We moved further west for our last two days to the most adorable place we visited and instantly fell in love with Guanajuato with it's colonial feel yet somehow odd terrain on hills with dozens of subterranean tunnels that would loose anyone after a couple of margaritas. Speaking of margaritas, we asked for the bebida del casa, which here was a yummy sangria and then went on to a bottle of L.A.Cetto Nebbiolo 2011 Riserva Privada from Valle de Guadalupe. We had tasted another Nebbiolo from Cuna da Tierra, a winery we visited several days earlier, and this grape has really taken well to the Mexican climes.
El Callejon del Beso is named for the famous street nearby where everyone kisses amidst the fable of the girl who tried to run off with her student boyfriend as she kissed him on this so narrow street that their balconies touched. Alas, her father did not agree to the match and as they kissed, he stabbed his daughter in the heart. The specialty of the restaurant is grilled hearts which are served aflame tableside and then stabbed; we refrained, but chose to started with the Crocodile Carpaccio which was delightful-a kind of earthy chicken-tasting dish which went well with the wine's big earthy flavors. Trucha Ahumada was another superb starter and the smoked trout was served ceviche style with tomato, spice, onion and cucumber. Bread came with many salsas, a kicky mayo aioli, salsa verde with avocado crema, olive oil with chilies and tapenade.
We were in heaven enjoying every flavor.
Sam spotted plain Pasta with Fineas Hierbas and chose that while Will and I tried two mains from the famous grill:
Pulpo a la Plancha which offered up huge chunks of tender octopus with lime and an olive tapenade salad
Pulpo a la Plancha which offered up huge chunks of tender octopus with lime and an olive tapenade salad
Corte a la Casa was a huge steak with potatoes, chilies and oil that we could not finish but was as tender as could be. It was fun to try the various dishes with the aioli and different salsas as well.
We were full, but could not resist the description of dessert, Pan de Nopal, which literally is nopal cactus bread, but here it was a whimsical creation of a desert scene. The cake was moist nopal cactus with caramello sauce and cocoa-which was like the dusty sand, sesame, lime and apple with a strong alcoholic sauce (I assume tequila or mescal) and the while thing was topped with a crunchy grasshopper....YUMMY,
Sam loved his red velvet cake made with Philly Cream Cheese and a huge spun sugar dome (the dome is missing on FB--sorry).
We had only been in Guanajuato for hours, but we were already in love with this charming town!
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