After bowling, we headed over to our new favorite taco joint Tacos Mapaches. ‘Mapache’ is spanish for ‘Raccoon’. Tacos Mapache is in the Marina Vallarta area, across from the “Foam Party” club.
The cool thing about this particular taco stand is that in addition to some (slightly expensive but) hella good tacos, it’s the home to a family of 30+ raccoons that come at all hours of the day for masa treats (masa is the corn dough used to make tortillas). The raccoons actually live in a marsh reserve that is out back, behind the restaurant. They use the taco stand as a home base and free meal. So as you’re eating your tacos, you get to swat off several raccoons begging for food, sometimes they mistake your toe for a scrap. Then out comes the big bowl of masa and in come the entire family. It’s definitely worth the 20 or peso extra it costs us to eat at Tacos Mapaches.
As we came to the end of our stay in Vietnam, both Marcia and I were heavily addicted to Pho (pronounced “fu” like “funk” with the “nk”). Pho is a hot, slurpy, noodles dish usually served with some kind of meat. The broth is intoxicating. and it’s usually eaten for breakfast. We found a great joint called Pho 2000 (once patronized by Bill Clinton and with the framed photos to prove it!). We had pho in restaurants, we had pho on the streets. I had pho for breakfast, lunch and dinner. When we got back to Los Angeles, we even went to the pho joint in Silverlake. Since, we’ve returned to Vallarta, we’ve been trying to make pho unsuccessfully. If there was one thing I could have brought back from my trip, it’s a working pho recipe, all the book/internet recipes we’ve tried haven’t really worked. I ♥ pho.
No not the south american revolutionary folk hero. The vietnamese sweet coconut flavored everything-but-the-kitchen-sink concoction.
Chè is served all over Vietnam and eaten pretty much all day long. Some vendors of Chè have a specific variety they sell, but the hard core Chè joints have like 30 different ingredients to chose from and I’d say I couldn’t tell you what half them are. Banana, semi-raw potatoes, soy beans, mung beans, 10 other different kinds of cooked beans, lychee, etc… The result is a plethora of different textures and colors served over crushed ice and flavored with a semi-sweet coconut liquid jammy. It’s all about the texture and if you’re a food texture junky like I am, it’s utter heaven.
Last night Marcia and I took Casey and Megan out to our favorite little big sunset vista restaurant joint in Vallarta, Las Carmelitas. It was great catching up with these guys again, they were last here in June and we all enjoyed the rather large margaritas and a wicked slightly cloudy sunset. The Arrachera was good as always and Casey and I traded camera shots as the girls snickered, men and their toys…
The most slammin’ Argentian food in Mexico City. El Diez is located on “Alfonso Reyes” and “Cosala” in Condesa. I say, go for the Entraña Argentina. It’s the best cut of meat, Argentinian style. Swear to god, the best steak I’ve had in years. years, folks. If you’re in the Condesa, check out El Diez, named after Diego Maradona, the Argentinian futbol player. These folks take futbol seriously. and steak too. the bomb. Wine goes best with steak, so don’t be lulled into a false calm by the beer. go for the wine, the Trapiche Malbec is off the hook, ask for the large wine glasses, if nothing else, just for effect. Stick your nose in, get it in there and breathe in…..
disclaimer: When I wrote this, the wine was in full effect.
If you’re a tourist in Mexico city and your a vegetarian, you are in luck, go to Yug Vegetarian Food and Buffet. It’s just off the Paseo de la Reforma on Calle Varsovia, just north of La Zona Rosa. Skip the upstairs buffet. Stay downstairs and eat off the regular menu. Yug has the most slammin Tacos al Pastor I have ever had. In fact, probably some of the best tacos I’ve ever had, period. and they’re veggie! An order of tacos al pastor and a green salad are perfect for two people. Don’t miss yug. It’s the bomb and you know this, maaaaaaan.
Cafe del Mar is a study in how to maximize atmosphere with minimal materials. The place glows with ambiance, yet it’s nothing more then concrete, ironwork and simple wood framing, albeit with an amazing array of creative inspiration thrown in. Not to say that this restaurant is simplistic, it is most surely not. Rather, that it’s an almost perfect example of warm, organic minimalism. As only latin countries can do. You would never see this place in any other country or climate.
