food advice please
- Thread starter dexlar
- Start date
JL - The thing is (and this was really the point of my last post), I'm convinced that you very well could have great taste in Mexcian food.
My favorite new restaraunt in Houston is Hugo's. It's casual dining, but somewhat upscale Mexican. They do things like substitute duck for chicken in their mole (maybe it's 'new Mexican' heh). Anyway, I've been to Mexico several times and it's the only restaraunt that I know of that gets all the regional cuisine down (most of Houston's Mexican eateries are really Tex-Mex or at best Norteno*). So I wouldn't assume out of hand that I'd be offended by any particular Mexican restaurant.
* - of course I am Tex-Mex and growing up I ate mostly Norteno, so it's not like this is a horrible thing for me.
My favorite new restaraunt in Houston is Hugo's. It's casual dining, but somewhat upscale Mexican. They do things like substitute duck for chicken in their mole (maybe it's 'new Mexican' heh). Anyway, I've been to Mexico several times and it's the only restaraunt that I know of that gets all the regional cuisine down (most of Houston's Mexican eateries are really Tex-Mex or at best Norteno*). So I wouldn't assume out of hand that I'd be offended by any particular Mexican restaurant.
* - of course I am Tex-Mex and growing up I ate mostly Norteno, so it's not like this is a horrible thing for me.
re: of course I am Tex-Mex
amend the post supra to read:
when you come to nyc to eat at maya's could you come to my house and cook me dinner?
caphalon in the divorce settlement,
or eve's ribs (dry rub),
hvb
enticement: u could have your pick of no. 2's left over vinyl (i kept some of the good stuff [that which i could reasonably rationalize] . . . e.g. marianne faithful as tears go by. hey, i like that song ALOT and she's a girl and i bought him broken english).
blood on the tracks 3 way -- vinyl cassette and cd, what's a girl to do?
hvb
amend the post supra to read:
when you come to nyc to eat at maya's could you come to my house and cook me dinner?
caphalon in the divorce settlement,
or eve's ribs (dry rub),
hvb
enticement: u could have your pick of no. 2's left over vinyl (i kept some of the good stuff [that which i could reasonably rationalize] . . . e.g. marianne faithful as tears go by. hey, i like that song ALOT and she's a girl and i bought him broken english).
blood on the tracks 3 way -- vinyl cassette and cd, what's a girl to do?
hvb
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My own culinary skills are suspect. I think my grandmother is holding out on me. I do what she says*, but it just never works out.
(Although my enchiladas win universal support from friends)
*
justme - So how long do I roast the chiles?
jm's gm (aimlessly looking for a roasting pan) - Well until they're ready to come out
jm - So about how many minutes?
gm (continuing to look for the pan) - Umm... I don't know. It depends on how many you're cooking and how big they are. Just look at them and pull them out when they're ready.
jm - How do you know when they're ready?
gm (still no pan) - When they look ready. Where's my roasting pan
jm (handing her the pan that I've been holding) - This one?
(Although my enchiladas win universal support from friends)
*
justme - So how long do I roast the chiles?
jm's gm (aimlessly looking for a roasting pan) - Well until they're ready to come out
jm - So about how many minutes?
gm (continuing to look for the pan) - Umm... I don't know. It depends on how many you're cooking and how big they are. Just look at them and pull them out when they're ready.
jm - How do you know when they're ready?
gm (still no pan) - When they look ready. Where's my roasting pan
jm (handing her the pan that I've been holding) - This one?
okay bring abuela (sp?) and
SHE can have the pick of the vinyl or the caphalon whichever she prefers.
love that norteaneo (sp?) music,
like that girl's early stuff, you know the one jennifer lopez played, or better yet the other acts at her outdoor shows,
hvb
p.s. a man that knows his nana is quite a man. that certain girl is going to be very lucky. i hope you'll have a church wedding.
planning a church wedding herself,
hvb
SHE can have the pick of the vinyl or the caphalon whichever she prefers.
love that norteaneo (sp?) music,
like that girl's early stuff, you know the one jennifer lopez played, or better yet the other acts at her outdoor shows,
hvb
p.s. a man that knows his nana is quite a man. that certain girl is going to be very lucky. i hope you'll have a church wedding.
planning a church wedding herself,
hvb
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JL may have good taste in Mexican food, but to the extent he is a New Yorker he is operating under a handicap.
Mexican food in NYC is a disaster...mostly because the city has so few Mexicans among its spanish speaking people. Most places serve black beans rather than the refried pinto kind. harumph.
