I have discovered in the past few years that my favorite way to learn about the history of a place is through its food. I had heard about the food tours led by “Taste of San Miguel” and booked one for us today. They have several options, but only one really worked with our planned activities and days in the city. After a light breakfast of coffee and delicious pastries at “Cumpanio” we met our group at 12:00 in a small plaza called Lavaderos del Chorro.
The plaza was outside a small chapel and is known for its outdoor public laundry basins. There we learned about the history of water in San Miguel and found out people still come here to do their laundry, and bathe their kids, in the basins. There is a tap in the wall that anyone can turn on and it fills the long trough. The women use buckets to fill the basins from the trough and add their soap. Above the plaza were huge trees filled with egret nests and we saw several flying nearby land in the trees.
Our first food stop was at a Peruvian restaurant called “La Parada”. There we enjoyed sea bass ceviche and a pisco sour cocktail. We may have to return there for dinner as the ceviche was excellent and it would be fun to try other flavors.
About a ten-minute walk through beautiful streets led us to our second stop “La Casa Del Diezmo” where we sampled pit-roasted pork marinated in achiote served on a black bean filled tortilla. They also served some limeade (which turned out to be Kool-Aid) with chia seeds floating in it. It was very refreshing and served in a beautiful cool garden.
Stop number three was at “La Cocina Cafe Del Viajero” where we had a chicken filled corn tortilla with Oaxacan Mole Negro. I have had Mole a few times because it is one of Charlie’s favorites. This was the most bitter Mole I have tasted. The first bite was a bit of a shock, but it really grew on me. The best part of this place was standing on the street looking into the kitchen.
Feeling pretty full at this point we were surprised when we walked about five minutes and were already sitting down for another dish. This stop was at “Don Taco Tequila” which though quite popular serving traditional tacos, became a vegan restaurant a year ago. They have gained in popularity and there we sampled flour tortilla tacos with fried cashew gratin (the thing that looks like a darker second tortilla), roasted mushrooms, and nopal (cactus) salad. They also had several delicious salsas served with fresh chips. It was easy to see why they are so popular. I didn’t know vegan food could taste this good!
Our mouths were burning from the spicy salsas so our next stop was an ice cream vendor on the street corner. We had seen several of these vendors the last two evenings but weren’t sure how to order. We each got two flavors served in a small cup. Mom and I shared one as we were both so full and didn’t want to waste. We tried coffee and chocolate but heard rave reviews from our group about other more local flavors. I guess we will just have to go back and try them all. The craziest part about the ice cream was that it was simply sitting in metal canisters in giant tubs of ice. They just add ice all day and continue to mix the ice cream so it stays a constant temperature.
Like any good food tour, we had one more stop for a second dessert. Our last treat of the day was a cajeta (goat milk version of dulce de leche) filled churro from “Cafe San Agustin.
Needless to say, we were completely full and exhausted from all the walking, sun and food. Planning ahead for a night in, we stopped by a little grocery store called “Bonanza” for some wine and cheese, and a little bakery for some fresh bread and headed home to enjoy a quiet evening. We are looking forward to cooler temperatures and more art tomorrow.