Week 3 (2023) - Oaxacan

We had our first real taste of Oaxacan cuisine in LA over a decade ago (brief look here), and have tried to explore more of the cuisine on each subsequent visit to LA (like our dinner at EK Valley). NYC doesn't really have the depth of Oaxacan offerings that LA does (at least it didn't the last time we checked, back when we did more WorldEats eating), so we tried to take advantage of it every time we flew out there. When this challenge came up, the two things that came to mind based on our previous meals were mole, which we love but I was definitely not going to make right now because of its time-consuming nature, and tlayuda, which I very much wanted to try to cook. Easy choice here.

Tlayuda is like a Mexican pizza (so it counts as our pizza for Mexico for the AtWCC) with a masa base and toppings, usually beans, meat, and cheese with some fresh vegetables on top. The only restaurant one we tried (at EK Valley) was topped with black bean paste, chorizo, quesillo, tomato, cabbage, and avocado, and I aspired to do something similar. I found a Food Network recipe for a chorizo tlayuda that sounded perfect and easy to make, so I used that.

The ingredients were masa harina, salt, and vegetable oil for the tortilla base, refried beans (I forgot they were supposed to be black and just bought refried pinto beans), chorizo (used seitan chorizo because we already had it and it was expiring soon), and Oaxaca cheese for the toppings, and tomato, queso fresco, and cilantro for the garnishes. The recipe also had iceberg lettuce but we didn't remember having that on the ones we'd eaten in the past, and Mexican crema, which I kind of overlooked but also didn't really want to buy heavy cream.

Making the tortilla base was not as easy as it sounded from the recipe, and I found myself wishing we had a tortilla press, because rolling out the dough did not go well. I used the amount of masa specified, but could not make two tortillas that were 10 inches in diameter. Not remotely close. Also the rolling pin was a bit of a disaster, because the masa kept falling apart and coming off on the rolling pin. When I tried it with the layers of parchment paper like in the recipe, it broke apart even worse. What did I do wrong?! I ended up using my hands and making it as thin as I could, but they were definitely not as large or smooth as they were supposed to be.

After cooking the tortilla in the skillet, I spread on the bean paste (took far longer than it should have; it kept clumping), and sprinkled on the chorizo and Oaxaca cheese (which took longer to melt than I expected). It's possible the tortilla cooked too long as the finished product was a little solid and dense. But I guess it has to be solid to hold up all the toppings? (I had made Algerian bread the day before that came out like a brick, and this was at least better than that...) The garnishes were queso fresco, tomato, and cilantro, but I skipped cilantro on one of them for B (but he ended up not eating any anyway because he was sick).

Overall, it was tasty but definitely not as good in flavor or construction as the ones you would get at a Oaxacan restaurant. Both our beans and chorizo were vegan though, so not that surprising that it would taste a little different. I don't know if it would be possible for me to get the base as thin and crispy but also sturdy as the professional ones, and there's just something different about it when it comes off the griddle compared to our non-stick pan. I'm glad we tried it, but it just makes me wish I could get a restaurant tlayuda nearby.

Week 1 - Last Meal

I felt all sorts of emotions when the first challenge of 2021 came up as last meal. I was sad, angry, and upset, because what kind of challenge theme was that?! Coming off of a 2020 that saw such tragedy, why would you start off the year with something so depressing, dark, and dreary? Why wouldn't you want to look ahead to 2021 and try to start it on a bright, optimistic note? [I wrote most of this post before the insurrection... What a start to the year.] Who wants to think about having their last meal at a time when COVID is surging? What an incredibly morbid theme. I was kind of surprised that they went there at all during a pandemic, but especially for the opening theme of the year. I also felt disappointed. I don't like skipping weeks, especially not the first one, but there was also no way I was going to participate in this thought exercise.

I apparently wasn't the only one that felt that way, and there were lots of comments on Reddit from people who found the theme similarly bleak. Some took it to even darker, sadder places, like what it would mean to have the same last meal as someone executed on death row. Not things I want to think about to set the tone for the year. Thankfully, other people came up with less negative lenses through which to view the challenge, one of which was the last meal of the Before Times, the last meal out before lockdown, the last meal at a restaurant before the entire world closed down. For us, the last time we ate out before everything started to get shut down was a family meal at Qdoba. It's a really happy memory for me, just being able to see and eat with family in the middle of so much uncertainty (as we could definitely feel the coronavirus dangers lurking at the time), and B was having a great time at that dinner, dancing to the music and enjoying his Mexican food. So, our challenge meal was set - copycat burrito bowls.

There were a lot of moving pieces for this dinner if we were going to make our own burrito bar, and I don't think I really anticipated just how involved it was, so I started making dinner way too late. The whole process took about 2.5 hours, which meant another late challenge dinner. Outside of the guacamole, for which we just used Kirkland guacamole singles, there were six different dishes made from scratch: copycat Qdoba grilled chicken, cilantro lime rice, fajita vegetables, black beans, corn, and pico de gallo. The black beans and corn weren't going to be replicas of Qdoba, just quick microwavable dishes since I did not have the time for that, but I wanted to make our burrito bowls as similar as possible otherwise.

