San Miguel
I was part of a party of 5 for dinner at this Guatemalan restaurant tonight.
In short, the place is great!
We had the following savory items (numbers, dish titles, and parenthetical English explanations from the menu):
7. Frijoles Negros Volteados (Refried black beans, with two pieces of cheese guatemalan style)
8. Guacamole
17. Salpicon (Chopped beef meat [really, stringy stew beef], with sour orange, onions, cilantro & mint leaves)
20. Pollo en Mole
27. Camarones Asados (Charbroiled Prawns with Chimichurri Sauce)
33. Enchilada Guatamalteca (Fried corn tortilla, chopped meat and vegetables, onions, sauce, hard boiled egg & dried cheese on top [also beets])
35. Tamales de Chipilin (Small corn tamale with chipilin leaves [which I found reminiscent of sarsaparilla])
We were also provided with excellent artisanal chips (tostaditas), one mild pico de gallo, and one really fiery one!
Everything was delicious, with the Enchilada (my order) probably the best and most unique of the lot. The Chimichurri on the Camarones Asados was not at all the same as the sauce I've had in Peruvian and Argentinian restaurants, but instead, the shrimps were grilled on a skewer with aromatic herbs without a wet sauce remaining. The Tamales de Chipilin were quite interesting and worthwhile and not really like anything I've had before.
Some excellent Guatemalan beer (I forget the name, but it was the one the waitress recommended) and some Tamarindo (which I found overly sweet, because I prefer for the sourness of the tamarind to come through more) were drunk.
It was too close to closing time for them to prepare Platanos for dessert, but we had some very soothing Atol de Elote, rather a sweetish corn soup I felt somewhat analogous to dessert soups served in some Chinese and Malaysian restaurants as a kind of digestive.
The waitstaff were extremely nice and spoke very clear Spanish and a little English. A knowledge of at least basic restaurant Spanish is helpful.
The decor and music at the restaurant were charming.
The total cost amounted to $100 including tip.
No-one should be deterred from going based on any false notion that Guatemalan food is very similar to Mexican food, because it is quite dissimilar in many ways. Go and enjoy!
From their menu:
San Miguel
Fine & Authentic Guatemalan Cuisine
3263 - Mission Street [between 29th and 30th Sts.]
San Francisco, CA 94110
Phone (415) 641-5866
Pan
Aug 05, 2007 02:38AM
Thanks for filing this report in the middle of your vacation. San Miguel has a location in Oakland as well, according to its website, http://www.forored.com/sanmiguel/ .
4729 International Blvd, Oakland, CA 94601, USA
3263 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA
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My pleasure, Melanie. I always like to try to steer more business toward a really good restaurant that could use it.
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Hi Pan!
Did your beer say "Famosa" on it? If so, it is our famous lager beer "Gallo" (rooster) but because of Gallo Wines up here in the states, they had to give it the moniker "Famosa".
There are also cervezas "Cabro", "Monte Carlo" and "Dorada" but Gallo/Famosa is the one we are known for the best. Glad you enjoyed your Guatemalan meal!
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Yes, thank you, it was indeed Famosa.
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"No-one should be deterred from going based on any false notion that Guatemalan food is very similar to Mexican food, because it is quite dissimilar in many ways. Go and enjoy!"
Mexican food is quite dissimilar to Mexican food in many way =). Anyway... don't know if it would add to the attraction or not... but Guatemalan restaurants are possibly the closest thing to the cuisine of Chiapas that California will EVER get (I don't think I have ever met a Chiapaneco here).
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