Who
doesn’t love Italian food? Still coming off the event appropriately named That’s
amore – Italian Love Food, organized by the Italian Embassy in Mexico in
partnership with Crea Italia Connections, we recently paid tribute to another Italian
culinary treasure: Damonica Restaurante Italiano. As
we see it, there’s only one major problem with Damonica Restaurante Italiano: it’s
not in San Miguel de Allende!
Do
a day trip because the highway to Dolores Hidalgo from San Miguel de Allende is
filled with antique shops and ceramics. You’ll want to stop by to see Victor at
the Museo Mexico Lindo, our favorite place to buy furniture; Victor, by the
way, can make you just about anything. With countless acres of riches, Victor
will open another store on the same highway shortly.
Damonica
Restaurante Italiano is located in a beautifully restored, old hospital that
also houses the The Wine Museum of Guanajuato. The restaurant has a
rooftop to take in the views of Dolores Hidalgo and its countless old, colonial
churches.
The authenticity
of this restaurant was established by Chef Clara, Monica’s
mama, who was trained in her own restaurant/hotel near Milan, Italy and hails
from Valenza, Italy.
We
loved each and every bite of what we tasted, including the Margherita Pizza, our warm up dish for this
Italian spread. The taste of the pizza reminded us of the pies we use to get at
Pastificio in Highwood, Il., a haven for more
than twenty five Italian restaurants north of Chicago. We also savored the rib eye steak; under $300 pesos.
Don’t
pass on the basket of warm, freshly-baked bread and Focaccia, served with a butter
with caramelized red onions, tapenade, and an Italian version of pico de gallo;
all of which can be purchased to go.
I was
in Italy; my mind and heart were certain of it. When I eat great pasta, I savor
it with my eyes closed. From the Bolognese, to the Carbonara with generous
portions of pancetta, to the Gnocchi’s, all the
pastas were divine and paired with local wine, La Santisima Trinidad
Chardonnay.
Dessert: A to-die-for dish of Mascarpone Mousse (I eat copious
amounts of Mascarpone in my dreams) with homemade shortbread cookies
and Limoncello. We’ve gotten so use to drinking Renee Maurklin’s creamy version
of Limoncello, Bacio del Sole, we had forgotten that pure, homemade Lemoncello,
like this one, contains a much stronger alcohol.
Did
these pictures made you hungry or are you already in your car driving to
Dolores Hidalgo for an early lunch? If we had to choose a restaurant to put on
the list of the top five places near SMA to eat, Damonica Restaurante Italiano
would be one of them.
Buon appetito!
Damonica
Restaurante Italiano
Calle Hidalgo #12
Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato
Call: 01 418 182 4587
Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday 10:30 AM – 9:30 PM
Friday and Saturday 10:30 AM – 10:00 PM
Owner:
Monica Dimitri
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