Our Uber picked us up right on time in SME and we headed off to Guanajuato. Our driver was fantastic and the hour-and-a-half drive came out to around $30/US! Our hotel, the Casona de Don Lucas was located on Plaza de la Paz and our room, which had two floors also had a small balcony with a view of the Plaza.
Our room was ready when we arrived so we quickly dropped off our bags and headed out to do some exploring. We quickly took to Guanajuato as it was less touristy than SME. We loved the everyday hustle and bustle, the city seemed just a colorful and vibrant.
The first thing we did was head off to the Mercado Hidalgo. Much of Guanajuato is not car friendly; in fact, the main arteries are located underground in tunnels. There are many alleyways, no grid pattern, we were told that much of the city center was built along the walls of the canyons which surround the city. So, we'd often be walking down an alleyway, which would then open up onto a plaza!
The Mercado is located in a huge building. According to legend, it is said that the structure was initially designed to be a train depot. We just took a quick look since we'd be exploring a bit further the following day when we had a private tour scheduled.
After our short visit, we decided to check out some possibilities for dinner and also walk past the University before settling in for a short break. We ended up walking down one of the many winding and narrow streets.
At the curve in the alleyway stood a little gelato shop. The Missus and I decided to take a short break here.
It turned out to be a good choice. The service was very friendly, the gelato refreshing, and the Missus and I enjoyed sitting on the small balcony.
Estación Gelato
Cantaritos 29
Zona Centro, 36000 Guanajuato, Mexico
Once refreshed and relaxed, we strolled over to Positos and looked over the menus of two places I had on my "list". We'd end up eating a both of them on this short trip, but we'd end up returning to one for a second meal!
We strolled on over and took a quick peek at the University of Guanajuato. The University has over 30,000 students......which is why I kind of consider Guanajuato to be sort of a college town....with a ton of history.
We then headed back to the hotel for a short break before heading out for an early dinner. Since we didn't have reservations; we decided on an early dinner and got to Mestizo at 430pm and easily got a table.
The chef at Mestizo is the son of a well known ceramic artist, so the decor of the restaurant is quite lovely.
While perusing the menu, the Missus had the house version of Sangria, while I had an Old Fashioned.
First thing we noticed was how inexpensive items were versus San Miguel. And as is our MO, we found items on the Entrada menu the most interesting and ended up ordering 5 starters for our meal.
Things started out rather auspiciously with the Tostada de Pato ($180/MX)
While the presentation was very nice. The duck was bland, stringy, and dry.
The Ceviche de Robalo ($280/MX) was a slight improvement .
The marinade was bursting with wonderful citrus flavor, the overall seasoning was nice and complex. The fish however had not been marinated long enough and was overly chewy. Still, this was not bad.
Things turned around in a big way when the Chinchulines con Guacamole ($170/MX) arrived.
Perfectly fried and crisp pork intestines; wonderful porky-mild offal flavors, offset with a creamy-mildly sweet guacamole, with pungent onions and cilantro. Not only was this texturally wonderful, the melding of tastes were fantastic. Why haven't I seen this on menus everywhere?
Next to arrive was the dramatic looking Tartar de Atun en Chile Viejo ($200/MX).
A nice tuna tartare nestled in a smoky, mildly spicy toasted dried chile, this was quite good. The tuna, was of decent quality, nice and meaty with no off flavors, the flavors counterbalanced with clean and briny cucumber and pungent onions, the nutty-sweet pistachios added a nice layer of flavor as well.
And then the show stopper arrived; the Tuetanos Mestizo ($190/MX).
Good lord, this was so delici-yoso, perfectly roasted, the bones were bursting with buttery-beefy marrow, which just melted in your mouth. A perfect amount of salt and the herbs added layers of flavor. This was so darn good, that we immediately made reservations to return on our last night in Guanajuato.
We really enjoyed most of the meal. Service was friendly and professional and the prices were quite reasonable. The tortillas were decent and up to the task of handling the food.
Mestizo
Positos 69
Zona Centro, 36000 Guanajuato, Mexico
We strolled back to our room, feeling quite satisfied. As we got to De Paz, we decided to grab a nightcap before heading off into dreamland. We saw this doorway and headed down the stairway from the sidewalk.
And walked into almost a speakeasy like bar bathed in greenish light.
The super friendly young woman manning the bar spoke perfect English. There seemed to be an interesting mix of older folks and students having drinks. So the Missus and I each had a nightcap.....
Along with some gratis chips, before heading back across the street to the hotel. I'm still not quite sure what the name of his place is....I'm thinking it was Don Beni Taberna, but am not certain.
Regardless, we really enjoyed our afternoon and evening in Guanajuato. And of course I had bone marrow dancing in my dreams.....
what a great meal!
Posted by: kat | Saturday, 27 August 2022 at 07:31 PM
We really enjoyed Mestizo Kat!
Posted by: Kirk | Sunday, 28 August 2022 at 10:37 AM
I’m a pathologist and always find it interesting/fascinating when people post about bone marrow dishes. Glad you guys enjoyed yourself. Will have to put Guanajuato on our list.
Posted by: RedDevil | Monday, 29 August 2022 at 01:14 PM
Which leads me to wonder if you consume bone marrow RD? ;o) Guanajuato was a joy to visit.
Posted by: Kirk | Monday, 29 August 2022 at 02:10 PM