chefsteban

well I am glad that you could see humor in that trip home and I am happy that your spirit wasn't dampened and that you are wanting to return to Mexico...Thats the spirit!!! You will love San Filipe. The town is much more layed back than Ensenada or Rosarito but the dining is still as good--especially if you love FRESH seafood. When you are ready to go, let me know Keith, and I shall send along my list of thangs-to-do.

Alright Keith, I'm glad most your adventure was a blast.....and I know EXACTLY what you mean about the Estero Beach Hotel......altho I believe your word "dump" means that they have made improvements since last I was there. Your trip to the blowhole is priceless! I've been there on the rain too. Also glad that you had some great meals down there.....where else did you eat and visit? Come on man...details! details!

OK Maggie...I've added 15 more cookbooks since I last wrote to you....all are on Mexican cuisine...including a very clean copy of a 1939 cookbook "Las Cocinas" I found in a used bookstore in Mexico.

Anyting I can do to help amigo.....do you know where you will be staying? I always try to stay at the Quintas Papagayo, on the northen outskirts of town. Spacious rooms and beach front cabins at very low prices.....very clean and secuity is no problem.....plus two good restaurants on the premises.....If you are there on a weekend, keep an ear open for the lady hawking tamales....they make an excellent breakfast with a cold beer Most of the places I mentioned are walking distance around town. I might suggest dropping by a coffee house called Cafe Cafe and talk to the owner Memo. He is a cool dude, speaks perfect english and knows what going on all over the city. He is an invaluable source for information...and he is damned funny too. Have fun and let us know how your adventure turns out.

Actually there are many good places to eat in and around Ensenada.....I love that town and go whenever I get the chance. You will find great eating all over the place. The best fish tacos can be had at the city fish market, located just as you enter the city. about 25 taco stands vie for your money and they all serve extremely fresh fish tacos along with other seafood delicacies from ceveche to siete mares soup to amazing shrimp cocktails. In town there are great places such as Manzanas, Las Brisas, Las Turtulias and Bronco steakhouse that have something for every appetite. Broncos serves up sizzling steaks cooked over mesquite wood, and Las Turtulias has a wonderful tortilla soup and a great salmon fillet poached in tequilla. For a hearty and economical breakfast, I suggest Mi Kaza...a full array of mexican and american style breakfasts served by the friendliest staff in town. Of Course for gourmet cuisine...try Lajas in the San Antonio de las Minas area north of town--the the heart of Bajas wine country. State of the art latin fare and plenty of wineries to visit to sample some of the finest wines this side of Napa. If you do go out to the Buffadora, the best little restaurant is Gordo's....just before the enterance to the blowhole.....and if you eat at Gordos, you won't be charged for parking...so you can walk to the blowhole and save a buck or two. One place to avoid is Las Cavas de las Tigres...on the road to la buffadora....a restaurant long past its prime but still making a living on its old reputation. These are just a few places to stop in at......if ya need more detail...just ask abd i shall answer.

Don Alfredos is at the entrance to Patzcuaro.....its a dirt floor affair under a tin roof. They serve up pollo and baby lamb cooked on long wooden skewers and staked over an open bed of hot coals.......one of my fondest meals in Michoacan.

I have wandered out of more mexican bars at 3 AM than I care to remember (or can remember,) but I have never been drunk enough to try one of those 'perro calientes'.....instead I look for the cart that is serving up tacos de tripas......now there is a great meal on wheels......tripas de leche fried crisp, stuffed into a warm corn tortilla and topped with onions, salsa, cilantro and some cabbage...... Hey Esperanza...ever eat at Don Alfredos Pollos at the intersection to Tanganxuan?

and I just remembered....Sanborns, a large Sears style chain in Mexico always has Reforma sor sale, but you have to be there early as they always sell out.

