Showing posts with label Mexican Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mexican Food. Show all posts
Mexican Seafood Crawl
During the late summer my friend, Robert, hosted a Mexican Seafood Crawl in Los Angeles. This kind of thing can be tricky due to the expansive city, but he did well with not too much driving and just enough time in between to want more food at each stop.
It's always a treat to discover an incredibly tasty, inexpensive and fresh snack close to home. I didn't even know of the Ricos Mar Azul Mariscos truck in Highland Park.
They serve a couple of tostadas and cocktails of shrimp, abalone, octopus (camaron, abulon, pulpo). Many of us opted for the Tostada Mixtiado, containing all of the above and topped with secret recipe sauces, avocado slices, hot sauce and lime.
This Mexico City style truck off Figueroa enjoys a shady location right in front of a park. There are even picnic benches in close proximity.
And looking at the menu, you can see that all their menu items go for $2 each! Some of the food crawlers vowed to come back after the crawl for another tostada 'dessert'.
For the next stop, we all decided on the best route to get to Ricky's Fish Tacos.
All but 1 or 2 in the group had already tried them and welcomed another visit. This isn't the first time I blogged about Ricky's, and probably won't be the last. You can see their original location at this post.
Ricky's is open from Thursday to Sunday, except for catering jobs and/or other events. They serve until they run out in the afternoon, and they usually do.
We placed our orders and proceeded for their agua fresca of the day. In this case a refreshing blend of spinach, cucumber, lime and sugar. It looks like a "green drink" but doesn't taste as healthy as it looks.
Looking at the batter (also secret ingredients) and hearing the sizzle of the fish and shrimp frying up and tortillas browning on the grill, it really whets up the appetite.
Once your order is called, you adorn it with the salsas and creamy sauces you desire. The taco miraculously retains its crunch to the end. Not that it takes long to completely devour them.
It must not be hard to imagine why these Ensenada style fish tacos (you can also get shrimp and combo) are on my top 5 favorite lunches list.I"ve been known to plan my schedule around going there if I every have reason to be in the area on Thursdays or Fridays.
Our final stop at La Cevicheria on West Pico Boulevard. During the last Baja trip, I had the pleasure of trying the local Chocolate Clams (you can see it on this post).
Since then I'd heard of the Bloody Clams, named for their reddish black color.
They serve it Peruvian style (Peruano) and Mexican style (Concha Negra), with worcestershire sauce along with the staples of onion, cilantro, tomatoes and fresh mint.
Because Robert and I had reservations for a play in Santa Monica, we had to ask for our order to go. We ended up eating it with the tostadas during the 5-minute intermission of the play.
If couldn't have been messier, literally dripping onto our clothes, but we didn't care. The chewy, plump clam slices and all the accompaniments won us over.
Because of being on the run, we missed the opportunity to photograph the ceviche over ice and in shells, like they are served, but at least we got to enjoy it.
On the way back to the car, this abandoned mannequin head, most likely from the antique sale from earlier in the day, bid me my farewell.
Cacao Mexicatessen - Weekly Specials Menu
Cacao Mexicatessen in Eagle Rock has been a regular go-to place for me when I'm in the mood for a quick but homemade tasting bite.
When people ask me what I like there, I only have to say two words before I find them writing it down or entering the name into their smart phone - DUCK CARNITAS. As Food Critic Jonathan Gold described it, it's a cross between carnitas and confit. Intense and delicicous.
In this brightly colored, always busy family-run restaurant, beside Trader Joe's in Eagle Rock, that everybody should be lucky to have in their neighborhood, hardly anything on the menu disappoints. The Hecho en Eagle Rock signs and t-shirts always amuse me as do the deli offerings that you can take to go.
They have all the Mexican specialties, a great assortment of tacos, guacamole, aguas frescas, solid coffee, Mexican hot chocolate, a kids' menu. After ordering at the counter and looking for a seat, I personally enjoy their cajeta latte and cajeta flan, cajeta being goat's milk caramel that has a bit more bite then super sweet, regular caramel.
Probably a year ago or more, I met a long time dear friend here simply because they offer a full vegetarian menu. And by vegetarian I don't mean a few side veges and green salad. They serve squash blossom tacos and quesadillas, squash, hibiscus, wild mushrooms, huitlachoche (corn truffle) and panko breaded avocados!
With breakfast, lunch, dinner, happy hour and more, there are numerous things to try on their menu.
