egFoodblog: EatNopales

[EatNopales]

Well, that puts my picture to shame

It wasn't my intent! Or was it?

So this is Lola's? I'd heard it was in Petaluma but now I'm figuring out it was Petamula Road and maybe i wasn't listening. It's incredible. Is it easy to get to off the freeway? I hear there's an incredible superstore in Vallejo as well. Not Lola's but something else. We are lucky.

Yes sir that is Lola's... it is on Petaluma Hill Rd. near the Sonoma County Fairgrounds: http://maps.google.com/maps/place?q=Lola's+Market,+Petaluma+Hill+Road,+Santa+Rosa,+CA&hl=en&cid=5903594520822939758

There is another Lola's smack in the middle of the Roseland Barrio which is Santa Rosa's "Little Mexico"... a place where you can find upwards of half a dozen Tamale & Atole carts on any chilly morning... and half a block away from that Lola's is Rancho Mendoza... which are both great little stores in their own right... they are smaller & more chaotic than Lola's on Petaluma Hill Rd... but usually have fresher produce & more variety of the more interesting stuff. For example if I want Hoja Santa, Huitlacoche, Quail, Rabbit, Trout I will go those markets instead.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Roseland,++Santa+Rosa,+CA&hl=en&ll=38.430354,-122.726354&spn=0.001469,0.00327&sll=38.429631,-122.729228&sspn=0.026007,0.044717&t=h&vpsrc=6&fll=38.430221,-122.726786&fspn=0.001469,0.00327&z=19

Come over the hill some day & we can go on a Roseland crawl... there are even some places with damn good Michoacan style Ice Creams & a guy from Guadalajara selling Jericallas baked in clay pots.

[EatNopales]

Last Night's Dinner

Mrs. Nopales roasted bone in chicken breast (350F, Skin Up, 45 minutes)

For Chicken Caesar Salad

Great... how is this guy going to spin Caesar Salad into a Mexican dish you might be thinking. You all know it was invented in Mexico right? Food writers tend to discount its invention in Mexico as an accident, and when you consider that more people in Canada (for pie sake) know & have eaten Caesar Salad than in Mexico, and that Tijuana is physically closer to Vancouver B.C. (1,412 miles) than it is to Mexico City (1,716 miles) it would certainly seem like an easy case to make.

More than a decade before it was known as Caesar's Salad, it was called Ensalada de Aviadores... Airmen's Salad which is very interesting given that Alex Cardini, brother, had been in the Italian Air Force before relocating to Mexico. Alex is particularly interesting because prior to joining his brother at Caesar's Place in Tijuana circa 1927 he had been a well known chef at the Hotel Penafiel in Tehuacan, Puebla (a town of hot springs that was a primary weekend jaunt for Mexico City elite at the time... now it is more of a blue collar weekend getaway). By the late 30's, Caesar salad had become very popular with the Hollywood jet set & Caesar moved to Los Angeles where he opened a Gourmet Store to sell his sauce... and Alex in turn returned to Mexico City where he was a celebrated chef open three restaurants.

Alex's story is vital in this thread because he is credited, by prominent Italo-Mexican food historians such as Giorgio D'Angeli (author of Larousse de la Cocina Mexicana & a major player in Slow Food Mexico and the number of Slow Foodesque food movements that have existed in Mexico since the 1970's)... with having popularized the Italo-Mexican dishes that regularly show up on Mexico City menus today and which are now part of the cooking lexicon of everyday Mexican cooks... Ravioliin Creamy Poblano Sauce, Huitlacoche Lasagna, spicy Carpaccios, Milanesas etc., etc.,

