Mesa Marrakesh: Mediterranean Specialties

Published November 16, 2024

Article and Photo by Susan Knight York

In 2019, we first wrote about a sandwich we loved so much we continued to eat it during Covid by way of delivery from The Restaurant. We could never get enough of this smoky Pastrami, tasting it for the first time on a burger that ran as a special at Birdie’s. A specialty of Chef J.J. Castenada, he brines the roast for a week, enhances it with an herbal rub for another five days and then cooks it on a smoker. Selective breads like this dark rye give the sandwich a much-needed crunch.

Turn the clock ahead six years to 2024 and this sandwich has, much to my delight, made a comeback on the menu at Mesa Marrakesh, a small, neighborhood restaurant in San Antonio that was recently reopened by J.J.; he previously operated the restaurant in Meracdo del Carmen. The restaurant is now so popular with San Antonio locals, they flock to his kitchen for his Mediterranean specialties and this delicious, homemade Pastrami.

You can compare it to the Pastrami at New York Deli that opens today on Stirling Dickinson but we’ve loved J.J.’s homemade Pastrami for a very long time and it tasted just as good today as it did when we first ate it back in 2019.

The Pastrami sandwich, which also comes as a Patty Melt and includes a burger, is on our growing list of standout sandwiches in San Miguel de Allende.

Mesa Marrakesh
Refugio Nte. 1, San Antonio, 37700
San Miguel de Allende, Gto.
Phone: 415 117 6322
Hours: Wednesday – Saturday 1:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Chef: Chef J.J. Castenada