casemnor

Not really...I usually use a nice white wine vinegar...but in a pinch...will use balsamic, or whatever I've got hanging around. I have a tendency to prefer a spanish style gazpacho...or at least how I remember my host family making it all that time ago...and to be honest...it was pretty plain and simple...no herbs...just garlic and salt as seasoning. Sometimes I want something that tastes more like homemade pico (but can't be bothered chopping pico the way it should be chopped)...so I'll make it with a pico flavor profile...but then I'll usually use lime for sourness vs. vinegar.

Went to the new el bollilo a couple weeks ago...it is a nice set up. Must say though, didn't love their fresh pressed corn tortillas...they dried out before I got them home..and just weren't anything special.

In general, I will use tomato juice when I put together my gazpacho...I find that even if I seek out "good" tomatoes...the truth is...they just aren't that great. So unless I've got a homegrown supply..I usually have to supplement tomatoeyness with tomato juice (or use a good can of imported peeled whole romas). I do think that the specialty sweet mini tomatoes hav ea great flavor...but not enough flesh/juice to make a batch of gazpacho with...so I sometimes make "gazpacho salad" with them (simple, chop those red suckers in half, cube up a lebanese cuke, thinly slice sweet onion and soak it for a good half hour before draining, some finely sliced red and yellow bell peppers...toss all together with salt, vinegar, and olive oil (and whatever else insires you)...voila!) I've been dicing with death and living on the edge and continuing to eat raw tomatoes...

No further discoveries on the gazpacho quest. I did get a bit distracted by the salmonella/tomatoes news story. It had the potential to threaten my home supply! My back up is still Rustica. Served every day, reliably sufficient to satisfy the obsession.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So excited...will have to check it out!

I just checked it out, and it looks like my standard gazpacho recipe, with some addition of pineappel. It did seem a bit much, so I might just add some chopped pineapple (fresh) along with the usual assortment of veggies I use and see what that's like. I do also sometimes make a "pico de gallo" version of gazpacho...basically adding my pico de gallo recipe to the gazpacho liquid base (which is at its most basic, tomato juice, bread, olive oil, vinegar and salt).

I don't have the heart to even call to check if they have it. Sadly, my last meal at Red Onion will remain my LAST EVER... it was that gross. The entire restaurant reeked of off fish, and the food was solidly (across the table) pretty gross (greasy? check. cold? check. undersalted? check. oversalted? check).

I will have to try this recipe!!!!! I couldn't find anywhere with gazpacho that other lunchgoers would go with on Friday...so ended up at Be-Wiched Cafe...and subsisted (quite well I must say) on a fat elvis and their tuscan tomato soup.

I'm currently, as "they" say, in the club/up the duff/with child. I have the most annoying fixation on fresh tomato anything, and specifically, gazpacho. That being said, I'm on a one woman mission to ferret out gazpacho sources in Houston. To date I've tried Yapa takeout (verdict: ok, but too oil), Rustica (verdict: dependable standby) and have made a few phone calls to locations that claim to serve it seasonally (notably: Berryhill tamales), but seem to not have ever heard of gazpacho (I assume this means they aren't serving it). So, fellow gulleters...I'm asking...where can a girl get a good bowl of gazpacho? I'd even settle for "decent bowl." I just want good plain gazpacho...do not need fancified versions (ie. with crabmeat or made with no tomato etc). (and FWIW, I really only want it at lunch..I'm staving off the gazpacho madness at home with bulk batches made by myself on the weekend...) Thx.

Bruce, do they do doubles? Anyone else? Still looking for somewhere in Houston. I'm in the Woodlands, so a trip to Baytown would be quite a bit out of the way (but good to know in case the craving really hits.) I know Houston has a huge Trini population...so where are the roti and doubles? (Besides in the home kitchen!)

Whoa! I've been working out of town for about 7 months.....and El Bolillo is currently closed? I was going to order a birthday cake from them in a couple weeks....have been looking forward to it for months! In the meanwhile, where should I go to satisfy the mexican bakery cravings I sometimes get?

I've been spending quite a bit of time in Toronto lately and have become enamoured of picking up a Roti for a quick cheap dinner. Where can a girl find good Trini food in this town? I found this listing after googling around: Carib-Tex Roti Shop - more info » 522 Aldine Mail Road, Houston, TX (832) 524-1431 - 1 review Anyone been?

