Restaurant Review: Los Favoritos

First you have the chips smothered with beans

Then you add the carne asada and sour cream

Red or Green are available

The red had a sweetness I wasn’t expecting

While I didn’t like the styrofoam, I liked the image.

This past week, in my food adventures, I forgot to mention an excursion to local Gilbert fast-food Mexican joint, Los Favoritos. I was immediately struck by the interior of the restaurant, because that’s what it felt like to me, a restaurant. The tables and chairs were real and so were the decorations and the paintings on the walls. It seemed legit, but just happened to serve your classic Filibertos-style Mexican food. I had gone, not having brought lunch, thinking I would try my signature menu item at places like this: 3 rolled tacos with cheese and guacamole.

The interior gave me new hope, however, and so I sprung for the Super Nachos. Super Nachos, are a sort of conglomeration of flavors, each usually made better by it’s proximity to the next. I can’t say that Los Favoritos had a spectacular version. Each layer was placed directly on top of the other, creating a layer of uber-topped chips while the rest remained dry and without topping. I think the chips, while hot, were fried in oil that had been going for a while (or the weekend) because while it wasn’t bad, there was a flavor to them that wasn’t purely chips. The meat was average, if not good, but not amazing, and I did like the guacamole quite a bit.

Really, the whole dish was decent, but not fantastic, and while I would go back to try other things, I don’t think I would go back for the Super Nachos. I will note that I was disappointed to see the Horchata coming out of a soda fountain rather than a jar, or something. I understand the juegos mexicanos are a pain, but I’d rather just have regular soda available that sub-par juices and horchata. The salsas were pretty good, though not too hot and a little sweet.

While I wasn’t thrilled with my meal, I got the feeling that I hadn’t ordered the right thing. In Counter Intelligence, Jonathan Gold talks about being sure to order the specialty or to account for the regional flavors and skills of the cooks. Obviously the Super Nachos was neither. So, I think I’ll try again – another lunch perhaps – and see what there is to offer – this time being more real and more honest about what I expect from them and what they expect from me as a member of the suburban Gilbert lunch crowd. Also, I’ll eat in instead of getting take-out. Crunchiness is a valuable commodity in fast Mexican foods. Here’s to spicing things up and giving a new restaurant a second chance.

Untapped Bounty

Vegetables, how do they work?

This weekend, my mom came over with a box of vegetables for me to have (and split up with my friends). When she told me there were lots of vegetables, she may have understated it a bit. So now I have some eggplants, banana squash, zucchini, corn, chile, and tomatoes. I was pretty ready to make calabacitas, but it struck me that I ALWAYS make calabacitas. So here it is internet, the question: what should I do with these vegetables? I’m looking for ideas, recipes, plans, anything new or different. Not everything has to go together, of course, and having things separate would stretch them over the week…but right now I can’t think of much other than sauteeing them with butter.

I know that I have recipe books full of ideas, but I guess I’m sort of interested in seeing what you think. I’m almost done with my current food book (a surprise until I review it) and after that, though I have a couple more non-fiction food books, I was thinking of digging into a cookbook as my nighttime reading. While I’m talking books here (and asking for advice) I’m a little interested in knowing where you keep your cookbooks. I already have too many (and not enough space) for the kitchen, and I know they’d just get immediately spilled on there anyway, but where should one keep them? Right now, they are in a book shelf in the garage (door entry just off the kitchen). They’re out of the way, but maybe a little too much. Ideas?

On a small note, I made killer tacos for dinner tonight with some grass-fed local beef I got from the farmer’s market. Add in some local organic lettuce, menudo mix for spice (a staple in my kitchen), colby jack cheese, corn torillas, and Herdez Salsa Verde. Delish!