Last night my mother-in-law took us out to dinner at an awesome authentically Mexican restaurant here in Austin called Fonda San Miguel. I wrote up my review of the experience at Yelp.com. (Not to be forgotten is my father-in-law who stayed home to babysit.)
The food was amazing, even if my entree was not the most exciting of them. Thankfully everyone likes to share. Melanie’s dish was the best, Chiles en Nogada, (a similar recipe is here), a Poblano chile stuffed with spiced pork shoulder and various fruits covered with a walnut sauce and pomegranate seeds. While it sounds a bit strange at first, the completed dish was sublime. My entree was a little more pedestrian but not any less delicious, a few lamp chops, grilled simply, with a side of chipotle-cheese potato casserole. My sister-in-law had duck enchiladas.
My recommendation is when you go to a nice restaurant, give preference to the specials, because the chef is (a) showing off his skills and (b) using what’s fresh and good from suppliers. Not at every place, mind you, since in some places the chef is merely clearing out his fridge, but in the good places.
After dinner we had great desserts and I had a very nice glass of Port, a Warre Otima 10-year-old, with which we raised a toast to J.R.R. Tolkien.
If you’re ever in Austin and want a wonderful Mexican meal, this is the place to go.
The Fonda San Migue is indeed a wonderful restaurant, and I second the endorsement.
The only caveat I think one must offer is this: it is NOT a stereotypical Mexican restaurant serving tacos and enchiladas and burritos. It’s an upscale restaurant with high prices (by Austin standards, that is- outsiders from New York or Boston will find it very reasonable), and it serves interior Mexican food.
Wonderful stuff, but NOT the kind of Tex-Mex cuisine that casual diners are inclined to expect.
You must think we’re made of gold in Boston. Fonda San Miguel is expensive by Boston standards too.
Glad to hear it was good. I miss real Mexican restaurants like the ones I knew in California. Around here, when I go into one (on the off chance it might be authentic) I am served by staff who do not speak Spanish, and I get charged for nachos. I don’t go back of course.