Taco Tuesday at Azucar Lounge: Mostly Not About Tacos

3 / 9 / 157 / 22 / 15

Taco tuesday at Azucar Lounge was almost exactly what you would expect from a bar in SOMA: not having anything to do with good tacos. I still have some things to say about it though.

Tacos: At first bite the two specials on the Taco Tuesday menu reminded me of taco nights at my dad’s house when I was a kid. Now my dad makes mole and chile verde, and like much of America has evolved his taste for Mexican cuisine. But back in the day taco night was as midwestern as he is: hard taco shells, canned refried beans, ground beef, mexican rice, thickly grated orange cheese, shredded lettuce, and chopped tomatoes. Azucar’s tacos were about the same, except for the vegetarian version with squash, the wimpy tortilla, and the more appropriately thinly shredded cheese. My friend Ramses described the horror he experienced after moving to the US and seeing hard taco shells for the first time, I felt that same horror trying to hold together these wimpy tortillas as they fell apart under the weight of the filling. $12 for unlimited tacos, if this is still your thing.

Drinks: We went for the $5 margarita special ($25 for a carafe which serves six drinks). It’s not a bad margarita for $5.

Hot dog: Being with Ramses, who is from Sonora, we were obligated to try the Sonora dog. Which they apparently don’t offer on Taco Tuesdays, but made an exception. Except that it was missing the salsa verde and the beans, so I think they just said they made an exception and put together their Mexican dog and Sonora dog, which basically is a lot of Mexico happening to a hot dog. Pretty much involved a bacon wrapped hot dog, mustard, ketchup, grilled onions and peppers and queso fresco. It should have been warmer when it arrived, but the real hard truth is I’m not going to spend time analyzing a $5 danger dog because we all know they’re good when we need them.

Place: This is a winning place to drink away the evening for so many reasons. I’m so done with a crowded SOMA bar where I have to fight my way to the bartender to order some cheap drink by the time happy hour is over. Here it’s the opposite. Make a reservation (I did it probably two hours in advance) and you’ll get to sit on a couch or love seat, partitioned so that every seating arrangement feels private. Streamers, art, vintage chests, and soft lights make it feel warm and colorful, but the windows are slightly opaque so it’s dark and cozy. Juanes is on the speakers (yes!) The servers come to you, and they’re charming and attentive.

In the end, I will be back for a drink and I will add this to the list of places for late night eats, the kitchen is open til 1 am on Fri and Sat. But I will probably not be back on a Tuesday.

http://www.azucarsf.com/about.html
99 9th Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 255-2982

5 Places for Brunch, Lunch and Coffee in LA

1 / 28 / 156 / 10 / 15

I am visiting LA more and more, and each time finding new ways to start my day. Enjoy:

Guerrilla Tacos

This taco truck is putting everything fancy and good on a taco like they don’t give a fuck. Oxtail and foie gra. Uni and hamachi. Crab with a poached egg. Lamb meatball tortas. But don’t even start to roll your eyes, my dear $2 taco traditionalists. They throw down like the best when it comes to carnitas. Yes, you’re paying more for a taco, because the menu changes daily based on the availability of fresh, well-cared for ingredients. Tortillas are nice and toasty and the salsas are bright. I loved that they also had a few veggie options the day I visited:
~Sunchoke taco with persimmon, castlevaltrano olives, almond chile, scallions, pistachio.
~McGrath farms baby rapini and bacon taco with fried egg, aged English coastal cheddar, arbol chile, chives.
~Baby Artichoke quesadilla with Oaxacan cheese, queso fresco, raw tomatillo chile, avocado, red pepper escabeche, herbs.

Shut up already, Guerrilla.

I visited them outside of Blacktop Coffee, right in the heart of the arts district. There’s a hipster lifestyle store (is that what those places with well-crafted things you don’t need and ill-fitting boxy dresses are called?) and a juice stand right there to keep you entertained while you wait. Walk around the block to enjoy the murals and grab a slice of pie at the pie hole.

SQIRL

Pesto sorrel rice bowl could be so boring and hippie. But SQIRL is one of those places where every damn thing is a million times more delicious than you think it should be. Even though I was confused by that lonely translucent slice of watermelon radish that was not quite an ingredient but not pretty enough to be a garnish, I didn’t care once I dug in. That creamy, rich sheep feta. That tang of preserved meyer lemon. Jesus. This menu, full of seasonal hashes and juice and jam and breakfast bowls is exactly how I want to eat every morning.

Tasting Kitchen
I’m over the bacon fad but never the bacon waffle. This place makes a great one. If there was a taste expression for doing a double take their biscuit made me do that. The 1-inch thick french toast tasted like brioche soaked in buttermilk. It was like I was a walking shiny cube of European butter after this meal: higher in fat content, but feelin classy. Make a reservation.

