eG FoodBlog: MissTenacity -The Land of Enchilement - A week in Albuque

[chow guy]

Folks.  A point of Foodblog etiquette (actually this is a best practice all over eGullet). 

Try to not quote an entire post if that post is very picture-laden.  It makes reading the thread a lot harder.  Use the quote button and edit the quoted material down a bit if possible.  Don't change the context of what's been said of course, but try and leave only the section you are referring to, or at least a few representative images.

This isn't a rule, per se, so there are no stones being cast here--it's just something we'd like you to consider going forward.

As Soba is fond of saying... we now return you to your regularly scheduled blog...

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Sorry... Thanks for tip.

[Ling]

I adore chicken-fried steak, but the fried pork looks good too. I'm enjoying this blog very much--I loved the pictures of the dessert bars on the 1st page.

Is that you by the microwave? 

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Nope. But I may have my companion take a photo of me at dinner tonight just for inclusion to the final post of the blog....

And funny you should mention the dessert bars (the green ones, right?). They were "key lime bars" and my SO, who is a key lime freak, tried one and then told me it was icky.

Andrea

http://tenacity.net

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Too bad those key lime bars don't taste as good as they look. I'm curious--what are those dessert bars in the photo next to the key lime ones? They look like Nanaimo bars with an extra thick coconuty base. (Nanaimo bars are a Canadian thing, I believe--top layer of ganache, middle layer is custard, and bottom layer is like a chocolatey-coconut graham cookie.)

[misstenacity]

Too bad those key lime bars don't taste as good as they look. I'm curious--what are those dessert bars in the photo next to the key lime ones? They look like Nanaimo bars with an extra thick coconuty base. (Nanaimo bars are a Canadian thing, I believe--top layer of ganache, middle layer is custard, and bottom layer is like a chocolatey-coconut graham cookie.)

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Now those, I don't know. They were part of a huge tray of bite-sized treats that were contributed by the food pantry itself, so it is unknown where they originated...

Andrea

[misstenacity]

Lunch today (part of it, anyway). I had a huge greens salad with just a little Newman's balsamic dressing, then the rest of the broccoli egg drop soup from a few nights ago:

A mid-afternoon snack of my favorite energy bar (the brand is my favorite, but I think the flavor I like best is Banana Cookie):

Andrea

http://tenacity.net

[misstenacity]

chow guy - the Snupper Club food is the responsibility of the host. It has been tossed around as a possibility that each person just brings $5, and/or someone is delegated to bring wine, etc. But the potluck idea was rejected because I do think that a) people wouldn't want to cook something every time, and b) the cooks would prefer to plan a whole meal start to finish.

So we might do the per-head charge, just to take a little of the burden off. I think that's a fair compromise if the other alternative is potluck.

Andrea

http://tenacity.net

[misstenacity]

Final post, and dinner! Tried to go to Mary & Tito's but were foiled.... for some reason they closed early this evening.

Ok, plan B. Gotta have chile, so up the road to Sadie's, a long-standing local favorite, though I've been neutral on it for awhile. Thankfully, that's about to get tipped in a favorable direction.

We arrive just as it is getting dark, and pause outside the front doors.

Inside we will have a short wait for a table. This is very typical on any night of the week - the place is always packed with a cross-spectrum of locals and tourists, families and acquaintances. The waiting area is nice and not very noisy:

Soon we are whisked to our table and start chowing down on the chips and salsa. The chips are thin and very fresh, and the salsa has a good deal of heat. Definitely a good sign.

The tables around us are a mixture of different crowds, but everyone looks happy. Visible in this shot is the executive chef (if I could read the embroidery correctly) planning a wedding party with 2 lovebirds and 2 of the shell-shocked parents:

I order my "usual" at Chilepenos, bowl of red, no beans, egg over hard on top. This is a meal that rarely fails to please - its warm and fills that spot in your belly, but not so heavy that you have to waddle out of the restaurant. Only if I'm absolutely starving will I attempt to order a big dinner special. Here's my bowl, with the egg bits chopped up (by me) and drowning in the Scoville pool:

And another, more oblique shot:

Across the table is an order of "Roberto's Plate" which is a corn tortilla topped with a burger, then the whole thing is smothered in beans, homefries, cheese and chile.

As I am finishing my bowl of red, I decide to alter the flavor a bit and dump the rest of the salsa into my bowl. Poor, poor, pitful salsa bowl:

Since I didn't get any photos this evening.... I leave you with me staring into my wine glass on my 30th birthday dinner last year at Geronimo.

Its been great to take you on a tour of both Albuquerque and my own culinary misadventures. I hope you've enjoyed the ride.

Andrea

http://tenacity.net

[jhlurie]

I hope you've enjoyed the ride.

Yup.

[snowangel]

Thanks, Andrea, for sharing your life. Dinner looked wonderful. Everything.

Your supper club. I, too, like to be in control of the meals at my house, so no pot lucks! Fortunately, my friends know that and ask very specifically what to bring. I usually ask very specifically for libations!

[Ling]

Andrea, thanks for your blog--I really enjoyed it! The "Roberto's Plate" looks delicious with all that melted cheese and ground meat. And thanks for including a picture of yourself. For some reason, I really like it when bloggers include a picture of themselves so we can see who we've been following all week.

(Wish I belonged to a Supper Club too! )

Edited February 4, 2005 by Ling (log)

[ludja]

Thanks for a great foodblog misstenacity! Quite an interesting mix of eating venues and food at home and not. Great pix too and funny commentary.

[Susan in FL]

Great blog! Thank you, Andrea. And P.S. I really like the trend that seems to be developing... a parting snapshot of the blogger.

[Toliver]

I'm curious--what are those dessert bars in the photo next to the key lime ones? They look like Nanaimo bars with an extra thick coconuty base. (Nanaimo bars are a Canadian thing, I believe--top layer of ganache, middle layer is custard, and bottom layer is like a chocolatey-coconut graham cookie.)

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That looked familiar to me, too. A friend gave me a recipe for something similar though the base is nowhere near as thick. The base is graham cracker-ish with a touch of coconut, a cream cheese mixture constitutes the middle layer and it's topped with a chocolate layer. The one drawback with the recipe is it needs to be refrigerated so I'm not sure if it's the same thing as what is pictured. But it's tasty!

edited to add: On behalf of all eG chileheads, Thanks for the great blog, Andrea!

Edited February 4, 2005 by Toliver (log)

[fou de Bassan]

Enjoyed your blog. Thanks for bringing some warmth to those of us surrounded by snow .

[CaliPoutine]

Its over??????

awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Thanks for the glimpses into your culinary world.

[chow guy]

chow guy - the Snupper Club food is the responsibility of the host.  It has been tossed around as a possibility that each person just brings $5, and/or someone is delegated to bring wine, etc.  But the potluck idea was rejected because I do think that a) people wouldn't want to cook something every time, and b) the cooks would prefer to plan a whole meal start to finish.

So we might do the per-head charge, just to take a little of the burden off.  I think that's a fair compromise if the other alternative is potluck.

Andrea

http://tenacity.net

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I don't like the pot luck idea at all and I think it's a great idea to have a per head charge to take some of the burden off the host. Thanks so much for you wonderful blog. It was fun seeing some local spots in a new light and I even recognized some folks in your great photographs.