Lazy Mama here. Sorry for the long days between posts. I figure most of you are feeling as indolent as I am this week, particularly since I’ve only received a couple of complaints.
Enviro-spouse and I went by the Drinking Liberally table at my new favorite watering hole, Jack of the Wood, last night. While some important issues were discussed and earth-shattering decisions made (we’ve somehow talked Felicity of Hangover Journal into running for Buncombe County Sheriff next fall), the MOST significant debate of the evening revolved around the authencity of our local Mexican tavernas (can I use a Greek word to describe a Mexican restaurant? Heck yea).
I adore Mexican food. I grew up eating it. My family’s favorite restaurant in Atlanta–nay, in the world–is a hole-in-the-wall place called Jalisco’s. I dream of visiting NYC, not for Broadway and fine food, but for the chance to eat at Rosa Mexicano. A couple years back, I carried an 30-pound hand-carved, pig-shaped guacamole bowl made of lava on the plane from NYC to Asheville. The pig bowl holds a place of honor in our kitchen, and, if I do say so myself, helps me produce the best guac in Asheville. But that’s beside the subject.
More relevant is whether or not our local Mexis serve some (not all) authentic Northern Mexican food out of their steamy kitchens. E says “no.” I say “yes.” I know that tacos are not authentic, but rellenos are. Yellow cheese is not, but that lovely smooth white cheese is. I guess this really goes back to how one defines authentic and which region of Mexico we’re talking about, but my primary point is this: the people cooking in this restaurant do not move to the US and totally change their culinary style. They cook what they know. And we are the lucky recipients.
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Love Jack in the Wood and miss the cheese enchilada from El Chaps. Plenty of Latinos around here - just need to start trying some restaurants.
It’s actually Jack of the Wood. I’m usually loath to point out what I think might be errors in case it was some witty play on words that I’m totally missing (I used to be sandy blonde before I went gray at 23), but I think it is important get the names of taverns right since they are an integral part of society. What if people were looking for “Jack in the Wood” and could not find it. Devastating.
If you haven’t tried it, you should go on Mondays for Quizzo too!
Ah Mexican food! i could eat it every day!
Thanks, Ptaak. That was a typo. I definitely don’t want to devastate anyone, although the words “Jack” and “Wood” are key giveaways in this case.
You should join the DL crowd sometime. I’m still sorry I missed you at E-spouse’s birthday bash!
Sounds a little elitist to me to even be discussing what’s “authentic.” Who cares, as long as it tastes great? Are Mexicans who move to the U.S. “less authentic” because they’re cooking in America now, rather than south of the border? Hell no.
Maybe some of their ingredients are going to be different - because they’re in freakin’ America, not a third world (or second world) country. Who cares if the freakin’ cheese is a different color? And yes,
they’re going to sell some menu items catering directly to Americans - because they’re in freakin’ America trying to make a peso.
So, to whomever started this psuedo-debate, I say shut your fajita hole and pass me some more salsa.
By the way, I’m still peeved that all you so-called bloggers totally wimped out on the bowling. What a bunch of limp tortillas y’all turned out to be.
i moved here in late 1998, years before places like taqueria fast opened up. and i grew up in an area where real mexican food was readily available within rock-throwing distance of anywhere you happened to be at that moment, so i guess my standards are a little higher (and my palate less sensitive) than the average consumer. it’s better now than it was seven years ago, not quite there yet but closer, but my god it was abysmal at one point.
i remember the first time i ate at tijuana junction in arden. a woman whose name might as well have been tammy honeycutt plopped this thing on the table in front of me that was a flour tortilla with a bunch of velveeta poop slathered all over it and a side of something that looked like white rice with red food coloring added to it mixed in with a can of veg-all. she called it a “spinach enchilada”. i said, “that’s not funny.”
try ordering a “speedy gonzales” lunch special at a place in los angeles - you’ll get your ass kicked three times before you even make it out to the parking lot!
if you want real, tasty, honest-to-bob mexican food and don’t mind traveling to hendersonville just for a meal, the el paso restaurant on spartanburg highway (not the one on four seasons blvd. just off of i-26) is the real deal, a place where the local hispanic population eats. believe it or not, their “sopa de pollo” (chicken soup) is absolutely to die for.
in mexico, they call it “food”.
