A few years back, the R.O.M.E.O. men's breakfast group met at the restaurant of the then Hotel San Felipe in Pátzcuaro. It would be kind to say that the spacious parking and the seating arrangement were the highlights of that breakfast.
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| Patio and parking |
Since then, the Hotel San Felipe changed ownership to the extensive Hotel Misíon chain. It was renamed the
Hotel Misíon Pátzcuaro. Last week, our friends Mark and Nancy dined with a group of friends at the restaurant, still named Restaurante San Felipe, and were so pleased that they suggested we join them there for a comida.
At 3:00 p.m. Wednesday, we six were the only diners in the warmly appointed dining room. We were attended quite competently by two white jacketed waiters. The menu is not lengthy, but is more than adequate. They brought us some complimentary
totopos y frijoles.
The menu is a bit confusing in that there are listings for both
botanas and for
antojitos. Some of the same items appear under different categories but with varying prices. In the case of the intriguing
Chile Pasilla item, our waiter explained that the one listed in
botanas was a sort of build your own taco appetizer, while the
antojito version is a type of
chile relleno. We ordered the
botana version and an order of
guacamole to share.
The
guacamole was fine, and the
chile pasilla botana was novel and nifty. It comes as sort of a kit, comprised of a fried, opened dried chile, strips of
queso fresco, crema, chopped
cilantro, cebolla y chile perón. We were supplied with baskets of warm, thickish handmade tortillas with which to assemble our tacos.
The dish was fun to eat, but the sum of its flavor was o.k., but not equal to the appeal of the DIY parts.
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| Chile Pasilla botana |
On the other hand, the two
salsas de la casa, roja y verde, were stellar. The tomatoes and milder chiles of the red had been carefully roasted, while the green was just the right heat, tartness, but above all, chopped in substantial chunks rather than the anemic, watery purees so often served elsewhere.
The weather was cool and rainy, so soup was a logical choice for at least three of us.
Two chose Crema Tangaxhuan, a creamy corn chowder laced with bacon and topped by small crackers or croutons.
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| Crema Tangaxhuan |
I chose Sopa Tarasca, a Michoacán specialty, a soup often abused and disrespected. (There are at least two schools of Sopa Tarasca; with bean puree and without.) The version at San Felipe could hold its own in the upper ranks of contenders. It was vivid with tomato-chile broth, thick with tortilla strips, laced with crema y queso and strips of chile pasilla, but without beans. It was substantial and enjoyable.
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| Sopa Tarasca |
With the
platos fuertes, I think the quality declined. Mark had a
Filete de Res con Champiñones a la Mostaza, of which only he can give an opinion. He invited me to taste the sauce, but I did not think that the yellow mustard in a cream sauce was a felicitous combination.
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| Filete de res con champiñones a la mostaza |
Ron had a simple
Filete de Res a la Parrilla. I didn't get his opinion on this yet.
Both Georgia and I both had
Chuletas Adobadas. Mine, at least was
overcooked; a bit thin and dry, but redeemed somewhat by the pretty good adobo.
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| Chuletas Adobadas |
Note that the
chuletas and Ron's platter came with frijoles but Mark's did not. There were no vegetable sides, as far as we could tell, even though fresh vegetables were present in the salads.
Nancy and Sra. Cuevas both had
Ensaladas Mixtas, which combined fresh and cooked vegetables and some ham and cheese. The salads were attractive, and cruets of vinegar and oil were welcome to mix your dressing to taste.
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| Ensalada Mixta: goodbye, cruet whirl |
Desserts:
Ron and I both ordered
flan, which was poorly made. I have never had dense, chewy
flan before. The caramel tasted like a syrup made from
piloncillo.
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| This dessert did not pass with flan colors |
Nancy and Sra. Cuevas had
Crepas a la Naranja, attractive and the orange sauce was good. Crepes would never be among my first dessert choices, but of course, tastes differ.
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| Crepas a la Naranja |
And now, the envelope, please!
Food:
***1/2
Service: *****
Ambience: ****
Price: $$+ (per person, complete meal. See menu pictures for details)
Restrooms: Clean and attractive.
Parking: spacious and free.
Location:
Hotel Misión Pátzcuaro
Av. Lázaro Cárdenas No. 321
C.P. 61600, Centro
Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, México
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