Recently I met a friend there and tried out two of their specials. Their weekly specials, which they post at the counter and will email to you every week, come to my inbox. And I suggest you subscribe as well. They even include discount coupons in the weekly mailers.
These in particular were well worth the trip, and I'm even scouring the emails for their return.
Taco of the Week - Sea Urchin & Blackened Sea Scallop
At $6.75 each, this seems somewhat pricey for a taco, however given the ingredients and flavor, they are worth it.
The scallops are fairly large and blackened with chile arbol. The scallops sit on a small pool of serrano chile-soy salsa, all on top of a tortilla de jicama taco shell! That crunch and freshness adds so much to the very fresh seafood. The jicama is already pliable like a tortilla, but the salsa makes it even more yielding.
The generous helping of Santa Barbara sea urchin tops the scallops and a topping of micro-cilantro and a slice of lime garnishes it all.
Next, we shared the other special - Pescado Encachahuatado
This flavorful, satisfying dish consisted of crispy skinned Icelandic Arctic Char, topped with Crema de Cacahuate, a creamy peanut sauce. The fish sits on top of a light and fluffy cilantro lime rice and cebolliatas, or grilled scallions.
On top of the sauce, a generous portion of pico de gallo, a tomato, jicama, cilantro, onion, chile and lime salsa adds appropriate acidity to the well balanced plate.
Finally, we wrapped up the delightful meal with elote de la calle - steamed white corn coated with a thick spread of queso cotija (Mexican cheese), crema and powdered chili. All served up on a stick.
As creamy as it is, the corn still retains its crunch and sweetness. This dish is one of my favorite Mexican street foods and Cacao's version is spot on.
I enjoy taking shots of the table after eating or the empty dishes. AS you can see, this corn was devoured and fully enjoyed.
These dishes inspired me so much, I tried to emulate their Arctic Char a few days later. My version swapped the creamy sauce for fresh lemon, dill, sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Sides included crimini mushrooms and an avocado salad.
It's always great to thoroughly enjoy a meal, then get inspired to cook something like it.Thanks to Cacao for the delicious choices!
Home of the Legendary Caesar Salad
For the final Baja post (for now) I saved my favorite Tijuana experience of having an original recipe caesar salad at the place it was created.I've had everything from a grilled romaine caesar, to way too heavily dressed and with parmesan from a green can caesar, to expertly seasoned and creatively presented caesar like the one I wrote about here.
Even though they are ubiquitous, and everybody has their preferences, which salad lover wouldn't want to taste how it all began?
Today, in Tijuana's bustling Avenida Revolución, you can find the newly renovated Hotel Caesar and Caesar's Restaurant where this salad was invented in the 1920's.
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| Original Caesar's restaurant, Tijuana c.1930 - photo from Kitchen Project blog |
As legend tells it, in Italian immigrant, Cesare Cardini operated this restaurant in Tijuana, for the Hollywood crowd and other high rollers to enjoy during Prohibition.
On a busy night in 1924, with supplies at hand, he devised this salad and prepared it tableside in an elaborate display.
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| Original menu at Caesar's - $2.50 for decadent tasting menu, including lobster cocktail |
In these early days, along with Hollywood celebrities, famed cookbook author Julia Child wrote in From Julia Child's Kitchen about her earliest restaurant experiences, coming to Caesar's with her parents to enjoy this salad, with Mr. Cardini rolling out a cart to their table and preparing it himself.
Needless to say, the salad was a smash hit. It was quite the thing to do - heading to Tijuana for this incredible salad, and there is no reason it still shouldn't be.
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| Todays management, warmly greeting us |
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| Bill Esparza - Caesar's Restaurant |
During our trip last year, I mentioned to our guide, Bill Esparza, that it was a dream of mine to experience the original caesar salad in this setting, and he kindly worked it into our weekend, an unplanned afternoon visit.
These refreshing tamarind margaritas awaited us, and then came the ceremony!
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| menu, containing La original Ensalada Caesar's preparada en su mesa |
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| salad cart - Caesar's |
The eggs appeared raw, although some recipes indicate the get boiled for exactly 1 minute, then run under cold water.
In a large wooden bowl, the server started to mix olive oil, ground anchovies, garlic, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, parmesan cheese, pepper, salt white wine and vinegar.
He began coating the bowl with part of this mixture, eventually adding the other ingredients to create the dressing in the same bowl.