The ingredients were:

for the chicken (adapted from recipe on Gimme Delicious, did not measure dry spices):

- 1.5 lbs chicken tenders ($8.99)

- big spoonful of minced garlic ($0.05)

- 2 tbsp olive oil ($0.20)

- about 1 tbsp chili powder ($0.10)

- about 1 tsp cumin ($0.05)

- about 1 tsp oregano ($0.05)

- salt and freshly ground black pepper ($0.03)

- adobo sauce ($0.58)

(Note that the recipe called for 2 tbsp of adobo sauce, but I didn't have any and wasn't sure if it would be too spicy for B, so I went with a substitute I found on Pepper Scale, omitting the cayenne. I ended up using about 1 tbsp tomato paste, 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar, about 1 tsp smoked paprika, about 1/2 tsp cumin, a pinch of oregano, and a pinch of garlic powder, again not measuring the dry spices, with the total approximate cost reflected in the list above. I mixed that together first, and it tasted far closer to adobo than I thought it would, lacking some of the depth and not very spicy, but that was just what I needed here!)

for the rice (adapted from Skinnytaste):

- 1 cup basmati rice ($1)

- juice of 1/2 lime ($0.25)

- 2 cups water ($0)

- about 1 tsp salt ($0.02)

- 1/2 big bunch of cilantro, finely chopped ($0.44)

- about 3 tsp olive oil, divided ($0.10)

for the fajita vegetables:

- olive oil spray ($0.30)

- 1 orange bell pepper, sliced into strips ($1)

- 1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips ($0.91)

- 1 large yellow onion, sliced into strips ($0.79)

- salt ($0.02)

- oregano ($0.05)

for the black beans:

- 1 can black beans ($0.94)

- a little olive oil ($0.05)

- salt, black pepper, garlic powder, oregano ($0.08)

for the corn:

- 1 can corn ($0.96)

- scallions (see note with pico de gallo) ($0.20)

- a little olive oil ($0.05)

- salt, black pepper, garlic powder ($0.06)

for the pico de gallo:

- 2 roma tomatoes, diced ($0.81)

- 1/2 red onion, finely chopped ($0.39)

- 1/2 big bunch of cilantro, finely chopped ($0.45)

- 4 scallions, greens finely chopped, whites thinly sliced on the diagonal - split with the corn (all the whites used in the pico, 1/3 of the greens used in the pico and the rest in the scallions) ($0.23)

- juice of 1/2 lime ($0.25)

The cost for our burrito bar was approximately $22.90 ($10.05 for the chicken, $1.81 for the rice, $3.07 for the fajita vegetables, $1.07 for the black beans, $1.27 for the corn, $2.13 for the pico de gallo, and $3.50 for 3 packages of guacamole). Two burrito bowls plus a kid's meal at Qdoba runs us about $20-25, but while their portions are large, this was still more food than we would have gotten there. Well, maybe not more rice, but definitely more chicken.

The first thing I made was the chicken because it needed to marinate. I was too tired to do it the night before, so it ended up only marinating for about 4 hours or so. It was still delicious, but next time I think I would try to marinate it longer. I mixed the substitute adobo sauce first, then added the rest of the marinade ingredients, and then added the chicken tenders, stirring them around until they were all covered with sauce. The covered bowl sat in the fridge until it was time to grill.

Prep was the thing that took the longest. (Wish I had taken a photo of that mountain of cilantro!) I worked on the tomatoes, onions, peppers, scallions, and cilantro the bulk of the time, but after that the pico de gallo was done and mixed, ready to sit out and meld until everything else was done. A started on the rice while I finished the prep, which definitely helped get everything done.

For the rice, we basically followed the Skinnytaste instructions, which were to add the rice, a tsp of oil, water, and salt to the pot, boil it until the water just skims the top of the rice, cook covered on low for 20 minutes, and then keep it covered with no heat for at least 5 minutes. (We left it covered and steaming until everything else was done.) The last step was to mix the rest of the olive oil with the cilantro and lime juice into the rice.

After prepping, I moved on to the fajita vegetables, cooking them in a grill pan that was sprayed with olive oil. This was my first time using the grill pan for active cooking after seeing someone doing that on YouTube. Previously, I only ever put things on the pan to grill like you would on an outdoor grill, but the vegetables cooked exactly the way I wanted them to this way. They were still a little harder and crunchier than I would have preferred when they came off the pan, but I put them in a bowl covered with foil to steam until everything else was done, and the texture was perfect.

Once the vegetables were done, it was time to grill the chicken. A took over at the grill pan, so I could put together the bowls of black bean and corn in the microwave, and the timing worked out well. Even though our meat thermometer said they were done, a few of the pieces of chicken weren't fully cooked when I went to chop them after resting, so we threw them back in the pan. Even after that, the chicken was still juicier than what you normally get from Qdoba and Chipotle.

