Someone in my local tavern told me about a little Mexican restaurant located inside a liquor store down the street, and he said they had lamb birria. Birria is a soup or stew from Mexico that was originally made with goat, though some think lamb is more authentic. Here they often use beef, but to me that's not birria. At the liquor store they used the shredded lamb meat for tacos, but they served the soup, made from the lamb carcass, on the side. They said I could put the lamb meat into the soup, but then I wouldn't have had tacos. The lamb in the tacos was a little smokey, maybe from the grill, and the meat was topped with raw onion and cilantro, and the tacos were served with lemon wedges and some really good hot sauce on the side. The soup was made with red pepper, but it wasn't really hot, and it came with onion and cilantro just like the tacos, and it also featured garbanzo beans. Each of my two tacos came with two corn tortillas topped with the lamb meat that was a little dry, but together with the soup it was deconstructed birria. The funny thing is that you can eat in the liquor store but you can't drink alcohol there!
Location: Oasis Market, 13175 Palm Drive, Desert Hot Springs, California. Date: April 6, 2024.
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You don't find these everyday, and you probably wouldn't want to eat them everyday; however, the tripe in these tacos was grilled and had a more smokey flavor than funky (it is cow stomach). These tacos were new and not yet on the menu, but I saw them on the chalk board outside. My two tacos were served with rice and beans and a small salad, and they made for a good meal.
Location: El Taco Asado, 440 S El Cielo Road, Ste 19, Palm Springs, California. Date: February 15, 2024. This was two corn tortillas, fried but not crispy, stuffed with shredded beef and Oaxacan cheese. The dish was topped with pickled red onion slices, and it was served with red salsa and consome. It was garnished with a couple of crispy slices of radish that were held up by a lime wedge. The consome, for dipping, was very tasty, and the marinated onion was crisp and tart. The top photo shows the dish as served, and the bottom photo shows a taco that I opened so you can see the meat and cheese. These tacos were so tasty!
Location: Low Desert, 1775 E Palm Canyon Drive, Ste 405, Palm Springs, California. Date: January 19, 2024. About once a week, Felix shows up at my local pub to sell his wife's homemade tamales. The jalapeño and cheese are so good that I haven't even tried the others yet. I love that she uses the spicy jalapeño instead of the milder poblano chiles because the spice kicks the tamale to a new level, plus the masa (corn dough) is so well seasoned. The cheese was a somewhat chewy yellow version, but it worked great with the chiles. The bartender said that these were the best tamales in Desert Hot Springs, and I would say that the chile and cheese ones were the best I've ever had.
Location: Escapade Bar, 12347 Palm Drive, Desert Hot Springs, California. Date: January 12, 2024. This is considered a sandwich taco as there are two corn tortillas with melted cheese in the middle along with your choice of meat; in my case, it was al pastor, the pork meat on a spit that gets shaved off with a knife. I got mine tonight at a pop up, and I chose pickled red onion and red salsa hot sauce as my condiments. There was good corn flavor from the tortillas along with some crunch and sourness from the pickled onion. This spicy and savory taco sandwich was definitely a good meal for the price.
Location: A Mexican pop-up on Camino Aventura at Palm Drive, Desert Hot Springs, California. Date: December 27, 2023. Huarache is the Spanish word for sandal, and this dish is made on top of corn dough shaped like a sandal. The dough is sometimes deep fried, but here it was grilled for a healthier version. The cooked dough is spread with creamy beans, meat of choice, and various other ingredients; in my case, they were cabbage, pico de gallo, queso fresco, cilantro, and sour cream. It was served with crispy radish slices, a lime wedge for squeezing, and a ramekin of tomato based hot sauce that was flavored with oregano. I chose carne asada (grilled beef) for my meat; hence, it was called huarache asada. There was creamy cheesiness from the queso fresco, chewiness from the grilled beef pieces, and crunch from the shredded cabbage. There were many textures and flavors going on here, and our Mexican waiter said it was one of his favorite things on the menu.
Location: Low Desert, 1775 E Palm Canyon Drive, Suite 405, Palm Springs, California. Date: December 14, 2023. This is the one keto friendly dish from a food truck that often sits outside my local bar. It consists of a low carb tortilla with cheese, beef birria (shredded beef in chile sauce), shredded cabbage, onion, cilantro, and salsa. It came with a bag of fresh radish and cucumber slices. This was a tasty dish with fresh crispy veggies and two hot sauces, a green tomatillo one and a red chile one. I'm not on any diet at all, but I would order this one again. The top photo shows the vampiro in the take out container, and the bottom photo shows the vampiro plated at home.
Location: Taco Shop 760 outside Escapade, Palm Drive, Desert Hot Springs. Date: September 22, 2023. This vegetarian ceviche was made with chopped mango, cucumber, tomato, and onion. It was sweet and sour and very much like ceviche due to the lime juice dressing. It was garnished with avocado slices and lime halves, but it's the mango that pulls it all together. It was an interesting find and very delicious.
Location: Taqueria San Miguel #2, 72450 Ramon Road, Ste 101, Thousand Palms, California. Date: August 11, 2023. These tacos were filled with chicken thigh meat, chorizo sausage, and chipotle sauce for some spice. They were topped with sliced avocado and grilled onion. This is the first time I've come across these. They were served with rice and creamy refried beans that my sister claims are the best she's ever had. It's always nice to find new things to eat.
Location: Flor de Jalisco, 42215 Washington Street, Suite G, Palm Desert, California. Date: August 4, 2023. This is a very spicy soup of smooth blended green chiles. Poblano chiles can range from quite mild to quite hot. These were roasted, and I think that means that water evaporated and the heat intensified. The soup was quite savory with a hint of sweetness. This was an intense soup experience but worth the pain; I could not stop eating it until my bowl was clean, and I'd do it again!
Location: Sancho's, 411 East Palm Canyon, Palm Springs, California. Date: July 26, 2023. |
AuthorChef Roland has been a legal resident of seven countries and has travelled in over thirty, documenting food along the way. He currently resides in the desert in Southern California. Categories
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