Fonda San Miguel: Thirty Years of Food and Art

Joanna Lefebvre

by Tom Gilliland and Miguel Ravago, Text by Virginia B. Wood
Shearer Publising, June 2005
$34.95/hardcover

In 1975, Miguel Ravago and Tom Gilliland opened Fonda San Miguel in Austin, a restaurant featuring authentic Mexican cuisine in a city where Tex-Mex reigned supreme. In time, the restaurant became one of the Southwest's top restaurants.

After three decades of success, the duo has released a celebratory cookbook Fonda San Miguel: Thirty Years of Food and Art that presents many of their signature dishes.

With a dual focus on food and art, the book reflects Mexican cuisine's rich heritage. The recipes are simple to prepare and cover everything from mouth-watering Chihuahua-style chile con queso to cajeta crepes.

Supplementary sections offer tips on buying and cooking with authentic ingredients as well as information on basic recipe components, cooking equipment and mail order sources. Stunning, full-color photographs capture the romantic hacienda-style decor of the restaurant. Selected works from the impressive Fonda San Miguel art collection are also pictured with notes on the artists.

Honored by the International Association of Culinary Professionals, Fonda San Miguel: Thirty Years of Food and Art offers a window into the the diverse culinary regions of Mexico.