Chickpea to Cook

Ever wonder what the stomach of a Grouper fish tastes like?

Me neither, but that didn’t stop me from trying it when I was in Mexico last week. It was my last day there and our driver, Avelino, offered to take me to this little-known local seafood restaurant in downtown Cancun while I waited for my flight.

Avelino knew the owner of the place and was a regular. He didn’t even glance at the menu when we sat down. A football match blared on the TV in the unassuming restaurant. Not a tourist in site–I was excited.

Avelino doesn’t drink, so I wasn’t going to order alcohol but when he heard me ask for a juice he spoke up.

“What?? No beer?” he said incredulously. “Seafood always tastes better with a beer.”

That was all I needed to hear. Read the rest of this entry »

I made it my quest to find the perfect Margarita when I was down in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico last week. Usually I am a purist and prefer the standard lime juice margarita on the rocks–nothing blended.

But when I tried this mango margarita served up at Lol Ha Restaurant in Akumal I knew I had found a winner.

Fresh mango juice added just the right tartness to the tequila. Who needs salt and limes? It went down so easily I ordered two more before Happy Hour was over. No hangover the next morning either!

By the way, the Margarita isn’t that old of a cocktail drink, with most experts putting its inception date circa 1938. There are many stories about who invented the Margarita, but my favorite goes to Pancho Morales, a bartender in Juarez, Mexico.

The story goes that Morales invented the margarita on July 4, 1942, at a bar named Tommy’s Place. Supposedly, a famous actress came into the bar and ordered a Magnolia (brand, Cointreau, and an egg yolk topped with champagne). Morales was a little fuzzy on the recipe; he improvised and his creation was a big hit.

Mango Margarita Recipe

• 2 tablespoons tequila
• 1 teaspoon triple sec
• 1 tablespoon Grand Marnier
• 1 cup diced mangoes
• 3/4 cup orange sorbet

Pour all ingredients into a blender; mix on low speed gradually increasing to high speed until mixture is smooth. Ready to serve!

The shack might not look like much, but there’s often a line out the door at this Santa Barbara staple.

Super-Rica taqueria has developed quite a following for its fresh Mexican fare. Some people have proclaimed it to serve the best taco in California–a bold claim. Would it live up to the hype?

We ordered chicken and beef tacos, a plate of rice and beans, and guacamole. You can watch your tortillas being made and they come straight from the fire to your plate. Definite points for the freshness factor.

The guacamole was smooth and creamy, also very fresh and flavory. I could easily say this ranks among the best guacamoles that I’ve tasted. As someone who likes sauces, I’d say the salsa was forgettable (precisely because I can’t even remember what it tasted like). But the tacos as a whole were tasty.

It was the plate of rice that ruined it for me. Dry, boring, and emitting some kind of weird herby flavor. The two of us couldn’t even eat half of it–and when two Persians can’t eat rice, you know there’s something wrong with it.

So weighing out the good and bad, is Super-Rica worth a long drive for lunch?

It was above average because of its fresh ingredients, but you can probably find a comparable taco joint in your own neighborhood. In the end I agree with a local named Roger, who left this review:

“I ate here the day it opened, and every now and again since, and I find the owner delightful, the tortillas fresh, the meat fresh, the salsas boring, and the long line of out-of-towners tedious.”