Resonance, colloquially speaking, is a feeling of harmony, of something landing just right. A restaurant can seem to do everything well but not resonate. It happens all the time. The new Allende in Walker’s Point isn’t your Taco Tuesday, combo plate with a chimichanga kind of Mexican joint. With its small, focused menu and curated, modern ambiance, it doesn’t follow conventions – which all work in the restaurant’s favor.
Co-owner Cesar Lopez was 6 months old when his dad opened Cielito Lindo on Second and National. As he grew up, Lopez was at Cielito “all the time,” gravitating to the kitchen side, its heat, sprint-like pace and spirit of creativity resonating with him.
When he and his wife, Yolanda Herrera Montes, were ready to open their own place, they pulled from their own history, naming it after San Miguel de Allende, the city in Guanajuato, Mexico, where they were married. Guanajuato was a source of inspiration in the menu they’ve created at Allende, as was Jalisco, the birthplace of birria, a slow-cooked stew. I can see and taste their intentionality in Allende’s food – there are many good things to eat here…