Comida Mexicano NYC

I'm reliving the Pachuca lifestyle, if only in accessibility to delicious food. Perhaps its the grace of the goddess Demeter, but I've moved into a neighborhood with a Mexican community. There are several Poblano eateries within a few blocks of my house. Poblano is the demonym for the residents of Puebla, a town an hour east of Mexico City. My town was an hour north, so the cuisine is similar.

I had legit albóndigas on Saturday at Taqueria La Asuncion.

Today on the way to the train a street vendor was selling $1 salsa verde tamales. That's what I ate every morning in Pachuca, at almost exactly the same price. Que rico guey!

Note, I have yet to find a delicious burrito in this city.

Today I'm working from Current in Manhattan. I can go in as often as I please. Someone in the office called me "slightly corporate." I guess that's a good way to describe this situation.

Tacos Tours: North Hollywood

My Canadian friend Ryan came to visit me from Colombia. We met in Mexico so naturally we have an unwavering love for tacos. North Hollywood is like the taco capital of North America, so I took him on a short taco tour, to taste the offerings of this fine city.

VALLARTA MART - VICTORY BLVD

Carne Asada // Al Pastor // Carnitas



Not very Fresh!

Too Salty!

TACOS MEXICO - SHERMAN WAY

Al Pastor//Carnitas//Carne Asada





Better, but still a little too salty.

The Al Pastor was better, but I like it fresh.

TACO BELL - OXNARD BLVD

Just kidding
EL TACO LOCO - LANKERSHIM BLVD

Carne Asada//Carnitas

Que delicioso!

An enjoyable freshness.

Best Tacos So Far!

HENRY'S TACOS - MOORPARK AVE

In a totally different class than the previous.

This is the Americana Style Taco.

They do it the best.

You can tell, because he's pointing at it.

Arrivals

I flew across the continent last night. Well maybe it was two nights ago, these things are still unclear to me.



I've slept long enough to readjust myself to perceive reality like a normal person.

I arrived at The Ritz-Carlton San Juan yesterday afternoon. I am staying on a concierge floor, which requires a key to get to. I had to take the elevator to the seventh floor, walk to the stairs and sneak to the ninth. At the top I waited for my mom in a lounge. They offer classy snacks like Proscuitto and Gruyere cheese. My mom arrived, I fell asleep.

Last night we went to a restaurant in Old San Juan that specializes in a fusion between Pan-Asian and Pan-Latino foods. It's globalization gone right.

I ate Szechwan Duck Nachos.



Allow me to explore more.

Re: Of Hyphyness and Red Meat

I didn't get hyphy, but I did spend one hundred dollars on a steak.

The food was delicious, but I think I have to stick to Maruchan.

----

As I sat down the waiter asked me if I wanted a black napkin.

"huh?"
"a black napkin, sir."
"what?"
"a black napkin, so you don't get lint on your suit."

I was wearing a suit.

This was my introduction to fine dining.

I enjoy food a lot. A third of my income goes towards dining. (A third to booze, and a third to travel, which tends to result in funds being redirected to food and booze.)

The food I normally eat costs less than eight bucks. I eat a lot of sandwiches, tacos, and salads. I go out to lunch everyday.

I'm making money now, so I can splurge on big meals once in a while.

Even though I have the fiscal capital to finely dine, I lack the cultural capital to eat at those places.

My palette isn't sophisticated enough to note the nuances between 1982 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild and 2003 Charles Shaw Cabernet. I can tell you that each could probably get me drunk.

I also don't know, nor care to learn, the customs of fine dining. But I do appreciate the black napkin.

I was thinking that I should open an informal "hundred dollar steak" restaurant. That's a bad idea though. Classy joints exist because they are expensive. Eating the finest cut of meat has more to do with where you are, than your cultivated taste buds. Filet Mignon tastes different when you are wearing shorts. Fine Dining is an arena for average people to investigate the performance of the elite. While you're being served and made a glutton you feel the way that we presume wealthy blue bloods feel.

An informal formal restaurant loses that aura of aristocracy, and thus is probably not a good idea for a business venture.

Though if I was going to spend $100 at an informal restaurant, I'd probably just buy 200 tacos from Jack in the Box.