Tag: mexican food

Categories
Europe Food + Drinks Living Abroad

Lazy Sunday at the Camden Market

This past weekend finally brought blue skies and well above freezing temperatures to London, so I spent Sunday roaming around Camden Market with my friend Julie whom I met a few years ago in New York. She’s originally from France but currently living in Geneva, and luckily for me visiting London with her equally awesome friend for a few days.

Pub shot
My selfies are out of focus about 70% of the time

 

Camden Market has been on my list of places to see since I’ve arrived, though I wasn’t exactly sure why since I’m not usually one to gravitate towards overcrowded shopping areas. But alas I went, and I was pleasantly surprised that it was far more entertaining than I’d expected.

The thing about Camden Market is that it’s so incredibly massive—it’s made up of six main sections, and then some—everyone’s bound to have a different experience. So let me give you a small sampling of what I encountered while strolling through for a few hours.

Music shop

 

When we first started walking through the scattering of souvenir shops, shoe stores, and KFC’s, I wasn’t impressed. The overcrowded streets reminded me of East Harlem during a summer street fair, minus the sweaty heat. Then we went into the green Camden Market tent which was completely packed with countless, nearly identical clothing shops. Each booth owner tried to get our money—the women by pushing the latest fashions and “just for you” discount prices in our faces, and the guys by flirtatiously combatting our “we’re just looking” lines with “…looking for a boyfriend?”

Screen shot 2013-03-03 at 9.35.52 PM

Gothic clothes and KFC
Gothic clothes and fried chicken

 

I was hooked as soon as we made our way towards the food in Camden Lock. The surprisingly harmonious scents of Indian, Thai, Chinese, and Mexican spices lured me in, and had I not been concerned about certain digestive repercussions I would’ve sampled something from each stand. But alas I found myself drooling over the sizzling fajitas that the two semi-Mexican looking men were serving up. I ordered carne asada tacos, which were… well, interesting. The corn tacos were stuffed with a mixture of what looked like canned chili, peas, corn, tomatoes, cheese, avocado salsa, and sour cream, on top of a bed of iceberg lettuce and deglo orange rice. Pretending for a moment that it wasn’t Mexican food, I suppose it wasn’t all that bad. In fact I’ll even bet that it would’ve been incredible after about ten beers. But I’ll never go back.

"Mexican food" at Camden Market
“Mexican food” at Camden Market

 

In my search for bottled water I was drawn to some no-name stand where I heard Tool’s Ænima album blasting. The dread-locked, tattooed, gauged ear guy running the stand (hello 18-year old Kim’s dream guy) was putting so much passion into making his coffee to the beat of Eulogy that I felt compelled to order a caffe mocha. And thankfully so. It was warm, thick, foamy, and overall a delicious companion for the chilly afternoon, even though it was gone in about six sips.

Caffe Mocha Art

 

We finally made our way into the Stables Market and down to the pinnacle of my Sunday market adventure, Cyberdog. This place was like a rave, complete with pumping music, dancing girls in short shorts, wildly outrageous but equally incredible futuristic outfits, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there were even some drugs scattered about. They carried all sorts of wacky unique gag gifts and party clothes, from guitar baking spatulas, to galactic dresses you’ve probably only seen on the Jetsons, to OhMiBod iPod-powered vibrators that sync up with your music to get you off to a beat. (Or to help you beat off? Get it??!) Yep.

Best store ever, forreal
Awesome. F’ing. Store.

Best store ever

Saturn
Awesome Saturn light!
Galactic Dresses
If they weren’t so expensive, I’d seriously consider rocking these galactic dresses.

 

After Cyberdog the rest of the shops just didn’t seem to compare, so what else could we do except stop for a cupcake? It was almost closing time and most of the flavors had been picked over at Mimi’s Cupcakes, but I managed to grab a winter fruit mini cupcake for just £1. The cake was much thicker than what I’m used to in the states, probably about the same consistency of cornbread, but it made this bite-sized treat perfectly fulfilling. The tart, fruity icing was like a thick buttercream, but it played a refreshing trick on my mind to make me think I was eating something lighter and more healthy.

Winter fruit cupcake at Mimi's Cupcakes
Winter fruit cupcake at Mimi’s Cupcakes

 

I think my favorite thing about Camden Market was the grunginess of it all. I feel more at home when I’m around people in hoodies with tattoos and piercings as opposed to those in collared shirts, sweaters, and perfectly pressed slacks like the other areas I’ve been to. And it wasn’t too in-your-face with people forcing us to buy stuff (except for the food market, but they were forcing us to taste their free samples so who can really complain?). Plus there truly seemed to be at least one shop for everyone there—even those of us who hate shopping. Definitely a good market worth getting lost in for a few hours, but you have to take the time to go deep inside to find where the shops really start to get good.

