Buen Provecho en San Miguel! By Donna Meyer

San Miguel de Allende, the colonial town in the heart of Mexico’s central highlands, has been on a lot of radar screens of late. Last year it became one of the newest UNESCO World Heritage Sites for its well-preserved colonial architecture, plethora of lovely churches, and atmospheric cobblestoned streets. It shows up regularly in Condé Nast Traveler’s readers’ choice surveys of best places to visit, stay and retire. And more and more of Americans, Canadians and Europeans are choosing San Miguel, not just for a vacation but for the rest of their lives.

Yep, it really is that good.

But in the past, San Miguel de Allende wasn’t known as a hot bed of high-brow cuisine. Of course, you could get good, utilitarian Mexican food on every corner—literally. And a few of those street stands still offer up some of the best food south of the border. There are local restaurants serving stunningly good cochinita pibil, pozole, and chiles en nogada. But gourmet cuisine? Well, let’s just say you didn’t go to San Miguel de Allende to eat five-star food.

But that’s beginning to change. There are now several restaurants in San Miguel de Allende that can compete creditably with good big-city dining all over the world. And in between these world-class meals, you can graze from one end of town to the other, eating up, eating       down and everything in between to satisfy your stomach and your palette in very nice Mexican style.

San Miguel de Allende’s ex-pats love to defend their picks for “best restaurant in town.” But most will put Ristorante Da Andrea somewhere near the top. Located at the 300-year-old Hacienda La Landeta just outside town, it offers “destination dining” with a strong Italian country accent. There’s no menu. Chef Andrea Lamberti from Naples serves up whatever’s in season or looked especially good in the market that day. The pasta is as fresh as it gets—hand-rolled by a woman you’ll see sitting in a corner working away. One staple specialty usually available is home-made spinach and ricotta ravioli served with gorgonzola cheese sauce.

At just over a year old, the newest kid in the best-restaurant-in-town sweeps is The Restaurant. Chef Donnie Masterton comes to town with some serious credentials. He trained at New York’s “Montrachet” and has worked in major kitchens in New York and California. In San Miguel de Allende, he puts out an ever-changing seasonal menu that’s fresh, innovative, and delicious. Masterton sources most of his meat, cheese, and produce, much of it organic, from local growers, including baby lamb, baby vegetables, fresh greens, and local duck. Then he builds his eclectic menus around these products.

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