I wish I had gotten a photo of A's first bowl, because he made it look exactly like the ones we would get at Qdoba, piled high with a dollop of guacamole on the top. We were all really happy with this meal. I love burrito bowls, and it felt so good to have a from-scratch burrito bowl that we made in our own kitchen (other than the guacamole). The chicken flavoring was delicious, the rice was fluffy, the fajita vegetables were texturally great but just needed a little more seasoning, the black beans and corn were easy and tasty, and the pico de gallo added a bit of freshness. Although I love pico de gallo, it was actually my least favorite part, although A might be right that my opinion here is biased by the fact that it was also the thing that took the longest to prepare.

What would I do differently, since I would love to make burrito bowls part of our regular rotation? I would marinate the chicken longer. Otherwise, the marinade was great, and I'm glad we got pre-sliced tenders from the grocery store, which were perfect for this. I would add a little more seasoning to the fajita vegetables, but otherwise change nothing. I would omit the cilantro and maybe the lime from the rice, because the cilantro takes so long to prep and regular rice would be fine. I would buy pico de gallo from the store or just use salsa instead. (They didn't have any this time, which is why I made my own.) I would do the same thing with the corn and the black beans, since they were simple and quick. Basically, I would use some shortcuts to make it so that burrito bowls wouldn't take me 2.5 hours. If I didn't make my own pico de gallo and didn't prep any cilantro, then I could just make the rice while cooking the vegetables, and make the black beans and corn while grilling the chicken, and the whole thing would be so much faster. Can't wait to try that out in the future!

Week 39 - Dipping

Back in September, I started doing a lot of Yelp virtual events, many of which were cooking classes. Around the time of the Week 39 challenge on dipping, I made a bunch of things that could have qualified for this challenge, which people seemed to interpret as being about both dips and things that could be dipped. I made some pretzels for the first time, but I wanted to do something with more of an actual dip than a jazzed-up mustard, so I didn't pick that one.

Instead, for the challenge, I'm counting this pico de gallo that I made for an event where we learned how to make Mexican-style tortas (which were amazing). Despite pico being pretty easy to make, I'm not sure I've actually ever done it before (other than a Rotel version). Chopped tomatoes, red onions, and a lot of cilantro, plus some fresh squeezed lime juice, which then sits for about 15 minutes to come together, and that's it. So much fresher than buying a store-prepared container, although that does save time.

This is the type of snack I often crave, so I wish this would keep longer so I could always have some in the fridge for a light bite. Would definitely make again!

Fajitas de Pollo

So many days, it is so tempting to just pull up a delivery app, place an order, and breathe while we wait for dinner to arrive. After putting baby B to bed, sometimes we're just spent, and the idea of going into the kitchen to make something, even something easy, feels daunting. It's also usually late, like 9:30 or 10 pm, which isn't great for ordering delivery either, but sometimes exhaustion and convenience just win. We're trying to be better about it though by planning ahead more, trying to stay disciplined, finding easier and quicker things to make, and also picking up some ready-to-make/eat products at Costco and Trader Joe's to keep things simple.

One thing we picked up on a recent Costco visit was a package of fajitas de pollo by Del Real. They were $12.99*, which felt like a lot for a single packaged meal when shopping at Costco, but compared to the price of ordering something similar for delivery or the time cost of making it yourself, it really isn't so bad. Note though that it doesn't come with any of the usual restaurant fajita accompaniments, like tortillas or rice or beans or toppings, so tack on another dollar or so for those if you're pricing it out. Inside the box, there's a packet of chicken, one with vegetables, and a third with sauce (which they mark optional in the instructions, probably because it has a fair bit of spice thanks to serrano peppers and chipotle peppers in adobo). You can cook it on the stovetop (the recommended option) or in the microwave, and both take about the same amount of time, around 10 minutes.

* I wrote the majority of this post after we tried the fajitas the first time, and since then, we've made two other visits to Costco, buying three more boxes of fajitas. Part of the reason we picked up two on our last visit though was because they were only $7.97, which is good because less expensive, but bad because the 97 cents plus the star on the price tag meant they were being discontinued. The last visit wasn't at our usual Costco, so we are hoping, hoping, hoping that they are not being discontinued everywhere and only at that Costco.

We weren't sure how we would feel about this ready-to-cook fajita kit, but we were really happy with the results. Sometimes when you get pre-made food like this, it tastes highly processed, but this didn't. This tasted like you made it from scratch in your own kitchen, probably because there isn't a whole lot of excess stuff added in. It's one of those products that passes the "you can recognize and pronounce all the ingredients" test. The chicken is just strips of grilled chicken breast in a marinade that includes pineapple juice, chipotle adobado, orange juice, brown sugar, key lime juice, garlic, and spices, the vegetables (onions and green and red bell peppers) are just seasoned with salt, garlic, and some spices, and the sauce is just roasted tomatoes, serrano peppers, more chipotle adobado, green onions, onions, cilantro, and garlic. Would take some time to put together from scratch at home, but these pre-mixed packets completely worked to deliver the same result. It also didn't taste as buttery or greasy as restaurant fajitas sometimes can.

