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Monday, December 5, 2022

Salvajes Brassiere: Chef Jorge Avendaño's New French Restaurant

There’s nothing better than a total surprise from a chef and Chef Jorge Avendaño has done it again!

Salvajes Brassiere, his new restaurant at #92 Hidalgo, is in an old house with small, intimate rooms and has a 5-star menu. On the second floot, there’s a cozy, private room for ten and a no-odd-man-out chefs table for 3 that looks straight into the kitchen; the only chefs table these days besides Aperi. The floor is typically French with black and white tiles like my kitchen back in Chicago; one of the many reasons I instantly fell in love with the space and felt like I had been going there for years and years. I felt totally at home the minute I walked in the door. They are still decorating and expect to be done soon but the food was so good, I actually never noticed.

Chef Jorge Avendaño is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu Mexico and has worked in restaurants around the world including Noma, a two Michelin star restaurant run by Chef Rene Redzepi in Copenhagen, Denmark. Jorge’s wife, Aida Alaya Garcia, is the front-of-the-house dynamo behind chef Jorge’s kitchen, along with his partner, the delightful Alejandra Cortina.

We’ve always been a huge fan of Chef Avendaño’s cooking and every dish is beautifully presented; a signature of this chef. His cooking at Salvajes Brassiere is contemporary French with Italian elements and he’s very selective about the ingredients. His salad, for instance, is made with high-quality essentials from Chinaberry Farms, using French mustard, sage vinegar and Grana Padano.

La belle cuisine…

Berkshire Pork: The Kobe beef of pork, we made Berkshire pork at least once a week in Chicago and this chop will be your ultimate, weekly fix. It’s juicy, dark, and heavily marbled. We’ve actually never seen it on a menu anywhere in San Miguel de Allende.
Coq Au Vin: Coq Au Vin is one of our long-time favorites; a timeless stew that’s filled with intense, classic French flavors. I have an emotional attachment to this dish as it was the first one I ever cooked to impress a guy without knowing much about French cooking. I was 20.

Braised Short Rib: this is the chef’s secret weapon for wooing diners. It’s superbly prepared with creamy, russet potatoes – something that’s been MIA in the grocery stores lately. The serving plates are eye-catching; complimenting every dish that comes out of the kitchen.

French toast with Buttered Lobster: who would ever think to marry the flavors of French toast and buttered lobster and pull it off? The dish was a total surprise; just one of the many things this chef does with French toast like the French toast with Lavender Ice Cream, whipped cream and Marmalade – a beautiful dessert at his other restaurant, Bastardo.

Gnocchi with Clams: Gnocchi Parisienne, a French spin on rustic Italian gnocchi. In this preparation, the texture is much lighter; sautéed in butter for that browned, crunchy exterior to contrast the baked clams. Our top choice, we loved this dish.Posted at the top of the page.

Home made ice cream: smoked cream over cedar wood and a 70% cacao with white truffle oil were both superb, served in a covered, green Parisian glass bowl along with another alluring ice cream made from delicate, fresh berries the color of beets.

Our service was great thanks to Maui, who looks more Hawaiian than Mexican and had a very attentive demeanor. Breakfast and brunch will be served on the weekends when Salvajes is fully staffed. Jorge is currently looking for a Sous Chef for Bastardo/Salvajes with a minimum of 5 years of experience in the kitchen.

The one thing that impressed us overall was the fact that Chef Jorge Avendaño was totally overjoyed and captivated; he raved about his new kitchen, the equipment (a brand new green egg and stainless food mill) and literally every dish that he made.

A passionate chef will get you every time and we’ll admit that we were totally taken. Salvajes Brassiere is one of our favorite, new restaurants in 2022.

Salvajes Brassiere

Hidalgo 92

Thursday - Saturday: 2:00 PM - 10:00 PM

Sunday: 1:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Chef Jorge Avendaño

Partner: Alejandra Cortina

Sunday, November 13, 2022

New Dishes for 2022

These dishes were added to the Best of SMA; all standouts on the list for 2022:

Atrio: the Peking Duck Tacos wrapped in a flour tortilla with sesame seeds and dressed with plum sauce by Chef Arturo Sandoval.

Marsala Cocina con Acentos: the Pork Tomahawk glazed with sake mirin and soy with Vermicelli noodles by Chef Marcela Bolano.

Chilli Billy: Billy famous chili with just a touch of sweet by Chef Billy Lesser.

San Mezcal: Spinach Salad. It tastes different from every other Spinach Salad I’ve had; a secret recipe by Chef Jason Malloff. And did you know, San Mezcal’s Master Mezcalier, Julio Hernandez, is the only Master Mezcalier in SMA and one of two in Guanajuato state. Julio has hand selected every bottle of Mezcal and Tequila for the bar. There are over 125 labels to select from.

If you have a favorite dish you can’t live without, let us know. There are only 51 days left in 2022. Over 121 dishes are already listed. It will come out in early January, 2024.

