Once again we are on a three star rating system, in which even recommended spots need not receive one star.
*Very good
**Worth a detour
***Worth a trip
La Fuente
12198 SW Main St
Portland, Or 97223
This place is a favorite of a friend on the west side, and for good reason too. All that I had was quite good and on par with traditional parameters. The main guy was pushing the cabeza tacos on us, implying that they were the best, a good sign. I was unable to try them in this sitting as I had already had a full order of tacos in front of me. I plan to go back and give them a go as it is less common to find a place showcasing the more exotic meats such as this. In this town it is hard to find properly prepared pork butt or even prime cuts of beef, so to boast the other bits is quite the sign of confidence. I did enjoy the pastor very much. I have only been once but my friends assure me the consistency.
Tacos y Tortas Morelia
52nd and Foster (cart)
I am kind of a fan of this place ,and I can't really put my finger on it. I think it is because of the salsa selection, which far out does most other carts, I think they have like six or seven varieties on a good day. The folks here speak Spanish for the most part and to this I attribute the great fluctuation of food, both in recipe and quality. I mean that I am pretty white in the eyes of many Mexicans, and I may receive inconsistent service as mentioned in the "racist taco" article; they think perhaps that you wont know the difference. Over all I have enjoyed what they have prepared for me, though the burrito had a lot of cabbage in it which I personally don't care for much.
El Delfin
900 Grand blvd
Vancouver, Wa 98661
After trying a handful of things on the menu, I am not impressed, salt seems to be the culprit. The Ceviche de camarones, and several of the tacos all had a common flavor which I recognize as a more mineral rich and concentrated salt; I have never officially asked, and this is not confirmed. I have used salts that can overpower a dish in this same way, an intense over salting by concentration rather than volume; in some cases they are mined instead of being derived from salt water, more concentrated and mineral rich, gaining a pinkish hue. Out of the four things that i tried, all were over salted, this potent salt has less margin for error. I can appreciate the attempt of the use of and artisan product but in this case, "no cigar" is not close enough; this salt simply doesn't belong in everything.
La Bonita
2839 NE Alberta St
Portland, Or 97211
Same problem with the salt, though slightly less. It doesn't seem to be in everything, at least not too much. The asada was ok. Stronger salt should be used sparingly and in conjunction with a basic sea salt. In a recipe that calls for several teaspoons, a dash of richer salt is all that is needed, unless that is to be the featured palate; some salsas take well to this flavor, perhaps due to the other stronger flavors present. Not such a fan of this place. The girl working there made me forget my name she is so beautiful.
King Burrito
2924 N Lombard
Whats in a name? not much obviously because this place is alright! The carnitas were my favorite, though all that I had was good. The pastor was not quite the DF style but tasty, and all aspects of roasted meats were pretty proper; the salsa was solid as well. I would definitely recommend this place.
Angel Food y Fun con Comida Yucateca
5135 NE 60th Ave
Portland, Or 97218
Definetly one of the best named restaurants around, "Angel" offers a split venue, with a seperate cantina, so that the whole family can hang out, jovenes and gorceros alike (with alcohol). The family should be able to hang together in the cross generational type of way, though our laws would prohibit it in this country, except perhaps at Applebees. Anyway, the tacos panuchos here are the closest thing to a real street food that you can come by in this town, like a garnacha or a gorda of sorts. It is a tortilla base with beans and cheese deep fried together, then chicken and other ingredients applied after. I don't really like how they top this perfect base however; the shreaded chicken is fine, but then they stack pickled red onions, pickled jalapenos, and so much black pepper that you can't really taste anything else.? Without the latter three ingredients it would be pretty on point, and I suppose that you could alter it so. Also the caldo list is pretty decent in variety and extent; the few that I tried were tasty but kind of overpriced; if you are into scary bits of meat I would recommend the caldos highly. The salsa is decent as well, but has too much black pepper in it the same as the panucho. Perhaps the chef is a long term cigarette smoker, or maybe he just really enjoys black pepper for whatever reason. Overall this place is decent.
Loco Locos
SW 9th and Alder (food carts)
Pretty OK burrito I guess. The salsa is kind of a joke though, the hottest thing in it is black pepper. Rumor is that they have some real salsa picante that isn't offered and that you have to ask for, though I cant imagine it being much as the spot is downtown. In deep SE it would make sense to have real salsa behind the counter as some actual Mexicans may walk in, but down town? The folks are Spanish speaking though and it is very common to have things that are not listed on the menu so I will inquire on the next visit.
Cazador
82nd and ?
This place used to be on 49th and Powell if any recall. Nothing great but not bad at all. The torta has a thiner bread and lettuce, which somehow works to keep it crispy. The carnitas and asada are good, the pastor is good but not quite the right sauce; nothing more daring has ever paid off in my experience.
Taqueria Uruapan
5703 SE 82nd
Over the years I have stopped in to this place on several ocations. Great fluctuation has been the case over time, so it is hard to guarantee anything, but the asada has usually been quite good. The pastor is decent also but would be better if they cut it thiner off of the rotator and fried it then with more surface area. The meats tend to be jucier than crispier but work so. There is good salsa to be had.
Lupitas tacos
82nd in the parkinglot of "airgas" I think.
Here is a spot that is about as authentic and daring as it gets in this town in regards to street tacos. They have a single (proper) grill in which all the meats mix, from prime cuts to tripe. I would prefer that the tripe were cut up fine rather than being in big chunks for tacos, but it gives a great taste to the other meats and "soup" as it were. Try it all if you try anything, you already did anyway. The tamales are decent and the salsas are good as well. This place has not been set up since the cold hit however so watch for it in the spring.
Update: This stand has not been present since the cold weather began. Perhaps it will return in the spring.
To recap for the day, no stars have been awarded. The main points of interest for the day would be: The pastor and more at La Fuente (I have heard that the Cabeza is good too), the salsa selection at Morelia, the carnitas, roasts, and more at King Burrito, the taco panucho at "Angel..." or perhaps the beef caldo which has both the good and the ugly bits, or Lupitas for an adventure in tripe tacos! Back soon with more reviews and updates.
For ten of my go to places, please refer to the very first entry, "angry start"
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Friday, November 6, 2009
Mexican food listing
Here are ten Mexican places in no particular order. Some are good and some are bad, others have one or two decent things on the menu.
It is difficult and pointless in most cases to give a place an overall rating, especially when we are talking about blue collar food like this. It bugs me to see food cart critics using a 1-5 star rating when in reality, none of the place in question deserve more than one star; the bell curve strikes again. The best may still not be good, and stars should not be handed out to the tallest midget by default.
For this rating I will simply recommend dishes at each location, and if anything is superb than it will be mentioned further. no stars will be given unless noted.
* very good
** worth a detour
*** worth a trip
Los Taquitos
5832 NE Glisan St
Portland, OR 97213
This place has been in the neighborhood for a few, and so I have been there more than I care to admit. While it isn't the greatest all around, it does offer a few things that i would recommend if you are passing by. The chorizo tacos are pretty good actually if you get them without the cheese; they put that yellow and white pre-grated stuff on everything, yuk! The azada is better than average, i would recommend the tacos or perhaps a guarache (a guarache is like a big streched out tostada). The basic salsas are good and the 'picante' bar is nice; the avocado/cilantro salsa makes up in flavor what it lacks in texture, just a little separated is all I am saying. Most other things on the menu are ok. The carnitas are passable and those who like the the super pineapple al pastor seem to dig this spot.
La Carreta
4534 SE McGloughlin Blvd
Portland, OR 97202
This is your stereotypical family Mexican restaurant which I really despise and many would criticize me for even mentioning this place in a critique. It is true to, this place is ridiculous, but after a few late nights there I realize that they do a few things well. The carne asada is pretty decent and so are the fajitas. The real thing to check out is the margarita. If there is a bartender named Pancho working, he will make you the best margarita using the same basic ingredients as anyone else; furthermore, he will have your drink on the table faster if he is the only one on staff in the bar, faster than if there were a waiter obstructing the process, thats how good this guy is. He is one of the best bartenders I have seen in all my adventures.