Comparing the finished product to the picture on the box, it looked pretty similar other than the fact that the box picture had grill marks on the chicken. Not such a big deal in terms of taste. We were pretty impressed by the quality of the product here and would definitely do this again (for as long as Costco's inventory will allow us to!). They don't expire immediately or within a week after purchase either (at least ours didn't), so it's an easy thing to toss into the fridge for a day when you really don't feel like cooking and don't want to spend a lot on yet another delivery order. Del Real also made a carnitas kit that I tried during the Cinco de Mayo sampling, but it wasn't nearly as good as this fajitas kit in my opinion. (Kind of hard to believe they came from the same company, to be honest.) Hoping we can make fajitas for a while!

M's Favorite Food Memories of 2017

Somehow it's already May, and we still haven't posted our favorite food memories from last year. We originally planned to do it by Chinese New Year, and then wanted to finish them before we moved, but things got so busy and so hectic (multiple all-nighters level of busy), much more than we anticipated despite knowing we had 12 years of stuff to move, and we never got to it. A lot of our stuff is still in boxes, and we still don't have a complete living room, but we don't want to neglect this blog forever. So this post is long overdue, but before summer officially kicks off, here are my favorite food memories from 2017. We ate a lot of good food in 2017, both at home in NYC and on our trips to LA, Seattle, and Vancouver. In (sort of) alphabetical order, here are my 10 favorite food memories of 2017.

1. Eatsa (NYC)

I went to Eatsa for the first time early in 2017 (we posted about it) and returned several more times over the course of the year. (It probably would have been many more if I had still worked in a Midtown office.) Eatsa revolutionized the eating scene in two different ways: the ordering process (automat-style from a kiosk/phone app without any human interaction) and making healthy quinoa bowls affordable (pretty much everything was under $10). In the end, the price may be part of what did them in, since quinoa isn't cheap, and they closed all their non-SF stores in October. (The cynical part of me still wonders if all the stores were just a test run for their tech.) I'll always be sad that I can never have another no worry curry (what ended up being my favorite) bowl again, with its tasty quinoa, spaghetti squash, apple-cabbage slaw, pickled onions, red Thai curry sauce, and more, but all the tasty bowls are a happy memory of 2017.

2. Bollo de pescado from Ecuadorian Delights at the Queens International Night Market (NYC)

I love going to the Queens International Night Market (which has already started up for 2018 before I finished this post). In 2017, we made two visits and sampled Burmese, Guyanese, Antiguan, Salvadoran, Ecuadorian, Guatemalan, Persian, Nigerian, and Filipino cuisine. There really isn't anywhere else in the city where you can do all that in a short period of time and at affordable prices. My favorite thing at the night market last year was the bollo de pescado from Ecuadorian Delights, a green plantain tamale with tuna and peanut sauce wrapped up in banana leaves and topped with pickled onions. It was so delicious, and tasted like something that was just made in someone's home kitchen. We got it on both visits because we liked it so much, meaning we were too full to try their hallaca or corviche, and now I have no idea where to go to get any of those.

3. Corn ice cream taco from Empellon (NYC)

We went to the Midtown Empellon to celebrate my birthday, and one of the desserts that we heard a lot about before our visit was the corn ice cream taco. I figured it would be good, but I wasn't prepared for the explosion of corn flavor in every bite. Corn and ice cream are a great combination, one of my favorites, with some sweetness, saltiness, and savory flavor all in one bite. It wasn't a big dessert, so we were also able to get the avocado dessert and a seasonal apple dessert sampler, but it was probably my favorite dessert of the year.

4. Acai and pitaya bowls from Fruit Wonders (Palm Springs, CA)

Our big trip last year was to California, and we spent a few relaxing days in Palm Springs. It was really hot during the day, and the perfect way to cool down was a visit to Fruit Wonders. We got an açaí bowl the first time and a pitaya bowl the second, and both were really good. Sweet smoothies with granola, hemp seeds, oatmeal, blueberries, bananas, strawberries, kiwi, coconut, and agave. We'd been wanting to try açaí bowls for a while, but this was our first time, and we were hooked thanks to Fruit Wonders.

5. Los Tacos No. 1 (NYC)

Los Tacos No. 1 has been open in Chelsea Market for years, but they finally opened a second location, right near Times Square, last summer. Their tacos are some of the best in the city, and this new location was so much closer to us. We went there a lot since their opening, getting tacos, quesadillas, mulas, and nopal plates topped with (most commonly) pollo asado or adobada. Even with all the new spots in Hell's Kitchen/Midtown West over the past year, its arrival was the most exciting thing that happened for us. One of my few regrets before we moved was that I didn't manage to go there even more.

