A new Mexican place just opened in what used to be my BBQ hangout in Palm Springs, so this evening I went to check it out. I ordered the Mahi Mahi Tostada which was served with avocado, tamarind salsa, mango jicama topping, and jalapeño mayo. The avocado was fanned out on top, garnished with white and black sesame seeds, micro greens, and sliced radish. The other ingredients were so well integrated that I didn't really notice them individually; however, the flavor popped in a big way. The fried tortilla was crunchy, there was a little heat, some sour, and some creaminess. The mahi mahi was marinated in lime juice, and the fish pieces were delicious. This was, in fact, one of the best tostadas I've had.
Location: Low Desert, 1775 E Palm Canyon Drive, Suite 405, Palm Springs, California. Date: January 6, 2023.
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I sat at the outdoor bar in 80ºF Christmas Eve weather with a made from scratch margarita. I asked for no agave nectar, so my drink wasn't sweet, just deliciously refreshing. I ordered Lentils Ceviche from the menu, and I was blown away that it tasted exactly like ceviche, even though this dish was vegetarian (actually, vegan). I got a tower of perfectly cooked lentils with chopped cucumber, tomato, red onion, and cilantro. The menu said there would be mango and honey mustard vinaigrette; luckily, neither of these showed up. The “ceviche” was obviously flavored with salt and lime juice, which is what is used for seafood ceviche. My ceviche was topped with sliced avocado, served with whole corn tortilla chips, and garnished with shredded red cabbage. The dish also came with saltine crackers, but I routinely ditch these whenever I get them. Like my margarita, this dish was deliciously refreshing, and what a great vegetarian version of marinated seafood.
Location: El Patio, 139 E Andreas Road, Palm Springs, California. Date: December 24, 2022. This delectable taco is filled with beef birria, which is shredded beef cooked in a flavorful red tinged broth. More red color comes from oil colored with annatto seed that the corn tortillas are dipped in before going onto the flat top grill. I call this oil “taco lubricant”, and the red color drips as you eat the taco. When the tortilla was fried but still pliable, the chef added a generous portion of the beef and folded the taco. For garnish I chose picked red onion and sliced radish. For my sauces I chose the spicy orange habanero and the green jalapeño that was actually more sour than spicy. I also ordered a little bowl of beef broth dipping sauce that included some garbanzo beans, a tradition of this pop up restaurant. I garnished the broth, as they suggested, with chopped onion and cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lime. There was nice texture from the fried tortillas, and the garbanzo beans added texture to the dip. Dipping the tacos into the broth made them even juicier and tastier. There was a harmony of sour, savory, and spice, and somewhere on the plate I detected the welcome flavor of Mexican oregano.
Location: Tacon'Todo at Coachella Valley Brewing. Follow them on Instagram. Date: November 5, 2022. These delectable tacos, on the traditional corn tortillas, came with perfectly cooked medium shrimp, diced grilled pineapple, tamarind-chile sauce, and a generous amount of guacamole. The pineapple came through with crunch, flavor, and sweetness. The tamarind sauce was in the background, but it provided some sourness. The tacos were garnished with chopped cilantro which added to the flavor, and the creamy avocado tied it all together. I was given two salsas, red and green. The green one was more tart and the red one more spicy. I used one salsa on each taco as you can see below. These were two of the best tacos I've had!
Location: Luchador Brewing Company, 68510 E Palm Canyon Drive #140, Cathedral City, California. Date: October 15, 2022. This interesting ceviche contains yellowtail, which is one of my favorite fish, and it's “cooked” in citrus juice and mezcal (Oaxaca's version of tequila). It is flavored with ginger and serrano chile, and it's freshened up with avocado and diced cucumber. As I began eating, it was quite sour from the citrus juice, but then the smokiness from the mezcal came through, and the spice and heat from the ginger and serrano built in my mouth. The ripe avocado provided creaminess, and the cucumber provided crunch. There was also a hint of bitterness. The dish was garnished with microgreens and served with crunchy tortilla chips. You purchase your food, and pick it up, from a food truck permanently parked inside a brewery. The food, however, is prepared in the commercial kitchen behind the truck. Very Cool!