Another interesting thread in this story is the original name... Aviadores. The Alex Cardini side of the family alleges that Alex named in honor of his follow Italian Air Force mates who lived in Tijuana and regularly patronized Caeasar's Place.. which brings is the city's Italian roots. Before Prohibition, Tijuana was a very small town adjacent & deriving its name from Rancho Tijuana. It was actually Americans, the same people who "invented" / developed Los Angeles, that bought up most of the land of Rancho Tijuana & developed it into to a playground of the Hollywood elite. Tijuana doesn't really doesn't seem to have much Mexican roots... consider at this time people of Chinese ancestry outnumbered people of Mexican or Spanish ancestry in Mexicali... and similarly the area south of Rancho Tijuana (Rosarito, Ensenada etc.,) was a prominent Italian immigrant region... further south there were prominent Japanese fishing settlements. But the Chinese & Japanese influence is for another day... the point I want to make is that Ceasar's Place sourced all their ingredients locally... wines being made by the Cetto family (today the largest producer of the Baja wine region), Parmesan & other cheeses (Baja has a wide range of world class cheese today made by 4th generation immigrants), Olive Oil (Baja Olive Oil is similarly in demand by connoisseurs), the produce, the pasta etc.,

Today, Tijuana's most prominent Chef-Restaurateur is Javier Plascencia whose maternal grandfather grew up in one of these Baja Italian communities making the cheeses & pastas used at Ceasar's & other Italian restaurants in the area. He later went on to establish the most iconic Pizza houses in Tijuana... and now Javier is creating absolutely cutting edge, world class cuisine at his many restaurants in the area... most impressive at Mission 19 where he sources the best ingredients from Farmer's Markets within a 100 mile radius on BOTH sides of the Border.

Once referred to as "Mexico's Toilet" by the Mexico City literati and mercilessly mocked in the U.S., Tijuana is a very interesting place, neither fully Mexican nor North American, a chaotic blend of identities, sounds & aesthetics.. home to some of the greatest, "natural" vs. forced Chef attempts, proven by time to be classic fusion food on the planet.. Caesar Salad is just the tip of the iceberg... Tostadas de Erizo (Sea Urchin Roe), Ensenada Fish tacos, Baja Steakhouses from the 1920s (Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon served with Guacamole), Shark Fin tacos at "Mexburger" in Mexicali's China Town.. the list goes on & on.

If the Michelin guide over gets its head out of.... and reviews the Tijuana-Ensenada-Wine Country region people will be shocked how many Michelin Stars will be awarded. Check it out if you have a chance.

Final thoughts on the Ceasar Salad - Mexico legacy... you can put together a damn fine 7 course meal with all the classic Italianesque & Italo-Mexican fusion dishes created in Mexico since 1880 when the first ship loaded with Northern Italian immigrants landed in the port of Tamaulipas.

[kalypso]

Current food scene in Baja Norte is pretty phenomenal right now. Incredible stuff going on.

[ruthcooks]

I ate my first Caesar Salad at Cardini's, made tableside, in Mexico in 1964. Real anchovies, of course. I took notes and made it for years. Now, it is impossible to get the tiny leaves of romaine hearts where I live. They are called that, but are great horsey leaves of romaine which has been left too long in the field.

It's still the best and I detest some of the abominations that now pass for Caesar Salad in restaurants.

[heidih]

I just now noticed your attractive wooden salt cellar. When I googled "salt cellar" yours was the first one that popped up here. Very reasonable price. Since both your shot and the Amazon image show the lid in a similar way I was wondering if it was slide hinge or if the lid detaches?

Also are your pipian roja and your mole verde from particular cookbooks?

The market shots were great - it looks like you could put together a great, fresh, diverse meal just from the prepared products.