La Bamba
4908 SE Powell
Portland, Or 97206
This place is the same format as La Carreta but has no redeeming values. On the two ocations that I have been, the carne asada was burned beyond edibility, and they still had the nerve to come out and put it on the table! The waiter even came out to ask how the food was, you know how waiters do, and when I said that the food was burned, they told me that the money could not be refunded, but only credited toward something else. I just wanted to be out of there; I was already on my second margarita, which repeatedly arrived un-blended despite asking for it to be blended, and didn't feel like sticking around for two more. I asked for nothing in protest and left.
Torres de Morelos
31st and Powell
This place isn't anything special. they are open until 9 which is later than others around and that is the most redeeming quality. I taste too much cheap 'manteca'. The tacos are OK and the gordita is alright somehow. Still better than any actual fast food.
La Serenita
Every time that I have passed by this place or gone in for a bite, it is packed with people eating and waiting in line. The only explanation that I can think of for the popularity, is the fact that it is on Alberta and they are just cranking it out for the dumb hipsters. I have never had a good experience here or really enjoyed anything in particular, maybe after a few beers it would be better, like a bunch of dollar pabst tallboys, jerks. It is all just a soggy mess and the salsa isn't hot. Obviously set up for the cultural sophistication level of the last Thursday crowd; If this is Mexican food, then decorating your bike with Christmas lights is goddamn fine art!
Mumu's
612 NW 21st St
Portland, Or 97209
From 11pm until 2am, Mumu's has a pretty good late night pork taco. While this is not in any way a Mexican resturant, several of the cooks are, and I reckon that this is why the leg or shoulder or whatever, is so good. If they produced some salsa rather than giving you a bottle selection it would actually be a very good experience for this town.
Muchas Gracias (aka La Conga, aka ?)
Open 24hrs, these places are jumping up everywhere so keep current on the closest one to you. This place ain't nothing special at all, but when it comes to 4 in the morning, I could eat a rice and bean burrito sober, where I could not eat any fast food burger at that hour no matter how drunk, thats all. This shift from burgers to Mexican fast food seems to correlate with the rise in sales of salsa vs ketchup as a trend. For the dollar it is just a better meal.
Update/note: When they say "hot or mild salsa?", ask for extra' spicy salsa; rather than giving you only one or two containers, they will throw in six or seven without asking, and it is a hotter and superior salsa all around. It is common for taquerias to have a number of things unlisted, as if it was somehow implied and redundant to list such things.
Ma Tonas
5919 SE Foster Rd
Portland Or, 97206
It is common to see Salvadorian places advertising a mostly Mexican menu like this, as sadly, nobody would go to a Salvadorian restaurant. The pupusa at this place is delicious, one of the rare treats around. A pupusa is like a quesadilla or an non-fried gorda; the number of variations and names of these type street foods are endless. Nothing else is as good as the pupusa but everything is pretty decent, the asada, milanesa, the pollo con hongos was better than I expected, and I've had some pretty decent tacos as well. All portions are quite large.
Taqueria Quetzal
32nd and Hawthorne
The Quetzal taco is the closest thing to a taco "al hambre" around here, steak fried in bacon with a few onions and peppers topped with cheese. It's not bad except for the cheese, the pre-grated yellow and white strikes again. It is a nice change of pace at least from the standard limited selection of meats. The tamale is good too, a wet banana leaf variety. It's worth stopping here if you are in the hood, just to try something different.
Note: No longer at this location. Taqueria neza is now almost where this one briefly was; to be listed on Mexican listing 3.
El Brassero
12th and Hawthorne
Pretty standard. The location makes for lines of hipsters who know nothing of food and have no standards of food in general, and know even less when it comes to ethnic food and culture. The food seems rushed and without love. The tacos have never impressed me, lacking something in texture and body, they do make an OK burrito as it compensates for the form of the meat. The thing that is really good here though is the red salsa, similar to a salsa macha, my favorite!
NOTE: Ten of my 'go to' taquerias are listed in the very first entry!
So to recap for the day, no stars have been awarded. The best things of the places listed above would be the pupusa at Ma Tonas, the Margrarita and asada at La Carreta, the salsa at El Brassero, and at Los Taquitos the asada guarache or tacos, or the chorizo tacos (sin queso).
After I finished typing up these reviews, I went on line to find the addresses of each place and as I googled them the first things to pop up of course were restaurant reviews. As they are listed on the search, one can instantly see the star rating and the first couple sentences of various write ups, from blogs, to city search, or the Mercury for instance. When I looked up La Sirinita, and Torres de Morrelos (for instance; there were others), I was truly shocked and appaled. I mean that I expect these reviews to be poor, but it has somehow reached a whole different level of inadequacy.
Where these two taquerias are on the bottom of my list, they received an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars from individual reviews and local press, what lunacy! What a bunch of tools! On what possible rating system could either of these places receive four stars? Only on the scale of a yogurt! In no way, shape or form do they deserve such praise. If they carry four stars, than La Carreta would be a five star effing restaurant, and as I said it is just your typical family fiasco with the goofy music and mixed drinks that you could drown in, but it still has one or two points over these taqurias. The concept of a four or five star restaurant should be reserved for something special, or at very least something passable, this food is not even of the best in town, nor is it really desirable at all. Four out of ten stars would be getting closer to reality, and even that may be pushing it.
Apart from the absolute shash of the star rating, these dunces felt the need to write down their foolish thoughts about their experience, and sound even more culturally devoid in the process. The most common comment was that the price was really good and that you 'received a lot of food for your dollar.' First of all, this taqueria is the same freaking price as every other taqueria in town, so the thought of mentioning price as a factor is quite a meaningless one indeed; It may be cheaper than the rest of overpriced Alberta, but that is the nature of a taqueria and is hardly a food critique. The same goes for mentioning the volume of food; How could a food review be any less objective than this? Is this to be a weigh in then with no actual bout? Are we handing out stars based on volume and weight of food received? Should food critics go from restaurant to restaurant with a scale and make their determination by calculating the weight to dollar ratio? Or is this an art form? Is a boxing match determined by the weigh in or the outcome of the fight?
One of the worst reviews actually was about how you could get the 'veggie bowl' for only a few dollars 'and be full for days.' What kind of review is this? If you want cheap, you can make enough rice and beans to last for weeks for only a few dollars at home, so to say that rice is cheap is not much of an insight to anything at all, except perhaps their culinary impotence. Second of all, what the fuck is a veggie bowl?!?! How can you even use the words 'veggie bowl' and then 'Mexican food' in the same sentence? This kind of shit makes me so mad, and even more so when white folks give it praise under the mistaken impression that they are actually eating cuisine from another culture. They should just go to taco bell already and stop lowering the bar of food in this town with their hideous tastes, lack of insight, and nonsensical scribblings. I mean a veggie bowl? Can anyone else see how this has nothing to do whatsoever with Mexican food and that it simply should not bear such a name? This is worse than calling our pizza 'Italian' and has more to do with our juvenile health trends, which are ineffective, and consequently cryptonite to authentic Mexican cooking. We get the worst of both worlds as people continue to be overweight and food quality is compromised at the same time. The problems with our food production are not limited to meat, and the health issues that we face in this country run deeper than just eliminating it from ones diet. Our health trends are more of a marketing pitch aimed at over weight people, meant to sell them a product rather than to target weight loss. Diet cola is a good example of this; truly healthy people don't drink cola to begin with, but obese people are sold on it, believing that it will lessen their issue. So for goodness sake just eat some meat and forget about this veggie bowl, this vile creation that surely comes straight from Satan's kettle. Furthermore, getting this veggie bowl is like ordering a cheese burger in a Chinese restaurant, so please, don't be that asshole, and if everyone is eating them, then you are all assholes.
Many more Mexican food listings to come. [photos to come soon, camera is busted]
It is difficult and pointless in most cases to give a place an overall rating, especially when we are talking about blue collar food like this. It bugs me to see food cart critics using a 1-5 star rating when in reality, none of the place in question deserve more than one star; the bell curve strikes again. The best may still not be good, and stars should not be handed out to the tallest midget by default.
For this rating I will simply recommend dishes at each location, and if anything is superb than it will be mentioned further. no stars will be given unless noted.
