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I'm trying to recreate the Mexican street churros I've had in some Mexican cities. Unlike the kind you get in most panaderias or in a churreria like El Moro in Mexico City, the churros from these street vendors are shorter and fatter and lighter. Okay, I've tried three recipes now: 1) Bayless's in One Plate at a Time, essentially water, sugar, salt brought to a boil and about an equal amount of flour to water stirred in thoroughly. 2) Ortiz's recipe in Mexican Cooking, essentially water, sugar, salt brought to a boil and about 1.5 times the amount of flour added to water and then 1 egg to every cup of water. 3) My adjustments on Ortiz's recipe, with slightly less flour than water and two eggs instead of one per cup of water. The picture in the Bayless book looks exactly like what I wanted. But they turned out the most bready of all the recipes. The egg seemed to improve the recipe, but Ortiz's was too dry, imo. So I made my adjustments which seemed to help a bit. Anyone have a good recipe? Poore's book has a recipe quite similar to Ortiz's, but with a better description and equal parts flour and water. One weird thing is how much mixing is necessary. Seems like you wouldn't want to build the gluten with all that mixing. Also, if anyone knows where to buy a professional churrera, I would be very interested.

I want to know how, much, if any weight you guys gained. I just did a "tour" myself, mostly Mexican, pizza, and ice cream and gained 20 lbs in 10 days. If you need a tester, I'm back on low carb, so I'll stuff as much meat as possible in my mouth. 6th and Hawthorne will be an interesting location. I bet you guys will do well at the Farmer's Market. The sausage guys there last year had by far the biggest lines. I'll be interested to talk to you guys about it since I've been thinking of doing something similarly (not BBQ, though). Thanks for the great glutton-logue.

Hey, Sharon, besides Texas and Mexico, what other tablecloth Mex-Mex have you had? I know it's a little off-topic because this is the Texas board, but I'd really be interested in people's claims at the best in the country and comparisons. I've been to Bayless's 2 restaurants, Javier's, Ciudad, and Dona Tomas in the US, along with our local places here in Portland: Taqueria Nueve, Nuestra Cocina, and the now-gone Cafe Azul (which was the best of any of them, I think, and still just makes me want to break things when I think about it being gone). I really want to hit more in Texas, make a trip to LA and Arizona and possibly NY. I should get back to Chicago sometime, too, since Bayless has spawned so many spinoffs, some of which people seem to claim are better. Sorry to take it off-topic. I'm eager to hear about Texas tablecloth Mex-Mex, too.

I'd love to stay at Kona Village, but at min $515/night, I think I'll have to pass.

My wife and I will be spending a week on The Big Island May/June. I've been to Oahu and Kauai, but never the Big Island. I have the Big Island Revealed, but will be putting together a guide to print out before I go as well. Their guides have been great for the other islands. You actually get out of the way locals-only type of places with great food. We'll be staying on both the Hilo side and the Kona side. (No reservations yet, so any recommendations for good value places to stay would be greatly appreciated as well.) So feel free to throw out recs for all over the island. We'll be travelling around a lot. I tend to pack way more than should be into a given period of time on trips. Here are my preferences: 1) Hawaii-specific foods: saimin, plate lunch, local seafood, fruit stands, shave ice, poke, etc. It can be a dive or fine dining, just as long as it's good. 2) Fine dining: I'm sure we'll want at least one or two nice, romantic dinners that impress. Preference given, of course, to places with local flair. 3) Great food of any type that is especially good. If someone does the best sushi, the best Mexican-style shrimp, the best Hawaiian style pizzas you've had, go ahead, suggest it. Specific recs for dishes are always appreciated, too, but not necessary. Thanks. I'll take lots of pics and put up the whole trip on my site and give an abbreviated report here when I'm done.

If you travel in Mexico, you'll see El Pollo Loco. See a history here: http://www.elpolloloco.com/company/history.html It's not meant to be Peruvian, as Jaymes suggests. Although, the pineapple is an American original and was present in South American, I believe, before Columbus, whereas oranges, limes, and lemons were not. There's a Peruvian chicken chain in DC called El Pollo Rico, which is quite tasty. I don't know if there's some confusion. See that recipe from the Orange County Register that Jaymes gives here also: http://www.jewishfood-list.com/recipes/mar...marinade01.html Here are some other attempts: http://www.cookingonaboat.com/add_rec_disp...Loco%20Marinade http://www.cookingonaboat.com/add_rec_display.cfm?recid=40 http://www.grilling-recipes.com/chicken/r340.htm http://recipeview.com/Barbecue/Barbecue404.htm http://www.recipesource.com/misc/copycat/00/rec0065.html http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes/elpolchk.htm

I called. It is permanent. Very unfortunate. I really enjoyed both places. I know William's wasn't bringing in many people, though. Maybe he got fed up with it. Buckman always seemed to be slammed, though.

This is all it says: http://oregonlive.com/dining/oregonian/index.ssf I'll try to remember to call tonight and see if it's permanent or temporary. I tried to call today, but no one was answering the phones.

