Archive for the 'Mexican' Category

Pico de Gallo

Published
by
Gastronomer
on March 6, 2007
in Mexican, Restaurant Review and San Antonio
. 2 Comments

March 2, 2007
Cuisine: Mexican

111 South Leona
San Antonio, TX

Telephone: 210-225-6060
Website: http://www.picodegallo.com/

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Tortilla chips with salsa (complimentary)

Entree I: Qui-Kiri-Ki - A sample platter consisting of chicken mini-flautas, mini-chalupas de picadillo, cheese quesadillas, and bean and cheese nachos with guacamole and sour cream ($8.25)

Entree II: Caldo Del Mercado - Our famous tortilla soup is prepared with tender chicken, chicken/tomato broth and topped with Monterey Jack Cheese, avocado slices, fresh cilantro and crisp tortilla chips ($5.95)

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A local recommended that my colleague and I dine at Pico de Gallo before we left San Antonio. She said enthusiastically, “All the tourists go there!” I generally avoid tourist traps, but my colleague was hungry and the place was nearby.

The first thing I noticed upon arriving at the restaurant was the ridiculous amount of decorations strung on the ceilings—piñatas, Christmas lights, and colorful banners covered every possible inch (see pictures). The décor reminded me of Times Square, Tijuana, and my high school Spanish classrooms rolled into one. While some may be turned off by such gaudiness, I must admit I kind of loved it.

We munched on chips and salsa while we perused the menu. I was surprised we were not served pico de gallo! The salsa was initially mild, but had a surge in spiciness toward the end that was too hot for me.

As I’ve said before—for a SoCal gal, I don’t like Mexican food as much as I should. It’s mainly because the cuisine is too heavy on cheese, meat, and deep frying. To avoid the post-Mexican food heaviness, I ordered the tortilla soup. The large bowl of soup was full of chicken and cheese, but skimpy on avocado and served with fresh tortillas (corn and flour) and tortilla chips on the side. I have never thought to eat fresh tortillas with tortilla soup, but will do so from now on because it’s delicious. The soup was fantastic, especially the melted cheese and aromatic broth.

My colleague ordered a sampler platter consisting of everything I dislike about Mexican food. She gobbled it all up like a champ.

Nacho’s Taco Shop

Published
by
Gastronomer
on January 18, 2007
in Mexican, Restaurant Review and San Diego
. 0 Comments

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January 14, 2007
Cuisine: Mexican

7589 University Ave
La Mesa, CA 91941

Phone: 619-462-9414
Website: none

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Carne Asada Burrito ($3.50)

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Horchata ($0.99)

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While Filiberto is my Mexican fast-food standby in La Mesa, Cousin Michael recommended the Astronomer and I try Nacho’s for great carneasada burritos. We took his advice and headed to Nacho’s after the Chargers suffered a devastating lost to the Patriots.

We ordered a burrito and a Horchata to share. Cousin Michael was right, the carneasada burrito was excellent. The tortilla was warm and the meat was very flavorful. There was just enough guacamole to keep things interesting; too much meat and tortilla can get boring fast.

The Horchata, which is rice milk flavored with cinnamon, was great as well and SO refreshing. I wish Horchata was more readily available on the East Coast. Even though I normally don’t drink my calories, Horchata is the worthiest exception.

Old Town Mexican Cafe

Published
by
Gastronomer
on January 2, 2007
in Mexican, Restaurant Review and San Diego
. 0 Comments

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December 27, 2006
Cuisine: Mexican

489 San Diego Ave
San Diego, CA 92110

Phone: (619) 297-4330
Website: www.oldtownmexcafe.com/

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Tortilla chips with Pico de Gallo (complimentary)

Appetizer II: Fresh corn and flour tortillas

Entree I: Machaca con Huevos - Shredded beef, eggs, onions, bell pepper, chiles, and spices; served with rice and beans.

Entree II: Burrito Colorado - Chunks of beef with red chile sauce

Dessert: Cinnamon and Sugar Churro with Vanilla Ice Cream

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As a small child, my aunt Ut used to take me to the Old Town Mexican Cafe. Even though my taste buds weren’t full developed yet, I loved their fresh flour tortillas smeared with butter. While home for the holidays, we decided to see if the Old Town Mexican Cafe was still magical after all these years.

The restaurant is located in Old Town San Diego which has become quite the tourist trap these days. Plenty of souvenir shops and historical placards line the streets. We dined on a Wednesday afternoon around 2:30 PM but still had to wait at least 30 minutes for a table. Que popular!

We were famished by the time we were finally seated and quickly ordered some tortillas to snack on. We also enjoyed some complimentary chips and dip. The tortillas were just as great as I remembered them. They were warm off the griddle and amazingly pliable. Supermarket tortillas tend to tear easily, but these tortillas could be stretched and folded without harm. They also tasted wonderfully, especially the fragrant and earthy corn tortillas. My small cousins enjoyed the flour tortillas smeared with butter. The circle of life continues.

For my entree I ordered the Machaca con Huevos, which were served with a side of tortillas, rice and beans. I thought the meat and eggs could’ve used more salt, but the rice and beans were right on point. My uncle ordered the Burrito Colorado at the suggestion of my aunt. He found it a bit too salty, but since my entree was mild, I appreciated the saltiness. My aunt and cousins shared a steak quesadilla. I did not get a chance to taste it, but my cousin Madison proclaimed that it was “so, so good.”

