Category: ethnic groceries

Dueling supermercados on Lancaster

La Tapatia recently opened with a full meat counter, deli, & bakery.  The chain also has stores  in PDX & Gresham. It’s on the west side of Lancaster in the old Book Bin. Across the way, on the east side of Lancaster, El Torito has taken over the Panaderia Oaxaquena (a bakery)  and has moved its tortilla machines and its taqueria over there and opened as EL TORO. They have great tacos with handmade tortillas de maiz. El Torito has been there since at least 2006 and I like the people there..

EL TORO has tacos de sesos (brains) & tacos de tripas (tripe) for the adventurous. We got al pastor, carnitas, & carne asada for a take home lunch one day this week. Generous servings for the fillings, unlike some places.

EL TORITO SUPERMARKET is now open on Lancaster, just south of Center on the east side in the old PET SMART.

Made it to Oregon..

Well, I hope to be out of the KC area by the middle of May. Thence to Salem, Oregon. I’ll not miss Brownbackistan one whit. I will have a place to garden and to have a smoker again. No more apartment cooking. Yahoo!

torito
The carniceria closest to us in Salem. El Torito.

Will be glad to be there..  real strawberries.. not those cardboard ones from Las Califas.  Serious wineries, more craft brewing. Hell, I may get me a cajun cooker, too. Quien sabe?

tacos
Tacos from El Sureño. A block from El Torito

Crossing the Border.

My wife’s job is moving to Kansas, 25 miles away. So we are moving to be only 2 miles from her work, rather than 25. We tried to find a place in Missouri without many steps and on the first floor since we have her mum with and she uses a walker. Hello Overland Park/Leawood!

I will at least be able to walk to the grocery store. In this area, there are two Whole Paychecks within 3 miles of each other. The closest one caters to rich hippies (more schnozz jewelery and lurid tattoos); they other is a haven for soccer moms who seem to be mainly tall Skandahoovian women. There is also a Dean & DeLuca, which is even more insanely expensive than Whole Paycheck. Hen House, a local chain, is more reasonable, and even has a whole kosher butcher shop and a wider selection of fresh sea food than the others I have mentioned.

There are also S. Asian greengrocers and halal butcher shops in the area. Olathe or KCKS is where I shall go to get my ingredients for comida mejicana.

chile rojo
A recent painting of mine.

“Who would believe they would freak out in Kansas, Suzy Creamcheese…” Frank Zappa.

Maranitos y Panaderias

I had forgotten how lacking RVA was in regards to pan dulce. LA SABROSITA (on Midlothian) uses that horrid palm oil shortening and much of the pan dulce is shipped in from elsewhere.

Not so in KCMO & KCKS. Each panaderia has its own take on the maranito (or ginger pig). The taste is much the same, but each bakery produces a cookie with a different texture, shape, or glaze.

Here’s one from the La Reyna Bakery on Kansas Street in the Argentine (the actual name since there used to be a silver smelter here) neighborhood in Kansas City, Kansas.

maranito
La Reyna's take on the maranito..it's quite thick. Some of these bakeries use lard as shortening. Bless their hearts.

 

The taquerias are also quite diverse in their takes on such fillings as carne al pastor. I shall report on this later.

Tacos al pastor en Kansas City, MO.

These were all take-out orders..
from Carniceria El Torito!
Tacos al pastor from Carniceria El Torito!

And they are only a buck on Tuesdays!

Tacos al pastor from Taqueria Mejico #2
Tacos al pastor from Taqueria Mejico #2

At this place one can sit down and have a Bohemia, a much better beer than Dos Equis.  I would be happy to shill for Bohemia since I am a lot more interesting than the most interesting man in the world. I’ve read he’s really from Brooklyn and formerly a lawyer.

Here’s a painting from the wall of the Carniceria El Torito (on St Johns). Nice place, nice folks.

pintura de chancho
Pintura de chancho