered in flowering vines and macetas filled with colorful flowers. The garden’s jewel is an exact replica of the wonderfully detailed fuente familiar to fans of the Café Santa Ana in the Biblioteca Pública. A brick path leads to the casita filled with family photographs. The one-story main is cozy but deceptively spacious. It features wood beams, stonework and cantera arches and columns. Wood paneling coupled with garden vistas at every turn give it deep warmth, great light and a true feeling of being surrounded by nature. Two stone fireplaces enhance the richness and simplicity of design. The pair of Art Deco torchieres, “en forma de tulipanes,” were purchased locally. Strong, warm Mexican colors on the walls are complemented by pillows in sunny touches of orange and hot pink. Upstairs, the master bedroom suite features a French bed unit. Down the hall is a small guest bathroom and a cozy den. The work of artist Maria Antonieta Granja depicts ladies in regional dresses of Mexico. Behind the antique chair and desk, you will enter el cuarto azul, a guest suite that overlooks the hills and Hotel Atascadero vistas. San Miguel’s famous sunsets can be seen from this wonderful vantage point.

THE HOUSE & GARDEN TOUR THANKS THE FOLLOWING FOR OPENING THEIR BEAUTIFUL HOMES On Sunday, August 9, 2009

Susan Page & Mayer Shacter
Gale & Warren Beery
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2nd Sunday in August for 2009 89 visitors on tour

Year to Date 2008 6,200 visitors on tour

Year to Date 2009 5,126 visitors on tour

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Food & Wine

Santa Julia margaritaville
By Kennedy Poyser

CASA director Cynthia Silva Villagran almost tricked me Friday night. I went out to cover the fundraiser margarita contest at Centro para los Adolescents de San Miguel de Allende. Their place is in the wilds of col. Santa Julia at least a mile from Centro, so I’d never been there.

I expected a cinder-block building, margaritas doled out in thimbles and a couple dozen people standing around a stuffy room. Wrong on all counts.

Their facility is a movie-set hacienda on a hill overlooking Centro. From terraces, the Parroquia looks like a ceramic ornament. The rooftop terrace where the party convened wraps around the base of their dome—not a masonry bump, but a large, graceful cast-concrete dome with a cupola on top. It has supporting ribs like Las Monjas and the sides are clerestory windows to admit light to the library below. It’s a marvel with roots in the Abbey of Saint-Denis in Paris, the twelfth-century birthplace of gothic architecture.

As for the stingy thimble of margarita, I was more in danger of a cordial host saying, “Take this blender-full; you’ll find our kiwi margarita tastes good, whether it’s one sip or a liter.”

I was cool, though. I was on assignment—taste every margarita on that terrace, make notes and avoid falling over the balustrade. I couldn’t face the sympathy of Editor-in-Chief Suzanne Ludekens on Monday if I came to work limping, “CASA parties too much for you, Kennedy? I thought Austin people were used to that.”

My two dozen expected guests became two hundred, not in a stuffy room but on those wonderful terraces. Conversations were lively and friendly insults common. Ali Zerriffi buttonholed me, “Are you pretending to be a scientist, knocking back tequila and scribbling notes?”

“No, Ali, Suzanne told me this is serious journalism—interview primary sources, taste experiences firsthand.”

Cynthia, widely believed to work 50 hours a week at CASA, also finds time to cook up mischief. She almost tricked me because I didn’t expect two events in the same place.

We had a great party, 5:30–7:30pm, as announced, and many light-weights lined up for taxis home. I was Mr. L-W, out there in the turn-around, when I heard a disturbing sound—West African drumming from the terrace I’d just left.

I blew off the taxis and climbed the stairs again. Same place, same people, different party. Arnulfo Mancera, the owner of Kuni Doni, was on the djembe and one of the previous musicians stopped packing up to join him on the African bell. A CASA couple flirted with reggaeton, but kept it clean, mostly. Many guests behaved decorously.

La encantadora de fiestas Cynthia stood on a chair to announce winners. Mercedes Arteaga from Bugambilia took the prize for Traditional. I think the recipe has been in the family since some happy Spaniard learned to distill cactus juice. Tio Lucas, Fonda San Miguel and Hecho en Mexico were close contenders in what an authoritative Traditional should be.

Kirsten West’s Virgins swept the non-alcoholic category with The Super Aztec, Vampire without Fangs and Papaya Love. The prickly pear Vampire and the Papaya are good for extended sipping and the liquid peanut butter of the Aztec should satisfy any craving. The queen of cuisine received enthusiastic applause when she came up to accept her award.

Other notable Virgins were blackberry from Casa de Sierra Nevada and strawberry from Dos Casas.

The Exotic category allowed the tequila-alchemists free rein and tested the limits of what a margarita could be.

Allen Williams from Food Factory offered me the first two surprises. His Jamaica-extract Exotic was a burst of tangy fruit at every sip. I was dubious about the second one: chocolate. “Allen, that’s like drinking Budweiser with birthday cake. Too different.” Wrong again. Chocolate margaritas are flavorful, local, all-natural and healthy. I hope.

Casa de Sierra Nevada makes a carambolo Exotic and cuts the fruit into a star shape to fit over the glass rim. Juan Carlos Escalante at Nirvana makes one of orange and basil.

Bistro Los Senderos also had Jamaica and La Toscaza offered prickly pear with limón.

The Restaurant served, with flair, pineapple, ginger and mescal.

The Vivoli Café had almond, Harry’s offered mango and Los Faroles had kiwi. Dos Casas also made kiwi Exotics as a backup for their maracoya passion fruit from Brazil.

The Sunset Bar laid out a buffet of colorful drinks—Traditional with tamarind and three Exotics: mint, tuna (the cactus, not the fish) and mango. I loved that one; mango is so smooth.

In the face of heavy competition, Sergio Salmon Franz and Jaime Rincón Yllán from El Caserio in Celaya won the Exotic prize. Their table display was appealing, but I wasn’t sure what coffee beans had to do with margaritas. They showed me. You crush a roasted coffee bean in your teeth, then savor some Margarita de Café. Definitely a champion—perfect texture, balanced tastes, muted coffee flavor and not too sweet.

Kuni Doni’s Arnulfo Mancera took the unofficial Atención award for Dancing Margarita. He makes an admirable, complex Exotic from orange, nopal, mint, pineapple and parsley. Cunningly served with djembe rhythm, his margaritas make you want to dance like a Senegalese.

I’d like to visit CASA again, but even their youngest student would see through the obvious pretext. She’d tell me, “You’re not pregnant. You’ve been eating too many burritos.”