* very good
** worth a detour
*** worth a trip
Los Taquitos
5832 NE Glisan St
Portland, OR 97213
This place has been in the neighborhood for a few, and so I have been there more than I care to admit. While it isn't the greatest all around, it does offer a few things that i would recommend if you are passing by. The chorizo tacos are pretty good actually if you get them without the cheese; they put that yellow and white pre-grated stuff on everything, yuk! The azada is better than average, i would recommend the tacos or perhaps a guarache (a guarache is like a big streched out tostada). The basic salsas are good and the 'picante' bar is nice; the avocado/cilantro salsa makes up in flavor what it lacks in texture, just a little separated is all I am saying. Most other things on the menu are ok. The carnitas are passable and those who like the the super pineapple al pastor seem to dig this spot.
La Carreta
4534 SE McGloughlin Blvd
Portland, OR 97202
This is your stereotypical family Mexican restaurant which I really despise and many would criticize me for even mentioning this place in a critique. It is true to, this place is ridiculous, but after a few late nights there I realize that they do a few things well. The carne asada is pretty decent and so are the fajitas. The real thing to check out is the margarita. If there is a bartender named Pancho working, he will make you the best margarita using the same basic ingredients as anyone else; furthermore, he will have your drink on the table faster if he is the only one on staff in the bar, faster than if there were a waiter obstructing the process, thats how good this guy is. He is one of the best bartenders I have seen in all my adventures.
La Bamba
4908 SE Powell
Portland, Or 97206
This place is the same format as La Carreta but has no redeeming values. On the two ocations that I have been, the carne asada was burned beyond edibility, and they still had the nerve to come out and put it on the table! The waiter even came out to ask how the food was, you know how waiters do, and when I said that the food was burned, they told me that the money could not be refunded, but only credited toward something else. I just wanted to be out of there; I was already on my second margarita, which repeatedly arrived un-blended despite asking for it to be blended, and didn't feel like sticking around for two more. I asked for nothing in protest and left.
Torres de Morelos
31st and Powell
This place isn't anything special. they are open until 9 which is later than others around and that is the most redeeming quality. I taste too much cheap 'manteca'. The tacos are OK and the gordita is alright somehow. Still better than any actual fast food.
La Serenita
Every time that I have passed by this place or gone in for a bite, it is packed with people eating and waiting in line. The only explanation that I can think of for the popularity, is the fact that it is on Alberta and they are just cranking it out for the dumb hipsters. I have never had a good experience here or really enjoyed anything in particular, maybe after a few beers it would be better, like a bunch of dollar pabst tallboys, jerks. It is all just a soggy mess and the salsa isn't hot. Obviously set up for the cultural sophistication level of the last Thursday crowd; If this is Mexican food, then decorating your bike with Christmas lights is goddamn fine art!
Mumu's
612 NW 21st St
Portland, Or 97209
From 11pm until 2am, Mumu's has a pretty good late night pork taco. While this is not in any way a Mexican resturant, several of the cooks are, and I reckon that this is why the leg or shoulder or whatever, is so good. If they produced some salsa rather than giving you a bottle selection it would actually be a very good experience for this town.
Muchas Gracias (aka La Conga, aka ?)
Open 24hrs, these places are jumping up everywhere so keep current on the closest one to you. This place ain't nothing special at all, but when it comes to 4 in the morning, I could eat a rice and bean burrito sober, where I could not eat any fast food burger at that hour no matter how drunk, thats all. This shift from burgers to Mexican fast food seems to correlate with the rise in sales of salsa vs ketchup as a trend. For the dollar it is just a better meal.
Update/note: When they say "hot or mild salsa?", ask for extra' spicy salsa; rather than giving you only one or two containers, they will throw in six or seven without asking, and it is a hotter and superior salsa all around. It is common for taquerias to have a number of things unlisted, as if it was somehow implied and redundant to list such things.
Ma Tonas
5919 SE Foster Rd
Portland Or, 97206
It is common to see Salvadorian places advertising a mostly Mexican menu like this, as sadly, nobody would go to a Salvadorian restaurant. The pupusa at this place is delicious, one of the rare treats around. A pupusa is like a quesadilla or an non-fried gorda; the number of variations and names of these type street foods are endless. Nothing else is as good as the pupusa but everything is pretty decent, the asada, milanesa, the pollo con hongos was better than I expected, and I've had some pretty decent tacos as well. All portions are quite large.
Taqueria Quetzal
32nd and Hawthorne
The Quetzal taco is the closest thing to a taco "al hambre" around here, steak fried in bacon with a few onions and peppers topped with cheese. It's not bad except for the cheese, the pre-grated yellow and white strikes again. It is a nice change of pace at least from the standard limited selection of meats. The tamale is good too, a wet banana leaf variety. It's worth stopping here if you are in the hood, just to try something different.
Note: No longer at this location. Taqueria neza is now almost where this one briefly was; to be listed on Mexican listing 3.
El Brassero
12th and Hawthorne
Pretty standard. The location makes for lines of hipsters who know nothing of food and have no standards of food in general, and know even less when it comes to ethnic food and culture. The food seems rushed and without love. The tacos have never impressed me, lacking something in texture and body, they do make an OK burrito as it compensates for the form of the meat. The thing that is really good here though is the red salsa, similar to a salsa macha, my favorite!
NOTE: Ten of my 'go to' taquerias are listed in the very first entry!
So to recap for the day, no stars have been awarded. The best things of the places listed above would be the pupusa at Ma Tonas, the Margrarita and asada at La Carreta, the salsa at El Brassero, and at Los Taquitos the asada guarache or tacos, or the chorizo tacos (sin queso).
After I finished typing up these reviews, I went on line to find the addresses of each place and as I googled them the first things to pop up of course were restaurant reviews. As they are listed on the search, one can instantly see the star rating and the first couple sentences of various write ups, from blogs, to city search, or the Mercury for instance. When I looked up La Sirinita, and Torres de Morrelos (for instance; there were others), I was truly shocked and appaled. I mean that I expect these reviews to be poor, but it has somehow reached a whole different level of inadequacy.
Where these two taquerias are on the bottom of my list, they received an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars from individual reviews and local press, what lunacy! What a bunch of tools! On what possible rating system could either of these places receive four stars? Only on the scale of a yogurt! In no way, shape or form do they deserve such praise. If they carry four stars, than La Carreta would be a five star effing restaurant, and as I said it is just your typical family fiasco with the goofy music and mixed drinks that you could drown in, but it still has one or two points over these taqurias. The concept of a four or five star restaurant should be reserved for something special, or at very least something passable, this food is not even of the best in town, nor is it really desirable at all. Four out of ten stars would be getting closer to reality, and even that may be pushing it.
Apart from the absolute shash of the star rating, these dunces felt the need to write down their foolish thoughts about their experience, and sound even more culturally devoid in the process. The most common comment was that the price was really good and that you 'received a lot of food for your dollar.' First of all, this taqueria is the same freaking price as every other taqueria in town, so the thought of mentioning price as a factor is quite a meaningless one indeed; It may be cheaper than the rest of overpriced Alberta, but that is the nature of a taqueria and is hardly a food critique. The same goes for mentioning the volume of food; How could a food review be any less objective than this? Is this to be a weigh in then with no actual bout? Are we handing out stars based on volume and weight of food received? Should food critics go from restaurant to restaurant with a scale and make their determination by calculating the weight to dollar ratio? Or is this an art form? Is a boxing match determined by the weigh in or the outcome of the fight?
One of the worst reviews actually was about how you could get the 'veggie bowl' for only a few dollars 'and be full for days.' What kind of review is this? If you want cheap, you can make enough rice and beans to last for weeks for only a few dollars at home, so to say that rice is cheap is not much of an insight to anything at all, except perhaps their culinary impotence. Second of all, what the fuck is a veggie bowl?!?! How can you even use the words 'veggie bowl' and then 'Mexican food' in the same sentence? This kind of shit makes me so mad, and even more so when white folks give it praise under the mistaken impression that they are actually eating cuisine from another culture. They should just go to taco bell already and stop lowering the bar of food in this town with their hideous tastes, lack of insight, and nonsensical scribblings. I mean a veggie bowl? Can anyone else see how this has nothing to do whatsoever with Mexican food and that it simply should not bear such a name? This is worse than calling our pizza 'Italian' and has more to do with our juvenile health trends, which are ineffective, and consequently cryptonite to authentic Mexican cooking. We get the worst of both worlds as people continue to be overweight and food quality is compromised at the same time. The problems with our food production are not limited to meat, and the health issues that we face in this country run deeper than just eliminating it from ones diet. Our health trends are more of a marketing pitch aimed at over weight people, meant to sell them a product rather than to target weight loss. Diet cola is a good example of this; truly healthy people don't drink cola to begin with, but obese people are sold on it, believing that it will lessen their issue. So for goodness sake just eat some meat and forget about this veggie bowl, this vile creation that surely comes straight from Satan's kettle. Furthermore, getting this veggie bowl is like ordering a cheese burger in a Chinese restaurant, so please, don't be that asshole, and if everyone is eating them, then you are all assholes.