 

Categories
Food + Drinks Mexico Review

Authentic Mexican Food in Not-So Authentic Cabo San Lucas

Belching and on the brink of vomiting, but we kept going like champs.

I almost feel like a jerk for posting this because it’s going to be the most visually unappealing post I’ve ever shared. Not because the pics are particularly gross, but because 1- the blurry photos just don’t do the flavors justice, and 2- this weird thing happens when there’s food in front of me. I stop paying attention to my settings and just randomly snap pics because I’m in such a hurry to eat. So more often than not they come out blurry. But this experience was just so delicious, I couldn’t NOT share it despite the crappy pics.

If you love Mexican food like I do, there’s a good chance it won’t take too long until you find yourself feeling sad inside thanks to the local cuisine in the highly Americanized Cabo San Lucas. So instead of settling for tourist friendly beachside enchiladas drowning in sour cream, drive about ten blocks North of the tourist zone for a sit down meal at La Fonda. Holy mouthgasm. You won’t be sorry. And it’s cheap.

Up until this epic evening we’d eaten a lot of sub-par food in Cabo. The guacamoles were too creamy and bland, the entrees completely overpowered by seafood (which I guess could be a good thing if you like seafood tacos, I’m more of a beef and beans kinda gal), and generally lacking that authenticity that we were craving. Even at the highly recommended Villa Serena I wasn’t overly impressed for my birthday dinner (again, probably because I don’t love seafood dishes).

On our last night there I busted out the iPad, desperate to stumble upon some authentic hidden gem close by. That’s when I came across La Fonda on TripAdvisor, and after three seconds of looking at the menu decided we were going to eat like ravenous meat-deprived carnivores for the last supper.

And feast we did.

The restaurant was tucked away on Calle Miguel Hidalgo, and frankly a little hard to find (probably because we didn’t have a map). We drove around for a good 25 minutes before almost giving up. We were all hangry, and no matter which way we went we found ourselves back on Lázaro Cárdenas. Every wrong turn was one turn closer to defeat. Then out of nowhere we saw the tiny parking lot with friendly waiters standing there like they’d been waiting all night for us to arrive.

It was one of those restaurants where everything on the menu sounds delicious. The decor very traditional Mexican with bottles upon bottles of Tequila at the bar. The waitstaff was friendly, and almost more excited than we were for us to try their food. It felt like home. Or at least the Mexican version of home I’ve always felt I belonged in.

We ordered like we hadn’t eaten in weeks, getting appetizers and entrees to split amongst us all. Despite our oversized appetites, our bill only came out to $80 in the end. Money very well spent. I’d love to leave you with a website or something, but apparently they don’t have one. So if you don’t believe my taste buds, check out La Fonda on TripAdvisor.

I’ll leave you with some pretty shitty pictures that I really hope don’t deter you from giving this place a taste.

Disclaimer: A photo of the black bean empanadas are missing. They mysertiously disappeared before I could pull out my camera.

We were seated with a free sample, or rather, a tease. An excellent tease.
We were seated with a free sample, or rather, a tease. An excellent tease.
I love you even when you’re blurry, guacamole.
Queso fundido con chorizo. Nothing like a big dish of melted cheese and spicy meat.
Three quesadillas: pumpkin, shrimp, and huitlacoche (a mushroom that grows from corn).
Poisonous beans, refried and topped with “the secret adobo,” served with grilled tortillas. Oh, apparently poisonous and secret adobo means f’ing delicious in Spanish.
A Guadalajara special: drowned torta filled with carnitas. Though not very photogenic, it was tasty.
A Guadalajara special: drowned torta filled with carnitas. Though not very photogenic, it was tasty.
Some sort of chicken and veggies stacked between tortillas dish that a vegetarian ate and loved.
Some sort of chicken and veggies stacked between tortillas dish that a vegetarian ate and loved.

 

 

Categories
Mexico

My Five Birthday Wishes in Cabo

I love my birthday. Despite 18 years of K-BFA education and 12 years of working, I’ve never actually gone to school or work on August 10th. And I’ve spent 10 out of my last 12 birthdays traveling. This year, I chose a more relaxing beach getaway with some friends, but I still had five wishes for my big day. The first was that I didn’t have to get behind the wheel, and the second was that I eat lots of guacamole. Sherri made sure that happened by making an early morning run to Costco.