6. Salmon oshi sushi from Miku (Vancouver, BC)

We had a lot of things on our Vancouver to-try list for our few days there, and one of the must-dos was aburi oshi sushi, a special type of sushi that is not very common around here, pressed and flame-seared. We went to Miku, an expensive restaurant on the downtown waterfront, and sat at the bar for a light meal just so we could try the sushi. The salmon was BC wild sockeye salmon, and it was topped with jalapeño and Miku sauce. This was unlike any other sushi we'd had before. It basically melted in your mouth, and was so full of flavor. Pretty much a perfect bite of sushi, and I still dream about it.

7. The famous chicken for two from The NoMad (NYC)

We went to The Nomad for A's birthday, and we were finally able to try their famous whole-roasted chicken for two. We weren't sure if it would live up to the incredible hype, but it definitely did. They bring the chicken out to you once it's done, but then bring it to the back and plate it. You get a large piece of white meat chicken, so juicy and tender, with foie gras, black truffle, and brioche bread crumbs under the skin, on a plate with potato puree and leeks, and then you get the dark meat in a small bowl like a stew. It was amazing, and its stellar reputation is well-earned.

8. Cheddar garlic roll from Piroshky Piroshky (Seattle, WA)

I'm not big on waiting in line for food, but we waited for Piroshky Piroshky. We had tried their salmon pate piroshky years ago when a relative gave one to us to try, so we got that again along with some other stuff that looked good. While the salmon one was as good as we remembered, what we really loved was the cheddar garlic roll. Layers of perfectly chewy pastry with cheddar cheese, garlic, and scallions, it was a combination of some of my favorite things. We went back again on the day we left to get some more, because it was just that good.

9. Sisig tacos from various spots around NYC

We don't have any Filipino restaurants in our neighborhood (last year or now), so before last year, we only ended up getting Filipino food once in a (very long) while. Last summer, we got some sisig tacos at a street fair, and that ended up kicking off an unplanned summer of Filipino food exploration. We got so much Filipino food last summer, everything from halo halo to sisig bangus to chicken adobo to buko pandan, but of course, more sisig tacos all over the place. They may not be traditional Filipino cuisine, but they're fun to eat and delicious.

10. Sockeye salmon sashimi from Sushi Itoga (Vancouver, BC)

Last but certainly not least, the sockeye salmon sashimi from Sushi Itoga in Vancouver. Sushi Itoga was another one of those must-try things I put on our Vancouver list. It was a small spot where you ordered sushi at the counter, and then they brought it to your table. Even better, it was incredibly affordable. We got six rolls, a plate of sashimi, seaweed salad, and the included miso soup and tea for like US $35. Even better than the price was the quality. That sashimi was so fresh, and it was so soft that it really just melted in our mouths. (I realize I said the same thing about Miku, but it's true.) We went there on our last day in Vancouver, and we were talking about the sashimi the entire way back to Seattle on the train.

There you have it, my favorite food memories of 2017. Somehow it took over four months to put it into words, but it's finally done!

A Visit to the Strip District

We had one full day in Pittsburgh on our road trip. We were planning to spend the second half of that day at a Pirates game, but for the first part, we wanted to get in some sightseeing. It wasn't my first time in Pittsburgh since A had lived there for a few summers with his family, but it was my first time doing any real sightseeing there. Since it was lunchtime, we decided to start out over in the Strip District, which had developed over the years into a historic market district. A had been there several times during the time he lived there, mostly with his mom to go food shopping, but hadn't really spent much time wandering around or eating at the various vendors since they went there specifically to shop at a couple of stores.

A suggested we start out with Wholey's, a grocery store that had been in Pittsburgh for over 100 years. We strolled around the aisles, but couldn't really buy anything because of our schedule. After that, we went to some other shops, like Penzeys Spices and also open air markets. Since it was a Saturday afternoon, the narrow streets were packed with people, very slow-moving, and it took forever trying to get anywhere. As a result, we didn't investigate too many places before deciding to get something to eat for lunch.

We started off with tacos at Edgar's Tacos, which had a sign proclaiming themselves the best tacos in Pittsburgh. Unfortunately, four years and probably at least a hundred tacos later, I couldn't even tell you which tacos we got here. Even though the details are a bit fuzzy (I really wish we had taken notes on this trip), I do remember that the portions were generous and that the tacos did taste good. That was a nice start to lunch.

Our next stop was at S&D Polish Deli, where we split the Polish platter. The platter had three pierogi,  haluszki, and stuffed cabbage, and also came with a drink. Don't remember which type of pierogi these were, but they were good, as was the stuffed cabbage in tomato sauce. The haluszki, I think, was the "Pittsburgh style" with cabbage, onions, and butter. All of the food was really good, and we were really happy with our platter. After eating, there was some customer service-type drama relating to getting a bathroom key which had me steaming for a bit until I wrote it all out in my journal to get it out of my head forever, and that must have worked since I don't remember the majority of the details anymore. So our takeaway from here was that the food was good, but maybe not worth dealing with the foot traffic and the potential for a bathroom key drama repeat.

