mmm-yoso!!!

Bandeja Paisa from Tropicafe

I'd had a couple of requests to check out Tropicafe in Chula Vista, mostly from folks who I really didn't know. So a couple of weeks back, I spoke to a co-worker AF, who lived in Columbia from the age of 8 to 18. He'd been asking me if I knew of anywhere that had Columbian food on the menu...anyplace but Tropical Star. I told him I'd heard of a place in Chula Vista called Tropicafe, but hadn't tried it out.....AF told me he'd check it out and report back. Then I didn't see him for maybe a month or so. when I finally saw him, he told me, "the food is pretty much the real deal, but not everything is great. It's worth a try, just stay away from the Mexican food, which is on the menu because they need to make a living." Asked for a recommendation, I was told, "everyone needs to have the Bandeja Paisa the first time. There's better things on the menu, but that's the national dish."

So there I was, taking the Main Street off ramp in Chula Vista and driving into one of the "garage strip malls"......and right across from Juan's Auto Repair and the Mercedes Engine Exchange was this tiny shop.

The place opens at 930 am, and I'd arrived pretty early. The restaurant is pretty small, maybe five tables....I was thrown off by the chafing dishes when I entered, but it was part of a display advertising their catering business. The drill is simple, I walked to the counter and ordered, which I'm sure is not the way, or maybe the way, since half the folks coming after me sat and ordered when the menu arrived and half just sauntered to the counter like I did. The woman in the kitchen in the back smiled and gave me the "peace sign".

Naturally, since I'm very good at following instructions, I ordered the Baneja Paisa. After having a seat, the young man told me there was a problem in the kitchen and my order would take about 20 minutes. I was asked if I wanted something else. I had nothing really to do, so I told him I'd wait, which turned out rather well for me......

As I sat and checked my text messages and emails folks started filtering in. After about ten minutes, the young man delivered a fragrant cup of soup to my table. He apologized for the wait and said 'please try the Caldo de Costilla".

A nice hot, mildly thick soup, the flavor of beef and cumin really stood out. I later read that this is Beef Rib soup and popular breakfast item. The main starch item being potatoes. It was very hearty soup which I enjoyed.

About five minutes after finishing my bowl of soup, the young man came by and dropped off a little plastic basket telling me, "your food is almost ready, but here's one of our empanadas for you to try......"

The color of the empanadas was almost a bright yellow. The out crust was quite crisp, but there was still some heft to it. The main flavor in the filling was of seasoned potatoes, which was very good. The meat really didn't have much flavor and I believe it was chicken based on that. The Aji/Salsa had a nice kick to it. I'm thinking there was some habanero in it.

Soon enough my plate arrived. The name is derived from the people of the Paisa region of Columbia, thus it is the "Paisa Platter", I'm figuring the folks of this area had historically worked some major manual labor, because the Bandeja Paisa ($10.50), along with being Columbia's National Dish, is a major calorie bomb.

If God were Vegan, I'd have spontaneously combusted on the spot....... The look on my face got laughs from the folks on the other table as I stared down this amalgamation of fat and protein. I turned to them and said, "I'm going to need a nap after this...." Which drew some good natured laughs. As for the food....

My least favrote items were the beef which was really dry and had a texture like cardboard; and strangely, the chicharon, which was nice and crisp but without much flavor

The fried egg was nice, but I noticed that they food wasn't salted. I enjoyed the patacones (tostones), basically fried green plantains, very mild and not sweet, but also nice and crunchy. The Aji added a nice punch here. The chorizo reminded me of a spicy Longanisa, it had a nice sweetness, but a little punch as well.

The one item I really enjoyed was the beans, which were seasoned well, with a nice pork flavor and a mild sweetness.

I like that the beans weren't overcooked and went real well with the rice (hiding under the egg). The menu description also mentions an Arepa, which is sort of like a pupusa, but I think I'd have been near death after that. The other table was having a few, so I think I'll save that for next time.

Yes, there will be a next time. Probably some rib soup, arepa, beans and rice. Or maybe some other soup. I really enjoyed the friendly folks working here, if not everything in the Bandeja Paisa.

Tropicafe
2530 Main St
Chula Vista, CA 91911

Hours:
Wed - Sat 930am - 6pm
Sunday   930am - 5pm

A Lomo Saltado Comparison: Latin Chef, Nazca Grill, and Tropical Star

The classic and for many ubiquitous Peruvian dish Lomo Saltado has a special place in my heart. It was the first "Peruvian" (the reason for the parenthesis later) dish that really drew my attention at El Rocoto Restaurant in Gardena. It made enough of an impression, that I headed off to the library (the internet really wasn't such a large part of our lives in '97) to try to find out what Peruvian cuisine was all about. There were many aspects of the dish that really resonated with me; the familiar flavors like soy sauce, cooking style, at heart the dish is a stir fry (saltado = to leap) , and yes, the carbs. Coming from Hawaii, many of my friends still say, "it ain't lunch unless it has at least two carbs!" So I found the combination of rice and papas fritas (french fries) enchanting...... Over the years I'd come to appreciate the history of the dish, a fusion of the cooking of the Chinese that settled in great numbers in Peru (Lima has the largest Chinatown in South America) Spanish (onions, garlic) and ethnic Peruvian (potatoes). Though most every version nowadays has french fries in it, I've read that the dish originally used boiled potatoes.... I've got to say that I'd probably prefer fried to boiled.

Anyway, a post comparing the lomo saltado available in San Diego has been a long time coming, so here it is:

Latin Chef ($11):

After a rather lengthy respite, I've been going back to Latin Chef quite a bit recently. So of course I was bound to have the lomo saltado again.....

 

Latin Chef used to have a prominent spot on our rotation, but for some reason we just kinda stopped going.

On my recent visits, it seems like the food had slipped a bit (I'll go into detail in the future post). The lomo saltado here is still my favorite in San Diego. The meat is the most tender, you can make out the soy, there's a slight tangy flavor, and the rice had always been cooked well. They seem to be depending a bit much on salt and the mild anise-mint flavor of Huacatay is missing. The papas fritas still have crunch which is a plus, as is the amount of sauce. There just seems to be something missing from this dish recently.

