It got cold, but the food smelled great and I had a cup of Mexican chocolate to see if it would warm me up after I put on my jacket. It didn’t but here are some photos of La Milpa’s Dia de los Muertos celebration.
Here’s more
Here’s a dancer
Here’s some comida
More comida.
Tamales..
There were some Colombians serving arepas. I had one, but I was still cold. So I went home.
After weeks of watching the work go on in the rehabbing of this former Midlothian TPKE fried fish emporium into a taqueria, I noticed that it was OPENING SOON!
And it was called PANCHITO Restaurante Mejicano y Taqueria (Authentic) (or something like that) and we decided to investigate this place on Saturday. We met at one PM (I got there first and was able to find a menu and got an agua gaseosa (mineral water). We only wanted a snack, so rather than getting full plates, I decided that we should split three sopes (thick corn tortillas with a rim/edge) and chose carnitas (fried pork bits), carne al pastor (marinated pork), and carne asada (grilled beef).
After our order was placed, my brain was picked re: local ethnic grocery stores, educational background, and common acquaintances.
Our order arrived and we fell to with some salsa verde of moderate picante added to our meal. Everything tasted authentic and was approved of. The toppings were a trifle dry, but we couldn’t really see ordering fully sauced dishes at that time of the day, since we had other things to accomplish before the day was out. I want to come back and try some of the platters; I think they had chicharron en salsa verde. I may go back by and pick up a menu.
It also seemed on the pricey side.. I would have expected the platters to be at least a dollar or so less.
PANCHITO is open most days from 10 AM to 10 PM.. Fridays & Saturdays from 10 AM to 4 AM. It could prove to be too interesting a place to visit in the early morning hours since it is right next to several transient motels. You young folks can live large, but I’ll pass.
And one should note that the formica booths are not for large folks.
I did this same sort of series with a Belmont Butchery steak last fall. Here’s a similar operation with a couple of boneless pork chops I got at Kroger. (Hey, I’m trying to save money, Tanya!) <snargle>
These will be sliced for sandwiches to take to work during the week. I’m amazed at how many folks go out to eat every day. Must be nice (maybe).
P.S. How do these jokers get corporate funding for their ever-so wistful food bloggerie? I sure as hell would drink the Stubbs’ Kool-ade. I’d take his free charcoal. <snargle>
Here you are. Looks quite nice. I combined this with a trip to Taj Mahal to get some tea for my lady-wyfe in KCMO. Nearly went over to Jerusalem to see what they might have in the way of halal lamb to grill, but I went on home.
I have been meaning to document this for at least a month. They’ve redone the stucco in a sky blue with embellishments. Quite handsome, I’d say. I’ll go by and take some more photos when the dining/cooking tent is down.
Whoever did this did a nice job. Reminds me of home in South Texas.
This is nicer than in a lot of the toffee nosed places downtown. Seguro que hell yes!
Flower beds
The banner.. which says
outdoor carnitas/they are here/enjoy them!
I got a carnita taco and is was as good as always. There were three fine salsas to go with this..
Mr Impolitic Eye needs to quit eatin’ at the hifalutin places. I nearly took a photo of the tripitas (chitlins), but I left my camera in the truck when I sat down to eat my taco.
Chorizo con cebollas!
We finally finished our 93 oz. jug of Nablus olive oil. It was only $19.98 and lasted well over a year. That’s under 22 cents an ounce.
We got this at Jerusalem Halal Market at Hull & Turner. They have good lamb there, too.
Their MEAT ISSUE mentions the Big Apple Market on Jeff Davis. Who let them off their West End tether? Next they’ll be reviewing the Guate bars in that neck of the woods.
It should be noted that Big Apple’s fish market can be rather aromatic in the summer. And they usually have the widest selection of dried beans in the area. Flor de mayo, Mayacoba, Canario, y mucho mas! And they often have tins of Caldo de Garrobo (iguana soup) which is said to be an aid in combatting hangovers and an aid for impotence.
I’ve had a hankering for menudo for a couple of weeks.
(from wikipedia)
The soup menudo is a traditional Mexican dish, made with hominy and tripe in a clear broth or occasionally with a red chile base (this variation is called menudo colorado). It is traditionally served on special occasions or with family. Usually, lime, chopped onions, and chopped cilantro are added, as well as crushed oregano and crushed red chili peppers. Boiled tripe has a tough chewy texture very similar to calamari, but with a completely unique flavor and smell.
Menudo is usually eaten with tortillas or other breads, such as bolillo. It is often chilled and reheated, which causes a more concentrated flavor. The popularity of menudo in Mexico is such that Mexico is a major export market for stomach tripe from US and Canadian beef producers. Large frozen blocks of imported menudo meat can frequently be seen in Mexican meat markets.
Menudo is essentially a poor people’s food. One of the two prime ingredients is hominy, or nixtamalized corn, an ingredient that has provided nourishment to Mesoamerican peoples for millennia; the other is tripe, an offal meat usually eaten by the poor. Menudo is also a familial food, in the preparation of which the entire family participates, and even serves as an occasion for social interaction with others, since oftentimes throngs of people with pots in hand will wait at the butcher’s shop to buy their menudo, if their families no longer make it themselves.
Given that menudo is time and labor intensive to prepare–the tripe takes hours to cook (or else it is extremely tough), and many ingredients and side dishes (such as salsa) need to be cut and cooked–the dish is often prepared communally and eaten at a feast; documents from the Works Progress Administration indicate that in the 1930s, among (migrant) workers in Arizona, menudo parties were held regularly to celebrate births, Christmas, and other occasions.
It’s also said to be a cure for hangovers.. it’s a bit like Vietnamese phò, in that regard.
“Pa’ un crudo, come menudo” (for a hangover, eat menudo, Breakfast of Champions)
I had a nice bowl of it for breakfast today at El Vaquero after my usual 2-mile walk. I was not hungover, either.
Flat Rock’s traditional Mexican restaurant CERRO AZUL has opened another branch in the Midlothian Station Center. Where Hancock Fabrics & The Thrifty Quaker are.
It’s at Midlothian Turnpike & Coal Field Road.
Tell them they need to bring back Bohemia beer. They used to carry it.
They have the nicest okra in town. Krogers & Food Dog okra always looks beat up and why the hell do the folks at the Farmer’s Markets let ’em get so damn big?
Chickenfoot Soup 