Latino/Hispanic Ultimate Catch All Thread of Culture, Language, Food, Travel and Identity (gringos welcome)

[Patricio Swayze 17058]

Argentine/Uruguayan/Brazilian parillas would like a word with you.

Yeah, this.

Plus a lot of great Brazilian dishes that aren’t churrasco.

[burntorangebongos 10710]

You mentioned that Mexican Food was regional and there is a restaurant here in the Austin area, with one location in Cedar Park and the other in Lakeway called Santa Catarina. It is not Tex-Mex so I thought maybe Mexico City type cuisine since I've never been there. But maybe like the Monterrey area since you mentioned a city over in Nuevo Leon? They serve Topos with the pickled red onion, and have a nice ceviche they make with black drum. Does anyone know if that sounds like stuff they serve in NL?

[Helobious 9453]

2 hours ago, burntorangebongos said:

You mentioned that Mexican Food was regional and there is a restaurant here in the Austin area, with one location in Cedar Park and the other in Lakeway called Santa Catarina. It is not Tex-Mex so I thought maybe Mexico City type cuisine since I've never been there. But maybe like the Monterrey area since you mentioned a city over in Nuevo Leon? They serve Topos with the pickled red onion, and have a nice ceviche they make with black drum. Does anyone know if that sounds like stuff they serve in NL?

Sounds more like Veracruz or someplace on the gulf. They make ceviche like that.

[Hefeweizen 5310]

On 6/27/2021 at 9:01 PM, Patricio Swayze said:

When this year's Copa America started, I thought about starting a thread like this.  Then I went back and forth about starting it.  I thought maybe Daily Texan was the forum for it, but ultimately I think Food and Travel is better as these tie in so importantly to culture. 

I think this forum and Longhorns in general are fairly diverse when it comes to Latinos.  I wanted to learn about y'all's backgrounds, upbringings and experiences from a Latino perspective.  But, I know there are a lot of non Latinos here that have spent time in Latin America, or have a big appreciation for Latino culture, so I don't want to exclude anyone.

For now, I am going to keep it light, but maybe if the thread has enough traffic we can talk a bit about racism (both from non Latinos as well as Latinos as I have experienced both).  A lot of y'all know my background, but here it is in a nutshell:

My mother is anglo from San Antonio.  She is 6th generation Texan, making me 7th and my kids 8th.  Her family arrived just before the Texas Revolution and likely had to become Mexican citizens.  However, my father is an immigrant who was born in Costa Rica to a Tico father and a Brazilian mother.  He lived in much of Latin America before immigrating to Texas, including Costa Rica, Brazil (2 tours of duty), Nicaragua, and Mexico.  My Aunt was born in Chile, and her children are all Hondureños.  I am the Pan American poster child.  I grew up in the burbs of Houston in a fairly white neighborhood eating the food my mom cooked, so beyond tacos and rice cooked the Brazilian way (my grandmother made her learn), was rather typical for Anglos.  My brothers and I don't talk too much about this kind of thing, so I don't really know how they identify.  Honestly, I think it is a personal thing...but despite never being taught proper Spanish or Portuguese, I choose Latino and White when given the choice.  I do speak Portuguese well, and I am embarrassed by my Spanish (although I speak better than I think I do), my first language is English.  I have a feeling had my father not been from a class that afforded him an education at UT, I likely would speak Spanish much better.

I ended up living in Brazil where I met my wife.  We have two daughters that are dual American and Brazilian citizens.  My oldest has been to Brazil twice and my youngest once.  I never left the country until I was 14, and that was to Honduras for a month.  So I feel good that they have already experienced some of their culture, but likely won't remember it all. 

Maybe I am pissing into the wind, but I am hoping other Surly Latinos will weigh in.  Not Ldogg though, because honestly, the only people who care about Argentines are fellow Argentines.  Filthy people.  Let's talk language, food, travel, culture, etc. 

that’s a lot of words brother.

[Hefeweizen 5310]

I’m the whitest Brazilian you’ll ever meet.  American father, German mother, but born and raised in Rio.  My Portuguese sounds like Carioca trash because that’s what it is.  It really throws people for a loop when I start talking.
 