For dessert, my cousins Megan and Madison shared the churro with ice cream. The churro wasn’t up to Megan’s standards so she cast it aside and focused on the ice cream. Madison was also a big fan of the ice cream. In fact, she sipped up the melted ice cream with a straw.

Freddy’s Mexican Restaurant

Published
by
Gastronomer
on November 30, 2006
in Mexican, Restaurant Review and San Antonio
. 1 Comment

November 29, 2006
Cuisine: Mexican

1201 S Flores St
San Antonio, TX 78204

Phone: 210-277-1515
Website: none

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Entree I: Gordita lunch special - two gorditas served with beans and rice

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For our final meal in San Antonio, some locals took us to a hole in the wall Mexican joint for some authentic native fare. The restaurant was definitely off the beaten path and was packed for lunch. While I’m not the biggest fan of Mexican food, I was curious to see how Freddy’s compared to San Diego’s Mexican fare.

Freddy’s looked a lot like a SoCal taco shop (plastic tables and booths, funky yellow walls), but was a lot bigger and did not have a drive through. The locals ordered the gordita special, so I did the same even though I was leaning toward the tamales. Let me tell you, I felt really funny saying, “I’d like a gordita, please.” It’s kind of like saying, “I’d like to be fat, please.” I ordered one chicken gordita and one beef.

I had heard of a gordita before thanks to Taco Bell, but really wasn’t sure what it was. According to Wikipedia, “A gordita is a food which is characterized by a small, thick tortilla made with corn flour. The gordita is typically baked on a comal, a small pan similar to a skillet. The gordita’s thick tortilla is typically split and filled with guisos (soups or stews) or casseroles, like chicken, cochinita pibil, nopales, carne al pastor, etc. These are made mostly for lunch and are accompanied with many different types of salsas.”

My gordita did not come with different types of salsas, although red and green salsa were already on the table. The gorditas came with small sides of rice and beans. The rice and beans were very similar to the ones I’ve had in San Diego. The gorditas were quite tasty. The beef gordita contained ground beef that was well seasoned, if not a little on the greasy side. However, I feel that grease is to be expected and welcomed when it comes to Mexican food. The chicken gordita was slightly less greasy and surprisingly flavorful; I tend to expect the worst when it come to chicken. The chicken was shredded and also seasoned nicely. Both gorditas were stuffed with iceberg lettuce and tomatoes. I discarded the iceberg.

The best part of the gordita is the thick corn tortilla. The texture is just so yummy–kind of like nacho chips that have lost their crispness due to a heavy dousing of cheese and meat.

Acenar

Published
by
Gastronomer
on November 30, 2006
in Mexican, Restaurant Review and San Antonio
. 0 Comments


November 28, 2006
Cuisine: Tex Mex

146 E. Houston St.
San Antonio Tx 78205

Phone: 210-222-2362
Website: http://www.acenar.com/index.htm

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Appetizer I: Ceviche / Lime Marinated Fish - Lime marinated fish served with housemade tostadas and slice avocado ($9.75)

Appetizer II: Ostiones / Oysters - Buttermilk fried oysters on yucca chips, jalapeno honey mayo & charred pineapple ($7.95)

Entree I: Oyster Tacos - Chicken fried oysters drizzled with a jalapeno honey mayo, charred pineapple and micro greens ($12.95)

Entree II:Crab Tinga Tacos - Gulf blue crab tomato, onion, chipotle, avocado ($14.95)

Entree III: Pescado Veracruzano / Fish Veracruzano - Fresh Gulf Red Snapper simmered in tomato, olive caper sauce served with green rice and watercress ($17.95)

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For a girl from San Diego, I don’t like Mexican food as much as I should. While there are some exceptions, namely guacamole and fish tacos, the genre doesn’t evoke any cravings if you know what I mean.

While on travels to San Antonio for work, two colleagues and I dined at Acenar. Acenar’s Tex Mex/fusion is far from authentic Mexican fare, which is definitely a good thing.

I started off dinner with the cerviche, while my co-worker had the oysters. The cerviche was fresh and sour, but nothing amazing. I wished the pieces of fish were larger. The avocado was a little unripened and the shredded icebrerg, which is sadly a staple in Mexican fare, was a waste of space. The oysters on the other hand were really great. In fact, they were the same oysters as my entree — the oyster tacos.

According to the waiter, the oyster tacos were recently voted best tacos in San Antonio, so I had to try them. The oysters were dipped in a batter that tasted like the Colonel’s Original Recipe from Kentucky Fried Chicken. Mmm. The pineapples added a nice tang to balance out the savory batter. I couldn’t really taste the oysters due to the adornments, but that’s really unavoidable. The corn tortilla didn’t do much flavor-wise for the tacos, so I ate the oysters alone. The tacos came with rice and beans, which were pretty good. The cotija cheese atop the beans were a nice touch. Overall, a very creative dish.

I had one of my co-worker’s crab tacos and thought they were great. The corn tortilla was essential for this taco because the crab was a bit salty. There was plenty of crab, but sadly the avocado was not perfectly ripe.

I had one bite of the Fish Veracruzano and found it to be overly dressed. The buttery sauce overpowered the fish’s natural flavors. I prefer fish preparations to be on the light side so that the fish shines through.