El Faro

When you see gringos, local business people, and a crew of construction workers in Day-Glo vests all crowding into the same small restaurant, you sniff the air and then follow them in. This restaurant on La Ancha is owned by David Romero, of Sevilla, who runs the place and cooks, too. Conveniently located along La Ancha, the street that skirts the San Antonio neighborhood to the west, El Faro is just a few blocks south of Instituto Allende. They serve a set-menu meal daily with serve-yourself salad, choice of cream or broth-based soup, and one of three entrees as well as agua fresca (fruit water), coffee, and dessert. The cuisine is international, with entree choices most days of chicken, beef, and either pork or fish.

City: San Miguel de Allende State: Guanajuato Region: Central Mexico Who: El Faro restaurant, Chef/owner David Romero What: Fixed price lunch menu from soup to nuts, well ... not nuts, but dessert and coffee! Even better. Where: Ancha de San Antonio 59 Tel. (cell) 415/115-8162 When: Daily noon to 5:30 p.m. Why: Filling, tasty lunch including fruit drink, salad, soup, entree, dessert and coffee How: It's south of downtown, two blocks south of Instituto Allende between Callejón de San Antonio and Calle Stirling Dickinson Cost: 60 pesos Other Notes: Cash only; Consider coming by 1 p.m. as the most popular of the three entree choices is sometimes gone by 2 p.m.