Superba Food + Bread

Save for a few exceptions, Venice actually begs for some good food. While I’ve made it a routine to stop at Gjelina for a little duck sausage pizza on route from the airport to Topanga, I haven’t figured where else to stop for a quick, good lunch. I think this is it. The pastries and the place are equally as pretty. The former autobody shop mixes splashes of wood, yellow, green and blue, and a side wall covered in black and white food illustrations opens into a sunny sidewalk patio. It’s airy and comfortable. I feel like I’m in Southern California when I’m here.

The menu feels just as effortless. There’s a coffee bar where you can grab pastries to munch on while you wait to be seated. Toast options range from sweet to savory— we enjoyed the prosciutto with cultured butter and arugula. The frisee salad with slow cooked egg and bacon confit was perfectly done.

Expect a short wait during weekend brunch.

Cafecito Organico

If I ever have to get some work done in the east side I know where I’m headed. Well, provided it’s not raining. This LA-based coffee roaster has a cozy cafe, the bulk of it an outside astroturf patio, complete with leather booths, colorful lawn chairs, and bouganvia hanging from the walls. It’s about time someone made sitting in silence and staring at our laptops more comfortable.

Got the travel bug?
Cafecito Organico
Superba Food + Bread
Tasting Kitchen
SQIRL
Guerilla Tacos (check their schedule on FB)

In between meals: Check out the Grandes Maestros exhibit at the Natural History Museum!

Treat Yourself: Ice Cream and Chocolate in Merida

1 / 4 / 157 / 31 / 16

Boy, have my taste buds changed. Ten years ago when I wasn’t drinking a beer in the Merida plaza I was sitting across the street at Helados Colon enjoying an ice cream. There’s nothing special inside this classic parlor since 1907, but the tables outside have a perfect view of the cathedral and plaza. However, on my return I ordered a mamey ice cream and it was so teeth-aching-bubble-gum-syrupy-sweet I couldn’t take a second bite.

So, here are a few places I stumbled upon that don’t quite have the same view but taste much better:

La Principal

My friend Mario said that when he was little La Principal was the go-to ice cream cart and that everything is still made the same way, with real ingredients. The original owner sold the business but the new owners have kept the recipes. I tried the peanut and the elote, both of which tasted like the real things. Don’t expect any bells and whistles here. Just ice cream in a styrofoam cup.

Pola

I was drawn to this new gelato shop on a cute stretch of 57th by their bright blue sign with three ice cream cones and the bicycle resting below on the two toned peach building walls. Gelato, an unlocked bike, and sunny walls… Merida is a city, but sometimes it feels just like a big town. I didn’t try the gelato, but I did have a guanabana sorbet which was light and a little icey, but with such a clean, natural flavor I didn’t mind. Other interesting-looking flavors included chocolate with chile and watermelon with mint.

Ki’Xocolatl

Not only is this sleek little chocolate store on the Santa Lucía plaza making their own chocolate bars and operating a lovely café, they’re also starting to grow their own cacao beans here in Yucatan. Chocolate goes all the way back to Moctezuma times (royalty used to drink chocolate all day, every day) but for some reason it’s not cultivated in the Yucatan peninsula anymore. I can’t wait to see how it goes.

The hot or cold chocolate drinks are served in white modern mugs, but you’re still required to quickly stir lollipop-like chocolate sticks to melt and whisk the chocolate, just like you would with a traditional molino. It’s a fun touch.

Got the travel bug?
La Principal
Calle 65 x 66

Pola
Calle 55 x 62 y 64

Ki’Xocolatl
In the Santa Lucia Plaza
Calle 60 X 55

TAP

Want more? Follow Ferronlandia on Instagram!

24 Hours in Valladolid

10 / 28 / 147 / 31 / 16

Ten years ago I came to Valladolid for a night with my fellow study abroad students. It was my 20th birthday and we set out to find a bottle of tequila to bring back to the hotel only to find that most places were closed. We ended up with a bottle of unlabeled clear liquid we got from a convenience store. I believe I threw it up in the hotel lobby. For the rest of my year in Merida Valladolid was always a little bit of a joke to me, another mid-size colonial town with yes, some pretty buildings and nothing to do. In 2012 when I saw an article in the NYT calling Valladolid the new Yucatecan cool I laughed and didn’t even click on the link.

So, here I am a decade later totally charmed after 24 hours. Per the usual in these parts, Valladolid was built in 1545 on top of a Mayan town, whose buildings were destroyed and stones reused to construct the Spanish infrastructure. To get a complete historical picture keep in mind that Valladolid makes a good base to explore the surrounding spectacular Mayan ruins like Ek Balam, Chichen Itza, Coba, and my favorite, Uxmal. Cathedrals might be pretty, but these ruins will make your jaw drop.