A significant number are spanish/chinese places...or the latest meme, the "fresh tortillas" places that are almost always chinese or korean owned. I mean I eat at these places...in a fast food kind of way...but I don't think of it as being Mexican food. It is...something else...
Chicago, because it has a real Mexican community, has great Mexican food.
Back in Chicago any place that didn't serve menudo was looked upon with suspicion. (Not that I like menudo...I actually don't...but no menudo was always a dead giveaway of a place that didn't count on local Mexicans eating there...ergo...).
In NYC I've yet to find one of my faves...carnitas con mole...a dish that could give an olympic marathon runner overnight cholesterol disease it is so rich. Big chunks of fried pork in mole. Yum!
Also Albondigas...spicy Mexican meatballs that often have a big chunk of hardboiled egg in the middle. I also liked getting soups at Mexican places in Chicago. Chicken soup, for example, would come in a giant bowl with a whole chicken leg on the bone in there along with breast meat...giant chunks of potato and carrot...and then a small plate with fresh chopped onion and greens you would dump in at the table right before eating it so it had all this crunchy stuff in it.
Damn...I'm hungy now...
Mexican food in NYC is a disaster...mostly because the city has so few Mexicans among its spanish speaking people. Most places serve black beans rather than the refried pinto kind. harumph.
A significant number are spanish/chinese places...or the latest meme, the "fresh tortillas" places that are almost always chinese or korean owned. I mean I eat at these places...in a fast food kind of way...but I don't think of it as being Mexican food. It is...something else...
Chicago, because it has a real Mexican community, has great Mexican food.
Back in Chicago any place that didn't serve menudo was looked upon with suspicion. (Not that I like menudo...I actually don't...but no menudo was always a dead giveaway of a place that didn't count on local Mexicans eating there...ergo...).
In NYC I've yet to find one of my faves...carnitas con mole...a dish that could give an olympic marathon runner overnight cholesterol disease it is so rich. Big chunks of fried pork in mole. Yum!
Also Albondigas...spicy Mexican meatballs that often have a big chunk of hardboiled egg in the middle. I also liked getting soups at Mexican places in Chicago. Chicken soup, for example, would come in a giant bowl with a whole chicken leg on the bone in there along with breast meat...giant chunks of potato and carrot...and then a small plate with fresh chopped onion and greens you would dump in at the table right before eating it so it had all this crunchy stuff in it.
Damn...I'm hungy now...
Recipe for carnitas con mole
Mole is probably the most intricate, complicated sauce in the world. I have had true mole only a few times. Not even my old women relatives make the real stuff (start by fermenting chocolate in a clay pot...). Good luck.
(the recipes your likely to find do churn out a damned good sauce, though)
RM - I love carnitas, but I like 'em plain (with lime & salsa, of course). My family still regards me with some suspician due to my dislike of menudo (the soup).
I fucking hate the black bean thing. It's starting to show up here and it really pisses me off to no end.
I can taste the caldo de pollo you describe. Nothing better for a cold... chicken soup, plenty of citrus (limes), and chile (great for whatever ails ya).
Mole is probably the most intricate, complicated sauce in the world. I have had true mole only a few times. Not even my old women relatives make the real stuff (start by fermenting chocolate in a clay pot...). Good luck.
(the recipes your likely to find do churn out a damned good sauce, though)
RM - I love carnitas, but I like 'em plain (with lime & salsa, of course). My family still regards me with some suspician due to my dislike of menudo (the soup).
I fucking hate the black bean thing. It's starting to show up here and it really pisses me off to no end.
I can taste the caldo de pollo you describe. Nothing better for a cold... chicken soup, plenty of citrus (limes), and chile (great for whatever ails ya).
JL ... will definitely check out Dos Rancheros sometime ...even a place that is a couple notches up from the NYC standard will be greatly appreciated!
JM ... I like the other kind of carnitas too ... but carnitas con mole is just soooo extreme and decadent in its own way ... also you are of course totally right about mole. The range of quality, and range of variations, is quite surprising. I am not even sure I've had "true" mole. But in my experience its one of those things where the norm is yummy good, but the great is truly remarkable.
JM ... I like the other kind of carnitas too ... but carnitas con mole is just soooo extreme and decadent in its own way ... also you are of course totally right about mole. The range of quality, and range of variations, is quite surprising. I am not even sure I've had "true" mole. But in my experience its one of those things where the norm is yummy good, but the great is truly remarkable.
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