[EatNopales]

In Mexico, "Socialist" programs are used to enable Pure Capitalism in the food distribution business? What? Most municipalities in Mexico offer a tax payer subsidized Central Market with under market rents which basically compels wholesale food vendors to sell side by side at the lowest possible, yet profitable, prices for consumer benefits... the Pure Capitalism that Adam Smith waxed poetic on. In contrast, in the U.S. food distribution is much more fragmented with each major chain running their own, and using other factors... marketing, convenience, comfort etc., to see food for "abnormal" gross profits. Clearly biased writers (pontificating on behalf of large corporate interests) on the States have written quite extensively in recent years about the rampant success of Walmart, Costco, Carrefour & others in Mexico... and how the traditional Markets of Mexico are a failure etc., Yet even while holding out Walmart & Costco as the ideals they admit that the traditional Mercados offer better produce at lower prices... so instead of the "inherent superiority" of Megamarket approach (which in the U.S. is almost solely justified on the example that Walmart & gang are the low cost leaders)... what one can discuss is that for many middle class Mexicans.. the time value of convenience, the comfort of the shopping space etc., is worth more than getting better produce at lower prices... fair enough.

Mexico City's Central de Abastos is the self proclaimed largest retail market in the world. Sprawling over 800 acres (34.5 Million Square Feet) in the Southern part of the City (really a small contained city in its own right) it is the distribution point for almost every bit of produce sold by independent stores, mercado stalls, street vendors & restaurants in the city & nearby municipalities. Every morning produce is harvested on farms located within 500 miles of Mexico City... every night that produce arrives at the Central and is unloaded... the professional buyers arrive before dawn, serious home cooks & small restaurant operatins in the mid morning, bargain hunters right before & after Comida... overripe produce is cleared out for the next day's shipment. The blistering pace of this produce distribution / reincarnation life system is the reason why you almost always find perfect, dead ripe tomatoes, avocados & oranges at almost any market, of any town with paved roads in Central Mexico.

Back in 2007, I received from the market's Director a spreadsheet of statistics on produce grown in Mexico & sold at the Central de Abastos... I have translated the names & organized into my own categories.. this list should give you a good empirical sense of what mainstream urban Mexicans are buying for their meals. Then a way to keep up with Contemporary Mexican cuisine is to do an advanced Google search for recipes withing .mx domains for said ingredient. For example you are curious what people are doing in Mexico with Alcachofas (Artichokes):

http://www.google.com/search?q=alcachofa+receta+site%3A.mx&hl=en&biw=1600&bih=756&num=10&lr=&ft=i&cr=&safe=images&tbs=

Recipes such as Dip de Alcachofa, Alcachofa estilo Arabe, Alcachofa en vinagreta de Parmesano are clearly attempts at recreating foreign classics.. but you also find some domestic gems... Alcachofa Gratinada al Chipotle etc., Remember all these pages can be easily translated to English when you use the Google Chrome browser.. and of course recipes by homecooks on sites like Recetas.com.mx might be more intersting (from an "authenticity" perspective) than something from a Publication or Chef.

Central de Abastos Stats (2007)

Well this post concludes my food week in the life of EatNopales blog.. I hope you enjoyed what I had to offer, and if you ever need the services of a brilliant Finance & Information Executive / Consultant please keep me in mind. I am also available for Children's Parties, Quinceaneras & Bar Mitzvahs (no circumcision requests please).

P.S.... a few items on the Stats are strange.. namely the huge quantity of Barley & Sorghum... in a follow up email I discovered that the Central also process grain for livestock... so the vast majority of those greens are for cattle feed.. however they are used in Mexican cooking to some extent.

Edited September 9, 2011 by EatNopales (log)

[EatNopales]

Another note on the Stats worksheet.. when I translated the terms in 2007 I was very incorrectly labeling "Criollo" varieties as Wild... some of the produce would be Wild but the vast majority of the time in this context Criollo means "domestic Mexican heirloom varietal" because the large quantity of Heirloom varietas and the relatively small quantities the Central's management decides to roll up all heirlooms into a single category.

[EatNopales]

BTW, while I am doing with the Blog posts phase I am happy to keep answering any questions you might have today or tomorrow before our next blogger gets going.

