La Ola Rica, the most widely written about restaurant in San Pancho, (Fodor's loves it) has a small bar with good drinks, good food, and music on Saturday nights. The newest place in town, with the rather long name, Cafe San Pancho Casa de Chiles Rellenos, perches upstairs on a large balcony.On the menu, there are a lot of choices beyond chiles rellenos. The mixed brochette caught my eye: a medallion of lobster with olive sauce and garlic, a medallion of fish in 3 pepper sauce, and a giant coconut shrimp in pineapple sauce.

At one of the two aforementioned restaurants, you must try the Molcajete Azteca, which is described as a prehispanic dish served in a volcanic bowl. It is made with a base of chipotle sauce surrounded by beef strips, panela cheese, spicy chicken sausage and cambray onion. All I can tell you is that it is delicious.

Many smaller, perhaps more authentic, Mexican restaurants are in town. We loved Maria's for lunch where the staff was very friendly and the shrimp tacos got raves from my friends. I succumbed to the urge for some American food and had a really good hamburger and fries. One sad note on the culinary scene in the area.........they have fallen victim to Kraft American cheese slices. One evening Estella, the cook for Casa Bianca, prepared appetizers for us and she put those cheese slices on her lovely homemade chips and microwaved it for Nachos. Ohhhhh NOOOO!

On our last morning, we had breakfast at a nice little place called La Taza de Cafe and I foolishly ordered the eggs benedict rather than the Mexican eggs. Yes, they came with melted American cheese on top instead of Hollandaise. Well, what was I thinking? Clearly I'd had enough Mexican food for a while. As my friends proclaimed: " I don't think I'll eat any Mexican food for a year!" But I bet we will...