Our last stop was at Peace, Love and Little Donuts, which we went to partially because we wanted a snack and partially because we loved the name. We got the cinnamon sugar (in part, because they were giving out samples before we ordered) and the Samoa donuts. Both were fine, although we think the donuts we have at home in NYC (or when we visit Chicago) are better.

Overall, while it was nice to visit the Strip District, what we ate and experienced wasn't so different from anything we could get at home, including all the crowds. We have since accumulated other bookmarks for places to visit in Pittsburgh, so I'm not sure if we'll do this Strip District visit again, but I'm glad we at least did this together once.

9th Ave Food Festival 2017 Part II

The second day of the 9th Avenue International Food Festival was warm and sunny, and the good weather meant even bigger crowds. While we spent our first day mostly visiting places familiar to us, the second day was all about trying small snacks from places in the neighborhood that we've known about but never made it to. It was an easy (and cheaper) way to sample their food and see whether we might want to go for a return visit sometime.

Our first stop was back at the Spam house as we're all about free snacks, especially when they're tasty. This time there was no musubi offered, just sliders and fries, so we both went with the slider. It tasted a little better than the day before, but that could just be because we each got a full slider to ourselves. We were much happier with a full slider as opposed to half and half of a musubi.

As we made our way up the avenue, we stopped first at K Rico, a South American steakhouse that seems to be sticking in a spot that has seen a lot of turnover since we've lived in the area. They had chicken legs, arepas, and empanadas, and after a staff recommendation, we went with one of the beef empanadas.

Unlike some empanadas we've had, these were more deep fried, sort of like a pastelillo. The inside had beef, egg, raisins, and some herbs. The raisins and the sauce made it a little sweeter than most similar beef empanadas we've had, and we think we prefer the more flavorful, more savory ones. A didn't get much meat in his bites, but that could also be because he somehow dropped a piece while eating. He also didn't really like the raisin addition in this case. In the end he thought it just tasted fried. M got more flavor from it, but not as much as she was expecting.

Our next stop was Tacuba which had caught our eye the day before because they had a rotating al pastor spit outside with pineapple on top. Unfortunately, the spit was gone when we got there, but they still had al pastor left. In addition to the pork, each taco had onions, cilantro, pineapple, and a green sauce. They were really good. The pork was flavorful and had just the right amount of "crisp" to the edges that only come from rotating spits. The pineapples were also grilled so they were nice and soft with a bit of smoky sweetness. The only negative here was that the taco filling amounts were pretty uneven from taco to taco.

The other thing that had caught our eye the day before was the clam chowder from Blue Seafood Bar, mostly because it wasn't that expensive and we love chowder. While this was a creamy chowder, it wasn't as heavy on the cream as some others we've had which we liked. Not sure if this is how it usually is or if it's because of how it was cooking on the grill outside, but it was good. In addition to the clams and broth, there was celery, corn, potatoes, and lots of herbs. The flavors here were good, but having just been to the Pacific Northwest, we've been spoiled on amazing chowders. As good as this was, there was almost no way for it to compare.

Our final stop was Ding which was selling an assortment of Chinese dishes for $5. A lot of them looked good, and in the end we went with dan dan noodles, one of our favorites. We watched as they scooped out the noodles and topped it with sauces, seasonings, and garnishes from at least eight different bowls. The noodles had a good amount of late hitting heat from the Chinese peppercorns, but wasn't unbearably spicy at all. Also the meat sauce and additional sauces and flavorings all melded to form a very tasty dish. We got a menu from the vendors there, and from this first taste we both think we'd like to give the restaurant a try.

We had a pretty successful visit to the food festival this year unlike the one year that we only got pierogi, curry puffs, and doughnuts on both days. We do still miss the pierogi though.

Loaded Taco Burrito

I don't watch very many commercials, but somehow my ears always perk up when there's one for Taco Bell, most recently their loaded taco burrito. Supposedly this was supposed to be a "coupling" of a crispy taco and a burrito, which to me just sounded like a burrito, but I tried to keep an open mind as we gave it a try.

The loaded taco burrito consisted of a "double helping" of ground beef (double compared to the taco which makes sense as you can't fit as much into a taco as you can a burrito), cheese, lettuce, tomato (although we did not really notice much, if any, lettuce or tomato), tortilla strips, sour cream, and avocado ranch sauce. I guess by "loaded taco burrito," they just meant that they were taking the fillings of the usual crispy taco plus the shell and putting it into a burrito, but really that's just a burrito with tortilla strips in it. Nothing about it, even after tasting it, made me think, "Whoa, it's just like eating a taco but in burrito form!" It was just a burrito. A also wasn't all that impressed with the "inventiveness."

That said, it wasn't bad. The flavor was actually pretty good, between the meat, sour cream, and avocado ranch sauce, and it was relatively satisfying. Nothing revolutionary though. And it was definitely not worth kicking the naked chicken chalupa off the menu for this. (Bring back the naked chicken chalupa!)