I usually make sangria on the fly, with red wine, brandy and cut fruit. The most successful version was the one I once made with a bottle of brandy that my friend had added dried apricots to and let sit for over a year. That was truly fabulous.

Just FYI, we stopped by the fishmonger on Steubner-Airline/Louetta this weekend and bought an absolutely GORGEOUS piece of escolar. My husband grilled it last night and it was superb. In fact, I'd go as far as saying this is the nicest piece of fish we've had since moving to the US. We'll definitely be buying fish from this shop from now on. The fellow at the counter was informative and obviously knew his stuff. His selection was somewhat limited, which is always an encouraging sign. He doesn't offer fish that isn't fresh/top notch. What a refreshing change from super markets that have less than fresh, poorly fileted fish.

Thanks guys!

Hi guys, I remember a few months ago someone posted about a fish monger in the north Houston area. Does anyone remember this thread or am I imagining it? After a year off from local fish (due to the infamous wormy salmon incident), we're ready to get back on the horse and are looking for somewhere reasonable to buy FRESH fish from. Thanks!

Hi, Given that we moved from Perth nearly three years ago (gasp, has it been that long?), here's my tips: I believe Innaloo seafood would be the go for the seafood, and try Herdsman Fresh for the rest. We still miss Herdsman Fresh's butcher, even three years later. best, C

She told me that after you cook the fish, if you painstakingly pull the flakes of the muscle apart you will sometimes see the cooked roundworms as you pull them apart. They appear as miniscule string like things (the worms we saw were the size of human hair in thickness). She also told me that if you look at fresh cod and see what looks like a little blood vein and you irritate it, it will curl up and reveal itself to be a little worm. I'm not sure how scientific her instructions were, by this point I was hoping she would just SHUT UP AND STOP TALKING ABOUT WORM IN EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF FISH EVER.

Well, if you are interested she told me how to spot the dead worms in already cooked fish. I wish she would have just responded with "That's terrible! Awful! We'll look into it and make sure we don't sell wormy fish." As for the worms in pork, I refuse to believe it! If I am in denial then so be it. There are some things in life you just don't want to know (which is the theory I espouse when I layinto some good taco truck tacos!)

I guess even more disturbing than observing the worms was the fish monger's reaction. Like it was totally normal. She also told me it wan't just salmon with worms, but all the sea trout, red fish and gulf snapper. She also said it was better to buy previously frozen fish because that kills the worms. Like that makes it all better! When I returned the fish there was still a big pile of the salmon in the open case....and all I could think about was the worms crawling around and infecting all the fish. Horrors. I am afraid it has put us off fish for now. At least until we return to Oz where we never ever even entertained wormy fish in the realm of possibilities.

A few weeks ago, we decided it was time for us to smoke some salmon again. My husband has just about perfected the right cure/dry time etc. So, we went to The Woodlands Market (Central Market's Woodland's venture) and bought a nice side of salmon. It was carefully cured and pressed overnight, and then gotten out to dry and form a pelicle (sp?) My husband fired up the smoker, and when the time was right, laid the piece of fish in the smoker. About ten minutes later he couldn't resist a peek to make sure the smoke was the right volume or for whatever reason. Imagine our dismay when we saw tons of horrible little roudn worms squirming out of the fish!!! Awful! Not unheard of, but awful nonetheless. I was under this rosy misconception that farmed fish (it was farmed salmon) are dosed for worms. Worse, was the fishmonger's reaction when I called the shop to inform them of the issue. Her response "Oh that's totally normal, about 60% of the fish we sell has worms. Anything that comes from the warm gulf waters, chances are it has worms." The implications were horrifying for me. Once you know something, you can never unknow it. She then tried to tell me that most pork had worms too. It was not comforting at all...worse, they wouldn't refund me my full amount as the fish had lost weight due to the curing process. What I want to know, is if this is true? Are the fish sold at our local markets typically infested with worms? I'm sure they are harmless, but I just would have rather not known or been told that just about any fish we buy is going to have worms.

Interesting! I grew up eating migas at Vips in Monterrey (Mex) (over 20 years ago!) and never knew it was a gringo invented food!