Someone wrote:
: Ahhh, the Tex/Mex versus other mexican food styles. Aren't : most of the restaurants in this area cooking more Jalisco? : Jalisco food seems more mild and less greasy as they are more : likely to have fresh. The mountains where my abuela was from, : were much more spicy, and even less frying of any kind. The desert : zones seem to have a very different food. Of, course, I still : have much of Mexico to travel.
I've noticed elements of Jalisco, Nayarit, Michoacan, and Oaxaca
cuisine in the Mexican eateries in California, as well as Tex-Mex and of course California's own styles (kitchen sink burritos, etc). One fun spot, focusing on Veracruz/Mayan style, is the Ranch House south of Sonoma on Hwy 12. Great chile verde and seafood dishes...the latter have an Asian flair, such as a touch of ginger, as many Chinese settled long ago along Mexico's Caribbean coast.
: Personally, growing up in this area, I find the whole tex/mex : flavor wierd, dry, and bitter. Or worse, fried like Denny's! : So, I guess it has a large part to do with what you are used to.
And where you go. Some of the best enchiladas I've had, in a
dual-sauce Tex-Mex style, are at a place called La Bufa in Santa Rosa (4th St). Some of their other dishes are quite forgettable, but those enchiladas are awesome.
: Then again, I don't go to most of the restaurants people have : been raving about. I'll drive through gunfire and darkness : to get to a "real" Mexican food place, family run for generations, : recipees that are family secrets, where speaking spanish may be : required. I've only eaten good mexican food once that was : cooked by a non-latino.
Sorry to hear that. The Mexican food from our home kitchen kicks
butt, at least so everyone tells us, and we are human mongrels with no latino blood. But then our Thai food kicks butt too, tho we aren't Thai. Sorry I can't be more humble. ;=>
: In my mind, a chile relleno is in an extremely light batter, : more eggy/meragnie than corn, cooked in barely enough lard to : keep it from sticking and one at a time, the chili large and freshly : roasted, stuffed with queso blanco,and the sauce is a garnish, : unimportant. I agree with the artfulness and degree of skill : it takes to make these wonders.
No biggie, but I think the sauce is part of the art. It should be
based on a broth made from "real" stock, and shouldn't be very spicy. Frying in lard is certainly a way to achieve "chiles rellenos muy ricos," and sometimes we do them that way, but, since so many guests are trying to avoid animal fat, we've found that very good results can also be achieved with a good grade of cooking oil, such as canola.
WillCalifornia