Following the Carnitas thread on the LA Board

I love carnitas and I make my own Coca-Cola Pig Leg. I haven't had bad carnitas in recent memory, so I will defer to your greater experience.

The place in Ensenada I mentioned has the meat chopped sort of in cubes which are juicy and tender and has a flavorful crust just as you described.

Perhaps next time you visit that great roadside place you can get a GPS reading and I can place in on Google Earth as the best place on earth for carnitas.

Regards,

Cosmo Martes

Cosmo M in Mexico

Following the Carnitas thread on the LA Board

Here is one I have been keeping secret:

Teresas Restaurant at K38.

I have been all over Rosarito and Ensenada tasting fish tacos, and hers are by far the best I've had - both individually and in combination with beans and rice. Everything is fresh made, everything. If I could get her to make a chipotle cream sauce and chiffon parsley, it would be over the top.

There is one small shop in an Ensenada neigborhood that makes great carnitas, but I have to dig up the info. But carnitas is hard to do badly, so most including La Flor are good.

Regards,

Cosmo Martes

Cosmo M in Mexico

E. V. Olive Oil - Tijuana/Ensenada Purveyors

I like to venture into Tijuana and Ensenada in search of supplies for personal cooking, mostly its just for the adventure, since it makes more economical sense to source from the internet or locally here in So. Cal.

Since, Baja is a duty free zone I am hoping that there are some places to purchase high quality extra virgin olive oil from Italy or Spain. Perhaps there is a locally produced product in Baja Norte that I can try.

Also, my aunt says that the prices in Costco Mexico are less than Costco USA, but I have yet to verify this. Can anyone verify this?

Regards,

Cosmo Martes

Cosmo M in Mexico

Quick NOLA Report

Nice trip overall to NOLA, but next time I will rent a car and leave behind the more French Quarter party oriented friends to experience the places I want to try. An interesting time was when a transformer in the French Quarter blew up and we had no electricity for over 24 hours, but it added to the experience rather than detracted from having a good time - at least for me.

I did not get to hit the two places I most wanted to try due to transportation logistics and group mentality issues: Lilette and Casamentos.

Commanders Palace:

I was here for a birthday celebration. Excellent service. Limited Menu. Personally I did not like the Turtle Soup, others in our party did. Maybe I was picky or was recovering from the flight in. Waiters that give autographs? After browsing the menu at Palace Cafe, I felt it would have been a better experience for me, food-wise, instead of Commanders Palace.

Lolas:

Nice folksy bohemian vibe. Excellent food. Poor Service. Good range of menu choice for price. Nice simple desert choices. Got to talking with the owner outside about Barcelona Football Club and Thierry Henry. They have a dust problem - the upper walls in the dining room and the ceiling over the kitchen are almost caked with dust, this restaurant would be shutdown for that reason in some cities - no excuse for that. I have dined in places with dirt floors before, so I am not a prude, but it was a third world country. I will return to this place and conditionally recommend it to others, depending on how open minded they are.

Oysters:

I wanted to go to Casamentos to try the oyster loaf, but others in our group didn't want to leave the French Quarter, so we went to Acme, for raw oysters. One person in our group has been going to Acme's for over 12 years.

I did go to Royal House Oyster Bar where I tried the charbroiled oysters, since the bartender said they had the best charbroiled oysters. They were a fantastic change from the usual raw oyster. Better than the charbroiled oysters I had at Acme.

Beignets:

I went to Cafe DuMonde and accidentally stood in the bathroom line, then I saw the sign for take out service and stood in a much longer line. It must be due to the inexpensive price for a cafe au lait and three beignets. Beignets ended up being a good mid-day energizer for me.

I also went to the Cafe Beignet which had better cafe au lait and about the same beignet, but with higher prices and no wait. I think this will be my go-to place for beignets next time I am in NOLA.

Others in our group that sampled a beignet mentioned that it tastes like a funnel cake. I have not tasted a funnel cake so I can't confirm if that is a true statement.

Blue Bird Cafe:

This was a nice side trip from the French Quarter area for breakfast, where you can get a feel for the community, even if its just talking to a waitress or to a kid about soccer.

Muffalettas:

Someone in our group said that a local suggested that the best muffalettas were at Cafe Masperos. I intended to buy a muffaletta to take on my plane ride back to Los Angeles. I wanted to try one from Central Grocery, but it is closed on Mondays, so I bought one from Franks and one from Cafe Maspero to compare the two. I took pictures of each sandwich, but I have been too busy to download them onto my computer. There is a distinct difference between the two sandwiches.

Cafe Maspero: You get french fries with your order. The sandwich has a lot of meat including pastrami, cheese and olive relish smooshed together on what can be described as a large sesame hamburger bun.

Franks: Half-Muffaletta. The bread was a special part of the sandwich and I could taste the toastiness of the bread, it also had more lift and was unique tasting. The meat and cheese was layered evenly, and there was a definitive and neat layer of olive salad. Nicely constructed.

