[QUOTE=Queen Bruin]
as I was driving by with a line out the door
[/QUOTE]
Is that legal in California? Here in Washington there’s a limit to the number of passengers and they have to be all the way inside the vehicle. 
[QUOTE=Cervaise]
Is that legal in California? Here in Washington there’s a limit to the number of passengers and they have to be all the way inside the vehicle.
[/QUOTE]
Hey, I drove 400 miles yesterday all told for scenery, tacos, and oranges. Cut me some slack for bad grammar! 
[QUOTE=DanBlather]
Can you explain the thin side and thick side to me?
[/QUOTE]
When tortillas are heated on the griddle, they form an air pocket and puff up. This seperates the tortilla into two layers, one side being a thick layer and the other thinner. When they cool they kind of stick together but the thin side can be removed by rubbing the surface.
[QUOTE=Queen Bruin]
Hey, I drove 400 miles yesterday all told for scenery, tacos, and oranges. Cut me some slack for bad grammar!
[/QUOTE]
Hey, I love bad grammar. In fact, I live for it (literally. Or it lives for me?..Let’s say it gives me a living.)
And I’m sorry you had to drive around for oranges. The tree in my back yard wouldn’t stop producing this year; the frost in the Valley didn’t hit here as badly. Oranges, oranges, oranges–I’ve had to give them all away. And they’re as sweet as a…well, you fill in the blank.
[QUOTE=guizot]
Did you know, Royal Ruin, that the only banana farm in the U.S. is somewhere on the road between LA and San’a Barbara? It’s easy to miss.
[/QUOTE]
That would be La Conchita. It’s micro-climate made for good banana growing. I was under the impression that it got knocked out by the landslide a couple of years ago.
[QUOTE=guizot]
In LA, Burrito King; in SF, La Cumbre; in San Diego, some of the Roberto’s/Alberto’s (depends on which one).
[/QUOTE]
Tell me something. About 20 years ago I used to go to the Roberto’s in Mission Beach. Back then, Roberto’s was all over the place. They had the most awesome Americanized chile verde burrito on the planet. It had refried beans and cheese and chile verde. Deliious!
The last time I was there, I could only find 2 Roberto’s in the phonebook. Have they changed owners? Because the chile verde sucked! Is the one in Mission Beach still there?
OK, I just got back from El Bajio for lunch. You can smell it as you approach the stand and it smells terrific. Tacos are expensive at $2.99 as Queen Bruin noted. The watermelon juice is delicious at $1.75. The carne asada was fantastic, quite possibly the best I’ve had in town. The avocado and sour cream was a nice touch. I’ve heard though, that the best carne asada in town is at Los Gallos on De La Vina. The adobada was a bit dry and too salty, El Zarape is definitely better.
I only like tacos in a hard, crunchy shell (never mind how the Mexicans like them).
How do you get homemade tortillas to come out that way?
[QUOTE=CBEscapee]
. . . But there is even more difference between handmade tortillas using commercially produced masa harina or corn flour and tortillas made with masa from fresh ground nixtamal.
[/QUOTE]
'kay, CBEscapee, you’ve convinced me. I believe I know a market or two here which sell nixtamal and this thread is giving me a yen for well-made corn tortillas. I’ve made them with the masa harina before, and they were good, but I need to take a crack at the real thing.
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton]
I only like tacos in a hard, crunchy shell (never mind how the Mexicans like them).
How do you get homemade tortillas to come out that way?
[/QUOTE]
How you get anything else crunchy: you fry it (or deep fry it).
Strawberries were back to $5 for 3 of those little plastic green baskets at the downtown L.A. Farmer’s Market. I did shellout for the $7 for 3 lady because her samples proved that the strawberries were demonstrably sweeter.
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton]
I only like tacos in a hard, crunchy shell (never mind how the Mexicans like them).
How do you get homemade tortillas to come out that way?
[/QUOTE]
This doesn’t compute. Crunchy homemade tortillas are a waste of homemade tortillas. Standard week-old Mission tortillas should do just fine. (Only slightly tongue in cheek here, less-fresh tortillas tend to hold up better in the frying pan).
[QUOTE=Darryl Lict]
OK, I just got back from El Bajio for lunch.
[/QUOTE]
Since I am at home, I will add a few pictures of both El Bajio and La Super Rica. (Large images).
Carne asada taco from El Bajio. El Bajio storefront.
Tacos de Bistec from La Super Rica.
La Super Rica location.
And to prove that I walk the taco walk, I give you my taco butt.
As you can see, I am very thorough in my tacology.
[QUOTE=anu-la1979]
Strawberries were back to $5 for 3 of those little plastic green baskets at the downtown L.A. Farmer’s Market. I did shellout for the $7 for 3 lady because her samples proved that the strawberries were demonstrably sweeter.
[/QUOTE]
Oh damn. I’m all over that! Too bad I won’t be downtown again until Monday. 
OTOH, I’ve got some fantastic blackberries. No idea where they came from or how much, my MiL just gave 'em to me. Best I’ve had in a long long time.
[QUOTE=guizot]
Sorry, but enchiladas are baked. They get dried out by the very process, and the freshness doesn’t matter.
[/QUOTE]
Not in my enchilada recipes. I drown 'em in sauce. I feel the unique aromatic sweetness of freshly ground corn kernels is best developed in utter tenderness. I like when I can persuade them to revert back to masa in the oven, taking on the form of naked tamales.
I also like cornbread so moist its interior is just on the point of a phase change into pudding. If you tried that with wheat bread it would be absolutely inedible. But with maize it’s the very ambrosia of Centeotl.
[QUOTE=Johanna]
Not in my enchilada recipes. I drown 'em in sauce.
[/QUOTE]
Before baking?!
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton]
Before baking?!
[/QUOTE]
Absolutely. I loathe tough-baked tortillas. Make mine melt in my mouth, mmm.
Queen Bruin: it’s every Wednesday from 11 a.m. to about 2 p.m… You won’t be disappointed!!! The quality of the produce is higher than Whole Paycheck but it’s cheaper. Shit, sometimes I think it’s cheaper than freaking Ralphs or Vons. Prices had gone up due to the cold spell but they’re coming back down now.
I felt like it was cheaper than the Hollywood Farmer’s Market for sure (that one felt like a tourist trap). I still haven’t been out to the Eagle Rock or Pasadena ones yet (I live in Pasadena).
Do you know where the Los Angeles Public Library is??? It’s on 5th Street, right in front of the library…between Flower and Grand.
[QUOTE=anu-la1979]
Do you know where the Los Angeles Public Library is??? It’s on 5th Street, right in front of the library…between Flower and Grand.
[/QUOTE]
Yup, excellent. Thanks for the tipoff! I’ll drag husband there next Wednesday between my classes and his.