My first time eating mass quantities from Costco and it’s in Mexico. WTF.

Yes we were in Mexico, and yes, she bought—gasp—PACKAGED guacamole. Two of them. But she also bought about 496 miniature chocolate brownies, a liter of Nutella, flan the size of a large deep dish pizza, and two bags of pretzels and chips that were taller than Belinda when stacked on top of one another. So all was forgiven. Plus, I can’t say that I wasn’t eager to shove layers of chocolate, flan, and Nutella in my mouth for breakfast once the guacamole was gone. Oh yeah, it happened. Over and over again.

Costco-sized flan with a chocolate cake underneath.

I had a slight hangover from the night before at Baha Junkie where I forgot that I was turning 27 not 21. It was ladies night and alcohol was free. Yes, FREE. The most dangerous word in my vocabulary. The vodka started flowing like it was spring break and I was convinced I was just drinking watered down juice. That is until I was dancing on the bar, spinning the wheel of embarrassment in an attempt to get free shots. Of course I landed on “booty stamp” which sobered me up instantly. I was only hours away from my 27th birthday and I was acting like a college girl. I realized nobody was paying attention to me, I wasn’t the life of the party, I was just a mild embarrassment. So I kept whatever dignity I had left and hopped down off the bar, after getting my booty stamp of course.

Well it SEEMED like a good idea at the time.

Of course I forgot that entire portion of the evening until laying on the beach the next day and seeing this gem on my backside.

The bartender could tell I was a little weirded out so he stayed away from my booty.

My third wish was to spend the day relaxing on an uncrowded beach, so after breakfast we drove about 35 minutes to get some sun and get rid of our headaches at Palmilla Beach. I’d forgotten to rinse my camera from the saltwater the day before and my camera started acting up so I was only able to get a few pictures. Happy birthday to me, right?

I tried to tackle this pelican. Failed miserably.

Palmilla Beach was a much smaller, less crowded beach than Medano Beach. The swimming area was protected from the harsh waves by a string of rocks crawling with black crabs. There was a concrete walkway leading to a handful of thatched umbrellas (free of charge might I add) set up along the beach. It looked like there was only one other group of tourists, and just a few locals picnicking, fishing, and gulping down fresh mango juice from the woman who pushed her tin cart through 100 degree heat. The sun was stealing what little water was left in my dehydrated, hungover body, and the saltwater was sure to zap up the rest. Our liters of ice water warmed up quickly, and we only made it a few hours before heading back to the pool at the apartment.

The waves that threatened the cove.
Starting to look tan! Or burnt…

My fourth birthday wish was an authentic Mexican dinner, so the girls and I decided upon Villa Serena just a street away from the house. Sadly I’m more of a beef and beans kind of girl, and this place was primarily seafood. But we all ordered and shared, and overall I’d say it was an average Mexican meal. Not really anything to write about, but that could just be because I was really craving some beef.

Their guacamole basically tasted like mashed avocado
Chile Relleno, beans and rice. Pretty good, but missing the beef.

Lastly, my fifth wish (I really sound like a greedy bitch, don’t I?) was that we start off a night of drinking at Cabo Wabo. Ever since I’d heard that the man (Sammy Hagar/Van Halen) my dad used to play on repeat after every Ozzy Osbourne album during my entire youth had his own bar in Cabo, I added it to my “semi-embarrassing places I must see” list.

Inside Cabo Wabo. Kind of felt like Florida or something.

I was stuffed from dinner and still exhausted from the night before. I just wanted to go home and get into stretchy pants and call it a night. But it was only 8pm. Determined not to feel old, I marched straight up to the bar and ordered a Long Island Iced Tea to get the night started.

Playing catchup with my Long Island Iced Tea

Usually Long Islands get me very drunk very fast, but this one, nothing. That’s what happens when I drink after eating, it’s impossible to get drunk for like, four hours. And what kind of world would this be if I celebrated my birthday sober? So I went back up to the bar and told the bartender I need his strongest drink and I need it fast. He mixed up some fruity concoction that was a tad bit on the sweet side for my liking, but I shut up and drank it. Still sober. Then it was time to ignore my hatred of tequila, because trying a shot of Cabo Wabo at Cabo Wabo was also on my list.

Yep, still don’t like tequila. But don’t let my face fool you, Cabo Wabo is actually pretty smooth.

Cabo Wabo was definitely a hangout for the slightly older crowd. We were among some of the youngest people there, and sadly we were seated watching our elders with rocking perms dance all around us. The memorabilia covering the walls was pretty awesome though, and after a few more drinks we finally got the nerve to bust out some dance moves of our own. I was just praying for Slash to walk out on stage and show these guys up.