A homie of ours, Adrian, opened up Puerto Vallarta’s first authentic thai restaurant. and true to his intentions, the food was most certainly authentic. To have a thai restaurant in Vallarta is great, to have one that passes for authentic is heaven. can i say the word “authentic” again, just one more time, authentic. thank you.
So the posse headed down, on thursday night - Andrew’s night off, to Vallarta to check out “Bai Sri”, in it’s first week of operation. The food was definitely a little slow to come out, Marcia’s chardonnay was red and my Tom Yum Gong came with chicken, they are definitely ironing out the “first week” kinks. But man, when that pad thai hit my lips, i knew I was home. Marcia got the red curry and believe me when I say it felt like I was sitting in my favorite little thai restaurant on Hollywood Bully, in Thai Town LA. Melvung would be proud.
Thank you, Adrian, for a wonderful dinner. we look forward to come back, week after week, as you ply us with the best thai food to be had within a 2 hour plane ride. you rock!
The photos above mark the return of my little canon sd 110 and are of us messing around as we got plastered waiting for the food to arrive. Adrian is the boss in the middle.
Los Angeles was great. not so much a vacation, more a reality check for my “state of affairs”. getting things in line was the order of the day. Marcia and I got to eat all the good food we’ve been missing. in fact, it occurred to me, while uploading all the images to Flickr, that most of them are of us eating at various restaurants. So here’s to the places we chowed down:
Palms Thai Restaurant, Hollywood Ca. the pad-thai is always a safe bet and the palms doesn’t let you down. The Tom Yum Gong soup was especially good. I always save the delicious thai iced-tea for dessert, since well, it’s sweet enough to be one.
Starbucks, corner of Highland and Franklin, Hollywood Ca. yeah, i know Ima sell out, i’m writing about Starbucks on the internet. how un-couth. of me. it’s a convenience thing, my man. and a good place to people watch. and the double tall cappuccino is the bomb.
Electric Karma, 3rd street, Los Angeles Ca. the vegetable korma is insane. one of the 3 best indian joints in LA (i know i’m gonna catch hell for that one). The slick looking younger guy in the leather jacket wasn’t the best waiter, but the food is on point.
Ita-Cho, Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles Ca. Best non-sushi japanese in the world. yeah, the world. the grilled peppers. gomaei. lotus root. yellowtail sashimi and last but not least the karaage flounder, holy balls. get the cold sake, the one in the light blue bottle, and have it served in the wooden box. classic.
The Griddle, Sunset Blvd. Hollywood Ca. best to go before 9:00am, before the In Touch / US Weekly crowd get there. The service is awful but the food is the jammy. Best bacon on the planet and the “poached y papas”, an eggs benedict style dish is too. oh and don’t forget to share one lemon raspberry pancake for your table, you won’t regret it.
Urth Cafe, Melrose west of La Cienega, West Hollywood Ca. the best place in LA for a sandwich, salad, soup and tea. the butternut squash soup was perfect. the place can get glitzy, go at night, wear a hooded sweatshirt with the hood up, see, now your famous!
The “I don’t know the name of the japanese BBQ restaurant” restaurant, La Cienega Blvd. West Hollywood Ca. best smores in a restaurant i’ve ever had. wait. the only smores in a restaurant i’ve ever had. oh and the sapporo drafts for a buck, make this place a perfect happy hour retreat.
The 101 Cafe. Franklin Blvd. Hollywood Ca. just down the street from my house, the perfect place to roll out of bed and go for breakfast. keep it to the week days though, this place can get crowded with all types of hipster trash. i stick to the eggs and toast. the waffle wasn’t so nice. don’t let that stop you, the 101 is stone cold classic
and last but not least:
Dough Boys, on 3rd, Los Angeles Ca. always one of my first stops in LA. the bread is amazing. the french onion soup isn’t a meal, it’s 2 meals. the salads are big, chunky and funky. the hot chocolate is perfect for LA’s blend of winter. did I mention the bread?