(yeah, i’m disappointed that we didn’t plan that bowling thing a little bit better. i’m with AF on this one - make it an actual bowling night rather than starting it @ drinking liberally and wondering how the hell we’re going to make it to the bowling alley… i know i wasn’t in any condition to hold a bowling ball last night…)
Do you go to La Paz? That’s my all-time favorite mexican place. I don’t know how authentic it is, but their cheese dip makes my mouth water. They don’t have cheese dip here in Southern California. So, that probably means it’s not authentic. Oh well, I miss La Paz.
OK, now I’m hungry.
Now here’s a thread I can sink my teeth into. I loves me some Mexican food. The “authentic” kind, the Tex-Mex variety, the mild, gloppy, gutbusting quasi-Mexican offerings and everything in between.
I had a roomate in San Francisco who was Spanish by birth but raised in Northern Mexico. Gary was an excellent cook who served simple but delicious fare and wasted nothing. Leftovers from the night before would find their way into our morning chiliquillas. A bit of seasoned chicken or pork would be the basis for the most delectable tacos I’ve ever eaten. I found it both astounding and amusing that one of the most accomplished Mexican cooks I’ve ever known would sneak away on occasion to pig out at Taco Bell. Go figure.
I was so inspired that I later invested in a series of Diana Kennedy cookbooks and like you Edgy, a massive volcanic molcojete in the shape of a pig. I cook everything from simple tacos to complex moles and I love every bit of it.
I personally loathe Taco Bell, but I do have a fabulous spot not far from home where I myself sneak off when I need a fix but am too lazy to cook. It’s called Taqueria Fast and damn is it good. The family that runs this understated eatery is from Jalisco and does everthing just right. Some of my faves include awesome homemade pork tamales at about $1.50 each, an adobada stuffed burrito over which I could wax orgasmic for paragraphs, then there are the “real tacos” the homemade salsas, the tamarindo and some weird but delicious drink made from rice and coconut milk. If you find yourself in the Weaverville area, check it out. You’ll be glad you did.
Where in Weaverville is Taqueria Fast?
So, who is going to be eating Mexi tonight after this convo?
I haven’t felt like eating all day, but now I’m ravenous.
Taqueria Fast is in that little strip mall on 25 with Pastimes and the cake supply store. Good and cheap!
Man I miss Mexican food! Especially IN NYC. Where I am, it nada exists. Came by Neil. Cool blog!
In my little family we have weird prefrences: Mexican, and anything from Asia.
We took all our friends to the local Indian place. They love us. We just found a nice Thai place, and yummmy!! We got a nice, safe dish at a 4 - and let me tell you. Heaven!!
Charlotte better hold up on the food end of things.
But not as lucky as we could be. I once had tamales made by an authentic Mexican and they were better by far than any I’ve ever had in a restaurant. But, overall, Mexican food is grande.
Taqueria Fast is in the Town & Country strip mall (coming from Asheville, take the New Bridge exit off 19/23 and turn left).
Taqueria Fast
175 Weaverville Hwy, Woodfin
645-4282
Ash’s Dad, what say you? You were just south of the border a few months ago?
And i can’t believe nobody’s mentioned tequila in this discussion. I’ll be having some to help me see in the new year, methinks.
syntax, the one good thing about the floods last year was that all the water wiped out Pedro’s Porch. Remember that ****hole? That was a blot on the good name of all things Mexican, as far as food and, well, all things decent. Thank goodness the Hotshot survived.
EM, think crowgirl will be serving some Patron or Blue Agave Sat. night?
The thought of running for sheriff, on sober reflection, scares the pants off me, but in that case, if I get to ride a white horse bareassed into the sunset just in time to stop the outlaws from getting to the gold train, well, hell, that could be fun.