Many more Mexican food listings to come. [photos to come soon, camera is busted]
Thursday, November 5, 2009
The only good Nazi is a food Nazi!
Still one of the best sandwiches in town, the Reuben at Kenny & Zuke's is head and shoulders above the competition. The house smoked hand cut pastrami is the only one of its kind around, the kraut on the sandwich and the pickle on the side are house made as well, nice! In fact, I didn't even like a Reuben or pastrami at all until I had this particular dance, so give it a try even if you hate pastrami! The pastrami burger and several of their other pastrami enriched dishes are worth a go as well.
In Reuben remembrance,
Kens place use to be on Hawthorne just below 20th street. They maintained a regular menu for the week which was quite nice all around, and in addition, Tuesdays night featured the L.O.W.(laid off worker) BBQ, which was delicious, and Sunday featured the brunch menu of 'Kenny & Zuke's', which was the foundation for the current restaurant and menu. While at the previous location, Ken himself was present, especially on Sundays for the purpose of personally overseeing every sandwich that went out to a table. With seating for only 35 people or so, and because it was only once a week, Ken would almost assuredly make your sandwich, this was a glorious age. He would take the time and concern himself personally with making each Reuben properly; you could feel the love. He would personally come to your table and ask how the food was. You could also sense his frustration when there was a line, the feeling of being rushed but unwilling to rush the food. We would watch him get flustered at times like this and many others. With kens touch and his unwillingness to compromise, I cant help but think that the sandwich was a little better before, not to mention a few dollars cheaper and slightly larger me thinks. Despite all, it is still the best Reuben around, and one of the best sandwiches in town.
The menu also had written on it, "No cell phones or crying babies" which people would frequently ignore, and Ken himself would enforce personally. He would get all riled and stare people down before going over to their table an firing off a few comments. As the people were unaware of the rules in the first place, I don't believe that they always understood what had just happened; the waiter would usually fill them in. We would always get a kick out of watching the events play by play. We began to jokingly compare him to the "soup Nazi" in Seinfeld, though he never took it quite so far. He had his moments though, enough to make me turn off my phone for the duration of a Reuben. Alterations were another red zone; on one occation my friend asked for a "veggie Reuben" on the way out and the waitress said she would see what kind of a mood he was in. All of this tension just added to the sandwich, and I enjoyed the atmosphere of a smaller space.
PS I apologize for using the word "Nazi" in reference to a person of Jewish heritage, but the word "fascist" doesn't make nearly as good of a head line.
(photo to come, still without camera)
In Reuben remembrance,
Kens place use to be on Hawthorne just below 20th street. They maintained a regular menu for the week which was quite nice all around, and in addition, Tuesdays night featured the L.O.W.(laid off worker) BBQ, which was delicious, and Sunday featured the brunch menu of 'Kenny & Zuke's', which was the foundation for the current restaurant and menu. While at the previous location, Ken himself was present, especially on Sundays for the purpose of personally overseeing every sandwich that went out to a table. With seating for only 35 people or so, and because it was only once a week, Ken would almost assuredly make your sandwich, this was a glorious age. He would take the time and concern himself personally with making each Reuben properly; you could feel the love. He would personally come to your table and ask how the food was. You could also sense his frustration when there was a line, the feeling of being rushed but unwilling to rush the food. We would watch him get flustered at times like this and many others. With kens touch and his unwillingness to compromise, I cant help but think that the sandwich was a little better before, not to mention a few dollars cheaper and slightly larger me thinks. Despite all, it is still the best Reuben around, and one of the best sandwiches in town.
The menu also had written on it, "No cell phones or crying babies" which people would frequently ignore, and Ken himself would enforce personally. He would get all riled and stare people down before going over to their table an firing off a few comments. As the people were unaware of the rules in the first place, I don't believe that they always understood what had just happened; the waiter would usually fill them in. We would always get a kick out of watching the events play by play. We began to jokingly compare him to the "soup Nazi" in Seinfeld, though he never took it quite so far. He had his moments though, enough to make me turn off my phone for the duration of a Reuben. Alterations were another red zone; on one occation my friend asked for a "veggie Reuben" on the way out and the waitress said she would see what kind of a mood he was in. All of this tension just added to the sandwich, and I enjoyed the atmosphere of a smaller space.
PS I apologize for using the word "Nazi" in reference to a person of Jewish heritage, but the word "fascist" doesn't make nearly as good of a head line.
(photo to come, still without camera)
Meatball Sandwich
After being such an advocate of traditional food, and talking a lot of trash in the process, I have to take a minute to talk about the meatball sandwich. I am not even trying to say that it is Italian food, but it can be a tasty meal, and at any given sandwich shop it is usually the most interesting thing on the menu, being the only thing hand crafted in house. Pizza places are the same way, making little on site apart from the dough and maybe some bread sticks, so if they have their own meatball I say that it is worth a gamble.
I would recommend these places:
Brick House
6744 NE Sandy Blvd
Portland, OR 97213
This meat ball is made with sausage and that makes it proper, it has a nice balance of herbs, not over powered by any single one. Served on a baguette, it is a thicker more abrasive sandwich accompanied by a nice red sauce and a blend of cheeses rather than just one. They have a nice wood stove to crisp the sandwich just right. The sausages sandwich that I had was good too, it was the Italian sausage as they were out of their normal link. The family run environment is great and the lady who works there makes you feel right at home.
Muddy Rudder
8195 SE 7th Ave
Portland, OR 97202
This was the sandwich that first set me on this kick a few months ago. Listening to my friends father play music one night, he told me to try the meatball sandwich in between songs; he said it was the best. ( In the past he has also expressed that there is no Italian food in Portland, but still I should try this meatball) I am always one to take a food challenge and so I hollered at the waiter immediately (who is my friends friend, man what a small town!) and the sandwich came out right away. This meatball is of the fennel variety, do you know the one I am referring to? Many spices but with a spike of fennel. Mm mm. Served on baguette with provolone and well toasted, it seems they have a proper oven too.
Update: I was recently passing by and had to scratch the itch, but it was not the beautifull sandwich I remember. I hope it was a fluke and not a new direction.
Hop Works
2944 SE Powell Blvd
Portland, OR 97202
This is one of the decent breweries in the city. The beer is good and the burger better still. The last time I was there I noticed a meat ball sandwich on special. With my current momentum it seemed only right to roll with it, and man was it the right thing to do. Served on a hogie rather than baguette; the roasted red pepper sauce was sweet and delicious, it dissolved the bread nicely as I devoured it. The meat ball was well formed with a balance of herbs and topped with provolone. This sandwich was very nice but sadly it was only on special.
Update: Eugenios on SE Division has a good meat ball and sandwich, though I would prefer the bread to be either more toasetd or soggier alike. Quite nice regardless.
Others reviewed (inferior)
-East Side Subs
-Geraldi's (downtown)
-Mac's deli
Not so long ago, the meatball didn't interest me much at all. In the midst of playing around with some red sauce however I began to review a few cookbooks and some on line recipes of the (stereo)typical meatball Parmesan; this is more or less what any place will offer in town, The recipe is pretty straight forward, a simple matter of adding ingredients to your taste, and then cooking them twice. Frying, then baking/(and) or cooking in your favorite preprepared sauce. I like to fry them in a good amount of choice olive oil with a few strips of good bacon and a few sausages to be put in the sauce. The sauce of course needs a bit of carrot or something sweet, and I personally like a decent amount of fresh thyme. In the meat ball I like a lot of fresh rosemary (don't worry it will cook off) or perhaps a spike of oregano, and don't forge real reggiano. There are so many other kinds of meat balls also that I recommend you get a book like The Silver Spoon and try out others.
In preparing and serving food to friends here in town I realize that a certain amount of people are traumatized by meat loaf, to the point that in their mind, meatballs are similar enough not be desirable. If you spend some time on this recipe and sauce, you should be able to change such a persons mind. The limitation of the restaurant meatball is cost. It is easy to come up with a great home recipe but the high price of cheeses, meats, and fresh herbs are not practical for a business. So give it a go sometime, get all your favorite ingredients and add everything to your own taste, you might impress yourself.
