JimH

I'm going to hit them again after my appt in Clear Lake but I'm tamaled out so I'll try the enchiladas. Update: They don't serve the enchiladas, they pre-package the for sale in a cooler. I had a beef plate and the meat was over-cooked and the refritos were nasty. The corn tortillas were once again very good but I did not have anything worth filling them with. Stick to the tamales.

6 perfect tamales for dinner tonight. My only guess is that yours came out of a steam pan whereas mine were pre-packaged in saran wrap after they were cooked and held in a warmer. The texture of the masa is almost creamy.

The area in Channelview I wrote about is basically the intersection of Sheldon Road and Market Street. There are a lot of tugboat companies and marine related industry in the area. It's been a long time since I had a client in Pasadena and even then it was North of where the beltway is now. I'm thinking Southmore, Shaver or Pasadena blvd.

I bet the Ship Channel would be a gold mine for taco trucks. Robb Walsh concentrates mainly along I-10 and the Heights area. I have a client in Channelview, first exit off I-10 from the beltway. IIRC There's at least 1 truck on the service road (if not 2) and one a block off the service road. I don't have time to explore much but I did eat at the lunch counter at the corner store near that second truck and the grocery store a block down from that second truck I think also serves food. We're talking all of this within a 1/4 mile radius, probably a lot of undiscovered trucks and taquerias in the area of the Ship Channel. I don't have any clients in Pasadena but you are more likely to find taco stands in the 77502 area off of 225 South of the beltway.

Well, I've got another 6 to eat tonight, maybe I just got an exceptional batch. They were good though.

After reading through that link Bruce, that red sauce was more likely made with pasilla peppers. It just did not seem that hot.

Thanks for that link, I learned alot from that page.

Pickled pigs feet enchiladas? That sounds like something I'd order after partying all night long. Let me know how they taste. Was the chorizo house made or store bought?

Yep, a couple of doors down from the BBQ place. The pork tamales, well I sacrificed myself and ate a half dozen. They were flatish averaging 2 to 2.5 fingers across. Of the 6 I ate only one was more masa than meat. I've had all kinds of tamales, dry, super greasy, mostly masa, fat rather than meat and mystery meat. These were quality tamales, the pork was shredded with no fat included, in almost all there were good chuncks of pork. The masa was moist but not greasy. The two sauces included with the tacos, a dark red sauce and a green sauce. The red sauce tasted like it was made with anchos for flavor and chipotle for some smokey heat. I really liked that sauce, the bottom of the condiment cup had black seeds in it, I wonder if they were from a chipotle pepper? I only use the canned version. The green was tart and mild but you could taste the tomatillo and a little garlic? The place is clean and the ladies very nice but speak little english. They serve breakfast tacos, enchiladas etc. I'm looking forward to trying the rest of the menu.

At the corner of Sage & Richmond there was a little stand selling tacos or something but it never seemed to do much business and last time I saw it I beleive it's a coffee shop. It's a an area with a lot of dining options, Miguelito's (Venezuelan) is across from Pete's Fine Meats which is next to a strip center with Taqueria La Tapatia. That old subdividsion on the North side of Richmond and the apartments on the South side are what drove the local restaurants/stands. The houses were torn down for McMansions and I think the apartments are being torn down. It's going to change what little is left of the older establishments.

Tortilleria San Luis is open in the strip center anchored by the Foodarama at 11502 S. Wilcrest. I got a couple of tacos al pastor on corn tortillas. The meat was just ok but the corn tortillas were the best I have had to date. Very soft without tearing, a little thicker then what I've gotten elsewhere. They were generous with the meat and asked me if I wanted cilantro & onions. I saved the sauces for the dozen tamales I bought for dinner. The tamales were a little bigger than what I usually see at Christmas and they looked to have more meat in them than usual. I'll report back after dinner. Right now I'm happily stuffed and looking forward to dinner. The sell their own chips & tostadas and I guess they sell tortillas too.

Here's the main menu page, each menu page is in pdf file format. The only sauces I do not recognize are Suiza and "Entomatadas" Salsa Espanola. The rest are red or green sauces in the South of the Border section. http://www.sylviasenchiladakitchen.com/default.asp

It uses "eco-safe" CO2, I wonder how different that is from the greenhouse gas CO2? It's novel but how hard can it be to buy pancake mix that you "just add water" to make the batter? Think how much more enviromentally responsible you would be mixing your own batter rather than shooting it out of a can. OK, just kidding, I think that kids would probably like to see it done a couple of times but I would not bother with it.

I lived/worked in the Galleria & Greenway Plaza for years and never saw a taco truck or roach coach outside of a construction site.

I looked at Sylvia's menu online, it did not have anything out of the ordinary. My go to place for Mexican/Tex-Mex is Los Gallitos on Murphy road.

To me fast food means or is derived from the intent of the person buying the food. If I go to one of the big chains, I don't intend to get my food and then linger longer than it takes to eat it. I'm not there to pass the time of day with friends, have a business meeting or have dinner with the family. I'm there to eat and get out, period. The one thing I like about the chains is that where ever I go in the lower 48 the food will be consistant, like it or not you'll know what you are getting. The first McDonalds I ever ate at was on a highway between my house and my Grandparants down at the shore, it was considered a treat, not a daily source for our meals.

I don't think you've been a board hog at all. I've enjoyed your contributions. Today I was on Hwy 6 S. just above W. Airport and I spied a "taco" style truck in front of what used to be a Pakistani restaurant of the same name. I plan on checking out the restaurant since it has apparently changed hands & names. I'll ask about the truck and where they park it when it's open.

It's been dead around here, good to "see" you. I keep meaning to try that Indian food truck you reviewed but I've been swamped.

It might be a reaction to the expansion of Mexican sodas into the U.S., I can buy Coke, Pepsi and Sprite (I think) at most stores here.

Big bags of Munchos now available at Kroger in Texas.

I have found that some vegetables require less work than others. Corn is almost "set it and forget it" while I find that tomatoes require a lot more work. Corn, Onions, sweet potatos I've had good results with even though I've had little time to garden in the past two years. On herbs, I've found that basil will reseed itself as will cilantro, mint is an invasive weed, oregano and thyme will thrive with little care. I've planted a lime tree and the house I bought 7 years ago had a mature fig tree in the backyard. If you are in a zone where you can grow a fig tree do so, it's a fast growing tree and in good years you will get two crops a year.

Burned Friday, not a total loss but it's closed for now. I'm suprised it was not posted here by now.

Collar the manager and give him/her a piece of your mind, with a smile of course. "Gee, you know I'd buy more fish if your counter didn't smell like the cleaning table at a fish camp."

Everything but bacon grease gets poured into a jar and tossed into the trash when full. Bacon grease is stored in a jar in the frig until I need to fry something or cook cornbread in cast iron.

Chopping straight down is like driving a wedge into the food, it works but does not take full advantage of a sharp edge. Slicing takes advantage of the shape of the edge and also it's sharpness. It's hard for me to explain but after sharpening a blade I slice it against a piece of cardboard to test it, I could just push down on the blade but I would not be getting the full advantage of the friction that the edge of the blade creates to make the cut. The sharper or more polished the edge the less pressure it takes to make the cut. I'm sure a professional could give you a better more accurate explanation but you get what you pay for. Dull knives are more dangerous than sharp knives.