Tacos El Gordo

Three years ago today, we were out in sunny, warm Vegas (at least it was warmer than here). We spent the day at Red Rock Canyon, and then for dinner, headed over to one of our must-stop places in Vegas, Tacos El Gordo, just past the Wynn and Encore on the Strip. We had been there before on our first trip to Vegas together (that's where the daytime photo comes from), but since we never wrote about that visit, we're recapping them both here together.

When we first went to Tacos El Gordo back on our 2012 trip, we didn't know much about them except that they were a branch of a Tijuana taco chain, that the tacos were good, and that we should try the adobada. Adobada is basically pork in a red chile marinade that they cook on a rotating spit. For the tacos, they just shave the meat off the spit and add on some pineapple if you want. In addition to seeing the meat on the spit, much of the other cooking is pretty much out in the open at Tacos El Gordo too, so you can see them cooking all sorts of other meats from their diverse menu, everything ranging from beef brains to pork stomach.

The focus at Tacos El Gordo is obviously tacos, but they also had varieties of fries, as well as quesadillas, sopes, tostadas, and more. They also had a drink machine separate from the regular soda machine that made A very happy because it had horchata along with other aguas frescas.

We were really hungry the first time we went to Tacos El Gordo. We were having a late lunch and we had just walked all the way from the MGM Grand to get tacos, so we ordered a lot. Way more than we should have. We didn't take notes back then so unfortunately I don't remember exactly what tacos we got or every ingredient, but each taco came with a different salsa and toppings (mostly onion and cilantro) based on what type of taco it was. We also remembered to order a plate on the side of the grilled spring onions and peppers which were really tasty.

As for the tacos, I know we got adobada and lengua, and I can see that there was also an azteca (nopal asado) on the tray. I remember there was a taco de sesos (beef brain) because A tried it for the first time on that trip and we have video, but I'm not sure what other tacos made it on the tray. For his first time eating brains, he found them kind of creamy and having an odd mineral-like flavor, but didn't dislike it. It wouldn't have been his first choice for another one, but it wasn't bad.

We liked the adobada taco so much that we got more even though we had just eaten seven tacos between the two of us. The marinated pork was just so good, and the second time, we remembered to get it with the pineapple on top which made it even better. We probably would have gotten another lengua taco also, as we really liked that one too, but we just had so much food at lunch that there wasn't any stomach space. And why did we have no stomach space?

Because, in our hunger and with eyes definitely bigger than our stomachs, we also got an order of adobada fries. To be fair to us, we didn't know that they were going to come in a container that large, but we really should have guessed it since they were $10 (this was 4+ years ago, so no idea what it is now) and at the time, each taco was only around $2. They were basically fries covered in shaved pork, cheese, sour cream, and guacamole in a large styrofoam take-out container. So good, but so much food. We were so stuffed when we left Tacos El Gordo, yet somehow we still rolled ourselves into a Vegas buffet that night since it was our only chance to do so. Maybe not the best planning and maybe not wise, but we did it.

We were a bit more sensible on our second trip to Tacos El Gordo, this time for dinner on this date three years ago. We got seven tacos again - mostly concentrating on adobada, lengua, and chorizo - along with the grilled vegetables, but this time we did not get the fries. It was a much smarter decision. The tacos were just as good as we remembered them, so much flavor, and still so affordable. 

Tacos El Gordo is on our list for any Vegas visit, and we would love to go back again for some more tacos. We're a little upset with ourselves that we forgot that they also have a branch in San Diego and only remembered after we got back home, because we could have gotten some more tasty tacos last fall. There are good taco spots in NY now, more as time goes on, but we still plan to return to Tacos El Gordo on our trips.

M's Favorite Food Memories of 2016

It's hard to believe that it's already time for another year-end favorite food memories list, but here we are at the end of 2016. In alphabetical order by place name, here are my top 10 favorite food memories from the past year.

1. Garlic roasted brussels sprouts from Ballast Point Tasting Room and Kitchen (San Diego, CA)

After a trip to Mission Beach, we decided to head down to the Ballast Point Tasting Room and Kitchen where we got beer tasting flights and lots of small dishes to share. One of those, crispy brussels sprouts with a poached egg, housemade kimchi, and pancetta, was so good that it inspired me to mix kimchi with some brussels sprouts when we got home. It was nowhere near as good as the one at Ballast Point, but I love it when things on vacations inspire me to try new things at home. I also picked this one for the atmosphere of the tasting room. It was awesome to be able to get flights and try so many different beers in a really relaxed environment with really solid food. There aren't really any places quite like this at home that we know of.

2. Warm Maryland crab dip from Chesapeake and Maine (Rehoboth Beach, DE)

During our summer beach vacation in Delaware, we ate a lot of good food, including a couple of dinners at Chesapeake and Maine, the seafood-focused restaurant from the Dogfish Head folks. Both times we got the warm Maryland crab dip which came with toasted bagel chips. We intended to order different things the second time so we could try more stuff, but I just couldn't not order the dip. There were so much real crab in there and the flavor was so good. I could go for more of that right now as the dip was so comforting.

