Dallas - July 13, 2005

Run for the Border

Cafe San Miguel

Dear July,

You think you’re the hottest thing going, dontcha?

And what with the 100-plus temps, brain-frying sun, and hair-frizzing humidity, you’ve got every reason.

But your number’s up, July. Cafe San Miguel, a new restaurant that opened yesterday in Knox/Henderson, re-creates the climate of the Mexican mountain destination San Miguel de Allende indoors. Blending decorative touches — Saltillo and Talavera tiles, paper-covered wooden tables, and hand-scraped doors — with bright regional hues, it’s a breath of fresh, Gulf Coast-inspired air.

The red pomegranate margarita is worth sipping slowly. And chef Fernando Marrufo’s pollo pibil (chicken, tomatoes, onions, and epazote baked in a banana leaf), sopa condesa (black bean soup topped with tequila cream sauce and masa croutons), and codorniz en pipian (grilled quail served with roasted pumpkin seed sauce and queso fresco) are delicious enough to convince even the most ardent sun lovers to stop in.

There’s a new kind of hot in town, July.

And it’s way cooler than you.

Cafe San Miguel, 1907 North Henderson Avenue, Knox/Henderson (214-370-9815).