Hank PM'd me that they are looking for more than high end dining, so I'm going to add 10 more varied suggestions: Pambiche (Cuban), Esparza's (Tex-Mex), Pho Van Bistro (Vietnamese), Taqueria Nueve (Regional Mexican), Buckman Bistro (French/NW small plates), Tortilleria y Tienda de Leon (Mexican "deli"), Escape from New York (Pizza), Good Dog/Bad Dog (Hot Dogs), Pix (Desserts), St Honore, Ken's, or Pearl Bakery (all bakeries, each with their advantages, so choose one or all)

Try these 10 in this order: Wildwood, Caprial's, Hurley's, Paley's, Park Kitchen, William's, Heathman, Pazzo, Tabla, Lauro or Fife (these last two are examples of good quality neighborhood places, so pick one). Hurley's is the only place in town, I think, that consistently does SF/NY/Chicago quality presentations, but the food at many of these is extremely good, comparable to **** restaurants throughout the country. Some dishes may even exceed that on occasion, if I understand what you're looking for. (I am assuming you're looking for fine dining where the pinnacles in the US would be places like The French Laundry which combine the highest quality ingredients with impeccable and creative preparations and artistic presentations.) There are other places that have great food that doesn't pretend to be fine dining -- often ethnic places -- but I haven't included those. There are lots of great bistro level places in PDX as well. Here are a couple threads to get you started as well: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=34996 http://www.chowhound.com/pacificnw/boards/...ages/15840.html http://www.chowhound.com/pacificnw/boards/...ages/14837.html Here are some guides: http://198.107.45.113/restguide2003/ http://www.wweek.com/Special_Sections/2004_Cheap_Eats/ http://www.realgoodfood.com http://www.extramsg.com http://www.portlandtribune.com/entree/index.html PS Thanks Gifted.

Sorry, those were F, not C temps. (Although the fact that the method was poaching should have suggested that .) I prefer to cook my chicken to 170 F. I'm not a big fan of marinating and I think it's unnecessary when poaching. Wouldn't the slow cooking of fish at 110 degrees be quite dangerous as far as food borne illnesses? It's clearly in the danger zone.

Those sneaky bastards often put some of the best courses on the 15 course menu, too. btw, when I went there (with Scott) I've never seen such excellent course timing. They must have one of those mechanical octopus backpacks I'm seeing in the Spiderman commercials lately. He and I ate very quickly and rarely had much of a wait -- a couple minutes at the most -- between courses. I think we did the entire 15 courses in 1.5 hours, maybe. Contrast that with 5 courses at Fifth Floor in SF in 3 hours or 12 courses at Masa's in, I think, over 4 hours!!! I've never seen such balance of texture and flavors as at Lola's Tasting Room. Some haute restaurants I've been may be more adventurous on occasion, or more clever (which can also be read as pretentious), but Lola makes great, solid, upscale tasting dishes. Mmm.

Well, I used to always eat the shells on sunflower seeds when I was a kid, but I always regretted it the next day, if you know what I mean. I don't want to have to pass the exoskeleton of a crustacean. I did actually get a little in my mouth and I'm not sure I could have really eaten them. This is really something you normally do?

Cheeseboard Pizza in Berkeley Naia Gelato in Berkeley La Torta Loca in Oakland El Ojo de Agua in Oakland Mitchell's Ice Cream in SF

Good stuff. I've been arguing your case on the juiciness issue for a long time and its nice to have solid backup. It's an article I wish I'd written. However, I do have a couple questions. I hope they weren't covered since I'm out of town and don't have as much time to read carefully: 1) In the slow cooking method, how well does the skin on poultry crisp? I imagine it renders quite nicely, but does it crisp nicely beyond whatever you do in a pan (poultry is not the easiest thing to crisp in a pan)? 2) My method for poaching chicken has become starting the meat in cold water and bringing it to about 170, then turning it down until the meat reaches 180. I've found that I get excellent flavor penetration this way. Onion, peppercorns, vanilla, whatever I put in the poaching liquid seems to flavor the meat really well. Can you explain this? Is it just the longer period of time the meat stays in the flavored liquid? 3) Could you post some larger photos of the meat matrix?

I know some people even like to suck the legs with shell-on shrimp. I just think something should be done to make it easier. Maybe it was the tamarind making it especially sticky or something, but dammit, I had a real hard time getting the shells off and I'm experienced with cleaning shrimp. Maybe pre-loosening the shell or trying to get a fat under the shell first or more fat in the marinade, etc. I actually agree that especially with harsh methods such as grilling, shell on makes a big difference. But I wouldn't order them again and my wife, who did order them and makes me do all the dirty work, would certainly never order them again. I still want to make some occasional trips, maybe with small groups, to various Indian and Thai places around town -- some sort of curry club. There are so many now you'd think one or two would make the grade for you.

You're talking to someone from the NW. We've got intersections up here where all four corners have a coffee house on them. And only two of those would be a Starbucks.

I'm taking both my digital camera and my film camera, so I should have pics. I'm really hoping I can fit it in. I should be able to.