3. Poultry and potato salad from Hometown Bar-B-Que (Brooklyn, NY)

A had been to Hometown Bar-B-Que in Red Hook before and always talked about how good it was, so we planned to take my dad there for his birthday or Father's Day since he loves BBQ. We didn't make it there until late this year, but it was so worth it. Everything we got there was good - brisket, pulled pork, lamb belly, beans with burnt ends, cole slaw, collard greens - but to me the real standouts were the smoked turkey, the Oaxacan-marinated wood fired chicken, and the backyard potato salad. I could eat that stuff all the time, if not for the long lines there and the fact that it wouldn't be the healthiest diet. The BBQ there is definitely some of the best in NYC, which was proven even more when I ate some pulled pork from another BBQ place later in the week which didn't even come close.

4. Tostada mixta from Mariscos El Pescador (Chula Vista, CA)

We ate a lot of good food in San Diego, but the meal that stands out the most to me is our splurge lunch from a food truck, Mariscos El Pescador, down in Chula Vista. It wasn't a splurge lunch because the items were expensive, but because we ordered a feast that took up almost the entire length of the truck's counter. There were tacos and tostadas and burritos, way more than we should have ordered for a single meal, but everything was delicious, especially the tostada mixta. It was filled with all types of seafood, so fresh, such good quality, perfectly seasoned. Everything was just perfect, and I could eat this every single day if that were an option.

5. Khao man gai from Nong's Khao Man Gai (Portland, OR)

Khao man gai is one of those dishes I order when I want something simple, healthy, and clean but with really good flavor. After going to Nong's Khao Man Gai in Portland, I knew I had to wait a while before ordering this again at home because it was that good there. The chicken was tender and flavorful, the sauce was completely addictive (no wonder they sell it in bottles), and the soup that accompanied it just tied it all together well. This could be a daily lunch if they were in our neighborhood.

6. Pupusas from Salvatoria (Astoria, NY)

This fall, we went out with some friends to Salvatoria, a Salvadoran spot in Astoria, for a giant pupusas dinner. The table split a bunch of them for appetizers, and then A and I ordered another set of pupusas for our main courses. There were pupusas filled with loroco, pork, beans, cheese, jalapeños, and combinations of all of those, and they were so good. I know in theory how to make pupusas but there is no way that they would come out as good as these. They were perfectly griddled and the fillings were delicious. We definitely want to go back there for more pupusas.

7. Octopus salad from Seabra's Marisqueira (Newark, NJ)

We've already written about the salada de polvo, the cold octopus salad, at Seabra's Marisqueira in Newark from our visit earlier this summer. The octopus there was so tender, and the dressing, filled with onions, garlic, parsley, and oil and vinegar was so simple but tasty. Every time I look at pictures of this salad, I want more. It was so delicious that I knew it would make the top 10 list this year as soon as I ate it.

8. Naem khao from Thip Khao (Washington, DC)

One of our most memorable meals this year was at Thip Khao, a Laotian restaurant in Washington, DC, where the hour's wait was most certainly worth it. This rice salad - crispy coconut rice, lime, scallions, sour pork, peanuts, and cilantro - with lettuce to wrap it up was so packed with flavor, especially from all the herbs and seasonings. We had something similar when we went to Khe-Yo, but since this was in salad form and not rice balls, it was even better. So much of what we ate at Thip Khao was awesome, and we wished we lived closer so we could investigate more of the menu. But it would be hard not to order this every time.

9. Banana blossom and chicken salad from Uncle Boons (New York, NY)

From one Southeast Asian salad to another. We finally made it to Uncle Boons this year and one of the things we knew we definitely had to order was this spicy rotisserie chicken and banana blossom salad (yum gai hua pli) with cashews, crispy shallots, and roasted chili dressing. When we lived in Chicago, we used to go to a restaurant with a banana blossom salad on the menu and it was our favorite thing there. It's been tough to find anywhere with it since then, and we weren't sure if we had maybe built that salad up too much in our memories for anyone to meet our expectations. This absolutely did. The chicken was delicious (and it was later too when we ordered it on its own), all the ingredients worked well together, and there was a nice heat to it. So glad we were able to get this.

10. Vegetarian combination and doro wat from Zenebech (Washington, DC)

One of our priorities during our time in DC was to eat Ethiopian food, and in doing so, we were rewarded with what was possibly the best Ethiopian food we've ever eaten at Zenebech. The injera there was fluffy and pillowy, and unlike some others, left no residue on your fingers which was great. We got the vegetarian combination with generous portions of lentils, peas, and other vegetables, along with doro wat (chicken stew). There was just so much flavor to every single part of the dish and  we completely cleaned the plate. Sadly Zenebech closed recently so we'll never be able to have this exact experience again, but hopefully they will open somewhere else as this food was too good to think about not eating again.

I could eat all ten of these over and over again and not get sick of them, which is probably why they all made my favorite food memories list. There were so many more things that missed the cut but with so much good food over the course of the year, that was inevitable. Hoping 2017 brings some great eats as well!