In times that seem to keep the population trotting in order to barely keep up with changes, it’s a refreshing treat to visit a restaurant that has maintained the same menu and high levels of excellent service, presentation, and flavor for decades.
Like most folks, I get into a rut and keep returning to the same few restaurants.
It’s been years since I’d seen Armando Garcia Castro or visited his restaurant hidden away at Privada Ocampo 18. That street is just one block long, and it runs along the east side of the Hotel Danza del Sol between Zaragoza and Ocampo. Want a landmark? The house next door is painted purple with yellow polka dots and Armando’s Hideaway is faced with black slate cemented together with metallic gold grout.
The fireplaces, murals, colored glass, mirrored walls and painted stone and grout create a background as quirky as the most eccentric of the mishmash of interesting characters who have settled at Lake Chapala.
My first meal at Armando’s was in one of his much earlier locations. In October 1990, Garcia Castro had already been in business for nearly 15 years and his small, sophisticated and sleek restaurant was poised on the south side of the Ajijic plaza.
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