[photos to come-camera is busted]
I would recommend these places:
Brick House
6744 NE Sandy Blvd
Portland, OR 97213
This meat ball is made with sausage and that makes it proper, it has a nice balance of herbs, not over powered by any single one. Served on a baguette, it is a thicker more abrasive sandwich accompanied by a nice red sauce and a blend of cheeses rather than just one. They have a nice wood stove to crisp the sandwich just right. The sausages sandwich that I had was good too, it was the Italian sausage as they were out of their normal link. The family run environment is great and the lady who works there makes you feel right at home.
Muddy Rudder
8195 SE 7th Ave
Portland, OR 97202
This was the sandwich that first set me on this kick a few months ago. Listening to my friends father play music one night, he told me to try the meatball sandwich in between songs; he said it was the best. ( In the past he has also expressed that there is no Italian food in Portland, but still I should try this meatball) I am always one to take a food challenge and so I hollered at the waiter immediately (who is my friends friend, man what a small town!) and the sandwich came out right away. This meatball is of the fennel variety, do you know the one I am referring to? Many spices but with a spike of fennel. Mm mm. Served on baguette with provolone and well toasted, it seems they have a proper oven too.
Update: I was recently passing by and had to scratch the itch, but it was not the beautifull sandwich I remember. I hope it was a fluke and not a new direction.
Hop Works
2944 SE Powell Blvd
Portland, OR 97202
This is one of the decent breweries in the city. The beer is good and the burger better still. The last time I was there I noticed a meat ball sandwich on special. With my current momentum it seemed only right to roll with it, and man was it the right thing to do. Served on a hogie rather than baguette; the roasted red pepper sauce was sweet and delicious, it dissolved the bread nicely as I devoured it. The meat ball was well formed with a balance of herbs and topped with provolone. This sandwich was very nice but sadly it was only on special.
Update: Eugenios on SE Division has a good meat ball and sandwich, though I would prefer the bread to be either more toasetd or soggier alike. Quite nice regardless.
Others reviewed (inferior)
-East Side Subs
-Geraldi's (downtown)
-Mac's deli
Not so long ago, the meatball didn't interest me much at all. In the midst of playing around with some red sauce however I began to review a few cookbooks and some on line recipes of the (stereo)typical meatball Parmesan; this is more or less what any place will offer in town, The recipe is pretty straight forward, a simple matter of adding ingredients to your taste, and then cooking them twice. Frying, then baking/(and) or cooking in your favorite preprepared sauce. I like to fry them in a good amount of choice olive oil with a few strips of good bacon and a few sausages to be put in the sauce. The sauce of course needs a bit of carrot or something sweet, and I personally like a decent amount of fresh thyme. In the meat ball I like a lot of fresh rosemary (don't worry it will cook off) or perhaps a spike of oregano, and don't forge real reggiano. There are so many other kinds of meat balls also that I recommend you get a book like The Silver Spoon and try out others.
In preparing and serving food to friends here in town I realize that a certain amount of people are traumatized by meat loaf, to the point that in their mind, meatballs are similar enough not be desirable. If you spend some time on this recipe and sauce, you should be able to change such a persons mind. The limitation of the restaurant meatball is cost. It is easy to come up with a great home recipe but the high price of cheeses, meats, and fresh herbs are not practical for a business. So give it a go sometime, get all your favorite ingredients and add everything to your own taste, you might impress yourself.
[photos to come-camera is busted]
Thursday, August 13, 2009
The Honest Burger
Here are some burger spots which are pretty good, they are of the fast food variety rather than the more uptown yuppie burger which is more common these days. The difference is yellow "cheese" rather than Gruyère, ice berg instead of butter lettuce, yellow mustard not Dijon, and a basic bun not a roll, just a straight forward burger. Make no mistake, I do enjoy a fancy 1/2 pounder with some specialty beef that has a name topped with some house pancetta (which also has a name), I simply like both types for different reasons and acknowledge that each has something to offer.
Cristopher's Gourmet Grill
3962 NE Mlk Jr Blvd.
Portland, OR 97211
I love the double burger here, steak fries are excellent too, one of the few occasions where the two are together. Soul food menu.
Stop & Go Burgers
4549 NE Cully Blvd.
Portland, OR
Very good burger, extra wide and delicious. They also offer shakes, several dogs, and seafood selections; i cant tell if they are going for a diner theme or Hawaiian twist or both.
Giant Drive In
15840 Boones Ferry Rd.
Lake Oswego, OR 97035
Just what a burger should be, lots of variations; kind of far for us Portland folks though.
Roses Ice Cream
5011 NE 42nd
Portland, Or 97218
Wow! This double burger is in the zone!The fries are solid too. Save some room for home made ice cream and shakes if that is your thing.
Igloo Resturant
3128 E Evergreen blvd
Vancuver, Wa 98661
Proper. Fairly extensive menu. I look forward to trying the fish & chips, milk shakes, and chowder. The reuben sandwich is unlikely for a place like this and makes me wonder.
These are some other spots that are pretty good too.
NW burger
101 NW 2nd Ave
Portland, OR 97209
Good burger. The fries and service suck!
Hollywood Burger Bar
4211 NE Sandy Blvd
Portland, OR 97213
Nice Betty Boop decor. These patties are on the larger side so bring an appetite if you go for the double!
Georges Giant Hamburgers
11640 SW Pacific Hwy
Tigard, OR 97223
A do it your self bar so you better know how you like it!
Mikes Drive In
1707 SE Tenino St
Portland, OR 97202
Pretty good burger. Huge menu with lots to try.
The Observatory
8115 SE Stark St.
Portland, OR 97215
Barely qualifying for the "honest"category, this is a strange place to find a straight forward "Burger Burger". The the option of bleu cheese violates the line of the blue collar burger, but its other characteristics are enough to list it with these others; good fries too.
The issue of fries is a horse of a different color; the best fries seem to pop up in the most random places, and not always with the best burger. We will return to comment on fries, in addition to more elaborate burgers. [Photos to come]
What we lack here in Portland is a good fast food burger such as the infamous In & Out to set the standard. While visiting family in California I am always impressed with their ability as a chain to make a better burger than most individually run restaurants and bars here. There are other better burgers of course, but no major chains that come close; compare it to Burgerville, yuck! A good honest burger done right with fresh ingredients can give a more elaborate creation a run for its money any day. These are some of my favorites.
Cristopher's Gourmet Grill
3962 NE Mlk Jr Blvd.
Portland, OR 97211
I love the double burger here, steak fries are excellent too, one of the few occasions where the two are together. Soul food menu.
Stop & Go Burgers
4549 NE Cully Blvd.
Portland, OR
Very good burger, extra wide and delicious. They also offer shakes, several dogs, and seafood selections; i cant tell if they are going for a diner theme or Hawaiian twist or both.
Giant Drive In
15840 Boones Ferry Rd.
Lake Oswego, OR 97035
Just what a burger should be, lots of variations; kind of far for us Portland folks though.
Roses Ice Cream
5011 NE 42nd
Portland, Or 97218
Wow! This double burger is in the zone!The fries are solid too. Save some room for home made ice cream and shakes if that is your thing.
Igloo Resturant
3128 E Evergreen blvd
Vancuver, Wa 98661
Proper. Fairly extensive menu. I look forward to trying the fish & chips, milk shakes, and chowder. The reuben sandwich is unlikely for a place like this and makes me wonder.
These are some other spots that are pretty good too.
NW burger
101 NW 2nd Ave
Portland, OR 97209
Good burger. The fries and service suck!
Hollywood Burger Bar
4211 NE Sandy Blvd
Portland, OR 97213
Nice Betty Boop decor. These patties are on the larger side so bring an appetite if you go for the double!
Georges Giant Hamburgers
11640 SW Pacific Hwy
Tigard, OR 97223
A do it your self bar so you better know how you like it!
Mikes Drive In
1707 SE Tenino St
Portland, OR 97202
Pretty good burger. Huge menu with lots to try.
The Observatory
8115 SE Stark St.
Portland, OR 97215
Barely qualifying for the "honest"category, this is a strange place to find a straight forward "Burger Burger". The the option of bleu cheese violates the line of the blue collar burger, but its other characteristics are enough to list it with these others; good fries too.