Latin Chef
1142 Garnet Ave
San Diego, CA 92109

Nazca Grill ($10.95):

As the food at Latin Chef seems to be slipping, Nazca Grill seems to be slowly getting better:

 

The beef here is tougher than Latin Chef's and the main herb for flavoring seems to be cilantro. Not enough salt and lacking any tangy flavor this version still falls short for me.

Nazca Grill
4310 Genesee Ave
San Diego, CA 92117

Tropical Star ($8.50):

Over the years I've come to think of Tropical Star as sort of a Latin American mom-and-pop equivalent of those diners that try to make everything. The menu is vast and not everything is really worth a try. Still, in spite of all my visits to Tropical Star, I've always stopped short of ordering the lomo saltado.... there was an inner voice that told me not to "go there". But you know that I couldn't go all these years without trying it out. So recently, I finally ordered the lomo saltado, which was the cheapest of the three..... and holy-moley, it was also the largest portion.... of grayish looking meat.....

 

 Really tough meat, full gristle, perhaps chuck.... it gives new meaning to "2 buck chuck (steak)". My feet also started swelling up pretty quickly as I ate this. I stared at the shelves looking for some kind of packaged lomo saltado mix, since there was a powderiness to the dish as well. Funny, as I walked out, I noticed several jars of Aji-no-moto (MSG) right next to the Aji Panca on one of the shelves..... There are several items that Troplical Star does reasonably welland the prices are just as reasonable. I'd pass on the lomo saltado though.....

Tropical Star
6163 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111

Typing out this post makes me think we'll need to be heading back to Peru one of these days......

Santiago Atitlan and some Ceviche

Early during our first morning on Lake Atitlan, the Missus was looking out from the balcony and decided on what She wanted to do.

 

Looking off to the left, She turned and said, "let's head to Santiago". At first we were going to head down the 400 steps to the Lomas de Tzununa pier, but in the end we decided to head out of the side gate and walk to the village of La Tzununa, and the pier there.

 

The downhill walk, and the cooler morning air made this 1 kilometer walk pleasant.

 

Walking down the hill we passed many of the young men and women who work at the hotel walking up the hill. We could just imagine having to make that walk everyday, rain or shine, in the summer heat! Everyone we passed gave us a pleasant "Buenos Dias". We passed two gentlemen, and asked directions to "La Tzununa muelle".......after giving us directions, one of the gentlemen asked us, "Ha-pon-nese?" I pointed to myself, and told him "si, Ha-pon-nese"....I pointed at the Missus and said, "Chee-na....uno, uno". Which for some reason cracked him up.....

Following their instructions we found our way to La Tzununa pier, and soaked up the morning sun while waiting for what the gentleman called the "barco blanco".....

 

And wouldn't you know it, the first boat of the day was a "white boat".

A short 10 minutes later we arrived at the San Pedro pier. To get to the boats headed to Santiago we had to walk to the pier to the Southeast of town, about a kilometer away. Not a far walk, but there's a "little" hill between the piers. The street is lined with all the gift shops, tourist restaurants, and hotels.

 

They don't tell you about the "little hill" in the guidebooks. Lucky for us, there was a strategically placed orange juice stand right at the top of the hill.

 

Ahhh, "Jugo de Naranja"......the pause that refreshes. Freshly squeezed, and the woman running the stand even filtered out the pulp (3 Quetzal - 45 cents):

 

Kinda sour, but it sure woke me up. From that point on, it was all down hill, literally.

 

While waiting for our boat to leave, another large boat arrived. It was packed with passengers....

 

 

And a ton of cargo.......

 

All of it was unloaded manually. This guy made at least five trips up and down the pier.

 

Arriving at Santiago Atitlan, we walked up the dock, past the craft stands and into Santiago. It turned out to be market day.

 

 

We were told by more than a few folks that Santiago Atitlan is considered the captial of the Tz'utujil MayanNation. In Santiago, folks still wear the traditional "Traje" (dress) with pride. The men still wear "calzoncillos" (short pants).

 

I'm guessing that these pants are very practical for folk who live around the water.

The women wear a colorful "Huipil" sometimes with wonderful embroidery, often featuring birds and flowers. You can read even more about the traditional dress here.

  

Out first stop was the Catholic Church.

 

If you walk up these stairs, and quietly take a seat inside, you'll notice a monument to the right rear of the church.

 

Father Stanley Rother was a priest who was assigned to the mission of Santiago Atitlan in 1968. The late 70's through the 80's were turbulent times for Central America, and Santiago was not spared. Because of his work, Father Rother's name appeared on the list of the "Death Squad". Upon hearing that his name appeared on this list, the Parish staff urged Rother to return to his home of Oklahoma City, which he did. Only to ask for permission to, and return to Santiago a few months later. On July 28th, 1981, he was killed in the rectory of the church by gunmen. Father Rother was flown back and buried in his home town in Oklahoma, however, at the request of his parishioners in Atitlan, his heart was brought back to Santiago Stitlan and buried under the floor of the church. This was not the end as things eventually reached a critical mass on the morning of December 2nd, 1990, you can follow the link, or read even more about it here.  

Escaping from the persistent kids outside the church, we made our way back to the main intersection. I noticed groups of women walking up the stairs of one of the corner buildings. Our curiosity piqued the Missus and I walked up the stairs to find a pretty active market area.

 

The items I found the most interesting were the freshwater crabs, with the legs wrapped in strips of leaves to keep them from walking away.

 

This, of course, left me hungry. The Missus and I walked around a bit trying to decide were to eat. I finally decided based on one of my main eating rules; "when in doubt, eat where the police eat." And in this case, it was a tiny, very clean looking Cevicheria. We sat at one of the three tiny tables, on plastic stools, Vietnam style. Two police, or maybe security officers with shotguns were having an early lunch at on of the other tables. One of the officers was of particular interest to me, he had two bandoliers of shotgun shells criss-crossing his torso, just like the movies!

 

This was a two man operation with one doing the prep, the other putting together the ceviche.

 

Three items were served, Ceviche Camarones(shrimp), Pulpo (Octopus), or Mixto (mixed). and though the shrimp and octopus were "Pacifico" (from the Pacific), we thought the ingredients looked very fresh. The Missus ordered a Grande Mixto, easy on the pulpo. 30 Quetzales ($3.75). While we were waiting, the Missus decided some tortillas would go well with the Ceviche, instead of the usual crackers. So She headed across the street........and to the laies making tortillas in front of (what else) one of the Pollo Frito (Fried Chicken) joints.