I have lots of food memories and father still lives in Rio, but the best food in Brazil is from Bahia.  The combination of African, Native American and European is absolutely amazing there and the flavors are incredible.  
 

Churrasco is great and even to this day I can’t find picanha that matches what you can get in Brazil at truck stops.  

The funniest habit I had to break when I got to UT was putting my money in my sock, and keeping an empty wallet in my pocket.  Never been robbed here.  I was robbed a lot in Rio.

[RollLeft 5040]

On 7/1/2021 at 8:59 PM, burntorangebongos said:

You mentioned that Mexican Food was regional and there is a restaurant here in the Austin area, with one location in Cedar Park and the other in Lakeway called Santa Catarina. It is not Tex-Mex so I thought maybe Mexico City type cuisine since I've never been there. But maybe like the Monterrey area since you mentioned a city over in Nuevo Leon? They serve Topos with the pickled red onion, and have a nice ceviche they make with black drum. Does anyone know if that sounds like stuff they serve in NL?

One of the oldest towns, now part of Monterrey.

[Patricio Swayze 17058]

Hefe, thanks for contributing.

Not sure if you are the whitest. My wife has a friend that is a couple of generations Brazilian but predominantly Russian and German with a dash of Portuguese. When she is traveling in the nordeste, the street vendors try to speak English to her without even trying Portuguese first.

I know we have talked about this before, but when was the last time you visited Brazil?

Sei que essa seleção não é um time forte, mas não fala mal cara. Só energia positiva porra! Os argentinos são muitos chatos quando ganham…igual os aggies ou sooners. Ninguém merece ouvir a merda deles.

[Johnny Sack 8397]

On 6/28/2021 at 3:29 PM, tx 3 putt said:

It pays for itself your entire life 

I lived in the RGV for most of my high school years and between studying Spanish in school and talking Spanish to friends and their relatives, I became fluent.  Unfortunately, a couple decades of not really using it much, I have lost most of it.  Been contemplating trying to pick it back up.  I can still read and write it pretty well, but verbal comprehension and speaking suck.

I loved living in the RGV.  Generally speaking, Mexican-Americans are fantastic and warm people.  RGV is a sportsman's paradise.  Fishing the LM.  I would dove hunt every day during the season and limits were easy. I spent a lot of time in school, socializing, fishing and hunting with Mexican-Americans.  Good, hardworking, family-oriented people, who love both Mexico and the USA.  They are an asset to Texas with their food and hard work.

I have traveled Mexico extensively.  A good friend of our family owned the bridge in Progreso, and I got to travel all over the interior with him.  I need to travel more in South America, but really do not know where to start.

[Johnny Sack 8397]

On 6/28/2021 at 6:40 PM, Nueces River Rat said:

Back in my day in the RGV, Harlingen High probably had the most diverse student body of any of the high schools down there. If you looked at their football roster, it had a number of blacks and several anglos.  This is was when the only multi high school ISD was McAllen and Brownsville.  I guess McAllen Memorial came in second with the diversity. 

I went to Sharyland HS in Mission in the early to mid 90s and it was by far the whitest school in the RGV back then.  And it was probably 85% Hispanic and 15% Anglo.

Back then at least, the Hispanics in the RGV openly said things about blacks that would make a KKK member blush.  Especially the older ones.  Did not notice it nearly as much with my generation.

[Johnny Sack 8397]

On 7/1/2021 at 3:35 PM, utee94 said:

That's not just a South Texas thing.  Plenty of Tex-Mex places in Austin and elsewhere in the state, make great burgers, and also great gringo breakfasts. 

Ninfa's ground fajita meat burger is fantastic.

[burntorangebongos 10710]

When I was little all the way to my Freshman year in high school, we would travel to Monterrey and Saltillo mostly. There was a place called Horsetail Falls, that i loved by one of those cities. My dad was kind of crazy and he drove us down to Guadalajara and once all the way to Puerto Vallarta. It was beautiful and I am so pissed that Mexico is too dangerous to see like that now. It was so wonderful to get into the mountains and out of the heat in 3 short hours(we lived in RGV) The highways were as nice as Texas, even better. I miss Mexico.