For the past two friday nights Andrew has been having live music at Roots. The band is called “Frijoleros” and they are a boyfriend/girlfriend (husband/wife?) duo. They are like one part traditional mexican duo, one part manu chao inspired world travelers. Very modern mexican folk music. 2 voices, a guitar and a stand-up bass. All soul. I recorded a little audio:
Saturday, Oct 29th, 2005 Categories: food, my photos
Wednesday night, we met up with Lisa and Megan and we all headed down to see Mark Callanan, who had invited us out to a gallery in Vallarta that he was showing at. It turned out to be an art walk, unfortunately we showed up fashionably late at around 9 or so, just as the galleries were closing up. His piece in the show was awesome as always, a photograph of a fern that was abstracted almost to the point of looking like an explosion of fireworks. beautiful.
Miguel showed up also, in rare public display, we were most certainly blessed with his presence, always good to see the man. After a while of checking out the gallery we talked a bit and sauntered over to “Si, Señor” a relatively new restaurant (I think), a few blocks down from “Cafe Des Artistes”. Whoever did the interior/exterior design did a hell of a job, it’s a beautiful restaurant, very well designed and crafted. But the food wasn’t so hot. Mark and I both had the Azteca soup and the Chiles en Nogada. The Azteca soup was actually quite good and it was on that high note that I was so disappointed with the chiles. The Axteca soup had an amazing broth with hints of guajillo chile or some other kind of chile, it was like crack as I slurped it up, um waiter can I have more broth? The Chiles en Nogada is a traditional dish serves all around mexico around this time of year, and it’s usually like pizza, even when it’s not so good, it’s still pretty good. It’s got a ground meat base, stuffed in a roasted poblano chile with a slightly sweet walnut cream sauce and pomegranate seeds on top. This version of it, though, had a sauce that tasted like melted strawberry ice-cream and the meat filling had fruit chunks in it. I had two or three bites out of hunger and had to put it down. Mark didn’t even get that far, he was the smart one and had it sent back (and hence not charged). I was the dumb one with the $18 charge for un-eaten Chiles en Nogada (yes, 18 bucks, did the chile have gold leaf? no). Oh well.
Past the food it was a nice night. It was great to finally connect Lisa with my homies Mark and Miguel. All Quality Peoples for sure, and a slight shame that it took me this long to connect them. When talented people come together, good things always happen. Us artists gotta stick together. I hope we start doing this on a more regular basis.
Saturday, Marcia and I absconded to Puerto Vallarta for the night to have dinner with her friend, Alejandra, who was in town for the weekend from Guadalajara. We went to ‘Barcelona Tapas’ a pretty well known, highly regarded restaurant, just a few blocks off the melecon in downtown Vallarta. The food was hit and miss, for the most part it was a hit. The Spanish Tortilla was insane. Next time I go back, I’ll take three orders. The roquefort salad was also the bomb. The sangria? eh, it got me good and schnockered, but for some odd reason they put vodka in it (oh let me see, to get the tourists drunk quickly?) well, it did it’s job, but I’m a sangria purist, no vodka, thank you.
All in all, it was a great meal and not very expensive. I give Btapas a big thumbs up and it’s a nice romantic place with a great view, so bring your girlfriend and tell the waiters that the guy who ‘got the cork out of the wine bottle by only using a napkin” sent you.
I got a great call the other day from none other then Andrew, my good friend who owns Roots, the wicked vegetarian restaurant here in Bucerias. Andrew was calling to tell me that after having been closed for the summer, Roots is now back in business. Marcia and I are ecstatic. Last night we had dinner at Roots and talked awhile with Andrew, he has been galavanting around Europe for the summer, needless to say we were both jealous. It was great. We shared a taboulli salad, Marcia had the eggplant and sunflower seed Ravioli and I had the Mixed Vegetable Stir-fry with an amazing slightly sweet soy-ginger sauce. The food was excellent.
I told Andrew that it was good to be home. we have missed Roots something fierce.
