Text 19711, 88 rader
Skriven 2007-08-27 16:00:38 av Ruth Haffly (1:396/45.28)
     Kommentar till en text av MICHAEL LOO
Ärende: hello 39
================
Hi Michael,

 RH> little Mexican place about 10 minutes from where we live.  He agreed,
 RH> and after supper, agreed that it was better than going all the way out
 RH> to Wilmington Island.  It hit the spot perfectly.

 ML> Report wanted! I really love the little ethnic places - Dave the Sas
 ML> has one near him that I enjoyed very much (it had tacos made out of
 ML> weird offal meats, which was wonderful - what could have been worked
 ML> on a bit was the thickness of the little tortillas, but then at least
 ML> one could tell they were homemade).

OK, El Portro has about 3 places locally; I found a coupon in one of
these ValPaks so we decided to give it a try several months ago.  The
first time we had lunch there, we noticed a good number of Spanish
speaking clients, always a good sign.  We got the combo plates of a
burrito, beans, and a spanish style rice.  Overall, pretty good.  They
give you complimentary fresh chips and a medium hot salsa and are good
about refills on that.  Drinks do include hortchata; the other Mexican
place we tried only has it on the week ends.

The second time we went for the buffet; the quality wasn't as good as
the meal off the menu so we stuck with menu both times we've been back
since.  It's all the usual Mexican suspects--taco, chimichangas,
burritos, enchiladas, etc and they don't use the copious amounts of
cilantro our favorite place in HI did.  Meats available include beef,
chicken, pork and shrimp--usually lightly marinaded and grilled. It's
really nothing fancy but good eats at a reasonable price; I think we
usually come out about $25. for supper (a bit less for lunch) with tip.
The beans are covered with cheese; they and the rice have a bit of a
"bite" to them--just enough for me but Steve usually adds the left over
salsa (from the chips) to his.  Service is decently fast and the wait
staff isn't hovering over you all the time. It's a small store front
operation (at least the one we go to) so there's not a lot of seating
nor "ambiance"; we've always gotten in and seated right away.  Overall,
much, much better than Taco Bell. (G)  The fact that most of the
customers are Spanish speaking indicates that this is probably a taste
of home for them, yet enjoyable for Americanos as well.


 RH> brands on us recently; I like the new ones better.  The heat level is
 RH> toned down just a bit, allowing the other flavors to come thru.

 ML> I beg to differ regarding the heat level. For me, anything short
 ML> of scorching homicidal hot improves the actions of the taste buds
 ML> rather than otherwise.

I'd still ratehr be able to taste the other flavors vs having my muth
burned out.


 ML> Tournedos Henry IV
 RH> That looks like something I'd either make only for super special
 RH> occaisions

 ML> Yeah, that's the whole point of the dish. Special occasion food.
 ML> See below for something that would be rare occasion food for me
 ML> but might be more routine for you.


Ice cream is more routine here but I get chocolate without coffee. (G)


 ML>   or enjoy while eating out and not worry about the fuss &
 RH> clean up.  I'd have to look for a salt pork substitute if I made them
 RH> at home. (G)

 ML> Corned beef fat or pastrami would be closest; otherwise
 ML> you could just omit.

I think I'd save this for special eating out times; that way I could
enjoy the pork. (G)

 ML> Chocolate espresso ice cream
 ML> cat: dessert
 ML> yield: 3 qt


---
Catch you later,
Ruth
rchaffly@earthlink.net  FIDO 1:396/45.28


... Is this a Kodak moment or a Maalox moment?

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