Amapola, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

After her report on a memorable dinner at Atrio, our new Senior Mexico Correspondent Lyn Ingersoll is back with another treat from San Miguel de Allende, this time with a delicious brunch.

The next day, we went to AMAPOLA (Poppy in English) for brunch as Marc was craving “real Mexican” food. It was in a pretty interior courtyard a couple of blocks from the plaza. He was very happy with his Bowl de Chiquiles Rancheros – a combination of chips, refried beans, Cotija cheese, red onion, and tomatilla sauce, with a fried egg on top. [Ed: The tomatillo sauce is a great touch, as is the fried egg. A second fried egg would not be amiss.]

Larry had the same thing except instead of the fried egg, he opted for chicken and cecina (dried meat) as add-ons. Marina ordered the Enfrijolados – two poached eggs with a sauce of black beans on a fried tortilla, plus epazote, avocado, and Cotija cheese. It was a beautiful dish with a wonderful blend of flavors.

[Ed: Doesn’t that look interesting — and delicious? Epazote, by the way, is an herb with a, well, minty/spicy flavor. It goes very well with beans, and I imagine that there’s a touch of chiles in there.]

I ordered a more traditional breakfast – Avocado Toast – which came on delicious multigrain bread with parmesan cheese, cilantro, and two poached eggs on top.

[Ed: Ed: I’d never thought much of the idea of avocado toast, but a couple of poached eggs — especially such nicely poached eggs — kicked it up a big notch. ]

We also ordered one of my favorite drinks in Mexico – Jugo Verde. There are many versions, but this one included green apple, nopal (citrusy tasting cactus), parsley, orange, and pineapple – all pureed together. We ended with cappuccinos and wishes that we could stay much longer!

Now that’s the way to end a meal and a trip! And note– Amapola can be reached via WhatsApp through their Facebook page. Has the siren song of San Miguel de Allende reached your ears? I’d love to go. Many thanks to Lyn for the great reports. I can’t wait for more!

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