The issue of fries is a horse of a different color; the best fries seem to pop up in the most random places, and not always with the best burger. We will return to comment on fries, in addition to more elaborate burgers. [Photos to come]
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
An apology
I apologize to anyone who might actually be reading this blog for not having produced more postings. The reason for this is that shortly after I began this critique, i also began a series of major dentist visits which have interfered greatly with any food interaction. With any luck it will not drag on too much longer. Once again i apologise for the delay.
Monday, July 13, 2009
"Never judge a taco by its price"
It was Hunter Thompson who once said, "never judge a taco by its price," and how true it is. And why shouldn't he be right? He did after all speak some spanish, resided in California and several Latin countries, and generally followed the beat tradition of traveling for the purpose of experience. A smart dude, he knew what a good taco is, and so his words hold true to this day from here to Mexico city and beyond.
Too often the more expensive taco ends up being a disappointment, but not always, that is for certain, so how can this be? What are the factors involved? If we compare a few spots we can perhaps recon out the pricing of this town. To start with, two spots on Hawthorne that i recently went to for the sake of this project, La Palapa and ?Por que no?, both offer 3$ tacos, the most expensive around. That would still be a tolerable price if they served up something special, but sadly neither are anything nearing special.
La Palapa has the for-mentioned al pastor rotisserie, many folks made me aware of this as I have mentioned it so often . Sadly though the rotisserie must be utilised correctly, the meat was larger than if it had not been on the rotator, the pasilla marinade was weak, the salsa was tomato sauce, the asada was even kind of under salted.
Por que no? I will tell you porque no, i had to wait almost a damn hour for food which was cold when it arrived, nothing was worth the wait or the price, and the salsa sucked, that is porque no!There is always a line when i go by, which i found after going is due to slow service rather than popularity; There were at least 9 people working and only 5 people in front of me and it felt like even the line took forever. I thought a line was for in front of the club, but whatever, I'm just saying that they could do more business is all; perhaps at three dollars a taco they are doing alright either way.
These two spots are over priced as they are on Hawthorne. Rent is simply higher and so prices are also. More traffic simply means more business and therefore less incentive to be competitive through pricing, quality or service alike, same as any tourist destination; location is key and nothing else. If you have enough new comers every day despite high prices/bad service, why not raise them? Why treat them well if you don't rely on them coming back? or if they can't tell the difference and return regaurdless? The quality and the service go the same way, caught in a downward spiral. Only personal standards of the owner/chef will keep a place on the level, being that social standards have failed food here and now.
Moving on to another expensive taqueria, 4 caminos in Vancouver, one of my favorites that I have mentioned before. Tacos cost between 2.35-2.75$ but in this case they are worth the expenditure, and further more location is not a factor of high price over on 4th plain to say the least. I spoke with the owner one day and he told me that they get their beef from local farms and that it is the best around. He also mentioned that the main chef was from Mexico city, that he himself didn't know how to make tacos and had specially hired this chef for this paticular reason. Two more factors which affect price are at work here, quality ingredients and a better chef, and i for one am perfectly willing to pay the price for such things. The prices are a bit higher in price but calculated out in an honest fashion, well worth the price in comparison with others around. (The salsa is also good and picante. It would help if you spoke some Spanish.)
Another example is one of my favorite al pastor+ places in Cordoba, Veracruz which charges about 1.20$ for an order of five of the greatest tacos known to man, amazing! Other places around may charge two or three times this for the same reasons of location or the quality, and once again quality does not always correlate with price, the more expensive sometimes great and other times not, though they are all top notch down there. Greater fluctuation in real estate prices down there cause prices to do the same; i wouldn't expect to find a taco for less than 1-1.25 in Portland.
Location is a main difference in this case, but there are several factors involved still. In Mexico, poverty is reason for quite a number of things including competitive pricing. People are simply more aware of prices and what things can be acquired for right around the corner. An element of haggling still exists in some local "mercados", and where it doesn't, prices are fixed by all those selling the same product, thus creating a price which is the lowest and therefore the local standard of what things "should" cost. Naturally there are large modern stores which sell the same products for hugely inflated prices, though many upper and middle class people still shop at the open air markets as the prices are so noticeable. Labor is cheap and so a person rich enough will still send a servant to the market and save a great deal against the wage paid, keeping prices down for people and product alike. Cheap labor also means higher work ethic due to more competition for jobs and customers, you can't afford to slip as an employee or a business; you can be fired and rehired as a worker, and customers can easily go elsewhere. Intensive for everyone alike.To be a substandard taqueria in mexico city is not to go far and this ties in with the cultural strength of a region or epicenter itself. Your traditional dish had better be something if it is to stand out amongst so many others of the same kind, so more motivation is found still to raise the bar. Factors which are not found so much here, perhaps one could make an occasional argument but there are few which are definitive.
So anyway the point is to try all the tacos and don't get to hung up on price alone. Good luck with your adventures!
Too often the more expensive taco ends up being a disappointment, but not always, that is for certain, so how can this be? What are the factors involved? If we compare a few spots we can perhaps recon out the pricing of this town. To start with, two spots on Hawthorne that i recently went to for the sake of this project, La Palapa and ?Por que no?, both offer 3$ tacos, the most expensive around. That would still be a tolerable price if they served up something special, but sadly neither are anything nearing special.
La Palapa has the for-mentioned al pastor rotisserie, many folks made me aware of this as I have mentioned it so often . Sadly though the rotisserie must be utilised correctly, the meat was larger than if it had not been on the rotator, the pasilla marinade was weak, the salsa was tomato sauce, the asada was even kind of under salted.
Por que no? I will tell you porque no, i had to wait almost a damn hour for food which was cold when it arrived, nothing was worth the wait or the price, and the salsa sucked, that is porque no!There is always a line when i go by, which i found after going is due to slow service rather than popularity; There were at least 9 people working and only 5 people in front of me and it felt like even the line took forever. I thought a line was for in front of the club, but whatever, I'm just saying that they could do more business is all; perhaps at three dollars a taco they are doing alright either way.
These two spots are over priced as they are on Hawthorne. Rent is simply higher and so prices are also. More traffic simply means more business and therefore less incentive to be competitive through pricing, quality or service alike, same as any tourist destination; location is key and nothing else. If you have enough new comers every day despite high prices/bad service, why not raise them? Why treat them well if you don't rely on them coming back? or if they can't tell the difference and return regaurdless? The quality and the service go the same way, caught in a downward spiral. Only personal standards of the owner/chef will keep a place on the level, being that social standards have failed food here and now.
Moving on to another expensive taqueria, 4 caminos in Vancouver, one of my favorites that I have mentioned before. Tacos cost between 2.35-2.75$ but in this case they are worth the expenditure, and further more location is not a factor of high price over on 4th plain to say the least. I spoke with the owner one day and he told me that they get their beef from local farms and that it is the best around. He also mentioned that the main chef was from Mexico city, that he himself didn't know how to make tacos and had specially hired this chef for this paticular reason. Two more factors which affect price are at work here, quality ingredients and a better chef, and i for one am perfectly willing to pay the price for such things. The prices are a bit higher in price but calculated out in an honest fashion, well worth the price in comparison with others around. (The salsa is also good and picante. It would help if you spoke some Spanish.)
Another example is one of my favorite al pastor+ places in Cordoba, Veracruz which charges about 1.20$ for an order of five of the greatest tacos known to man, amazing! Other places around may charge two or three times this for the same reasons of location or the quality, and once again quality does not always correlate with price, the more expensive sometimes great and other times not, though they are all top notch down there. Greater fluctuation in real estate prices down there cause prices to do the same; i wouldn't expect to find a taco for less than 1-1.25 in Portland.
