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]
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