Spanish Kitchen, Las Cruces, NM

Posted by on Mar 4, 2011 in Cross Country | 0 comments

So after 12 hours on the road from Houston, TX, I have finally rolled into Las Cruces, and I didn’t think that I would be on the mood to go out of the hotel room let alone eat anything. But I have found a little cafeteria style place called Spanish Kitchen.

I was pretty hungry, so I got a couple dishes.

Tamales in red sauce



Never had a tamale, must say, not bad, but nothing special. The tortilla is made from Mazas, filled with pork and cooked in a corn husk, and has a rustic taste to it. I had this topped with chile con carne and I think that the most striking thing about this was the texture. Everything was pulled or roughly cut into generous chunks which uncoils imagine being hand made in mothers kitchen.

Dinner # 5 (I think this is an authentic Mexican name meaning, “dinner #5″)

Yeah, I’m not funny all the time.

An enchilada, tamale, taco, and chile relleño stuffed with cheese. Again, nothing mind blowing about this dish, but a couple things I notices were the hand made tortillas as well as the hot pocket style on the chile. Again nothing special, just a nice presentation.



All in all, I was hoping for more of a mexican experience, but I’m still haven’t found a difference between this and Tex Mex

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Boiling Pot – Mobile, AL

Posted by on Mar 1, 2011 in Cross Country | 0 comments

Since I left my home, now previous home, in Tampa a little later than expected, my main focus for food tonight was quick, simple, and tasty! And what could be more fitting of that description than a Po Boy!

Meal 1
Oyster Po Boy

One of my favorite apps for my iphone is Urban Spoon. If you dont have it, get it! Anyway after checking what was around my hotel, the reviews for these po boys caught my attention. What could be more simple? Fry some oyster chunks in batter, slap on bun and add mayo and lettuce? Although I have not been a Po Boy fan in the past, I gave it another chance. Compared to Po Boys I have had before, this is the best. Think of this as the KFC of Po Boys. The batter covering the oysters is not only GBD, (golden brown and delicious!), but light and full of flavor. They must have their own secret 11 herbs and spices on this one, with a little burn on the back end, which is my favorite! Add a packet of Crystal hot sauce and you are ready to go, what else can you say about it? Eat and enjoy!

Hold on, Im getting puppy love from my dog, she has been cooped up in a car for 7 hours…

Anyway..
Gumbo

For some reason, I can never pass up some good gumbo, so when I saw it on the menu, I just had to have it. Sometimes they are a little runny, sometimes you have to cut them with a knife. This is just right, well for me anyway, where the broth just holds on to the spoon as you pour it off. This is a shrimp gumbo with okra and rice, and I am not an okra fan! But in the true spirit of eating its all in! The okra is cooked down so its nice and soft, so its not really there. The spices are very over powering and although it has a mild seafood taste, I cant taste anything other than the spices. If you like hot and spicy, this is your gumbo. Me, I can take it or leave it… I need to let my mouth cool down before the last item, which I dont know what to expect.

Crawfish Pie

I dont know what I was expecting, maybe like an actual pie with crawfish, I don’t know, but it came out to be more like a chicken pot pie, with crawfish. 2 words. Not good.. No bueno.. Ptui! And that takes care of that!

Next stop, Houston, TX

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