Location is a main difference in this case, but there are several factors involved still. In Mexico, poverty is reason for quite a number of things including competitive pricing. People are simply more aware of prices and what things can be acquired for right around the corner. An element of haggling still exists in some local "mercados", and where it doesn't, prices are fixed by all those selling the same product, thus creating a price which is the lowest and therefore the local standard of what things "should" cost. Naturally there are large modern stores which sell the same products for hugely inflated prices, though many upper and middle class people still shop at the open air markets as the prices are so noticeable. Labor is cheap and so a person rich enough will still send a servant to the market and save a great deal against the wage paid, keeping prices down for people and product alike. Cheap labor also means higher work ethic due to more competition for jobs and customers, you can't afford to slip as an employee or a business; you can be fired and rehired as a worker, and customers can easily go elsewhere. Intensive for everyone alike.To be a substandard taqueria in mexico city is not to go far and this ties in with the cultural strength of a region or epicenter itself. Your traditional dish had better be something if it is to stand out amongst so many others of the same kind, so more motivation is found still to raise the bar. Factors which are not found so much here, perhaps one could make an occasional argument but there are few which are definitive.
So anyway the point is to try all the tacos and don't get to hung up on price alone. Good luck with your adventures!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Characteristics of a taqueria
The majority of (American) taquerias that i have been to have a certain number of characteristics in common. They are in no particular order, and no one is a guarantee if quality, rather an indication of authenticity. If a recipe is to bear a traditional name than it should be carried out in the traditional manner, otherwise it is only being incorrectly renamed or falsely executed.
1) Television that is turned up too loud, sometimes reaching uncomfortable volumes. Most commonly showing Telemundo or something to that effect, news, sport (soccer), soaps, etc.
2)Radio that is turned up way too loud, sometimes in addition to the television.
3)Paint job is bright, clashing, and has a "do it yourself" feel to it. In fewer instances the paint job is more elaborate and quite nice, including murals or painted furniture; some regions have stronger painting cultures than others. In either case, colors are bright, plentiful, and brilliant.
4)Spanish speaking is always preferred for every reason, and i mean every one on staff.
5)On site production of key ingredients. A restaurant attached to a tienda may have access to a butcher, bakery, tortillaria, etc. Many places make their own tortillas though they are not tiendas; pay attention to what is produced on the spot; is the cream made fresh or is it out of a can? That stuff out of the can kind of scares me. Do they make their own chips? Grind the spices fresh? Make and then refry the beans? Produce more than the two standard salsas?
6)If the salsa is not hot then there aint much to talk about. I am not talking about blindly hot either because a good salsa does not have to be so, it drowns the flavor of the chile in many instances. On the other hand salsa should not taste like pasta sauce as it does at pretty much every main street gringo attraction, black pepper should not be the hottest ingredient. I always dig the salsa bar when there is one. Availability of chiles is the main limitation of this geography.
7)Family run, mom and pop plus other generations on hand is always comforting.
8)Decorations that could be considered a bit tacky. Too many objects on the walls perhaps. A beautiful mural with a corona add right on top of it maybe. Funny things like bunches of fake garlic or chiles strung about. The strange decor usually creates a cozy homelike atmosphere perhaps due to its imperfection. The occasional taqueria is the opposite, it will be well painted, walls and benches with murals and detail, a truly nice and colorful atmosphere.
1) Television that is turned up too loud, sometimes reaching uncomfortable volumes. Most commonly showing Telemundo or something to that effect, news, sport (soccer), soaps, etc.
2)Radio that is turned up way too loud, sometimes in addition to the television.
3)Paint job is bright, clashing, and has a "do it yourself" feel to it. In fewer instances the paint job is more elaborate and quite nice, including murals or painted furniture; some regions have stronger painting cultures than others. In either case, colors are bright, plentiful, and brilliant.
4)Spanish speaking is always preferred for every reason, and i mean every one on staff.
5)On site production of key ingredients. A restaurant attached to a tienda may have access to a butcher, bakery, tortillaria, etc. Many places make their own tortillas though they are not tiendas; pay attention to what is produced on the spot; is the cream made fresh or is it out of a can? That stuff out of the can kind of scares me. Do they make their own chips? Grind the spices fresh? Make and then refry the beans? Produce more than the two standard salsas?
6)If the salsa is not hot then there aint much to talk about. I am not talking about blindly hot either because a good salsa does not have to be so, it drowns the flavor of the chile in many instances. On the other hand salsa should not taste like pasta sauce as it does at pretty much every main street gringo attraction, black pepper should not be the hottest ingredient. I always dig the salsa bar when there is one. Availability of chiles is the main limitation of this geography.
7)Family run, mom and pop plus other generations on hand is always comforting.
8)Decorations that could be considered a bit tacky. Too many objects on the walls perhaps. A beautiful mural with a corona add right on top of it maybe. Funny things like bunches of fake garlic or chiles strung about. The strange decor usually creates a cozy homelike atmosphere perhaps due to its imperfection. The occasional taqueria is the opposite, it will be well painted, walls and benches with murals and detail, a truly nice and colorful atmosphere.
The Racist Taco
Being that the experience at Cha Cha Cha was so unexpected the last time, i had to go back and try it again. On the one occasion that i went the al pastor was a front runner for this town, the main guy from Mexico City even, i had to try it again. One of my friends went with me this time, who took a trip with me to Mexico a couple years ago and is big into the food, and who is gringo.
I suspected that i had been treated differently for speaking Spanish on the previous visit, for making correct references to the food, making chit chat about just having returned from the DF, my Spanish ok but the accent correct for the cause. We put it to the test.
My friend went in first; I waited until he had ordered and seated himself before going in at all. He had ordered in ordinary English where I finessed my way in Spanish and the results were drastic. One of the cooks went straight to the rotisserie to make my tacos al pastor, cutting the meat off fresh and in layers. The pastor they gave to my friend came from the back, the texture was too fine and moist, and the marinade was lesser as a result of the process. He was pretty flustered, you should have seen it.
You should be flustered as well if you go to this spot and your pastor is not cut to order. Don't settle for less or you will miss out big time. So many of these dishes have a delicate balance and don't need to be thrown off any more than they already are being so far from Mexico. This place has some of the best pastor around so ask about it and see if they do it right for you. Our low expectations are the reason for the low bar in the first place and this cycle should lead us upwards not down.
I suspected that i had been treated differently for speaking Spanish on the previous visit, for making correct references to the food, making chit chat about just having returned from the DF, my Spanish ok but the accent correct for the cause. We put it to the test.
My friend went in first; I waited until he had ordered and seated himself before going in at all. He had ordered in ordinary English where I finessed my way in Spanish and the results were drastic. One of the cooks went straight to the rotisserie to make my tacos al pastor, cutting the meat off fresh and in layers. The pastor they gave to my friend came from the back, the texture was too fine and moist, and the marinade was lesser as a result of the process. He was pretty flustered, you should have seen it.
You should be flustered as well if you go to this spot and your pastor is not cut to order. Don't settle for less or you will miss out big time. So many of these dishes have a delicate balance and don't need to be thrown off any more than they already are being so far from Mexico. This place has some of the best pastor around so ask about it and see if they do it right for you. Our low expectations are the reason for the low bar in the first place and this cycle should lead us upwards not down.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Trader Jose
The dark lager is very drinkable but doesn't remind me of any Mexican beer I have ever had, oh well.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
A delicacy from Oaxaca
The first time i drank the agave was ten years ago. I have never crossed the line of too much with this beast as i have been warned. I never really understood what the big deal was, everyone has had too much to drink before, but i could see that those who cautioned me were sincere, and also that all were in unanimous agreement.
Two weeks ago i saw the dragon. I went all the way to the mountain and saw the old man in his cave and with a single glance he told me that i was far away from home, far from where i belong.
I have never been so affected by alcohol before, waking up spinning drunk with a psychedelic twist. ohh the colors and the sickness, the cactus lingered long after the drunk had departed.
Mezcal and tequila are similer but come from different regions like Bourbon or champagne. Both are made of pure agave but mezcal tends to be a little stronger. Monte Alban and Oro de Oaxaca are the only two brands that are common around here. They are only 40 percent however and have never produced quite the same effect. I asked at a liquor store if any other brands were available and was told that there was a third kind that the distributor carried but that he never ordered it anyway for lack of a market, that one case lasted almost a year. Doesn't look like it will get here any time soon so if you make it south of the border, keep on the lookout for rare treats such as this. (More photos to come)
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Al Pastor
This recipe is one of my favorites, when done properly it is a thing of beauty and genius. It was created in Mexico city during the late fifties which is not that long ago for a food which has become so traditional, widespread, and culturally indispensable. As widespread as it is now, really nobody this side of the border has been able to get it right. The marinade has been close in a few cases but the texture is almost always all wrong. The rotisserie is an essential part of the texture but is no guarantee, it still requires that the chef knows how to slice the meat properly. Too often I am told of a new place which has the proper equipment but find that it is being improperly used. These photos show an example of proper al pastor from a taqueria just off calle 5 de mayo just a few blocks from the zocalo. The meat is placed on the rotisserie to be cooked by a flame then the outermost layer that has been cooked is thinly sliced off. The layers can be seen stacked on top of one another still. A piece of pineapple is also on the rotisserie and most times a thin slice is put into the taco. The thin cut creates the proper texture.
