Huevos Rancheros

[phaelon56]

I used to get huevos rancheros many years ago when I traveled extensively in California and Colorado. My recollection is a dish that consisted of a flour tortilla with a layer of beans covered with salsa and then two poached eggs on top. I vaguely recall that some places might have had the beans in between two tortillas with the other ingredients on top of the top tortilla. Last summer I tried huevos rancheros in a small family restaurant in the barrio in Austin TX. It had all the ingredients I recalled but offered hot sauce rather than salsa. In this case all items were served separately and one simply layered them at the table or just ate them independently. My assumption (a dangerous thing) that this was typical huevos rancheros was changed on a recent trip to Belize. there are many folks of Hispanic extraction there (from both Mexico and Central America). I ordered huevos rancheros and received what we always called "mexican style eggs" when I was growing up. It was scrambled eggs with some peppers, onion and a few small chunks of potato mixed in. What is the prevailing style here in the north Jersey area and what's good place to go for them? I'm open to any location but North Bergen, Union City and West New York are most convenient as I live just a few miles west of there.

[tommy]

baja, in hoboken, offers a sufficiently disgusting version of this dish.

[phaelon56]

Thanks so much for the helpful and oh so enlightening comment. I'm hazarding a wild guess that Tommy doesn't like this dish regardless of how it's prepared but perhaps someone else does? Useful input from all parties appreciated - even (perhaps especiallly) from those who are not  sick, brutally gifted intellectual hayseeds. BY the way... when made with

stewed and spicy pinto beans (rather than refried beans), fresh tortillas, fresh salsa nad perfectly poached eggs... it's a most amazing and filling breakfast.

[tommy]

Thanks so much for the helpful and oh so enlightening comment. I'm hazarding a wild guess that Tommy doesn't like this dish regardless of how it's prepared but perhaps someone else does? Useful input from all parties appreciated - even (perhaps especiallly) from those who are not  sick, brutally gifted intellectual hayseeds. BY the way... when made with

stewed and spicy pinto beans (rather than refried beans), fresh tortillas, fresh salsa nad perfectly poached eggs... it's a most amazing and filling breakfast.

please don't try to school me or make me look foolish.

i was offering a suggestion in direct response to your query.  baja, in hoboken, makes a greasy disgusting version of this dish.  i don't see what your problem is.

[dodge621]

[Thanks so much for the helpful and oh so enlightening comment.]

Call El Gran Mexicano in Bogota   201-489-0905

They may serve Huevos Rancheros.

[Rail Paul]

In Albuquerque, you get a choice of the red or green salsa. And, it's the stacked method, with your choice of poached or fried eggs on top.

I'm not a big fan of HR, it's far too heavy for breakfast.

[tommy]

In Albuquerque, you get a choice of the red or green salsa.

is that in hudson or bergen county?  i don't think so.  

[201]

El Gran Mexicano DOES have Huevos Rancheros listed on their take-out menu.  They're listed under the breakfast section, but I'm sure they'd be happy to make them any time.  I don't know how they prepare the dish there however.

[Steve Plotnicki]

phaelon56 - The type of tortilla used in Mexican food is dependant on what region of Mexico you are in. Much Tex-Mex food used flour tortillas because the northernmost regions of Mexico have access to wheat flour. But elsewhere in Mexico, a Huevos Rancheros are over easy eggs on corn tortillas. It's the same with quesadillas. They use flour tortillas in the north and corn in the southern provinces.

[phaelon56]

Note to Tommy: I don't see what my problem is either. I also don't need to make you look foolish - you appear entirely capable of doing that with no assistance from anyone else.

Note to everyone else: Thanks for the helpful responses - I'm always interested in tangential but useful info even if it's not directly related to the geographical location of the post.

[Holly Moore]

If nothing else I strive to be tangentfully useful.

Tequilla's is on the 1600 block of Locust in Center City Philadelphia.  In my experience it is one of the finer Mexican restaurants in the country - very little border fare, mucho regional Mexican cooking from all of Mexico.

Among other dishes, Tequilla's prepares excellent and traditional huevos rancheros.  I often have them crumble in some chorizo lest I eat a vegetarian entree.

[tommy]

Note to Tommy: I don't see what my problem is either. I also don't need to make you look foolish - you appear entirely capable of doing that with no assistance from anyone else.

Note to everyone else: Thanks for the helpful responses - I'm always interested in tangential but useful info even if it's not directly related to the geographical location of the post.

note to phaelon56 (oh how passé):  did you not like my reply?  if not, i suggest that you don't make a big deal of it publicly, and instead shove it in your arse and see what grows.

you asked for information on a place close to north bergen, union city, and west new york.  cleary, hoboken is close.  i have been to baja, many times, and find their version of huevos rancheros for shit.  perhaps you'll waste a brunch there and report back?  

otherwise, don't pick on me.  please, don't.  and if so, why?

can i ask for a vote?

who at egullet thinks i make a fool of myself?  just wondering.

[ngatti]

Huevos Rancheros...ummm...They're on ROUND toetillas with the eggs and such used as a filling.  Kinda Like... well kinda like a ..PIE

Nick

[phaelon56]

Tommy -  If I misinterperted the tone of your response I apologize. You certainly did provide factual information but the manner in which it was presented leaves the impression (to me at least and I suspect to others) that a negative attitude is in play. Call me crazy (others have) but when I describe a dish I happen to enjoy and ask if anyone knows where it is served in the area... why go to the trouble of responding if you think the version served at Baja is "disgusting". Is it poorly prepared or do you just happpen to dislike huevos rancheros?  How about just telling me that they serve it there but do it very poorly? Your response and raz to Rail Paul's mention of the serving style and salsa types used in Albequerque seems to show the same attitude as your original reply. I'm new to this forum and assure you that I won't pick on, criticize or in any way question any of your future posts or responses. You're a long time forum member who's obviously very active and I respect that. In return I ask that if I post and you don't have anything constructive to offer in a reasonably polite way perhaps you should just not respond to my posts. Certainly simple enough. In short... it's not so much what you said but how you said it.