Here’s the thing: Bucerias isn’t the best place to open a vegetarian gourmet restaurant. There is an influx of tourists during the high season for sure, but in order to really get a restaurant to thrive you have to advertise heavily and that means buying continuous ads in the local glossy magazine called “Lifestyles”. This costs money, a lot of money and I don’t think Andrew has that kinda dough. For him to stay in business, he really needs to get the word out to the other communities like Puerto Vallarta, La Cruz, Sayulita, San Pancho, Punta Mita and the scores of tourists who search the internet for good restaurants and places to visit, before they come down.
So here’s my little “I’d like to help out a friend” post: If you are staying in Vallarta, La Cruz, The Four Seasons in Punta Mita, Sayulita or San Pancho and you are looking for a killer restaurant that has gourmet quality food please stop in to Roots. Ask your concierge about the location. It really is the best food on the north side of the bay, I’d even say it’s the best food in the entire Vallarta area. And at the most, it costs $15/person that’s cheap, considering that for comparable food you’ll have to look to the 4 Seasons, where a salad will cost you $30. Andrew bills the restaurant as gourmet vegetarian, but in all honesty you’d never know it’s a vegetarian joint. There’s no vegetarian stuffiness here. I’d simply bill the restaurant as inexpensive gourmet. The food is exquisite, fresh, creative and always top notch. Andrew is constantly re-inventing his menu, he’s like a painter, mixing food ingredients like paint colors. always the best. Oh and Andrew just got his license to sell beer and wine! If you’re a totally foodie like we are, and enjoy really good food, you can’t miss Roots. So when you’re in town for vacation, don’t pass go, go directly to Roots in Bucerias. and tell Andrew I said ‘Hi!’.
the best pizza ever. well, maybe not ever, but surely this side of New York. Next time you’re in Guadalajara, go to Funicula. I don’t exactly know how to get there myself. But be creative, look in the Yellow Pages or something. But do not miss it. Oh and get the sangria too, it’s not the strong wine stuff, it’s more of the soft drink variety.
Nothing quite like a double tall cappuccino from the GAP of coffee shops. I’d choose Peet’s over Starbucks any day of the week, but when we come to Guadalajara and I see that Starbucks logo, it may just be me and the 5 other gringos in town but it gives me a perverse twinkle in my eye. They sho’ do make a good cap a caffee. and after being in the desert for months at a time, it’s nice to come and drink from the well…
The day after the wedding, Marcia and I ditched a late brunch breakfast to make it to Tlaquepaque in time to shop for some traditional mexican iron lighting fixtures for the house in Punta Mita. One specific store we had to go to was closing at 3:00pm, hence the need to ditch brunch.
Shopping got done and needless to say, we were both famished. We walked over to Adobe, which is a neat little artisan store with a restaurant inside. The menu looked alright and they had what looked like pretty creative salads, a trusty choice for a veggie like Marcia. Adobe was filled with upper scale mexicans and elderly gringos all enjoying themselves. Marcia had eaten at a restaurant down the street and wanted to check out the menu to se if I’d like it. And so we walked a few blocks down and stepped into the entrance. As I walked into the small hallway, I immediately caught the smell of the pine branch droppings they had casually laid out on the floor. As you walk on the pine branches, your weight spreads the pine oil onto the floor, and the scent fills the air. Pure genius. The pine scent filled my nose and I took a deep breadth. What a way to say hello! Welcome to Casa Fuerte.
Casa Fuerte is located on Independencia, the main walking boulevard in Tlaquepaque (very hard to miss) and is situated in a covered courtyard, surrounding a traditional mexican fountain. the atmosphere is pure folkloric Mexico, right out of a painting. and dishes are so good, I had trouble choosing. Let’s see, the Oaxacan Mole or the Huitlecoche Stuffed Chicken? hard choices. As the waiter stood over us, and Marcia became impatient with my inability to make up my mind, I just said ‘what the hey’ and asked the waiter if I could half of each dish. Well, it never hurts to ask. The waiter smiled and Marcia frowned, so I picked the Mole.
