Pueblo Viejo
Hi guys, I'm two for two this week!
Just doing a quickie review while I've got the writing bug. Since yesterday there was no dinner, today there was no leftovers to bring for lunch. So I went to a spot I've been to a bunch of times but I hadn't reviewed anything. I was in a bad moods so I ordered carbs. Chilaquiles with carne asada. So what are chilaquiles? I've had them several different ways but essentially it is a bunch of soggy tortilla chips with green chile salsa, cheese and sour cream. Then you add whatever other delicious junk to modify it. The very first time I had this dish was at my Mexican friend's mom's house. As a guest in someone's home I tend to ask very few questions about what's served in front of me and at first glance I was pretty excited about what they were cooking up. They had some chips in a pot and they were layering some cheese and stuff and then they threw in some jalapeños. At this I began to contemplate how high my heat index was since I'd only been eating spicy food for maybe at most two years, but I wasn't overly worried. Then my friend's sister said "I can't taste any jalapeños." At this point I must've gone to another room, or I was distracted by something because when I got back the chilaquiles had been served and I sat down to inspect my plate. They were busy cleaning up and doing other things so they left me along in the kitchen and I started eating. The meal was delicious for about two bites and then it probably started tasting like my snots because this thing was SO spicy my nose and eyes and ears all started running! Maybe not my ears but you get it. They gave me a container of sour cream which I proceeded to dump its entirety on my chilaquiles. I was trying to put this jalapeño fire out with sour cream. By the way I hate sour cream. I couldn't say anything because these wonderful women had taken the time and effort to make me, a stranger to their home, a nice meal. So I ate and suffered in silence for about half of my plate. Finally they came back in to get a bite for themselves and one of them goes "OMG THIS IS TOO HOT!" Maybe this is borderline offensive, but when the Mexican says this is too hot, I knew it was over. I threw my mental spoon up in outrage, and then put my literal spoon down calmly in relief that I was probably excused from finishing up my HELL-flavored chips. The ladies finally turned back to look at me in my small puddle of sweat and tears and were astonished I'd eaten as much as I had. They gave me copious amounts of water and we all had a good laugh about it.
I've had chilaquiles many times after that and they've all been a little bit different but for good measure I never add any additional heat to mine. Typically I've had them with eggs and then on the side some rice and beans. Today I had a fried egg on top with steak. The steak was cooked deliciously and seasoned superbly. The tortillas were soggy with green chile salsa. The chile salsa was tangy and just enough spicy. The beans were the perfect amount of salty to pair with the tangy chips, but once I was out of rice and steak the chips were a little too tangy to eat alone. The rice was a little bland which was fine to mix with the egg and steak. This meal was only $8 and I was hugely satisfied.
Final Thought: Next time I'll time my tangy, spicy chips right so I don't run out of beans before finishing them up.
Just doing a quickie review while I've got the writing bug. Since yesterday there was no dinner, today there was no leftovers to bring for lunch. So I went to a spot I've been to a bunch of times but I hadn't reviewed anything. I was in a bad moods so I ordered carbs. Chilaquiles with carne asada. So what are chilaquiles? I've had them several different ways but essentially it is a bunch of soggy tortilla chips with green chile salsa, cheese and sour cream. Then you add whatever other delicious junk to modify it. The very first time I had this dish was at my Mexican friend's mom's house. As a guest in someone's home I tend to ask very few questions about what's served in front of me and at first glance I was pretty excited about what they were cooking up. They had some chips in a pot and they were layering some cheese and stuff and then they threw in some jalapeños. At this I began to contemplate how high my heat index was since I'd only been eating spicy food for maybe at most two years, but I wasn't overly worried. Then my friend's sister said "I can't taste any jalapeños." At this point I must've gone to another room, or I was distracted by something because when I got back the chilaquiles had been served and I sat down to inspect my plate. They were busy cleaning up and doing other things so they left me along in the kitchen and I started eating. The meal was delicious for about two bites and then it probably started tasting like my snots because this thing was SO spicy my nose and eyes and ears all started running! Maybe not my ears but you get it. They gave me a container of sour cream which I proceeded to dump its entirety on my chilaquiles. I was trying to put this jalapeño fire out with sour cream. By the way I hate sour cream. I couldn't say anything because these wonderful women had taken the time and effort to make me, a stranger to their home, a nice meal. So I ate and suffered in silence for about half of my plate. Finally they came back in to get a bite for themselves and one of them goes "OMG THIS IS TOO HOT!" Maybe this is borderline offensive, but when the Mexican says this is too hot, I knew it was over. I threw my mental spoon up in outrage, and then put my literal spoon down calmly in relief that I was probably excused from finishing up my HELL-flavored chips. The ladies finally turned back to look at me in my small puddle of sweat and tears and were astonished I'd eaten as much as I had. They gave me copious amounts of water and we all had a good laugh about it.
I've had chilaquiles many times after that and they've all been a little bit different but for good measure I never add any additional heat to mine. Typically I've had them with eggs and then on the side some rice and beans. Today I had a fried egg on top with steak. The steak was cooked deliciously and seasoned superbly. The tortillas were soggy with green chile salsa. The chile salsa was tangy and just enough spicy. The beans were the perfect amount of salty to pair with the tangy chips, but once I was out of rice and steak the chips were a little too tangy to eat alone. The rice was a little bland which was fine to mix with the egg and steak. This meal was only $8 and I was hugely satisfied.
Final Thought: Next time I'll time my tangy, spicy chips right so I don't run out of beans before finishing them up.
Comments
Post a Comment