Location: El Camión at Luchador Brewing Company, 68510 E Palm Canyon Dr #140, Cathedral City, California. Date: September 24, 2022. Buche is chopped up pig stomach. It was chewy but nicely seasoned. There was no funky flavor at all, which surprised me. I dressed one of my tacos with red and green sauce, pickled jalapeño and carrot, and fresh radish slice and lime wedge. The other taco is as they served it, garnished with chopped onion and cilantro. To impress my friends and confound my enemies, I would order these again!
Location: El Tarasco, 34481 Date Palm Drive, Cathedral City, California. Date: August 27, 2022. I've had all kinds of enchiladas before, including vegetarian ones, but this is the first time I've had them stuffed with nothing but potato. The seasoned potato was prepared as a chunky mash, and my two enchiladas came with red enchilada sauce and they were garnished with Mexican sour cream (a particularly good match for potato). The plate also came with refried beans and rice, beans and rice being a good source of protein, as well as a salad of chopped lettuce and tomato garnished with a nice sprig of parsley. The beans were garnished with Mexican white crumbled cheese, not sticky melted cheddar that is so common in the Tex Mex category. This place seems pretty authentic.
Location: Tortillas, 32123 Cathedral Canyon Drive, Cathedral City, California. Date: August 6, 2022. This is the second Coachella Roll I've come across in the valley; the first one was documented in my book “Coachella Desert Cuisine”. The one I'm blogging about today, though, was much more than just a sushi roll; it was a whole meal. It was sushi rice on the outside and seaweed inside surrounding spicy tuna and shrimp tempura. The roll slices were served flat and generously topped with chopped tuna, crab, shrimp, snapper, salmon, and serrano pepper slices. There was a creamy sauce on the bottom that was supposedly cilantro sauce with spicy mayo, though I failed to taste the cilantro. This dish was creamy and spicy with some crunch from the tempura and the raw pepper slices. There were so many flavors going on here but all in the best way. This dish showed off the innovative nature of Mexican style sushi, and I'm glad it was named after our desert valley.
Location: Hamachi Sushi, 31855 Date Palm Drive, Suite 11, Cathedral City, California. Date: June 12, 2022 I had this delectable shrimp dish at an interesting Sinaloa style restaurant with colored metal bars at the entrance and, while I ate, I noticed two saddled horses on the desert lot outside. I got a baker's dozen of medium shrimp in a delicious sauce of chipotle, cream, and some type of oil. It was spicy and just a little sweet and smokey. The dish came with rice and refried beans and a salad of lettuce, tomato, onion, and avocado. The salad wasn't dressed, but when some of my sauce leaked into it, it was a wow experience. Who would have thought that warm crema de chipotle would make a noteworthy salad dressing?
Location: Mariscos Culiacan, 16760 Palm Drive, Suite #2, Desert Hot Springs, California. Date: June 11, 2022. First my brother and I were served a fresh tasting tomatillo and green chile sauce with our chips which got us off to a good start. I ordered the Parillada Mixta, or mixed grill, served on a parilla (a metal plate over hot charcoal), and it came with an interesting assortment. There were flavorful and tender beef strips on one side, ground beef chorizo style on the other side, and in the center was a green bell pepper stuffed with melted cheese, and that was flanked by two plain corn tortilla quesadillas. There were a number of grilled green onions, which I very much appreciated, and I ordered it with a side of charro beans (you could also choose refried beans, but the cowboy style comes with whole beans in their cooking liquid). The chorizo style ground beef was red with paprika and it was very flavorful; however, for me it was too salty (I simply decided that a little goes a long way). Over all, I very much enjoyed this.
Location: La Parilla Suiza, 2720 N Oracle Road, Tucson, Arizona. Date: May 9, 2022. |
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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