[EatNopales]

I ate my first Caesar Salad at Cardini's, made tableside, in Mexico in 1964. Real anchovies, of course. I took notes and made it for years. Now, it is impossible to get the tiny leaves of romaine hearts where I live. They are called that, but are great horsey leaves of romaine which has been left too long in the field.

It's still the best and I detest some of the abominations that now pass for Caesar Salad in restaurants.

Hi Ruth... I am happy to report that Javier Plascencia actually purchased the old Ceasar's Place & remodeled it back to its Roaring 20's swank... he of course is offering the true Caesar in all its glory (with the coddled egg etc.,)

Like Kalypso mentioned the food scene is phenomenal in North Baja... people in New York, Chicago & San Francisco would wish to be able to boast of those restaurants in their inventory.

[EatNopales]

I just now noticed your attractive wooden salt cellar. When I googled "salt cellar" yours was the first one that popped up here. Very reasonable price. Since both your shot and the Amazon image show the lid in a similar way I was wondering if it was slide hinge or if the lid detaches?

Also are your pipian roja and your mole verde from particular cookbooks?

The market shots were great - it looks like you could put together a great, fresh, diverse meal just from the prepared products.

Hi Heidi.. it is a slide hinge.

The Mole & Pipian both come from the Larousse book (fantastic resource for experienced cooks focused) includes about 50 Mole recipes in its Ingredient, Technique, Grid centric format (rather than dish recipe)... can I post some pics from its pages?

[andiesenji]

Thanks so much for posting the Central de Abastos Statistics.

I can't begin to tell you how much I have enjoyed your blog. I hope you will do another down the road because you have just opened a tiny window on the foods of Mexico and I'm sure I am not alone in wishing to see a larger door thrown open.

By the way, I made some amaranth (with kaniwa) griddle cakes today, basically your recipe with a slight tweak because I couldn't find the masa harina until I had already added some self-rising, very fine cornmeal to the porridge.

They are very tasty and I'm just eating them plain, no topping.

[Darienne]

Hooray for EN!!! Loved every minute of it. :wub:

And thanks again for the meat loaf recipe. I am going to post it in Recipes that Rock in 2011.

Edited September 9, 2011 by Darienne (log)

[EatNopales]

Hooray for EN!!! Loved every minute of it. :wub:

And thanks again for the meat loaf recipe. I am going to post it in Recipes that Rock in 2011.

Thanks! My wife is absolutely tickled that you like the meatloaf.

[EatNopales]

Thanks so much for posting the Central de Abastos Statistics.

I can't begin to tell you how much I have enjoyed your blog. I hope you will do another down the road because you have just opened a tiny window on the foods of Mexico and I'm sure I am not alone in wishing to see a larger door thrown open.

By the way, I made some amaranth (with kaniwa) griddle cakes today, basically your recipe with a slight tweak because I couldn't find the masa harina until I had already added some self-rising, very fine cornmeal to the porridge.

They are very tasty and I'm just eating them plain, no topping.

Great to hear you replicate the amaranth pancakes... hopefully there will be another blog someday.

[rancho_gordo]

This has been great. The food looks delicious and I have a feeling we could follow you for three more weeks and never eat the same thing twice and still learn more about Mexican history and society. Bravo!

[EatNopales]

Any thoughts on the word 'tuna' for a cactus fruit? Took a while to even get 'tuna' out of the fish arena.

Por favor.

I think the most credible etymology is that it comes from Aceituna (a particularly popular word for Olive in the Spanish world at the time).. its own etymology comes Aceite de Tunez.. Tunisian Oil.. Spaniards who first encountered the fruit in the Zacatecas area thought they somehow resemebled Olives.. but they were of course not oily.. hence Tuna.

It remains to be explored why the native name Nochtli did not stick.. particularly when one of the most important towns in Zacatecas is Nochistlan... place of the prickly pear cactus.

[heidih]

Thank you for the fascinating blog EatNopales. We look forward to your contributions in the Making Mexican at home topic.

Check out our current blogger here