People wonder why minority communities have a hard time getting cheap groceries? Here you go... http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/08/national...&partner=GOOGLE

Tried Nuestra Cocina (2135 SE Division) with my wife tonight. It's semi-upscale Mexican without upscale prices. The room is simple and open with large windows on two walls. The counter, where my wife and I chose to sit (there were tables open), is right on top of the chefs. You'll almost certainly carry on a conversation with them if you sit at the counter. Half the time they'll be serving you, too. The menu is split into three sections (plus a dessert menu): antojitos y ensaladas (small plates -- literally little pleasures -- and salads), caldos y platos (soups and dishes), and otras cositas (other little things). The appetizers range from $4-$7 and include things such as pork tacos, chicharron and salsa, and ceviche. The entrees range from $8-$14 and include things such as chicken in red mole, albondigas, gorditas, and shrimp torta. The sides range from $3-$4 and include things such as refried beans and Mexican rice. The desserts are $5.50 each and include things like fruit crepes, orange flan, and lemon empenadas. My wife ordered the camarones con recado de tamarindo (grilled tamarind marinated prawns, $7) for her appetizer. They were grilled in shell with the legs still attached as well. On the side was a decent portion of jicama salad and a green chile salsa. There were about half a dozen medium-sized prawns covered in the crusted sauce. They were a pain in the ass to peel (ultimately a mistake, I think; they need to figure something out), but had a good flavor. I had the sopes de chorizo, frijoles, y chile arbol (round corn flour cakes filled with black beans and Mexican sausage topped with salsa, $5). Three good sopes -- the texture and flavor of the masa was nice. The beans were good and the chorizo decent. They don't make their own chorizo and I think it can be improved. But overall they were quite good and a very good value. You'd get less sope per dollar at many good taquerias in town. For her entree, my wife ordered the huachinango (red snapper, $14). It was nicely cooked in banana leaves with poblanos. That description isn't adequate, though. There were other flavorful bits and a nice jus flowing from the interior of the banana leaf. The fish had no off flavor and was tender and juicy. It was served with a cilantro sauce on the side and nicely roasted potatoes. I had the cochinita pibil (slow-cooked seasoned pork, $13). They braise theirs and I'm not sure if they use the traditional banana leaves, but it had a nice flavor, was a huge portion, and was very tender. They serve it on beans and top it with pickled red onions. For dessert, my wife had a special, the carmelized plantains with vanilla bean ice cream. It was decent, but they need to add a sweeter layer of carmelization to the plaintains. They were very starchy and the vanilla ice cream wasn't enough to balance that. The texture was nice, but as they cooked it, bananas would have worked better. I had the pastel de chocolate con helado de canela (chocolate cake with cinnamon ice cream). The cinnamon ice cream was very good. The chocolate pound cake was pretty good too, but I prefer a moister chocolate cake. But note, I'm not inclined to like chocolate cakes at all. I prefer things like molten chocolate cakes. I got this for the ice cream. However, they could have iced or sauced the cake a bit to help me out. The plate was sauced with caramel, but not a lot. Overall, though the desserts and dessert menu looks better than most Mexican places and fits in with places of a similar style. I'm very encouraged by this place. Its closest competitor is clearly Taqueria Nueve. The prices are similar and the style is similar. I'm not sure which is better yet. This place reminds me of Malanga a bit -- an attempt to lighten and refine Latin comfort foods a bit. But this place succeeds because the flavors and textures are there. I think Diana Kennedy could eat here and not be disappointed. I'd like to eat here and then Taqueria Nueve. I get back from California in a 10 days, so anyone up for it, I'm already game.

Thanks. They're on my list.

Thanks. I'll be in Watsonville next week and definitely will have that place on the top of my list. My immediate concern are places I can take my brothers, pizza, ice cream, and low-end Mexican. But I'll be travelling a little with my wife next week, too.

Anyone know the area Jaymes is talking about in San Jose? I'm headed that way.

Flying down to Sacramento Thursday. Then will be taking my little brothers (12 and 9) on a loop probably up to Santa Rosa, then down to Santa Cruz and back. Will be looking for mostly cheapish food in Sacramento, Santa Rosa, San Francisco, East Bay, San Jose, and Santa Cruz. I'll be taking a couple days. I think I have a good idea of what's available in Sacramento, the East Bay, and San Francisco, though any new winners would be greatly appreciated. However, I don't know Santa Rosa, San Jose, or Santa Cruz at all. Here are the things that would be ideal (but don't avoid telling me your favorites): * Taquerias with hard to find or regional dishes, but any place that rocks and doesn't specialize in burritos is much appreciated. An area, like the Fruitvale area of Oakland or the Franklin area of Sacramento or the Mission area of San Francisco are fine. I can explore carnicerias, panaderias, and taquerias a bit. Non-English speaking is fine. * Great pizza of any type. My brothers love pizza above all else. * Ice cream or gelato. * Something somewhat unique. Anything not able to be found many other places. * Also would be interested in hearing about any regional Mexican or upscale Mexican. Thanks in advance.

Anyone know the history of the jojo?