I’m glad I returned— a little more perceptive, adventurous, and much more selective with my tequila choices.

I might listen because you’re so pretty.

Cathedral of San Servacio

Hotel Casa Tia Micha

Just one of 3,000 pieces at Casa de Los Venados, a private residence with one of the largest private collections of Mexican folk art. An absolute must. Tours are at 10 am or make a reservation.

Cathedral of San Servacio

La plaza

Elote (grilled corn) in the plaza

Snacks outside of the market.

El mercado municipal

It’s pumpkin season here too! El mercado municipal.

Calzada de los Frailes, which used to connect the Mayan village of Sisal to the city center.

El convento de San Bernardino de Siena

Hot chocolate at Cacao chocolate store, museum and cafe. Served in a jícara.

200-year old tiles are everywhere, I’m now obsessed.

Coqui Coqui Perfumeria and Spa.

Dutzi Design, one of the stores on Calzado de los Frailes using traditional materials and methods to make new products.

Valladolid, the new Brooklyn. A hipster barbershop, colonial style.

There are a few stores next to the barbershop selling baskets, ceramics, hammocks and beautiful panama hats. On Calzado de los Frailes.

Vegetarian lunch at Yerbabuena de Sisal (green juice with chaya— a local green— and pineapple not pictured!)

Eat
http://www.diamantedechocolate.com/home.htm (on Calzado de los Frailes)
https://www.facebook.com/YerbabuenaDelSisal (good for breakfast)
http://tabernadelosfrailes.com (the cochinita and pie de limon are to die for)
(Both restaurants above are near San Bernardino)
La Selva, a local spot for panuchos and salbutes, popular Yucatecan snacks. Open for dinner. You won’t spend more than $5 USD. Calle 31 con calle 42.

Shop
(on Calzado de los Frailes)
http://www.coquicoquiperfumes.com
http://dutzidesign.com/dutzi/Home.html
Tequileria Pancho Villa on Calazado, a great shop featuring tons of GOOD tequila.

Stay
http://casatiamicha.wix.com/casatiamicha
A lovely restored colonial home now housing a B&B. Wonderful people.

Do
http://www.casadelosvenados.com
Mercado Municipal (go in the mornings)
Calzado de los Frailes
El convento de San Bernardino de Siena

Nieves Cinco de Mayo Celebrates 7 Years of Mexican Ice Cream

8 / 2 / 145 / 3 / 15

There are three central lessons I learned while talking to Don Luis Abundis, the owner of Nieves Cinco De Mayo in Fruitvale:

1. My mom may always be my biggest fan and my harshest critic. Since the beginning of his business Don Luis’s mother has been helping him come up with flavors, determine what’s marketable, and telling him when something sucks. If she doesn’t like a flavor usually nobody else likes it. I giggled as she lovingly corrected him several times while he told me his business story. My mom, as well as another motherly figure in my life, is probably emailing me right now to tell me about a typo and I hope she always does.

2. The business owners in Fruitvale that I call or visit frequently probably do think I’m la migra at first (which I’ve always suspected). I’ve definitely been hung up on just for calling and asking when the owner would be around. Don Luis told me that he was positive John Birdsall, who would frequently come by to eat ice cream and ask lots of questions, was la migra for a very long time. I’m not sure why an ICE officer would ask questions about arroz con leche ice cream, but I can’t really blame him for being paranoid.

3. Go for your dreams. Don Luis grew up in a small town near Guadalajara. His uncle made ice cream and Luis learned the art from him. In 1984 he came to the US and after years of working “como migrante” (like an immigrant), he started the ice cream business with three flavors and a paleta cart. Then he bought a real truck and seven years ago he moved into the Fruitvale Public Market. The ice cream is hand-made with mostly simple, natural ingredients in an open bucket set over ice and salt. Expect flavors like elote (corn), guava, cactus fruit, and rice. There’s also bubblegum, made from the all natural ingredient of… blue bubblegum? I can’t say I love all the ice cream, some of the sorbets are a little icey and sometimes the milk flavor overpowers the rest of the ingredients. But I do love the mangonadas too (see below) and I know there are a few flavors I am bound to enjoy, I just haven’t tried all of them yet. Don Luis got a little teary-eyed during our interview— on that day it had been seven years since he opened the shop.

Here’s a little video featuring Don Luis explaining how he makes his mangonadas, which came to be after a family from Richmond asked him to add some chile to his mango sorbet…then some chamoy, then some lime, then some real mango. He makes the chile powder with three different types of chile and lots of salt. The whole concoction— much like a real live version of a mango lollipop covered in chile— is sweet, savory, a little spicy and kinda bizarre.

http://nievescincodemayo.com/index.html