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| Preparation at the Baja Culinary Festival 2011 |
Another key addition are Mexican limes, which are squeezed into the salad dressing to neutralize the strong flavors of the anchovies, garlic and egg yolks so no one flavor dominates.
Whole, crisp, chilled and dried Romaine leaves are gently rolled into the dressing, in the bowl. The dressing emulsifies around the leaves.
I read that the oil is infused with a couple of cloves of garlic, and are then brushed along with anchovy paste on the long slices of croutons, made from baked baguette slices. These croutons get tossed into the salad.
The server places the greens on chilled plates with the stem end out.
He adds the finishing touches of parmesan, salt and pepper.
In our case, the server used two wooden spoons to mix the ingredients, and we were offered silverware with the salad.
According to many accounts, the original salad was apparently mixed with the hands and meant to be picked up and eaten by the hands.
Overall, it tasted just as remarkable as the elaborate preparation indicates. Perhaps the graceful tableside presentation heightens the flavor and experience even more.
I encourage you to make the trip out one day and experience it yourself.
Baja California 2010 Trip Redux - Street Food
This month has been ripe with challenges that have kept me distracted from blogging. I tend to cut down drastically on foodie experiences when things are stressful, so there hasn't been a lot of new things going on.After losing my Aunt earlier this month, I've been looking through old photos, intending to compile them. In the process I found lots of great photos, mostly from 2010.
It seems right to do some retro blogging since it's the end of the year and we all are reflecting back.
So here begins a 4-part series on my July 2010 Baja California group trip with Bill Esparza, Street Gourmet LA.
Before the "tour" officially started, Bill already got us started off with these Gorditas de Nata snacks.
Street Food Tacos
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| Taqueria Franc - mulita |
There were so many other fantastic taco places we went to, I left off the ones covered in prior Baja food posts, and a few we tried only on this trip. Out of many, the ones below stood out as unique.
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| Tacos Aaron - milanesa taco |
Things got crunchier at Tacos el Poblano, where we even had taco cones, wrapped in paper (think of sushi cones).
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| Tacos el Poblano - tostada |
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| Tacos el Poblano - beef birria |
The meat, after being grilled, sits on the pan in their own juices. Leading to the mouthwatering torta above, one of the best sandwiches I've ever had.
Their horchata (traditional Mexican rice beverage flavored with cinammon, sugar and lime) also was the best many of us had ever had. No chalkiness whatsoever.
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| Tortas Wash Mobile - horchata |
We're still on tacos, but Tacos Salceados deserves its own category, offering exciting tacos and an open kitchen. The crowds below should attest to that.
I'll let the photos do the talking.
Seafood Street Food
For seafood lovers, Tijuana provides a vast selection of seafood, all fresh and plentiful, with no lack of seasoning available.
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| El Mazateno - condiments |
El Conchal, a tiny cart with picnic benches around it, provided a fresh and light reprieve from meaty tacos.
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| El Conchal - ceviche mixte |
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| El Conchal - aguachile |
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| El Conchal - clams |
Mariscos Ruben, another seafood gem, showed us even more local delicacies, lovingly prepared by these amazing women.
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| Mariscos Ruben - crab tostada |
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| Mariscos Ruben - seafood gratin |
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| Mariscos Ruben - crab taco (with flour tortilla) |
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| Erizo Cebicheria - Chef/Owner Javier Plasencia |
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| Erizo Cebicheria - Pisco Sour Coco |
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| Erizo Cebicheria - margarita |
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Erizo Cebicheria - sea urchin capuccino
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| Erizo Cebicheria - octopus carpaccio |
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| Erizo Cebicheria - swordfish tacos (cochinita pibil style) |
Sweet Treats
Adjacent to the El Conchal cart, we cleansed our palates from the paleteria (ice cream shop). I tried the rich and creamy rompope, an eggnog type Mexican beverage, ice cream in the plastic tubes (center of photo).
We also visited Teposnieves, sampling fantastic flavors like tequila con limon, nata (cream), queso (cheese) and fruit and chile topping sauces.
My flavors were queso, tres leches and cajeta (goat's milk caramel).
If you'd like to read about the trip from this year, you can find the posts at the following links:
Baja Culinary Festival
Baja Street Food
Baja - Erizo Cebicheria
Baja - Unplanned Adventures
Baja - Mision 19
In the meantime, I'd like to wish you a joyous holiday season.