I ordered a margarita and Marcia ordered a tamarind margarita (with vodka substituted). My margarita was great and went down a little too fast, but Marcia’s drink was amazing. I am not using the word lightly (in this instance). I was half thinking of ditching my drink and ordering one right away but I was a good boy and finished mine. Now let’s get something straight, I don’t condone fussing with margaritas by putting things in them that shouldn’t be there. I am a margarita purest. Ice, lime, jarabe, tequila, controy and dash of water and some salt for the glass. That’s it. and no crushed ice, no flavors. nothing funky. But this Tamarindo Margarita was off the heezy, fersheezy. The margarita came on crushed ice with a slight hint of tamarind, but the best part was that instead of salt, they coated the rim of the glass with the tamarind powder usually found in mexican candy. You know, the one where the kids dip the lollipop into the salty, sweet, picante tamarind powder. The powder mixed with the margarita, sent me over the top. I will never criticize an unorthodox margarita again. I love blowing my own mind wide open and this drink surely did just that.
The wonderful drinks and an utterly empty stomach set us up for a great eating experience and Casa Fuerte does not disappoint. For appetizers we ordered Ancho Chiles stuffed with panela cheese and zuchini flower and coated with a slightly sweet walnut sauce usually served with my other favorite dish “Chiles en Nogada” (the famous Frida Kahlo / Diego Rivera dish). I’m not gonna describe this dish, because frankly, I don’t have the vocabulary to do it justice. This dish was simply the bomb, and made me feel like I was in Mexico, a hundred years ago. This is truly one of mexico’s finest. I’d go back to Tlaquepaque just to get this dish.
The Oaxacan Mole was excellent and traditional to the ‘T’. If anything, I’d wished for a slightly new twist. I love Mole, but I think a trip to Oaxaca is much needed. Marcia got a mocajete of Oaxacan cheese in salsa verde, usually an appetizer, Casa Fuerte wasn’t big on vegetarian food. The mocajete was so good, I couldn’t stop eating her meal in between bites of my own. The salsa verde was the best I’ve ever had. It had depth and flavors I hadn’t experienced.
It’s amazing what a great meal can do for the spirit. I was amazed by everything that went passed my lips and before my eyes. I couldn’t stop talking about the food and the atmosphere and Marcia was very happy that she had introduced me to something new and that I was loving it so much.
I just made the bomb Tortilla de papas. no not tortillas as in flour or corn, but a spanish omelette with potatoes and onions. It’s still cookin’ so I better get back to it, but I just wanted to say something to my baby:
‘Happy 8th month anniversary, Baby! I love you. and I’ve never been happier. I hope you like my Tortilla de papas!’
On July 2nd, Pinky invited Marcia and I to go to her uncle’s pig farm, for a cook out. It was an interesting experience. We had a ton of fun and got to see all the aminals at the farm. Here is a photo slideshow of our day out at the pig farm.
Last night on the way home from the movies, Marcia and I had a poignant and pointed conversation. She started off by asking me what my favorite meat based dish is. Marcia is a vegetarian and has been for her entire life. She wanted to know what dish I like the best and of course I replied “sushi” because sushi is an almost transcendent experience when prepared right. I then said that it was almost impossible to describe the more subtle aspects of sushi or the act of eating it (I mean how does one describe eating “Uni”, Sea Urchin, it’s just not possible - but, my mother pegged it best when she said it’s like eating the underside of a dock). We then went on to talk about the sushi-nazi in L.A. and she laughed and said that would never fly in Mexico, going to a restaurant, paying a ton of money and not being able to decide what you do or don’t eat and if you make any fuss at all, the chef throws you out of the restaurant. I feebley tried to explain the significance and aesthetic value of this kind of experience, I then brought up “Shabu-Shabu”, another japanese restaurant experience, where you order your food and then proceed to cook it yourself in a pot of boiling water. She laughed some more and said that would definitely never happen in Mexico and why would anyone pay to cook their own food at a restaurant when you can do the same, at home, for far less money.
And this is the cruxt of our conversation: Japanese and Mexican cultures are diametrically oppposed. Aesthetic value is one of the most important aspects of japanese life. A life where raw fish on rice with some seaweed and soy sauce can be elevated to a mythic art form, one people are willing to pay large amounts of money to consume. A culture where cooking your own food at a restaurant is not only a regular phenomenon but it’s superflous. And it’s supposed rediculousness doesn’t even enter the minds of it’s people. How cool is that?