Meanwhile, on the local Mexican food front, I am sorry to report that what used to be my favorite Mexican restaurant, Cancun, notable for it’s painted tables and outdoor dining area overlooking scenic Patton Avenue, has gone way downhill and now sucks pretty hard. Sad but true. Another vote for Taqueria Fast here, although I hear rumours that the taco counter in the Mexican grocery on Haywood Road is also pretty good.
I’m a little concerned that EM thinks of going to NYC for real Mexican food. It’s south you should be going. South of the boarder that is. (No, not that thing in South Carolina or wherever it is on US95.) I mean go- to- Mexico!! I have a place in Chapala, Jalisco, MX that I will rent you cheap. (Twenty five miles from Guadalajara.)
Ash and I are of the same mind, who cares as long as it tastes good. I’m a gringo so I’m pretty happy with the things I get in Mexican restaurants here in the US. I have two little places in Sarasota that suit me just fine. Mi Pueblo and Bianca’s. If you decide to rent my place in Chapala, I’ll be happy to give you some tips on where to go while you’re there. (By the by, I thought the food was very different than what is offered in Mexican restaurants in the US, in a good way most of the time.)
There is one place that has some interesting gossip about it. It’s reported that the owner murdered his wife and ran off to Mexico with another lady and they run a little place called Media Luna near Ajajic, Jalisco, MX. I heard recently that someone came and arrested the guy. A real “Mystery Dinner Theatre” kind of thing.
And by the way Ash, that little place I told you about near your house has pretty good food. (Chapala — something or other.) It’s not very pleasant inside but you might try some takeout.
you know, i never did eat at pedro’s porch. i always heard that that place pretty much sucked. no big loss, eh?
cancun… their food is still pretty good, but they’ve seen better days. and what’s up with all of the plastic ferns in the main dining area? bleah! but still, cancun on a bad day is better than tijuana junction at their best.
ash, you can have my tequila.
If you’re in Raleigh, I have two words for you …LOS CUATES. And if you’re outside of Carrboro the two words are FIESTA GRILL. As a California Native, Arizona Ex Patriot, and frequent visitor to Baja Mexico and Sonora Mexico - I can tell you I search for GOOD Mexican Food here in the South. As a clue, it shouldn’t be GLOPPY … beans or anything else presented on your plate. Nothing - ESPECIALLY CHEESE - should resemble PLASTIC! It should not be ORANGE - usually it is CRUMBLY. All meat should be shredded or CUBED… but the real thing is NEVER, EVER ground. Ice Berg lettuce is AMERICAN! Shredded cabage is from MEXICO. Okay - enough I will get off my soapbox .. but GOOD Mexican Food is so far removed from what I find here - it’s dissapointing to see whole communities fall in love with “Mexican Food” which is completely changed to please the American palate.
Of course the absolutely BEST can be found at my house
MEXICAN FOOD FREAKIN ROCKS!
If I could be reincarnated as a different ethnicity I’d be Latino. I love their culture, music, zest for life and FOOD!
Allthough, living in Houston I’m practically Latino any way. That’s not a dig on illegals… This area has been significantly hispanic since before the gringos came through and carved Texas off of Mexico. The Texians always viewed the Rio Grande as the boarder with Mexico. Mexico thought it was the Brazos (to the north).
There is nothing finer than Mexan Food - ESPECIALLY FOR BREAKFAST!!!
Well, you need to come to Texas - as here we have a bevy of Authentic Mexican food choices.
Have you been to San Antonio? Have you eaten at Mi Tierra? The food is very authentic, so much so that it makes me long for Tex-Mex which is what we consume most of the time. Refried pinto beans aren’t authentic either according to some of my close Mexican friends - they say in Meh-he-co they only eat black beans.
I need to stop talking, I haven’t eaten breakfast yet!
Felicity Green for Sheriff.
She’s against crime.
Incumbent Sheriff Bobby Medford…where do you stand?
Alright, I’m definitely coming to visit you guys in Tex-ass.