 

The tortillas being sold were "yellow" tortillas, corn-y goodness, and the best we had on the entire trip. It was also the most expensive at 3 for 1 Quetzal (12 cents).

 

We ended up eating a dozen with our ceviche.

And what about that Ceviche? Well, it delicious, but very different from any Ceviche I've ever had.

 

The marinade was very dark, but wonderful, with a nice savory flavor as a counter-point to the refreshing citrus flavor. The tomatoes were sweet, the white onion was mild and on the sweeter side, and I could taste a light touch of mint as well. When we asked about the sauce (I thought I tasted some soy as well), I thought the very nice young man said "salsa Iglesia" and I was somewhat puzzled,"Church Sauce" just didn't make much sense. But later on I purchased a small cookbook, "Favorite Recipes from Guatemala" in the airport, I found a recipe for Ceviche de Camaron. And it became quite clear, it wasn't Salsa Iglesia, it was "Salsa Ingles", Wocestershire Sauce, along with Soy Sauce that flavored the Ceviche!

I was satisfied after the Ceviche, but the Missus couldn't resist buying a tamal from the young lady wearing the coloful huipil pictured above. It was a funny thing as, the Missus kept asking "Tamale", and kept getting negative nods, "no...no tamale". She kept pointing at the corn husk wrapped tamals, going, "tamale?" And the response would be a "no-no chuchito, chuchito, no tamale!"

 

Chuchitos are small masa tamal, and unlike the tamals we are used to, Guatemalan tamals are dense and waxy, and tend toward the dry side. This Chuchito, at least by our tastes and preferences, was the best we had, moist, with a nice sweet-tangy-mildly spicy sauce.

 

The pork was very tough, but the rest was pretty good.

 

We had the Chuchito and some Agua Pura, while sitting on one of the raised sidewalks.....it was perfect for people.....

 

And pet watching.

 

It was starting to get crowded, which we took as a sign to get moving along. But I just wasn't ready to leave without getting a little "something small to eat".........

Off to Lake Atitlan, San Juan La Laguna, and Comedor Elenita

"Oooooooo-wee......Oooooooo-wee".

That's what the bird outside our window said at the crack of dawn. I awoke every morning to that distinctive call, and came to love it. I also enjoyed Antigua in the morning, at 6am, the streets are almost empty, and there are no cars in sight, as folks haven't come to work yet.

 

The streets are clear, the air is fresh, and the colors really pop. As we walked back to our room after grabbing some coffee, we spotted a young man selling roses.

 

He seemed to be quite popular with the local folk walking to work.

 

The Missus asked the young man what a bunch of roses cost. His reply? 10 Quetzales ($1.25)! So of course we bought a bunch.

 

But what the heck were we going to do with roses? We were off to Lago Atitlan (Lake Atitlan) in an hour...... We had decided to give the roses to the folks at Casa Florencia, which really surprised the Woman working. It was kinda nice to see the roses we bought blooming in a vase at the front desk when we returned from Flores a few days later!

We quickly learned the "shuttle drill"......someone will meet you at your hotel or pick-up point. He'll give you the receipt and paperwork, and you'll pay him. A bit later the minivan will be by to pick you up. The uneventful drive to beautiful Lake Atitlan took about 2 1/2 hours, driving through several villages, and winding it's way to Panajachel. We saw two shuttles stopped on the side of the road with carsick folks losing their breakfast. We were dropped at Tzanjuyú Pier (muelle), and swarmed with folks trying to get us boats, some for $20-30 a person!!! The word to remember is "publico"......there is a semi-formal system of "lanchas" that serve the various villages around the lake. We had been told that our Hotel, Lomas de Tzununa had it'sown muelle. We finally made our way down the pier, and we were squeezed into a boat. Pricing for tourist "vary" on the lanchas, this trip cost us 30 Quetzales each, which turned out to be the most expensive of all the boats we caught. And so it came to pass.....here I was wedged in the bow of a boat that seemed to barely rise above the clear waters of Atitlan, squeezed between two propane tanks, and two cases of doritos.

 

You've heard of Chicken Buses? Well, I called this the "Chicken Boat"! Lomas de Tzununa is a bit isolated from the other villages, and has its own pier. The water of Lago Atitlan is crystal clear, and deep.

Lomas de Tzununa is located up the cliffs from the lake.......and it's four hundred steps up to the hotel.

 

Doesn't sound like much, but these seemed like four hundred leg burning, lung bursting steps....I hadn't felt this wiped out since Pisac. Even though our backpacks averaged 8 kilos...it might as well have been 800! There was a really nice young man with the biggest smile, and a shotgun to match who offered to carry our luggage up the stairs, but I couldn't let him do that. Thierry, who along with his wife Maria run the hotel met us at the top, and handed us our keys so I wouldn't have to struggle with the dozen or so steps to the main hotel restaurant and lobby.

So why go through the trouble? The isolation, the four hundred steps? Well, each of the ten rooms at Lomas de Tzununa are very clean and spacious...and what you're really paying for is this:

  

Each room is it's own "bungalow", and are located on the cliffs above the Lake. There's no television (this will play in later), but you've got views like this morning, noon, and night:

 

For us, it sure beat the tourist heavy scene at Panajachel or San Pedro, whose lights you can see here at sunset.

 

Of course, the Missus wasn't one for sitting still for long....soon enough it was back down those four hundred steps. Standing at the dock, the Missus and I gave each other one of those, "ok, now what" looks. But not for long, right off the dock is a little cabin, and there is what seems to be a father and son, who run the private lancha, and do all the lake activities. They asked the Missus where we were headed. And as a boat was passing what seemed like a hundred miles away, he whistled. And sure enough the lancha made it's way to the muelle. This boat was not nearly as packed.

 

 

We got off at San Pedro La Laguna, a popular tourist destination, right on the Nothern Slopes of the San Pedro volcano. Our destination was a village a 2 kilometer walk from San Pedro, San Juan la Laguna. We walked along the shores of the lake,passing women doing laundry on the shores of Atitlan.

  

Arriving at the top of the a hill, we could view the village of San Juan below....it was such a serene sight.

