Saltillo barely breaks into the top 15 metropolises in Mexico. Unassuming on the surface, this urban area in Northern Mexico boasts colonial heritage, quaint architecture, rich culture, and a growing food scene, all elevated by neighboring wineries that rival those of other regions in the Americas. No place captures Saltillo’s allure like Don Artemio, a contemporary restaurant created by Chef Juan Ramón Cárdenas.
A menu spotlighting the regional delicacies, such as cabrito—milk-fed kid goat—in different presentations, is only the initial draw. Instead, Don Artemio, named after local writer and diplomat Artemio de Valle-Arizpe, celebrates everything that makes Saltillo special, from its mountainous landscape to its entrepreneurial spirit.
Eugene Kim, My Modern Met Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief, visited Don Artemio over the summer. “What struck me most about Don Artemio is that it feels like far more than a restaurant. There is an incredible sense of pride in Saltillo and Coahuila behind everything they do, along with a genuine desire to understand the history and traditions of the region, preserve what is meaningful about them, and find thoughtful, contemporary ways to share them with a much larger audience.”
He continues. “You see that philosophy everywhere. It’s obviously present in the food, but it extends into art, architecture, craftsmanship, publishing, wine, and the cultural traditions of Saltillo. Whether it’s celebrating the history of the Sarape de Saltillo, documenting the culinary tradition of cabrito, highlighting the wines and ingredients of Coahuila, or commissioning an artwork like Morfogenesis that literally transforms the surrounding landscape into this monumental clay installation, there is always a connection back to place. Everything feels thoughtful and intentional, with a story and a deeper connection to the region behind it.”
During Kim’s dining experience, he sat around a table with Chef Cárdenas, his family, architect Luis González, and artist Alejandro Fuentes Quezada. “We shared an incredible meal and talked about Saltillo, the restaurant, the artwork, and the region. What stayed with me just as much as the food and design was how warm, generous, and thoughtful everyone was. You could feel how deeply they care about where they come from and how much they want other people to understand what makes Saltillo and Coahuila special.
“The more I learned about Juan Ramón in particular, the more I realized that Don Artemio is one expression of a much larger commitment to the region,” Kim explains. “He has spent years researching, documenting, promoting, and celebrating the culinary traditions of northeastern Mexico, while also contributing to the cultural and civic life of his community. That dedication gives everything at Don Artemio an even greater sense of meaning and purpose.
“I have tremendous respect for people who care deeply about where they come from and use what they have built to celebrate the people, traditions, craftsmanship, landscape, and culture around them. To me, that is what the Cárdenas family is doing with Don Artemio. They are not simply telling the story of a restaurant. They are helping tell the story of Saltillo and Coahuila, and inviting the rest of the world to discover it.”
Read on for My Modern Met’s exclusive interview with Chef Cárdenas.
You have spent much of your career researching, preserving, and promoting the cuisine and culture of northeastern Mexico. Where does your passion for the history of Saltillo and Coahuila come from personally, and why is it so important to you to share that heritage with others?
Passion is fueled by many sources; the first is at home. I was fortunate enough to be born into a family with deep roots in northeastern Mexico—my family has been settled in this region for centuries. I believe it was all a process. As a child, my father would ask me to go with him on his expeditions to hunt for kid goats in the mountains, which allowed me to connect with this land from a very early age. At the same time, at home, my mother would cook authentic dishes from northern Mexico, such as fritada de cabrito (a goat stew with offal and blood), flour tortillas, tamales wrapped in corn husks, charro beans, dried beef, northern-style chorizo, pastries known as hojarascas, and others filled with meat—but sweet and with raisins—called turcos. All of this was made at home.
Over time, I became interested in learning about food and culinary techniques. First, I studied haute cuisine (mainly French techniques) and met master chefs; I delved into books and began searching for books on northeastern Mexico, only to realize that very little material had been published. So I set out to begin my own research. One of the master chefs who inspired me is Chef Ricardo Muñoz Zurita.
When someone visits Don Artemio for the first time, what do you hope they come away understanding about Saltillo and Coahuila? What makes this region, its people, and its culture special to you?
The culture of northern Mexico is open, direct, and hardworking, and the food reflects that. When guests come to Don Artemio, my goal is for them to get to know this region through a contemporary take on our cuisine.
Food and wine are both such important parts of Coahuila’s identity. Which culinary traditions, ingredients, wines, or local producers do you feel best tell the story of the region, and how has Don Artemio helped introduce them to a wider audience?
Speaking from tradition, there are two wineries that tell the story of Coahuila: Casa Madero, in Parras, with more than 420 years of history, and Viñedos Ferriño, in Cuatro Ciénegas, with over a hundred years. Nowadays, the story is being told by men and women who are investing in new projects such as Los Cedros, Parvada, San Juan de la Vaquería, Bodegas del Viento, and Don Leo, among others.
Don Artemio has contributed a story of which I am very proud. When we were about to open our second Don Artemio restaurant in Fort Worth, I sought out the leading importer of Mexican wines—his name is Tom Bracamontes, a third-generation Mexican living in Napa, California—and asked him, “What Coahuila wines do you have?” to which he replied, “None.” I was surprised and invited him to Coahuila. I arranged a series of meetings for him with local producers, and many of them are now exporting their wines to the United States.
Don Artemio goes far beyond food, incorporating architecture, art, the sarapes of Saltillo, clay, and even the surrounding landscape into the experience. Why is it important to you that the restaurant tell this broader cultural story, and how do you approach working with artists, architects, and craftspeople to bring it to life?
It’s something that comes from the very depths of my being—a desire, a search for beauty and harmony, which are present in art. As a young man, through my father’s conversations with my uncle Fausto Cantú or Roberto Cornejo, I was exposed to cultural discussions, which awakened a spark within me. Later, life led me to meet the poet Jesús R. Cedillo, and we forged a friendship centered on culture. We held literary gatherings with various writers, which continued to nourish that quest. In a way, all these small steps—and many more—shaped my desire for the restaurant to be a living reflection of this land, and that is how we incorporated architecture and visual arts.
Don Artemio is also very much a family endeavor, and you have now taken its vision from Saltillo to Fort Worth. When you think about everything your family has built, what do you ultimately hope Don Artemio contributes to Saltillo and Coahuila, and what do you hope people around the world come to understand about your region?
I hope that Don Artemio continues to be a source of employment that offers opportunities for growth to our employees and their families, and that through our work we can make our world—I mean those closest to us, our families and our community—a better place to live. I firmly believe that fruitful and creative work has the power to transform the world.
I want our customers to have an immersive experience in our region, where they can enjoy authentic flavors, aromas, wines, and beverages. I hope we can help them be happier and foster greater unity as couples, families, and friends; that we can help our customers close business deals that bring greater prosperity to the region; and that we can be a small, positive influence on our people.