Atrio Cuna de Allende #3 Daily 1:00 PM – 10:30 PM Chef Arturo Sandoval

Marsala cocina con acentos Calle del Dr Ignacio Hernandez Macias #48 Daily: 1 PM - 12 Midnight except Sunday: 11 AM - 3 PM Tuesday: Closed Chef: Marcela Bolano

Chilli Billy C. Margarita Ledesma 2B, Colonia Guadalupe Phone: 415 197 9802 Tuesday – Saturday: 12:00 Noon – 8:00 PM Sunday: 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM Monday: Closed Chef: Billy Lesser

San Mezcal Recreo 88, Zona Centro, 37700 San Miguel de Allende, Gto. Wednesday – Saturday: 3:00 PM – 11:00 PM Sunday – Monday: 3:00 PM – 10:00 PM Tuesday: Closed Chef: Jason Malloff Master Mezcalier: Julio Hernandez

A New Casual Favorite: Chilli Billy

Any good burger and chili joint starts with the basics and we think after 1 year, Billy Lesser has them down.

Ask for extra crispy fries (some of the best in town) or fries topped with chili, the chili bowl or dog with all the toppings, Chili Nachos, Corn Dogs – ask for it cooked extra crispy, Shakes: Vanilla, Chocolate or Banana or the star of the show: the burger. For dessert – the best frozen lemon pie made with ghee and a Marias cookie crust. Soon, Frito Chili Pie should be on the menu; a classic southwestern dish- our favorite one from Eischen’s, Oklahoma’s oldest bar.

The trick to eating the Bacon Cheeseburger is not shy away from getting totally messy. Dig into this league of champions; the juicy, organic, all-beef burger topped with molten cheddar cheese and loads of caramelized onions.

If this place were open any earlier, we’d be eating this burger for breakfast.

Chilli Billy C. Margarita Ledesma 2B, Colonia Guadalupe Phone: 415 197 9802 Tuesday – Saturday: 12:00 Noon – 8:00 PM Sunday: 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM Monday: Closed

Panio's New Lemon Ice Cream

Some planning your life for the next two years food…

Just when I’d given up on trying to find the same delicious lemon flavor of the Flan de Lemon ice cream I use to eat every day at Bing’s Helados in Guadalajara after school in the late 60’s, Panio in SMA has come out with a NEW Lemon Ice Cream. It’s got our vote for the best ice cream ever until we can find a better one; rather unlikely since the last time took fifty-two years.

Heavenly, delightful, creamy, refreshing, smooth, enticingly divine, flavorful, mouthwatering premium Lemon Ice Cream. I finally scooped some in a bowl after I ate half the carton. And, like everything else, Panio will deliver it free.

Panio Atelier du Pain WhatsApp order number: 415 101 3003 Salida a Celaya 67-69 8:00 AM – 9:30 PM Doce 18 at Relox 12 9:00 AM – 8:00 PM Panio Correo 29 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM Panio La Luciérnaga 8:00 AM – 9:00 PM

Rooftop Face Painting for Day f the Dead

It was a race against time as family members got their faces painted. We managed to get some pictures in for CheriRae’s grandson Jeremy Day and his beautiful lady in red, Christine Galley Day, before the last drop of light disappeared.

So was the highlight of the day the face painting or the send off meal before the parade? It’s always a toss-up for me when food is involved.

BONOM Club de Petanca

Always a loads-of-fun party when some of our SMA family gets together; in this case on October 23rd at Bonom Club de Petanca, near Bodega Aurrera and Distrito Soma.

At the restaurant there, the food is prepared by one of SMA’s favorite chefs, JJ Castaneda; getting high marks for what is considered to be world street food. As a special treat, Chef JJ Castaneda fixed his famous cabbage rolls for the birthday boy and girl, Rick Thompson and Susan Smith Gist.

Rick remembered the cabbage rolls as being one of the best dishes he had when we ordered a load of small plates to sample one night when JJ was at Fatima as the chef. In fact, JJ is such a great chef, we believe he can cook anything so if you want him to fix something special, ask him a few days before.

We also loved JJ’s burger; the recipe from his friend Chef Gabriel Ordonez, who use to serve this hamburger at Mercado Sano on Saturday mornings. It’s made with a blend of short rib and brisket with a special sauce. There’s a full bar with reasonably priced drinks – from artisanal craft beers to your favorite spirits.

Petanca is the French version of the Italian game of bocce. The best things is you always play for free of you order food or drink. It’s the perfect place for a party; open air and the only place of its kind in SMA to eat, drink and play Petanca. Contact the restaurant to reserve a table in advance.

Love you, Patsy Dubois, and thanks for the one-of-a-kind, very special, birthday cake, which everyone LOVED.

BONOM Club de Petanca Calzada de la Estacion Pzla. De la Estacion 19A De los Estacion F.F.C.C. 37759 San Miguel de Allende Wednesday – Saturday 2:00 PM – 12:00 AM Sunday 12:00 Noon – 8:00 PM Monday – Tuesday Closed Phone: 55 2727 44308 https://www.bonom.mx