 

We followed the few vehicles into town........it wasn't very hard....San Juan is a fairly small village, and home to Tz'utujil Mayan. It is a small, peaceful, yet colorful village.

  

San Juan is known for its local Artisans, and the murals made that very clear.

 

 

As in Laos, Cusco, and Siem Reap, we bought a small painting that displayed what we thought symbolized the trip for us. It was a beautiful painting, from a little shop on the way to the pier. Later we would come to know that the gentleman and his wife that we dealt with were pretty well known in the area.

 

We hadn't eaten since the evening before, so the Missus and I were on the lookout for a comedor. We passed several, but many were pretty empty, and I really couldn't get a good "feel" of any of the places. So the Missus started asking around. A group of schoolgirls headed home for lunch, looked at us curiously, and told the Missus "Comedor Elenita". We still weren't sure though. As we walked pass the school the Missus asked another woman, who also recommended Comedor Elenita. The woman walked us to the street and pointed us to the colorful restaurant. When we arrived, that table had pots and a tray of "pollo frito" on it that was selling like crazy.

 

I trudged up the rather high step(my thighs were still rather shakey from the 400 + 400 steps), peered into the place, and knew this was going to be a decent meal.

 

How did I know? You see those five heads on the left? Those were all Police Officers having lunch...and you know what they say about where the cops eat! The menu here was simple, the Menu "Del Dia" (menu of the day) is written on a greaseboard. The jolly gentleman who waited on us was a bit confused why we would order three items, but we were starving.

I ordered the Pollo Frito (fried chicken) which along with the Sopa de Pollo, was what we saw everyone eating. As with similar comedors, the food took a while, but it arrived with the chicken still sizzling.

 

There are a couple of interesting items to note. First, this was a typical meal for the area we visited.....there were three starches, in this case, rice, papas fritas (french fries), and tortillas, something for the tortillas, in this case guacamole, and some veggies thrown in for looks. I really like the guac, it was very simple, but had wonderful flavor, the avocados used for this must have been super. The fried chicken, was moist and juicy, and the flesh was soft and had flavor thorugh and through. Overall, this was in the top three with regards to fried chicken (best tasting flesh) on this trip.

The Missus ordered the Pescado Frito (fried fish).

 

A good sized fried fish, moist, but very mild, along with the same sides.

The Missus also ordered the Sopa de Pollo (chicken soup).

 

This came with a quarter of an avocado, lime, rice, and tortillas. It also came with a half cob of corn, which the Missus loved; She believes that corn in the states is much too sweet, this was more like what She ate growing up.

The soup was decently flavored, though not nearly as hearty and rich as what I had at the Mercado Central in Cusco. The meat was undoubtedly Gallina (old hen), as it should have been, tough and dry. We noticed that folks seem to think that tourists want "pechuga" (chicken breat)......which is what was got. After this, we started requesting, "no pechuga por favor"....... 

There was one food item I learned about during this lunch....the item on the right in the photo. In the areas we visited in Guatemala and in Copan Ruinas they called it Encurtido, and based on what the main ingredient was in it, perhaps Cebolla(onion) Encurtido, Coliflor (cauliflower) Encurtido, etc.... I made sure to request it with every meal. This version was very good, as you can tell by the jar....sweet, refreshingly sour, with a mild spicy bite.

After lunch we slowly made our way down to the muelle.

 

We envied this guy........

 

San Juan is a relaxed, and sleepy little village.

We made our way to the dock, which, just as the town, was still and peaceful.....

 

I couldn't help but start mumbling:

 "Sittin' in the morning sun,
I'll be sittin when the even comes....."

We had wondered if Lanchas would actually stop here, but sure enough, one of the boats saw us, and made its way to the pier. At this point, I felt fat and happy, but than I realized that four hundred steps was in my future!

Antigua: We arrive, some sights, and Pollo Campero of course......

Our flight left LAX at 1am in the morning, by the time we arrived for our connecting flight in Mexico City, the Missus was exhausted. Unfortunately, we had a six-and-a-half hour layover. The Missus, who had worked seventy or so hours in the previous six days up to our trip was totally fried. Thank God for the American Express Lounge!

 

The Missus collapsed from exhaustion on one of the couches, while I checked the internet, and managed to catch a couple of movies...all of which I'd seen before, but it helped pass the time. Another benefit, which didn't become apparent until later, was that we were the only folks in the lounge. This minimized contact with anyone who could have been carrying the dreaded swine flu, which had not yet become major news.

We arrived, bouncing over the cobblestone streets of Antigua to our hotel, the Hotel Casa Florencia (more on that later) at about 430 in the afternoon. The first thing we did after stowing our bags was to take a walk around the city. Central Antigua itself is not very large, and easy to navigate. The streets are set-up in a grid pattern, the Avenidas go north - south, the Calles go east - west. As with most cities, towns, and villages, the center of town is marked with a Parque Central.

The town itself is colorful, and picturesque, but there's one landmark that seemed to always be in view. It is the Volcan de Agua, which rises over the beaming, bright, and vivid city.

  

Located to the south, Volcan de Agua seems part guardian, standing protectively over Antigua, and yet, it also seems to loom somewhat menacingly above the city at the same time. Mudslides, eruptions, and earthquakes play a very large part in the history of Antigua. The city was once the capital of Guatemala, but after a large earthquake in in 1717 which destroyed over 3,000 structures, followed by a whole series of earthquakes in 1773, the capital was moved to the current location of Guatemala City, and Antigua was mostly abandoned. You can still see many ruins about and around the city.

 

You can always find your way in Antigua, by finding Volcan de Agua.....just look south.

 

Parque Central is the heart of the city, with the Cathedral of San Jose, and the central fountain.

 

With its lactating maidens.....

 

Of all the structures around Parque Central, I was always drawn to the Palace of the Captains General, which borders the entire south side of Parque Central.

 

Once the Spanish Colonial Government was located in this building, which has been destroyed, damaged, and rebuilt after several earthquakes, the last of which was in 1976. Perhaps it was the 27 arches that lined each floor, or the play of light and shadow........

And yet, one just had to glance south to see....

 

Another symbol of Antigua is the famed Arch of Santa Catalina.

