In it’s just published 2010 World’s Best Award Rankings, Travel + Leisure Magazine listed San Miguel de Allende,  MX as the fourth most popular city of the top 10  cities worldwide.  Only Bangkok and Chiang Mai in Thailand and Florence Italy were ranked higher. It beat out Rome, Sydney, Buenos Aires, Oaxaca in Mexico, Barcelona and New York City.  It also ranked it number one in the top 10 cities in Mexico and Latin America! 

Having spent almost five weeks in San Miguel since the end of December, I have been amazed by the number and the quality of  the new restaurants in town.  Here are some of my recommendations:

El Buen Café moved to Jesus  23 and has a wonderful garden with outdoor seating.  This is a great spot for lunch and the food is really excellent.

Just up from  El Buen Café is Pescau which specializes in seafood. It has a great contemporary atmosphere and I really enjoyed my lunch of a tuna ceviche and marlin tacos. 

Right across from the former La Capilla at  Cuna de Allende  11 is Mezzanine.  Opened by Laurent Jorda  and Paulo Pocinho the caterers from Bobo-Gourmet and owners of Bobo Boutique in San Miguel, this second floor space, decorated in  all white, will soon have a roof top terrace for dining as well.  It has a set prix fix menu for the day with two options for starters and two for the main course.  Check out www.mezzaninebistro.wordpress.com for the daily menus.   They just started opening on Saturday evenings as well. The food was really creative and the service was great.  It is also BYOB so check it out.

Had a wonderful Sunday comida at the George Samuel Restaurant at the Casa Misha boutique hotel located at Chiquitos  15. We had a wonderful lunch overlooking the flowering jacarandas and the Parroquia.  Wonderful service, great food and wines and all beautifully served on wonderful  English china and silver.  On those chilly nights you can eat in beautifully appointed salons on the first level. 

I also recommend Dos Casas at Quebrada 101. . With a new chef we had a wonderful dinner on a Saturday night.  Their new chef, who is from San Miguel just moved back from working in San Francisco.  Had a lovely meal with great wines. 

Mivida at Hernandes Macias 97 in the old Azefran and Gallo space, has been transformed into a very attractive Italian restaurant, with a Mexican accent.   Had great pasta, salad and wine.  Heard that Jazz on Friday night is also great.

 Heard that Socialitte across from Carcassone at Correo 47A has good Italian food, I have   also enjoyed the somewhat new Carcassone.  Somewhat formal but a good atmosphere on a colder San Miguel night.

Café Iberico, located now in Colonia San Antonio and moving to the old Nirvana space on  Mesones 101, is where we enjoyed very good Spanish tapis.  We all loved sharing the reasonably priced small plates. .  The fried avocado was to die for! It is owned by an American couple who have been involved in catering in San Miguel for several years.

Nirvana is now in Atotonilco next to Mayer Schacter’s  Galleria Atotonilco.  Had a long Saturday comida on it’s first week of opening a  new resort. There are lovely grounds, a pool and hotel rooms.  The wonderful staff that I have gotten to know are still there and the menu is the same. I think they may want to add some daily specials to supplement the old menu, but seeing and having  the old favorites like the watermelon gazpacho was real plus.

 Am looking forward to trying Bezzito at Hernandez Macias 78.  Loved the contemporary

feel of the downstairs dining room and heard the upstairs roof bar is sleek and right out of Mexico City.

Speaking of bars, El Pagasso’s new upstairs bar at the corner of Sollano and Correo looks great. It has a daily buffet and offers wonderful views of the Jardin.  Can’t wait to try it on my next visit.

At the first of the year, I had a wonderful lunch at Bistro Los Senderos. Located on the outskirts of town. An easy cab ride or they will take you out and back in by van, this is organic restaurant that features much of its own produce, is really quite nice with wonderful views.

Of course I always go back to Planta Baja for fish, the Restaurant at Sollano 16, Chamonix at Sollano 17,  La Alborada for pazole which is behind La Ventana, the coffee shop and window on Sollano,  Casa Sierra Nevada en el Parque for Sunday brunch, Café Parroquia on Jesus for my Sunday breakfast or lunch, El Pegaso for great lunch fare, Hecho en Mexico for the best guacamole in town and wonderful fish and Delia’s for amazing curry dishes. I also enjoy the wonderful  views and Mexican food of La Posadita,  Ole Ole for great bull fight décor and fajitas, the Food Factory at L’ Aurora after a day of gallery hopping, Bugambilia and Casa Blanca for traditional Mexican food  and Azotea for it’s newly expanded area and wonderful sunset views. 

Sounds like all we do is eat in San Miguel. With many things being grown locally and amazing new restaurants with showing great creativity,  San Miguel is becoming a Mecca for “Foodies”  from all over!!!