[Nueces River Rat 5537]

20 minutes ago, Johnny Sack said:

I went to Sharyland HS in Mission in the early to mid 90s and it was by far the whitest school in the RGV back then.  And it was probably 85% Hispanic and 15% Anglo.

Back then at least, the Hispanics in the RGV openly said things about blacks that would make a KKK member blush.  Especially the older ones.  Did not notice it nearly as much with my generation.

Yea totally forgot about Sharyland .  Bunch of fricken snobs you all were!  LOL!

And yes to your last statement... Sadly this was true...   I had to tell some of my buds that if I said those things your mom/dad/ or grandparents said I'd be a huge heap of trouble as a white boy.  And today I'd  toast on social media if caught saying them.

[RollLeft 5040]

33 minutes ago, burntorangebongos said:

When I was little all the way to my Freshman year in high school, we would travel to Monterrey and Saltillo mostly. There was a place called Horsetail Falls, that i loved by one of those cities. My dad was kind of crazy and he drove us down to Guadalajara and once all the way to Puerto Vallarta. It was beautiful and I am so pissed that Mexico is too dangerous to see like that now. It was so wonderful to get into the mountains and out of the heat in 3 short hours(we lived in RGV) The highways were as nice as Texas, even better. I miss Mexico.

La Cola de Caballo.  South of Monterrey Hwy 20.

[Nueces River Rat 5537]

55 minutes ago, burntorangebongos said:

When I was little all the way to my Freshman year in high school, we would travel to Monterrey and Saltillo mostly. There was a place called Horsetail Falls, that i loved by one of those cities. My dad was kind of crazy and he drove us down to Guadalajara and once all the way to Puerto Vallarta. It was beautiful and I am so pissed that Mexico is too dangerous to see like that now. It was so wonderful to get into the mountains and out of the heat in 3 short hours(we lived in RGV) The highways were as nice as Texas, even better. I miss Mexico.

Monterrey is a cool city and many on this side don’t know about it.   I don’t think the city itself sees as much violence as the border cities or the roads to and from those cities?   I know McAllen has direct air service to Monterrey and I’m tempted to make a three day weekend trip down that way.  

[Patricio Swayze 17058]

Some of our Brazilian friends here in Houston are having a Festa Junina this weekend. Of course the women scheduled it on the same night as the Copa América final. Luckily her husband is also Brazilian and has a TV on the patio for us to watch it.  Picked up some paçoquinha. I picked the wrong week to start my diet 🤷🏻‍♂️
 

[Zepol87 9185]

1 hour ago, RollLeft said:

La Cola de Caballo.  South of Monterrey Hwy 20.

Hell yea. That was my spot at least once a month when I lived in Santa Catarina. That place was my shit , and the badass mercados you would pass on the way had the best fucking cabrito I have ever had. 

I will also say La presa was underrated. Way more "mexican" I guess since it was in Santiago but the lake was cool and if you have ATVs and shit it was always a blast

Also going to rep for Cartel de Santa right now. 

 

Edited July 8, 2021 by Zepol87

[burntorangebongos 10710]

5 hours ago, RollLeft said:

La Cola de Caballo.  South of Monterrey Hwy 20.

That is it, I didn't know how to spell Cola and was too lazy to look it up. They had burros that you could ride up to the top.  

[Patricio Swayze 17058]

This thread needs more photos from the folks who have had the opportunity to travel throughout Latin America.  I have been going back and re-editing some of my older photos of Brazil and thought I would share some that less typical (not Rio tourist locations, although I have those too).  I still have a bunch I need to work through, but here are a few.  Many of these will be from 2006/7 when I lived there and shot with a point and shoot.  I left my film camera in Texas as it would be a lot cheaper and faster to shoot digital.  I wish I had one, had a better camera then, and two, taken my time to frame shots rather than a lot of snapshots.  Oh well...

Natal, Rio Grande do Norte.  I believe this is the closest point in the Americas to Africa, therefore was the location of US base in WWII.

Thunderstorm as seen from my house in Campinas, São Paulo.

Cathedral in my wife's hometown of Cosmópolis, São Paulo.  This town was settled mostly by Italian and German immigrants.