 

First completed in 1693, it was built to allow Nuns of the Convent of Santa Catalina to fulfill the conditions of cloister, out of public view and contact, to access a vegetable garden across the street.

And yet, the Volcan de Agua looms above this Antigua icon as well.

 

One only need look up while navigating the cobblestone streets....

 

 

Somehow that volcano managed to get itself into most of out photos of Antigua.

In the mornings, when I opened the door of our room at the Casa Florencia, guess what greeted me?

 

Even now, as I look south, I fully expect to see Volcan de Agua in the the distance......

And then there's Pollo Campero.....which seems like an inauspicious first meal. But one must remember that many folks consider Pollo Campero to be Guatemala's gift to the food world. Founded in 1971, Pollo Campero is literally translated to mean "Country Chicken", and now has branches in 11 countries, including one in Shanghai! Now I've had Pollo Campero in the states, there are several locations in the LA area, and truth be told, I was underwhelmed by greasy and dry chicken. But, I had been told that PC in Guatemala was a different story; and seeing all the folks with bags of PC at La Aurora Airport was an affirmation.

 

After stowing our backpacks, I spoke to the very nice young lady at the front desk of our hotel. Like many folks we ran into in Guatemala, they found my questions about food, a bit well strange and humorous. The young lady brought one of those handy dandy maps out from under the desk, and marked off some of the important places for us; the banks, the large grocery in town, and of course the two Pollo Campero locations. There was one caveat, we were assured that the 5 Avenida Norte location was much better than the location next to the market. The 5 Avenida Norte outlet is just down the block from The Arch, and you can either get in line for "para lleva" (take0out), or take a seat in the pretty large dining area.

 

The Pollo Frito at Campero has a distinctive smell.....much like In-n-Out, you can pick up the scent blocks away. As we entered PC, we suddenly realized that in addition to being exhausted.....we were pretty hungry as well, and went a bit crazy ordering.....

The Missus wanted some greens so we started with the Ensalada de Casa (House salad - 35Q/$4.25):

 

A fairly routine salad, topped with what seemed like "Pechuguitas" (chicken breast strips), which were mildly spicy.

We also ordered a "Torta Sensasion" (Pollo Torta - 15Q/$1.85).

 

A basic chicken sandwich.......one thing we noticed in Guatemala, is that they like their bread really dry, and crumbly. We never quite got used to that. The Missus, who is not fond of frijoles, instantly fell in love with the way frijole negro is made in Guatemala. It is rich and creamy, with a nice flavor. Still, this was just a chicken sandwich.

There was something on the menu I just had to try......the Campero Dog (10Q/$1.25). I saw folks buying dozens of this.......the PC outlets in Flores and La Aurora Airport even had 2 for 18 Quetzal specials.

 

It seemed like this dog had been finished in the deep fryer. Topped with guacamole, coleslaw, and ketchup(!), this just looked wrong. It was pretty good, especially topped with PC's "Salsa Picante", the green stuff, which was tangy, spicy, and mildly sweet....we ended up using it on everything...even as pseudo-salad dressing!

 

I'd eat it on shoe leather! The ketchup however, was not our thing, it was waaay too sweet.

And of course we had some chicken...."traditional" (2 pieces - 23Q/$2.75):

 

Man was this better than in the states....crisp, non-greasy, with a wonderful flavor! It tasted close to broasted.

Another thing that PC in Guatemala has over those in the states are these ladies:

 

In front of every Pollo Campero you'll find ladies sitting with wicker baskets covered with cloth. These ladies are selling tortillas. Which sell for about 4 tortillas per Quetzal (12 cents).

 

Wrapped in brown paper, these tortillas are a perfect partner to Pollo Campero's Pollo Frito....heck, I even just ate the tortillas with the salsa picante on them. On several nights....tired from a day of hikes or travel from town to town, we settled in for two pieces of Pollo Campero, tortillas, and of course, salsa picante.

 

If you want to do it one better, a few streets away (actually everything is pretty much a few streets away in Antigua), you can find a Tortilleria like this one:

 

These shops are usually tiny windowless rooms with a hot comal constantly going. The heat is oppressive, and it is usually a young woman making the tortillas....the constant stacatto "patt-patt-pat-pat-pat" heard outside the door.

 

In Guatemala, tortillas are made with only masa and water. The young lady in this shop, named Susanna, was very nice, and explained that there are three basic types of tortillas in Guatemala, white, yellow, and black.

 

Susanna was only seventeen, and worked in these conditions everyday, we could imagine how hot it got in the room.......it was a humbling experience. We ended up sharing one of our tamals with her. A few days later we walked by the shop, Susanna saw me, and gave me a big smile, and a hearty wave....I guess we kinda stood out here.

Pollo Campero is not cheap by Guatemala standards, but we've seen those women selling tortillas getting on Chicken Buses with boxes of Pollo Frito. That says something. We ate at five different locations of Pollo Campero on this trip, and this location was the best, the Flores location the worst(stay away from the Papas Fritas)....it was like the stuff I had in LA. So what makes the chicken at PC better in Guatemala...who knows, maybe it's the "manteca" (L-A-R-D)? But it is better.

Folks in Guatemala sure love their Pollo Frito.....but lest you think that's all we ate......stay tuned!

We're Back!!

Yes, we're back....... Give me a bit of time to regroup. We had a wonderful time sampling Guatemala and Copan Ruinas in Honduras. We covered quite a bit of territory in 10 days.

Starting with colorful Antigua:

 

The vibrant colors, cobblestone streets, and people, were particularly photogenic.

 

Antigua became the base for our travels on this trip, and we were able to spend some time exploring the city.

 

One of the highlights was the morning we hired a driver and spent the morning exploring the villages around Antigua.

 

We spent two nights at Lago (Lake) Atitlan, staying at the quiet and somewhat isolated Lomas de Tzununa. The view from our porch was unmatched.

 

We spent parts of our two days visiting some of the villages that surround Lago Atitlan such as Tzununa, San Pedro La Laguna, wonderful San Juan La Laguna, and the colorful Santiago Atitlan, where older men still wear the traditional "traje".

 

Our next stop was the island-like town of Flores, on Lake Peten Itza.

  

Flores is the usual stopping off point for magnificent Tikal and it's towering temples.

 

After two nights, and a full day we were off to Honduras, and laid-back Copan Ruinas.