So I decided to give the Maspero combination to a homeless or needy person, and keep the Franks muffaletta for myself. Being as cheap as I am I was taking the E-2 bus to the airport and as I waited I was looking for a homeless person, but the ones I thought were homeless had nice new clothes, shoes and jackets. I finally saw a man who was filling his water bottle at a faucet on the side of the library and asked if he wanted a muffaletta and fries, for which he appreciated and thanked me. But he too has some good threads. I guess they care for the homeless better in NOLA than LA.

Franks Muffaletta and beer. Awesome plane food.

Cosmo M in New Orleans

Cranberries, fresh or frozen I can't find 'em

I looked in several supermarkets in my area (South Orange County) and I can only find dried cranberries.

I have a serious Orange-Cranberry Bread jones, so I would like to know if they are available now, or is this to be expected given thier season or current weather. I even called supermarkets and they all say they have 'em, but when go to the store none are to be found.

Thanks in advance,

Cos'

Cosmo M in Los Angeles Area

Best Coffee in LA

Kean's Coffee in on 17th in Newport/Costa Mesa area. I just go to buy thier espresso roast, which is the best I've had.

I've tried Black Cat from Intelligentcia, Coffee Klatch, Redline from Metropolis, and others. The espresso blend is smooth with caramel under/over tones/notes and I love the fact that I can drive to the shop and buy fresh.

The owner used to own a popular coffee chain in Orange County and his brother is a manufacturer of high quality roasters used from small coffee shops to large coffee manufacturers. Diedrich is thier namesake and was the name of the chain of shops sold to Starbucks.

Cosmo M in Los Angeles Area

I want to smoke a goat

Well not a whole goat, but whole cuts of goat meat.

Anyone know of any resources in So Cal that sell whole cuts of goat meat?

Thanks in advance,

Cosmo M

Cosmo M in Los Angeles Area

Teresita's K38 Baja California Mexico experience

This has been one of my favorite places to eat in Baja for several years. She makes fresh tortillas, and while the food is standard egg dishes (bacon, chorizo, machaca, etc), she makes everything fresh. For lunch her husband brings in fresh catches for some very satisfying fish tacos.

Breakfast $3.00 entree (served with rice and beans), $1.00 coffee (typical mild) a great and fresh bargain.

To get there you need to be on the free road heading south, if you proceed past the Las Rocas Hotel just befor the bridge you proceed as if you are going under the bridge and you will see the white shack on your right.

Teresitas has been a surfers staple for several years.

Anyone else been there?

Regards,

Cosmo M

Cosmo M in Mexico

El Rey Farms -- LA area source for fresh Hatch New Mexico Green Chilis

I have a number of someone who roasts chile in LA. Andy's Chile Roasting (562) 941-8778.

Don't know if this number is still current or not.

Good Luck

PS. I already received my Chile, XHOT, and it's pretty mild so if you like hot chile order the XX or XXX HOT

Cosmo M in Los Angeles Area

Is there chow near Coto de Caza?

No nothing. I live there. Best to cook in.

Cosmo M in Los Angeles Area

Albuqueruqe: Places to buy NM Chile

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I also queried the farmer's market orgnaization with this reply:

"Due to our July rains the chile crop is a bit
slow ripening so I would call each Market Manager to
find out the latest chile info.

As for the Downtown (Farmer's) Market
we should have some chile but you probably should call in advance."

Thanks,

Cosmo M

Cosmo M in Southwest

Is Stan's Donuts still around?

I have been craving Stans since I left a San Jose consulting gig several years ago, and being from So Cal I have yet to find a match for the 7 AM feeding at Stan's. I love those deliciously warm glazed donuts, which should be classified as a food group.

I am seriously thinking about flying up there just to get two or three boxes and share 'em at work, just so I can say "see I told you these are the best in the world!". Lou's and Krispy Kreme could never hold a candle to Stans glazed IMHO.

What's interesting is that here in Westwood there is a place named Stan's Donuts that has delivery service and donuts with candy bar like names and even peanut butter and jelly donuts. The humanity - The food gods should have bestowed delivery service upon the true legend of donutdom - Stans Donuts of Santa Clara.

My only fear is that by the time I get back to the donut promised land Stan's will have been extinct, environmentally destroyed by the mass pollution of Reeses peanut butter encrusted donut, neon lit, corporate parasites that tell us what a good donut is and how a donut purchased at thier store can make your love life better.

Hang in there Stan's Donuts, if your still there, I'm coming to the rescue one day to enlighten the masses, and will stand proud when I am called a donut hugging liberal.

Regards,

Cosmo M

Cosmo M in San Francisco Bay Area

Albuqueruqe: Places to buy NM Chile

I will be traveling to Albuquerque in late August and want to buy a variety of NM chile, including the hottest variety. Can anyone suggest a store or farmers market that may be selling NM chile around that time?

Best Regards

Cosmo M

Cosmo M in Southwest

America's Test Kitchen roast chicken - the best! (long)

I second Kellers' simple roast chicken recipe.

Cosmo M in Home Cooking