I was fortunate to spend two nights in Patzcuaro in early April before Semana Santa.  This historic, colonial  city on the shores of Lake Patzcuaro was once an important religious and political center.  It is known for it’s Day of the Dead celebrations on November 1st of each year.  Here Mexicans from all over the country gather on the island of Janitzio and in the villages around the lake. This trip I visited the villages of Tzintzuntzan, Tocuaro known for its award winning wooden masks, Erongaricuaro and Quiroga.  Patzcuaro has lovely squares,  old churches, great restaurants and many shops offering the best of local crafts.  Do not miss Zocalo which is owned by good friends.  I stayed at La Siranda, an amazing boutique hotel right off the Plaza Grande.

La Siranda, a classic residence in the heart of Patzcuaro, which has been transformed into a cozy, special class casa-hotel with 5 suites and picturesque grounds. It combines tradition, refinement and serenity, with the element of exclusivity and therefore has no name on its facade.

With origins in the eighteenth century, the grounds were once the orchards of the Santa Caterina de Siena convent. The property retains spaciousness and breadth prevalent in the houses of that era, and has been furnished with modern and sophisticated decor that blends tastefully with Mexican furniture and objets d´art from around the world.

The spacious suites are crowned with impressive five meter ceilings and wooden beams, and also feature adobe walls, fireplaces, modern bathrooms, king size beds, heating for winter, and fine folk art from Michoacan.  I ate two meals on the terrace.  The food was the best I had in town!

Located adjacent to Plaza Grande, known for it´s exceptional size and elegance, La Siranda is a neighbor of the Casa de los Once Patios, the Santa Caterina de Siena convent, which was constructed in the 18th century, but today is home to many artisans who reflect the richness of Michoacán culture in their work. It is within walking distance from the former Jesuit College, the Basílica de Nuestra Señora de la Salud, and other magnificent buildings of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when Pátzcuaro was the political and religious center of the current state of Michoacan.

Patzcuaro is easily reachable from Morelia.  The new cuota from the north is now open so it cut off an hour from the drive from San Miguel de Allende!

In this issue, an article by Scott Resch describes how more and more people are looking to accumulate experiences in their lives.

“And Robert Glaze, founder and president of the Weybridge Collection, is catering to it. Currently, he offers five properties for the art connoisseur, with ownership in the Santa Fe location allowing for the exchange of three in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and one at The Snowmass Club in Colorado. He also expects to secure residences in Umbria, Charleston, and Carmel, to name a few.

“My whole philosophy was like Under the Tuscan Sun, A Year in Provence, On Mexican Time, books like that,” he says. “You know, environments that are warm and inviting and decorated in a way that a masterpiece would be created–but is connected to what’s around it. We want to make sure the place looks like where it is, and we want to make sure those places aren’t in touristy or sterile areas.”

Those values are generating a lot of interest in The Weybridge Collection, which only officially launched the sale of fractional ownership in the 6,000 square foot Casa Las Artes a few months ago yet already has several parties considering the purchase.

But the last thing Glaze wants is for an owner’s experience to end inside the residence. That’s why the blog he started on Weybridge’s website is rife with information on regional restaurants and festivals, and it’s why he’s employed a concierge to set up special programs, such as tours of famous artists’ studios and trips to visit Georgia O’Keefe’s home and studio.

Indeed, interacting with the community and forming a cultural connection is even more important to his clients than walking into their Santa Fe bedroom and seeing a rare painting or artifact. At least that’s what Glaze anticipates hearing soon after the first key goes through the door.

“Experiential to the max” is how Glaze describes his product. “Members get individual homes with individual spaces and a chance to find balance in their lives. Because the truth is, businesses are working their employees harder and harder, and I think Americans, for the most part, are missing out. So collecting homes and collecting art– those are just nice ways to help people collect some experiences, too.”

“I wanted to collect historic, artistic, and culturally relevant homes with the same discernment as I do when I collect fine art. That’s why I call our homes a collection, not a club. The homes themselves are large and comfortable works of art.” - by Robert H. Glaze

Read more (PDF Page)

Helium Report blends comprehensive directories, objective analysis, and consumer reviews. The Weybridge Collection was recently featured by Susan Kime, an experienced luxury lifestyle journalist of Helium Report. An avid world traveler, Ms. Kime has written over 100 stories for leading luxury publications. As a guest contributor to Helium Report, Susan will periodically share her insights into various resorts and fractional real estate options. In her words - “The interiors of these homes and their locales - in Tesuque, New Mexico, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico - all reflect the diverse cultures from which these residences grew. Robert H. Glaze wants to collect artistically and culturally relevant homes in the same way he collects his fine art, with a sense of legacy.”

Read the full story by Ms. Kime

“It’s more about building a true second home experience for our owners as opposed to giving them the typical generic vacation club experience that has become so common these days.”
Read the article (PDF).