But then it occured to me that although the two cultures have vastly different principals and values, sushi is a big thing in Mexico, at least in the larger cities. This is a relatively recent phenomenon, but it’s increasingly becoming a standard friday night activity for young urban professionals. It may be another 20 to 30 years before your average campesino even thinks of trying raw fish, but that day will eventually come. My point is that, in Mexico City, sometime soon you will be able to got out for Shabu-Shabu, I can be certain of that. And the richest (or at least upper-middle class) people will go out for a dinner where you cook your own food. The idea that these kind of aesthetic delights could orginate in Mexico is almost certainly impossible. But what mexican culture lacks in aesthetic subtleties, it makes up for in passion and vibrance. Mexico is most definitely a living and breathing culture. The street taco is a national artform here. To me, the taco doesn’t quite make it on a purely aethetic level, but I’d surely eat them every day of my natural born life, if my waist line would allow it.
So to bring the conversation full circle, in reponse to Marcia’s question, Sushi and street tacos are a tie for my favorite foods. Both operating at opposite ends of just about any criteria you can think of.
Welcome to Roby’s. the freshest joint in Guadalajara for a perfect morning breakfast of chiliquiles and molletes. Roby’s is known for their café con leche, a startlingly strong coffee that makes espresso look like gatorade. and a hot milk concoction that in no way can be good for you. With a slightly burnt taste, adding some sugar, it’s a taste made in heaven. The punch doesn’t come til later though, when you realize an hour later, that you are more wired then you’ve been in months, if only they had this drink where i went to college. It’s been two hours now and I’m still wired.
This is a piece of fruit called the “marañon.” it’s a cute little fruit with the most insane seed growing out of the bottom. very beautiful. Marañons taste sweet but have a cheese quality to them, very similar in taste to the durrien. Update: My good friend Rulex tells me that a Marañon is, believe it or not - a cashew. not the fruit, but the beautiful seed on top. A cashew! as in: I have a cashew tree down the street from me. Cashews are bar none my favorite nut. heaven.
For all you veggie foodies, this is a collection of “The Holy Triumvirate” of vegetarian food in and around Puerto Vallarta. I’m sure there are one or two more, but with three top notch places to choose from, the veggie visitors of you, will never go hungry.
Roots vegetarian cuisine: Better then the best veggie restaurant in your city. Yeah, even you New York (well, maybe not NY, or SF for that matter, but close). Andrew rocks the house with his Black Bean Cakes, Sweet Ginger lentils and Veggie Dahl. all dishes come with roasted veggies and a really amazing asian pod bean thingy that is off the hook. read more about Roots here. directions: Calle Lazaro Cardenas, Bucerias.
Mary’s Vegetarian Buffet: traditional mexican cooking without the meat. What did we have today? whoa. Albondigas de Pepitas de Calabaza (meatballs with a special kind of Zuchini). two words: insane. yeah, i know that was one word. Mary’s food doesn’t need another word. In addition to the dish of the day, there is a second dish and a full salad bar with a veggie ceviche which is scrumdittleyumshus. and a sauteed soy tofu salad thing that keeps Marcia going back for 2nds. and 3rds. and 4ths. directions: just off the main highway that goes through Vallarta, north of the libramiento near the HSBC. on the corner of Calles Francia and Lucerna.
Planeta Vegetariano Vegetarian Buffet: killer buffet with 4 or 5 typical mexican dishes a day with huge salad bar. The tomato/basil salad is one of my favorites and fresh fruit aguas (waters) are wonderful. desserts are always great too. directions: downtown Vallarta, just up the hill from the malecon, about two blocks north of the big church in town.