Oh gosh...where to start with my good smells: First the usuals...bacon, frying potatoes, roasting chicken, garlic, rosemary, popcorn, baking bread, the "phfft" smell when you open a can of coffee, roasting turkey on thanksgiving..well almost every kitchen smell on thanksgiving.... other good smells: roasting chiles on an open fire, cooking carnitas, the sweet smells from a mexican bakery, burning mesquite wood, orange blossoms on a tree, a grilling steak, the aroma of hot dogs at a ballpark, lime zest, the smell of tortillas being cooked--both corn and flour--, an underground BBQ pit being opened up, carnitas...i know I already said that, but if you have experienced the smell you would concur , grade 1 ahi for sushi...I could go on, but damned if I'm not makeing myself hungry and covering my keyboard with drool..... bad smells: beets.

Reforma is, or used to be, available on the web, but i haven't looked at the site in years.

As a true baseball fan, my home is open to all friends to drop by and watch a game...any game...thru out the whole October shebang. I go to my local butcher, Iowa Meat Farms in San Diego, and buy wonderful hot dogs in real casings that snap when you bite into them. I fill my long dining rom table with everything baseball....buns, fresh popped pop corn, diced onions, an assortment of mustards, relish, boxes of Cracker Jack, pretzels, churros, sodas and beer. the food stays on as long as there are people in the house. Since this is San Diego, I am toying with the idea of adding fish tacos to the table for the world series....its a local tradition.

I have used Hoja Santa in cooking black beans...they impart a lovely anise-y flavor. I have also wrapped salmon fillets in the hoja and steamed them; plating the still wrapped salmon on a light chipolte sauce......my guests are awed by the resulting flavors.

I had a waitress say the same thing about some cheese tasting like ass....I looked at her and in a perfect deadpan I asked when was the last time she had tasted ass? The rest of the staff razzed her the rest of her shift and she never talked shit bout the food again.

OK All totaled up, I have 326 books about cooking...if which about half of them are on Mexican food...my oldest mexican cookbook goes back to 1898.......What can I say...I love to cook Mexican style.

or.......Waiter: I'm sorry sir...did you want the fly on the side?

I am sure that what ever henious crime Jeff Smith was accused of was just someones attempt to extort money for a celebrity.......since there was no "trail", the man was probably railroaded by some greedy schmuck. I enjoyed the Frugs recipes and his kitchen antics......I at one time has a friend who was bonkers for the Frug.......everything she quoted was from the frugal one......she was a lark and so was Smith. I'll miss him and now I feel doubly bad for never having written him a letter of support, Please forgive me Chef Smith, but know that my love for you shall be in my heart for the rest of my days.

The slimeness was never a factor in eating nopales. I grew up eating them with a side dish of shrimp patties covered in a mild chile sauce. If you really want to know all there is to know about nopales, I highly recommend a book titled "El Nopal: principe de la campina azteca", written by Sebastian Verdi. The book is printed in spanish, but tells you everything you would ever need to know about cactus pads, including recipes and poetry. I bought my copy at a bookstall in the Mexico City airport, but have seen it in hispanic bookshop food sections.

....Hey......why is there a "maybe" by my name? I didn't use the maybe word in my count-me-in post.........grrrrrrr.............I'm ready to shop and chop chill'en

is there a San Diego group forming?? I'm in...this sounds like a tailgate party, but inside.

I have had great calimari--both fried and grilled.......there is a great, small restaurant in Tijuana, Baja calif. that grills calamari, octopus and other seafood delectibles over mesquite wood. The flavor and tenderness of the calamari is such a delight. I see nothing wrong with fried calamari as long as it is done right....I'll take my frieds with a side of chipotle seafood sauce thank you.

That would give you creme fraiche, which is very good also; but authentic crema mexicana is a different flavor complexity. If I have the time to make my own: 2 Tbsp. Buttermilk. 1/2 pint Heavy Cream. Mix the ingredients together in a clean jar and cover. Place in a warm spot for about 5 hours. Afterwards place jar in the refrigerator overnight to thicken. As a side note, the quality of the crema might depend on the quality of your ingredients. The higher quality the better the results. Bien provecho.