  

We loved Copan Ruinas, and in spite of the grandness of Tikal, we enjoyed the ruins at Copan even more!

 

The amazing carvings and scupltures made hiring a guide necessary, and we were glad we did. Our guide had over ten years of experience at the ruins, so we were provided with tons of stories and information. There's a reason why famed Archeologist Sylvanus Morley called the Ruins at Copan the "Athens of the New World".

We found the folks to be kind, with hearts as big as all of Central America. We made friends with a generous and warm family in Antigua, and on our last day, they decided to have us experience a bit more of Guatemala, which included this breathtaking view of Lago Amatitlan, and their hometown, Amatitlan.

 

And yes, I do remember that this is a food blog.....

 

 

 

And just for a bit more drama.......we had to fly in and out of Mexico City......and the spectre of "Gripe Porcina".....

 

I also realize that I'm still not done with our last trip....so I hope to finish those posts off in the near future as well.

In case you really want to read about Guatemala, please check out Oishii Eats wonderful post.

Thanks for your patience....it's good to be home!

Pupuseria Cabañas 3: Odd Bits and Bites in Yuma

Kirk and the rest of the mmm-yoso crew are no doubt out scouring San Diego and the rest of the world looking for good food to share with you. Today, it's just ed (from Yuma) with more food and photos from his favorite dining destination.

*** I am saddened to write that Pupuseria Cabanas is no more. One of the few cases of a restaurant doomed by its success. At least as I have heard it, the landlord was getting complaints from the towing/repair shop next door that there was no place to park during the day because the pupuseria had too many customers. Lucia was not allowed to be open weekdays, and then on Nov. 1, the restaurant was empty with no sign about another location etc. I will update if (I hope, when) she has relocated ***  :-(

While San Diego has a much richer dining scene than poor old Yuma stuck out in the middle of the desert, Yuma does have one benefit for me. With such limited options, I can fully explore the range of dishes offered by my favorite places. Case in point, I have probably eaten at Pupuseria Cabañas every week since my first visit. In the over two months since my last post on this place, I have tasted many different things and learned more about this tiny and wonderful restaurant. Certainly enough stuff for another post.

Soups

My favorite soup is still probably sopa de pata, whether the hoof is hiding under the tripe:

Or completely visible:

I have even found out what cow toes taste like (the covering skin is very beefy - almost gamey - in flavor):

No matter what cut of hoof or type of tripe, there is always a lot of tasty tendon to chew on:

For something completely different, they offered albondigas one day:

I have no idea if this is authentic Salvadoran or just a Mexican soup that they felt like cooking, but in either case it was very tasty - as good an albondigas as I've had in town.

And the meatballs were especially rich:

One weekday night, my friend Dave suggested having dinner at Pupuseria Cabañas - since he had already been there and tried one of their outstanding soups. That night, the available soup was bean:

The beans were tender and flavorful as were the pieces of soft pork scattered throughout the incredibly rich thick broth. Then, almost simultaneously, Dave and I discovered something weird in our soups. They looked like this:

Oh my god! What were these? What do you think these skin covered, bony, finger-length things were? Hint: a pig has only one of them.

No, not that! These were pigtails. Yeh, I thought they'd be curly also. Clearly, the skin, bones, and richness of these appendages contributed to the wonderful succulence of the dish. It may be the best single bowl of bean soup I've ever eaten.

Other Dishes

In addition to always having pupusas and a soup, I have found that other tasty items are sometimes available at the restaurant. For example, one day they had a Salvadoran version of a torta, the flavorful chicken touched with Salvadoran coleslaw and something like a barbecue sauce:

For breakfast, one can get fried bananas served with black beans,queso blanco, and crema:

The pureed black beans were flavorful, and the tangy sour dairy items complemented the slightly sweet bananas.

On another occasion, the special was fried yuca and what they call chicharrones (here pork, not skin):

The pork was the essence of deep fried piginess, and the yuca (note - this is not yucca) was a revelation. I have had fried yuca elsewhere and had always been disappointed with the limp greasy results. Here it was absolutely perfect; the outside of the vegetable was crunchy with no hint of grease and the inside was light, fluffy, and starchy.

Over time, I have grown more fond of the rich chicken tamales (even though I have learned that no banana leaves are killed in their preparation):

Mystery Veggie

In a previous post on this restaurant, I mentioned that my favorite type of pupusa had cheese and some sort of green veggie in it. I have since learned that this vegetable is called loroco, and basically, it is a flower bulb. A bunch of them look like this:

Loroco gives pupusas a distinct herby almost flowery aroma that I find very pleasant. Mixed with cheese inside a pupusa, this is how they look:

Other Notes

The variety and quality of the aguas frescas at Pupuseria Cabañas continues to be remarkable. I have had various fruit drinks ensalada - topped with fresh chopped fruits - often apple and mango:

Other fruits are also served regular agua fresca style, and at times, I have had melon, strawberry, watermelon, and at least one slightly sour Salvadoran fruit whose name I've forgotten.

At least on their business cards, the restaurant is now officially known as Pupuseria Cabañas - no mention of tacos. The name derives from the inland state of Cabañas in El Salvador (where the family is from). Before coming to the desert, they lived in Hawthorne, California.

I know many of you are eager to jump in your car or hop on an airplane just to come to Yuma and eat at this restaurant. Therefore, it is my duty to let you know that our current temperatures are usually over 110°. Also, the restaurant will be closed from July 21-August 8. But do come visit in the fall; the wonderful food at this restaurant is worth the cost of gas (at least from San Diego or Phoenix. From London or Tokyo, your results might differ.)

One last note: I have learned that the restaurant actually has a phone number, (928) 782-1874, so visitors may call ahead to find out what dishes are available.

Pupuseria Cabañas, 3405 8th St, Yuma AZ, (928) 782-1874

Aji Seco

*** Aji Seco has closed and is now Nazca Grill

When I first heard about Aji Seco, I was over-joyed! More Peruvian in San Diego...wonderful! Problem was, I couldn't find the darn place. When FOY(Friend of Yoso) Candice finally gave me some instructions on the location, I was dumbfounded......the restaurant was located practically under my nose:

So of course I headed up to check out Aji Seco.....than headed back up, again, and again, and again, with no luck. It seemed like the place was never open!  After having such a great time in Peru, we decided that there would be no better way to spend V-Day, than at a Peruvian Restaurant. So we thought we'd try and see if the place was open...and hit paydirt!