Huitlacoche: corn fungus delicacy(via boing boing) Sometime ago, around a year or so, we traveled up to San Sebastian del Oeste, a small mining town a treacherous 2 hour drive up and over the most insane sierra mountain passes. In this charming hacienda style town carved out of the hillsides there was a little almost gourmet restaurant. Since it was really the only restaurant in town, we had lunch/dinner there 3 times over our two day stay. The owner of the restaurant, a sweet jewish mexican lady, served us the most amazing Huitlacoche soup. The taste and texture (i’m big on texture) were so subtle and tasty, I ended up eating Huitlacoche 3 times in 2 days. Huitlacoche is better known as the fungus that grows on corn. In the states it’s considered a plague and here in Mexico it’s a delicacy. It’s good stuff. Today I was reading Boing Boing and they had an article on the wonderful stuff. Here’s a link to it’s page on Wikipedia.
Tucked away on Lazaro Cardenas, near the foot bridge in Bucerias, is our favorite little vegetarian restaurant, Roots. Roots has insanely good food and is almost too good for our town of street tacos and low-end gringo food. Andrew, the chef and co-owner, worked for a 5 star vegan chef in Toronto before making his way down to Bucerias to enrich our lives with the best fresh vegetables and quasi-gourmet health food. Roots opened a few weeks after I moved here and can be compared to finding oil in the desert, since things like fresh vegetables other then tomatoes, onions and chiles are next to impossible to find. Since it’s opening, Marcia (who is a strict veggie) and I have been frequent attendants.
Today, Marcia and I went for breakfast. a first. we had heard about Roots’ legendary breakfasts but up until today we had only gone for dinner and occasionally lunch. Needless to say, the breakfast was off. the. hook. i’d capitalize it but you get the point. We shared 2 plates: an omelette with mushrooms, basil, spinach and oaxaca cheese and French Toast. Both dishes were insanely good and so big that I wasn’t quite sure how i’d fit it all in. The French Toast came with cantaloupe, an insane pineapple compote and homemade vanilla-cinnamon syrup. and the omelette came with peasant potatoes, salad, star fruit, cantaloupe, bread and homemade apricot jam. whoa!
I remarked to Marcia, that usually we go out to breakfast and it always seems a waste because we could be cooking the food ourselves for a fraction of the price, but with Roots, there is no way we could cook something that good. Each dish had so many little goodies that the whole dish added up to one amazing breakfast experience. I can’t remember the last time I had a breakfast that good.
It was insane! and at easily half the price of a sunday breakfast in LA. Go to Roots. that is an order. thank you, Andrew.
Interesting LA moment #4567: Marcia tries thai food for the very first time.
The consensus: Pad Thai is good. Lemon grass soup - she doesn’t like. She liked this other vegetable soup that Tony and Jocelyn were eating when we crashed their lunch and ate all their spring rolls (Marcia likes spring rolls). She doesn’t like thai iced teas or anything with coconut (including curries) but she absolutely loved the famed cashew vegetable stir-fry at California Vegan.
All in all, Thai food was a hit. too bad they don’t have a large thai population here in Vallarta. They do have a thai-ish restaurant called Archie’s Wok, but for authentic thai (or at least authentic LA thai) it does not hold water, although it does have an insanely good banana leaf wrapped fish dish.
Today we cooked one of Mexico’s finest breakfast dishes. They are called Molletes and are basically a roll (or bolillo en español) with frijoles and shaved cheese on top, preferably manchego, heated up in the oven. served with fresh salsa mexicana and Jalapeño rajas (sliced).
My baby just made me “Rajas con Queso”: chile poblanos sliced length wise and oaxacan cheese with tons of hot sauce, done up quesadilla style. I’m literally licking my chops. the perfect food.
Wednesday, Jan 19th, 2005 Categories: food, my photos
Hands down, the best beer on the planet. and so totally not available in Vallarta. Luckily I spent the entire time in Guadalajara downing massive amounts of Victoria (well, maybe like one or two). I was like the dog in those bugs bunny cartoons that fills up on all the meat and then asks bugs where the gravy is, and then bugs bunny finds a way to tie the dog up and feed him gravy until he explodes.
Hi, my name is Ed Fladung, I'm a recovering web-designer who moved to Mexico about 4 years ago. Learned to surf, got married and bought a nice camera. This is my weblog/photoblog. It covers broad subjects like becoming an ex-pat, surfing, photography, graphic design, music, art, architecture, living in mexico, all things Apple and WordPress related, etc... You can find more about me here. I hope you enjoy.
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