[Jaymes]

Okey doke, fellows.  

Huevos Rancheros just means "eggs ranch style" and is one of the most popular way of preparing eggs in those areas of the Americas that are influenced by Mexican/Latin cuisine.  

The thing is, most Mexicans find a couple of fried eggs thrown on their plate to be way too bland for their liking.  So, this is generally how fried eggs are served.

It consists of however many eggs you want, cooked however you want (usually fried or poached), except I've never seen them scrambled because part of the deal is that you want the yolks runny.  This egg(s) is/are served on a tortilla, flour or corn to your liking, that has been cooked briefly on a grill or skillet.  

Then, just as though you were ordering an omlette, you get to choose whatever other ingredients you like...refried beans smeared on the cooked tortilla, chorizo, shredded cheese on top....and then served with some sort of a sauce, generally tomato-based, but not necessarily....pico de gallo, salsa cruda, salsa tomatilla, ranchero sauce, etc.  And sour cream, if you want that.  

When you order Huevos Rancheros, just ask, "What do you normally put on them?" just as you likely would had you requested a Western Omlette or, for that matter, any other kind.  

The problem with trying to figure out what is "supposed" to be on Huevos Rancheros is that nothing is "supposed" to be on them except for the "huevos" mentioned.  So, it's kind of like asking someone "what is supposed to be in an omlette?"  You'll get thousands of responses, because the real answer is, "anything you like."

[tommy]

i will continue to post in the style that i see fit.

[Jaymes]

Dear Phaelon56,

I am new here as well, and so my insights are obviously not as valuable as those of longtime members, but I offer them to you anyway.

eGullet is, like every other group of humans, a community.  And, like all communities we have our stereotypical residents.  Tommy is the harmless curmudgeon that sits on his front porch ordering neighborhood children off of his lawn.

You may not grow to love him, as do I, as do we all, but please don't let him run you off.  Please continue to post your opinions regarding cooking, food, etc.  

And, if you cannot love Tommy (bless his heart), just ignore him.  You will probably come to find that although his style can be unfortunate, he has a great deal to offer.

[tommy]

thanks jaymes, i think.

back to the food.

i've probably never had a decent version of huevos rancheros.  it is apparent that it, like all foodstuffs, can be a wonderful dish.  it's a shame that the hudson county area doesn't offer much in the way of decent mexican restaurants.  baja, in hoboken, offers a suffciently disgusting version of the dish, and unfortunately that is the version with which i'm most familiar.  although i don't recommend it, for some it is the perfect hangover cure, which probably accounts for 98% of the meals ordered at baja on any saturday or sunday.

[tommy]

Tommy is the harmless curmudgeon that sits on his front porch ordering neighborhood children off of his lawn.

LOL!  don't be silly.  

[yvonne johnson]

Thanks, tommy, on where not to go for this dish.  Always as important as where to go. I'll be vistiting Hoboken soon.

Huevos rancheros is a lovely dish done properly with accompanying refried beans and (as Bayless--of real fame, not of this site's personality disorder--points out) some fruit on the side. And as Steve P says (oh, boy I'm agreeing with him a lot lately), flour tortillas are more common in the north and corn in the south of Mexico.  However, this is not true of Mexico City where I saw both in abundance.

[ngatti]

Heartwarming, truly heartwarming!  Ya gotta stop posting like this, Tommy.  My face is starting to break out.  

Thanks mucho, all!  I learned more on Huevos Rancheros in two days in this site, than in a 25 year culinary career.

Nick

[Wilfrid]

I once asked for good places to eat chili in Manhattan, and Tommy told me where I could get a particularly "atrocious" version, as I recall.  Arguably unhelpful, but I think I smiled and moved on (actually I didn't, I had some kind of dig back at him).   Sometimes on eGullet you get useful information, sometimes you get a joke, sometimes someone snarls at you.  The one thing you can't do is legislate in advance that you don't want inane or unhelpful replies - I guess you kind of throw something in and see what comes back.   The more relaxed you are about it, the more fun it will probably be.

[Liza]

Of course, of course.  

[phaelon56]

Thanks to all for the ongoing, insightful comments and chances are I too will grow to love Tommy regardless of his style of posting or commentating. As to me just developing a thicker skin and taking whatever gets thrown at me - I'll take the suggestion to heart and keep my trap shut (or my keyboard inactive) when it's in my own best interest. No question that Tommy has a lot to offer this forum - I believe i allluded to that in an earlier post. This forum is a great resource that I appreciate and I hope to be able to contribute something useful. What prompted my original post in part was a recent trip to Belize where "huevos rancheros" are really just scramble eggs with some other stuff mixed in. My Cuban lady friend believes this is typical throughout much of the Caribbean and Central America rather than the separate eggs/beans/tortillas version I'm in search of. Thanks again to all for the insights.

[tommy]

I once asked for good places to eat chili in Manhattan, and Tommy told me where I could get a particularly "atrocious" version, as I recall.  

click here.  that is, at least until the next upgrade comes around.

a thick skin certainly helps.  being aggressive rarely helps.