The photo of the taquria shows the rotisserie and work station for the al pastor, it alone has two seperate grills. On the left side is another flat grill and on the right are two others of different shapes, all used for various meats. At least three chefs were present at all times, making service quick even in a crowd, keeping quality high as thier focus was not so divided, and still offering a decent size menu all at the same time.
Friday, May 1, 2009
angry start
I just got back from mexico and the tacos here suck! In fact all of the food kind of does. I have been meaning to write about food for a while and so now i am ready. our standards on food ensure that we will have a safe and mediocre experience every time, no more, no less. the food that is alright here is overpriced at best, and in a more expensive meal, more of the money goes for the surroundings than the food. even on the low end in this town, the cheaper mexican food is most often better than the more expensive, so what is justifying the higer price? something is wrong with the way we eat and it can be viewed from any number of angles which are to be reviewed here.
Since i have to start somewhere, let's start with mexican food. here is a list of the better taquerias and tiendas, and what is recomended at each place. rarely does one single location prepare it all well in portland for lack of labor on hand and multiple isolated grill stations. the ratings apply to portland only and is not to be compared to mexico or even california.
Yesenyas on 68th and powel serves up some decent chicken milanesa and pollo azado. the tortas or tacos are good as the bread and tortillas are produced on hand. check out the tienda side while you are there.
El Pato Feliz on 92nd just off of foster has some of the better al pastor and chorizo in town, more traditional than most. the carnitas and azada tacos are pretty good also, and if the beef caldo is on special then chek it out. the salsa bar is always enjoyable.
La Pasadita on 82nd serves up some good azada, carnitas, and some passable al pastor. the sope is one of my favorite in this town and the guarache isnt bad either. the salsa was nice and spicy the last couple times i have been, though it has fluctuated in the past; always delicous though. this spot has beer which is nice.
4 caminos on fourth plain in vancuver has become one of my favorite spots around. the azada is well executed, tender and marinated, going well in a regular azada taco, tijuana taco, or al carbon taco. this is the only al carbon taco i know of around here, it is quite delicous actually. also dont miss the al pastor, it varies a bit from day to day but when it is good it is quite good. the salsa is good and picante, though the tomatillos could be rendered further to cut the acidity. beer here.
Update: This place has changed cooks and the food has suffered greatly. The al carbon no longer much more than a tomato mess, the pastor and chorizo commonly overcooked.
autentica is a newer trendy upscale type of spot. the marinade on thier al pastor is in the right direction though the texture is still not there. the carnitas are a little heavy on the lime but are quite good. the puerco frito tostada is to be tried aswell. i was pleasently suprised by this place, though it is overpriced.
Lindo michoacan on 34th and division has a pretty mean sope and some good azada. the al pastor is not of the traditional variety but is tasty none the less.
Tienda de leon on 164th has my favorite carnitas around. they also have countless other roasts which i have not had the chance to try yet. the first place that i have seen salsa macha in this town aswell, it is made in a blender rather than by morder and pestal which is understandable for production, but the flavor is right on. check out the tienda and bulk deals on food while you are there.
Cha Cha Cha on hawthorne shocked the hell out of me last week. i was drunk on mezcal and stumbled in after seeing the rotisserie outside. i began to talk to the main dude in spanish and told him that i had just got back from the df, i asked him where he was from and he said df. the challenge was on. i ordered two al pastor tacos and he called his pinche from the kitchen who went straight to the spit and made my tacos to order and to my surprise they were very passable, even the texture was close which is the number one problem here with this style. i cant even believe that i am giving a compliment to this place as i have always found every element of it and its kind to be laughable. it is a burrito bar for white people who hate salsa and love sour cream! i will have to try it again to be sure.
Ochoas in Hillsboro is a journey worth while. the house special is always fun and varies each time, a glorious plate of multiple entrées.
Mi Tierra is the tienda right next to ochas. On sunday they serve up a great taco spread outside, a front runner for tacos al pastor and others.
Mi pueblo just off of 82nd on king road has pretty good spanish rice (which is uncommon) and fresh tortillas made to the order. the menu has changed a few times and the available taco selection is not always great. i might recomend an asada plate or another cut with tortillas on the side. the interior is nicely painted which creates a lovely atmosphere. full bar.
In no way is this a complete listing of places around, but these are the spots that i tend to freequent (exept for cha cha cha). i will comment on many more locations soon though most reviews are not positive ones.
Since i have to start somewhere, let's start with mexican food. here is a list of the better taquerias and tiendas, and what is recomended at each place. rarely does one single location prepare it all well in portland for lack of labor on hand and multiple isolated grill stations. the ratings apply to portland only and is not to be compared to mexico or even california.
Yesenyas on 68th and powel serves up some decent chicken milanesa and pollo azado. the tortas or tacos are good as the bread and tortillas are produced on hand. check out the tienda side while you are there.
El Pato Feliz on 92nd just off of foster has some of the better al pastor and chorizo in town, more traditional than most. the carnitas and azada tacos are pretty good also, and if the beef caldo is on special then chek it out. the salsa bar is always enjoyable.
La Pasadita on 82nd serves up some good azada, carnitas, and some passable al pastor. the sope is one of my favorite in this town and the guarache isnt bad either. the salsa was nice and spicy the last couple times i have been, though it has fluctuated in the past; always delicous though. this spot has beer which is nice.
4 caminos on fourth plain in vancuver has become one of my favorite spots around. the azada is well executed, tender and marinated, going well in a regular azada taco, tijuana taco, or al carbon taco. this is the only al carbon taco i know of around here, it is quite delicous actually. also dont miss the al pastor, it varies a bit from day to day but when it is good it is quite good. the salsa is good and picante, though the tomatillos could be rendered further to cut the acidity. beer here.
Update: This place has changed cooks and the food has suffered greatly. The al carbon no longer much more than a tomato mess, the pastor and chorizo commonly overcooked.
autentica is a newer trendy upscale type of spot. the marinade on thier al pastor is in the right direction though the texture is still not there. the carnitas are a little heavy on the lime but are quite good. the puerco frito tostada is to be tried aswell. i was pleasently suprised by this place, though it is overpriced.
Lindo michoacan on 34th and division has a pretty mean sope and some good azada. the al pastor is not of the traditional variety but is tasty none the less.
Tienda de leon on 164th has my favorite carnitas around. they also have countless other roasts which i have not had the chance to try yet. the first place that i have seen salsa macha in this town aswell, it is made in a blender rather than by morder and pestal which is understandable for production, but the flavor is right on. check out the tienda and bulk deals on food while you are there.
Cha Cha Cha on hawthorne shocked the hell out of me last week. i was drunk on mezcal and stumbled in after seeing the rotisserie outside. i began to talk to the main dude in spanish and told him that i had just got back from the df, i asked him where he was from and he said df. the challenge was on. i ordered two al pastor tacos and he called his pinche from the kitchen who went straight to the spit and made my tacos to order and to my surprise they were very passable, even the texture was close which is the number one problem here with this style. i cant even believe that i am giving a compliment to this place as i have always found every element of it and its kind to be laughable. it is a burrito bar for white people who hate salsa and love sour cream! i will have to try it again to be sure.
Ochoas in Hillsboro is a journey worth while. the house special is always fun and varies each time, a glorious plate of multiple entrées.
Mi Tierra is the tienda right next to ochas. On sunday they serve up a great taco spread outside, a front runner for tacos al pastor and others.
Mi pueblo just off of 82nd on king road has pretty good spanish rice (which is uncommon) and fresh tortillas made to the order. the menu has changed a few times and the available taco selection is not always great. i might recomend an asada plate or another cut with tortillas on the side. the interior is nicely painted which creates a lovely atmosphere. full bar.
In no way is this a complete listing of places around, but these are the spots that i tend to freequent (exept for cha cha cha). i will comment on many more locations soon though most reviews are not positive ones.
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