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FONDA SAN MIGUEL Thirty Years of Food and Art by Tom Gilliland and Miguel Ravago Text by Virginia B. Wood Shearer Publishing June 2005 $34.95/hardcover Color photographs throughout ISBN: 094067277-4 Sample recipe Buy this book

Contact: Trina Kaye
310-915-0970
TrinaKaye@tkopr.com

Create lasting memories this summer while hosting your family get-togethers and backyard parties with unique, south-of-the-border salads, "tapas" and refreshing drinks that won't keep you locked up in a hot kitchen for hours. Tom Gilliland and Miguel Ravago, owners of Fonda San Miguel restaurant in Austin, Texas have put together a collection of their best restaurant recipes in their cookbook, FONDA SAN MIGUEL: Thirty Years of Food and Art. This 2006 IACP award-winning cookbook presents a collection of easy-to-prepare, flavorful Tapas recipes that allow you to celebrate in the authentic Mexican tradition during the hot summer months ahead.

This summer serve up unique small plates or "Tapas" of such refreshing Mexican appetizers as:

• Tequila-Cured Salmon Tostadas
• Ceviche Veracuzano
• Tostadas de Cochinita Pibil
• Quesadillas de Hongos
• Albondigas en Chipotle

This is just a sampling of the cuisine from the regions of Vera Cruz, the Yucatan, Chihuahua and Mexico City that has been served daily for the last thirty years at the landmark Fonda San Miguel restaurant, In Austin, Texas.

And, the best way to complement Tom and Miguel's delicious Tapas is with something cold and refreshing. Once again, Gilliland and Ravago have developed authentic south-of-the-border cocktails sure to keep you and your guests cool during the hot, humid days ahead. Some of the original concoctions included on the restaurant's bar menu and in the cookbook include such favorites as:

• Fresh Lime Margaritas
• Mango Margarita
• Palomito (Grapefruit Soda Margarita)
• Sangría Fonda San Miguel
• Agua de Sandía (Watermelon Water)
• Cazuela Guadalajara (Tropical Tequila Punch)

These South-of-the Border drinks are the perfect fare for summer get togethers and a terrific accompaniment to the refreshing tastes of the Tapas items included in the FONDA SAN MIGUEL: Thirty Years of Food and Art.

"We had a grand dream, little experience, and a lot less cash when we began," said co-owner Tom Gilliland. "I love it as much today as the first day we opened." After three decades, Fonda San Miguel is still widely recognized as one of the best Mexican restaurants in the country and continues to earn national recognition for its pioneering spirit, unique décor, and remarkable food.

Guests come almost as much for the extensive collection of artwork that decorates the restaurant as they do for the food. In fact, "the title of our cookbook captures the dual focus of Fonda San Miguel -food and art," said Gilliland. "Distinctive Mexican art and décor is the best complement to authentic Mexican food."

Choosing where to keep this cookbook, in the kitchen or on the coffee table, will therefore be a challenge. Filled with photographs of the restaurant's interior, the book transports the reader, allowing him to sit amidst the lush tropical courtyard, beneath the custom made punched-tin light fixtures, and within hand-painted stuccoed walls of the romantic hacienda-style restaurant.

Tom Gilliland is a graduate of the University of Nebraska and the Law School of the University of Texas at Austin. He also studied law at the Universidad National Autónoma de México in Mexico City, as well as at the American Institute of Foreign Trade (now the Garvin School of International Management) in Glendale, Arizona. A co-founder of both San Angel Inn and Fonda San Miguel, he is an active member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP). Tom has hired the "front of the house" staff for many years; and directs the interior design and art collection.

Miguel Ravago first learned to cook from his grandmother, a native of Sonora, Mexico. A co-founder of San Angel Inn and Fonda San Miguel, he has been a pioneer of regional Mexican cooking for more than thirty years. Miguel co-authored Cocina de la Familia with Marilyn Tausend in 1997, which won a Julia Child cookbook award in 1998, and has also been published in Spanish. He is a longtime member of the IACP.

Virginia B. Wood, a native Texan and a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, began her professional cooking career as the first pastry chef at Fonda San Miguel restaurant in 1977. She went on to operate her own wholesale dessert and catering company for many years before becoming a food journalist. She is now the food editor at the Austin Chronicle and is also a member of the IACP and the Southern Foodways Alliance.