The tiny restaurant was pretty full, and all the clientele looked Peruvian. The first thing I noticed was that Aji Seco, and the neighboring Taco Shop, Nieto's was connected by this large gaping entranceway:

For some reason, the phrase, "like brothers from different Mothers" was silently uttered.... Nieto's and Aji Seco, though not affiliated(at least that is what I was told), and with separate kitchens, was connected by this umbilical doorway, and 2 other things; the Taco Shop's salsa bar is located on the Aji Seco side, while the restrooms are on the Taco Shop side. It was quite interesting to see, Guys in flip-flops and shorts strolling past the tables of the more well attired customers on his way to the salsa bar.

The menu "Del Dia", I was guessing that the menu will differ from day to day, featured a good array of standard Peruvian specialties, ranging from Aji de Gallina to Cebiche de Pescado. The Missus was in heaven.....She saw one of Her favorite dishes, Pescado a lo Macho($11):

When the plate arrived the sauce was cold, so we flagged down the Server, who was very apologetic, the plate was returned a short time later, the problem corrected. The Missus enjoyed the moist, and well seasoned fish. There wasn't much seafood in the cream based sauce, which had less tomato and was less spicy than what I was used to, but the Missus enjoyed it, and thought it well flavored.

Of course, I ordered the Lomo Saltado($10):

This was a solid rendition of what many consider to be Peru's National Dish. The beef was fairly tender, and the ratio of ingredients was excellent. The flavoring was less tangy than some versions I've had, but the flavor was still good. What I didn't care for was the rice, which was very hard.

Overall, not a bad meal...the Missus had considered getting the Cebiche, but thought the weather was just too cold to order it...which of course meant another visit. Before we left, we asked about the hours of operation, and was told, "maybe 5 or 6pm, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and today we're open."

So a few weeks later, we arrived to get the Missus her Cebiche de Pescado($8.50) fix:

The Leche de Tigre(Tiger's Milk - the cebiche marinade) was nice and "picante", lower in citrus, so not as sour. The fish was very fresh, and had a nice "chew". The Missus really enjoyed this, it may just be Her new favorite. The only thing that we weren't pleased with were the Cancha(toasted corn kernels) which were dry, crumbled like sawdust, and tasted like the cheap, mass produced packaged stuff we had in Lima. The camote (sweet potato) had been overcooked, thus making it mushy, and all the flavor had been leached out of it. Still, the Missus really enjoyed the Cebiche!

The Missus also ordered a "small" portion of Aji de Gallina($5.00):

The Missus didn't enjoy this very much. The chicken was stringy, the sauce pasty, the potatoes lacked flavor, and it was just very bland overall.

I ordered Seco de Carne(Beef Stew - $9):

This was excellent, and hit on all cylinders; the beef was stewed to a perfect texture, and the nice meaty flavor came through. The cilantro, and I'm guessing, vegetable based "gravy" was wonderful as well. The Missus kept attacking my plate... I also really enjoyed the Frijoles a la Nortena - the creamy and tasty Canary Beans. The only thing I didn't care for was the rice....again, really hard, and dry.

We finished off the meal with some Lucuma(Egg Fruit) Ice Cream:

We were given a huge bowl of Ice Cream! I thought the ice cream tasted kind of "old" and the Lucuma flavor was very faint. Still, it sure was a generous amount.

  The service on both visits, while a bit disorganized, was very friendly and accommodating. It looks like they're still some "kinks" to work out, both food(the side dishes) and service wise, but both the Cebiche and Seco de Carne gave us reason to return. The prices are very reasonable for Peruvian food. I'm sure that things will improve as the restaurant opens with more regular hours. One of the Owners; Carlos Gonzalez, told us that Aji Seco's Grand Opening will be on March 15th! We may just check it out.

Aji Seco
4310 Genesee Ave
San Diego, CA 92117

Do you ever go back to restaurants? Latin Chef, Tsuruhashi, Asia Cafe, and Izakaya Sakura

A question posed in a recent email (thanks CVChow!), and of course the answer is a resounding yes! It's just that I'm perhaps a little slower on "the trigger" with places I've already posted on. But once in a while I still take photos. But questions like this made me realize that I need to update my "rotation", and I will do so in the upcoming weeks.

So here are some revisits, mostly photos...kind of what Uber OC Food Blogger Elmomonster would call a "photo super shoot"...in my case, it's just a bunch of photos....

Even More Latin Chef:

One of 3 restaurants I need to add to our rotation list. The Cebiche Pescado is a current obsession of the Missus:

She craves this once or twice a week, always finishing by sipping the Leche De Tigre (Tiger's Milk) with a spoon.

Here's a photo of the Tiradito:

Tiradito is, from what I've been told a Japanese influenced Peruvian raw fish dish. This version was made using the Aji Amarillo. The fish had been sliced into strips and slightly flattened with the blade of a knife. Hmmm, sounds really similar to some of the dishes a fairly well known Chef and Restaurant Owner named "Nobu" does. Nice, though not a refreshing as the Cebiche. BTW, did you know that the Sushi Bar in Lima that Nobu co-founded is still in business? It's called Matsuei, and on our list of possible restaurants to visit for our trip to Peru later this year.

You can find previous posts on Latin Chef here and here.

Tsuruhashi, Again:

We've been eating there every other week or so. In fact, I need to revise my statement about the manager. From our second visit on, he's been so very nice, and always comes by to chat or to say hello. In fact, as I left the other day, he stopped me, shook my hand, and in the very formal Japanese way, handed me his business card.

So here's some other stuff!

The Prime Beef Tongue:

Pork Belly:

A current favorite of the Missus, the Prime Tongue w/Onion.

You only cook this baby on one side...

One of my favorite "cuts" is the Prime Skirt, it is also one of the most inexpensive at $5.25.

Though a tad more chewy than other cuts, it is still quite tender. The payoff is the nice beefy flavor.

Another one for our rotation, the original post can be found here.

Even more Asia Cafe:

That doesn't mean we still don't visit some of our favorites. Here's a few photos from Asia Cafe during a recent really fun meal with Ed from Yuma.