Our average-joe cover band for the evening.

I ended up maintaining a responsible, age appropriate buzz before heading home around 1am. The top was off the Wrangler and once we got away from the city lights I was mesmerized by the blanket of stars in the sky. I stood up on the seat, flailing out the top of the Wrangler while yelling some gibberish at the universe about my birthday (don’t worry, we were on the 5mph side streets and Sherri was the 100% sober driver). When we got to the house I made myself one last birthday cocktail and laid on the edge of the second-story balcony, staring at the stars. Belinda and Sherri went to sleep and I vowed to stay on that balcony until I saw a shooting star. I was a couple of days early for the Perseid Meteor Shower, but just as I was about to pass out give up, a bright golden star shot across the sky. And just like that, another very happy birthday went down in the books.

 

Categories
All You Can Jet Food + Drinks

Day 19: Last Day in The Bay

I spent the majority of Saturday packing for Jamaica, and resting up. I did manage to make it out of the house for a quick bite to eat with Terazia, an extended family member I haven’t seen since she was like 7 years old. Now she’s 18 and going to college in San Francisco. Crazy how fast kids grow up!

We went to a cheap Taqueria, that I’ve actually eaten at before. It’s not the best Mexican food, but it’s cheap and quick. I ordered the nachos this time instead of a 90 pound burrito. They were great at first, until they got all soggy and it looked like baby diarrhea.

I packed and made the trek to the BART around 7p for my 1030p flight. It’s a damn good thing I looked at the flight information again at 6p, because I thought my flight was at 1130p. Next stop, Montego Bay, Jamaica!

Categories
All You Can Jet

Day 15: Leaving La-La Land

Tuesday was my last full day in Los Angeles. I was ready to leave the minute I woke up. LA is okay, and actually pretty awesome when you’re with the right people, but definitely not a place I want to spend too many days without a car. I left Ty’s by foot in order to meet up with Chris in Hollywood. It took me 45 minutes to walk to the bus, then another 25 waiting for the bus, and an hour and a half on the bus. When I finally got off, I met with Chris and we waited an hour for yet another bus. Forty minutes later we were starving as we got off the bus at the Cheese Store in Silverlake in search of some supposedly incredible panini. Of course, just as you’d expect to see after any four hour commute, they were sold out. At least we got a few free samples of cheese and crackers out of it.

I could’ve eaten everything in the entire Cheese Store, but instead I ended up eating Mexican food for the 80th time this trip. I ordered cheese enchiladas, chips, guacamole and orange Fanta, randomly. Chris had the fajitas, and we ate in this little canopied jungle in back of the place, where I’m pretty sure Chris spotted a Mexican lemur or something.

After stopping for some coffee and tea, we walked faster than any form of LA transportation could take us, over to Chris’s friend’s house in some random neighborhood. Rumor has it that the housing complex has been some sort of musician’s haven for years. Bands practice, hang out and record there to this day, all around a center courtyard that looked like it could be used for a tropical swimsuit shoot. Cue Chris’s fierce swimsuit pose:

We made it over to Second City on Hollywood Boulevard to see a hilarious improv comedy show for $5, then on to Dillion’s for my last night in LA. I got a nice little glimpse of Capitol Records on the way.

Categories
All You Can Jet Food + Drinks

Day 13: Greyhound San Diego to LA

Not really an eventful day. I woke up and made my way to the bus since both Sam and JJ were still in jail. The Greyhound station in San Diego is so much nicer than the stations I’ve been to in Toledo and Las Vegas. Plus, with such a short trip, it was $15 for a 2 hour, non-stop ride from San Diego to LA.

Once I got to LA I didn’t do a whole lot. I am staying with an “acquaintance” from back when I was about 16 years old. We never really hung out, but I was friends with a lot of his friends, and we went to the same high school together. Luckily he was nice enough to not only let a stranger crash with him for a few nights, but to agree to drive me up to San Francisco as well!

After I got settled in, we went over to Don Antonio’s for some Mexican food (of course, what else). I ordered the cheese and onion enchilada plate, and the xango for dessert. I’d never heard of xango before, but apparently it was some sort of fried cheesecake, with cinnamon and sugar and vanilla ice cream. Whatever it was, it was delicious.

After dinner we went to a pretty cool place called Q’s Billiard Club on Wilshire Blvd and watched the battle of the Mannings (Giants v Colts football game). Not a very eventful day, but it was a nice welcome to Los Angeles.