The Yum Asia:

Nem Khao:

With the full complement of Greens and Herbs.

The See Nam Tok:

As good as I remembered. Previous posts on Asia Cafe can be found here and here.

The $12 Lunch Bento from Izakaya Sakura:

So many posts on this place. Here's a photo I had lingering around, Clayfu has a nice post.

You can read the Chowhound post here. It is a lot of food, almost too much for a workday lunch, if you know what I mean. I've heard complaints about the lunch not being very hot....methinks that person does not know what a "bento" lunch is all about. It's a box lunch, whose history goes back to the 11th or 12th century. While digging around, I found a nice little post here. Other posts on Sakura can be found here, here, and here.

Finally, a bit of Saturday silliness:

Earlier this week, I was standing in line at the grocery check-out, and you know how some couples talk really loud, and sometimes you learn or hear a bit more than you really wanted. This young couple was in the midst of a conversation....

Young Lady: "I heard a joke that I really don't understand....I think it's really stupid, and not funny."
Young Man: "What what is...."
YL: "Some of the guys were joking around, and said - Milk a bull, and make a friend for life..."
YM chokes and spits his gum out involuntarily: "Gasp....."
YL: "What's so funny...you can't milk a bull!"
By now everyone in line is cracking up, the cashier is turning a nice red color.
YM: "Think about it, if you tried to milk a bull....."
YL: "Hey, I'm not stupid, I know Bulls are male and you can't milk them!"
YM: "Say, you tried to milk a bull?"
YL: "But you can't milk a bull...."
YM, by now somewhat composed: "But if you really tried to, ahem, milk a bull......."
YL: "That's just dumb...."
YM, looking around at all the laughing people: "Must be a lot of dumb people in this line...."

Have a nice weekend.......

Latin Chef Part 2

In my waaaay too wordy first part, I think I spent too much time on "stuff", and not enough on the food, so I'm hoping to rectify that with part 2. After my very enjoyable first visit, I knew I had to convince the Missus that Latin Chef was worth a visit...it really wasn't very hard!

So a few evenings later we found ourselves having dinner at Latin Chef.

We started with the usual Canchita, and the Missus had a glass of the Chica Morada($1.50), the very sweet drink made from Purple Maize.(Sorry no photo) We started with a bowl of Sopa a la Criolla("Creole soup" - $8.50):

This very mildly spicy, tomato and cream based broth was rich, but not heavy. The soup contained angel hair pasta, and a few pieces of shredded beef. The Missus, as is Her M.O., took ownership of the fried egg...and declared it "delici-yoso!!!"

I ordered the Aji De Gallina("Chili chicken" - $8.50):

This is one of the "standard" Peruvian dishes. The sauce is made with Aji Amarillo(yellow chile). Aji Amarillo is the most common chile in Peru, when young the chile is green, and is used in sauces. At the "ripe" stage the pepper is yellow in color, and is used in Aji de Gallina. When fully mature the chile is a deep orange-red color, and is at it's most pungent state. Cream, bread, cheese, and usually walnuts make up the rest of the sauce, which is served with strips of chicken. The sauce was thick, and on the mild side, which I livened up a bit with some "Aji", and not as "nutty", nor a spicy as another version I had several years back. The chicken was fine, if a tad on the "dry" side.

The Missus ordered the real "winner" of the evening, the Arroz con Mariscos (The daily special, Seafood Rice - $10.00):

Beyond the nicely flavored rice, and wonderful roasted vegetables, what really impressed us was the preparation of the seafood. The calamari was soft, and very tender, as was the octopus. This was quite good, there was one request that the Missus mentioned to Freddie for the next time she orders this...she asked if next time she could get some chopped Papas Fritas(french fries). To which the always obliging Freddie said; "no problem...we'll make one up special for you!" You gotta love these mom and pop places!

One thing did bother us on this visit, the place was totally empty the entire time we ate. We started worrying about Latin Chef surviving. But all such thoughts evaporated when we visited on a recent Sunday. On this day, the place was packed to the rafters, with no seats available in the tiny restaurant, but we decided to sit outside and enjoy the sun.

I had designs of starting our meal with some Papa a la Huacaina(Potatoes with Huacaina Sauce), after all the potato was first cultivated in the Peruvian Incas. I was over-ruled by the Missus who loves Yuca, so we ended up with Yuca a la Huacaina($6.00):

The pieces of Yuca were fried to perfection, slightly crisp on the outside, and nice and starchy, without being too dense in the interior. The Huacaina sauce, basically a cheese sauce, with Aji Amarillo and cream, was a bit too cheesy for the Missus. This version was made with Parmesan cheese, which made slightly more salty than what I'm used too.

For my entree, I went with a classic "Chifa" (Chinese-style) dish, Arroz Chaufa a la Carne ($8.50):

If you think this looks a lot like fried rice, you'd be right, that is exactly what it is. This version was a bit more simple than the Arroz Chaufa Especial that I enjoyed from El Rocoto in Gardena. While the beef was on the dry and tough side, the scrambled egg had been mixed with soy sauce, and I believe there was a hint of chile as well, making it very tasty.

On this occasion the Missus again did a fine job ordering the Pescado a lo Macho (again the daily special, Fried Fish with Mixed Seafood - $10.00):

A breaded and fried white fish fillet was smothered with a very mildly spicy tomato based sauce and  mixed seafood. Like our previous meal, the seafood was cooked well, the Octopus was especially good, with an almost melt in your mouth texture, without being mushy. Whatever means of marinading and tenderizing is done, it is done well.

After this experience, I'd recommend reservations if you're planning to have lunch on a weekend. At this time Latin Chef does not have a liquor license, so sorry, no Pisco Sours, if you want a Cerveza, you'll be directed to the liquor store down the street. The service is very friendly and accommodating, keep in mind that this is a one chef in the kitchen restaurant, so you may have a bit of a wait for your food, but chances are it would be worth it. There are at least 2 "specials" daily that add a nice variety to the menu.

On the bottom of the sign to right it says, "Warning, Peruvian food is addictive!" At the least, the food at Latin Chef does not lack flavor.

Latin Chef
1142 Garnet Ave
San Diego, CA 92109
(858)-270-8810

Kudos to Ed from Yuma, another great find!

You can find part1, here.