São Paulo vs Palmeiras at Morumbi.  Palmeiras was originally a team for Italian immigrants.  São Paulo won 3-1.

Bairro Liberdade is a Japanese neighborhood in São Paulo.  Brazil is the home of the most Japanese outside of Japan.  Catedral da Sé can be seen in the background.

Curitiba, Paraná skyline seen from the botanical gardens.

Holambra, São Paulo.  Holambra is a Dutch town in São Paulo famous for horticulture, especially flowers.  Dutch is still taught in school there.  I took this during a festival there.

São Paulo, Saõ Paulo, partial skyline as seen from the top of Edifício Itália.  I say partial because from this building, Sampa stretches out to the horizon in every direction.  Massive city.

Church in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina.

Door in the historic part of Paraty, Rio de Janeiro.

I'll post more if folks are interested.  Also, next time I visit, I will take a lot of food photos since people like seeing those.

[tx 3 putt 76868]

Good stuff Patricio 

[Sam Lin 3550]

(If this doesn't meet the intent of this thread, let me know and I'll delete it. I will probably never be mistaken for Latino/Hispanic.)

 

Really enjoying this thread, always been a fan of whatever food and culture I got to experience from any region south of the US. Tried to make corn tortillas a few weeks back and failed miserably, a topic for its own thread. It's very cool seeing how similar cuisines are between different areas of the world. There are a lot of very similar foods between Mexico and south Asia: Jamaica/Roselle as well as cane sugar drinks, ceviche/yum 'raw' acid salads, grilling anything on a skewer, chili powder on fruit, the aforementioned chicken hearts, etc.

 

My favorite churrasco in the US is actually a little hole in the wall in Hartford, CT - Brazil Grill and Pizza. Grab your sides off the buffet line, then go to the grill and have them cut the meats you want, weigh your plate to pay. As it's by weight, the black beans are a much worse deal than the meats. If you are unlucky, the guy ahead of you will have just bought all the chicken hearts (asshole!) Ate there at least weekly for a year. I actually took takeout rice and chicken hearts and mixed them into a ziploc bag to take on a plane a few times. Reviews say prices have gone up, but at the time the most expensive plate I could put together was not over $15. Hartford was a shithole, yet this place makes me want to go back and visit, enough so that I've flown to NYC and rented a car and driven to Hartford twice after leaving, just to eat there again:

https://goo.gl/maps/tx8Fdk1ZX82pLYESA

Some of my takeout trays. I took a photo of every single one. Most of them feature chicken hearts, some of them are just chicken hearts and rice:

 

On 6/28/2021 at 12:07 PM, Brisketexan said:

Chicken hearts are the best innard.  Fried is FANTASTIC (gimme a mixed fried innards basket with livers, gizzards, and hearts, and I'm happy).  The Brazilian way is simply seasoned (I suspect just salt) and grilled over the fire, that's it.  That's what we do at tailgates (although I use season salt), and they're glorious.

Mortar/Pestle (molcajete?) garlic, coarse salt (doubles as a friction grit to help with grinding), white peppercorns. Pound them into a paste. Then add olive oil and wine vinegar.

Marinate hearts, I went overnight.

Skewer and grill.

 

On 6/29/2021 at 2:44 PM, Patricio Swayze said:

Poke some fun at culture.  In my mother in law's house there was a new wall clock, then I noticed it hadn't been removed from the box and just taped to the wall (very cropped phone pic, sorry for quality)...

 

 

Genuine laugh at this one, there's a little hole in the wall grilled chicken shack near my work that has a clock hung on the wall in box just like that (not with tape). This place has the best grilled chicken in the world, period. I've taken a lot of foreign visitors and have yet to have anyone disagree. Restaurant:

https://goo.gl/maps/GJffzHNPtzRoVmDA8

I can't find my clock photo, but here's a photo stolen from Google Maps.

The chicken:

 

On 6/30/2021 at 8:09 AM, RDCanecutter said:

     C. Start every conversation by asking if they have lengua today. I don't know why. Just do.

This is genius and may be universal.

 

On 6/30/2021 at 8:33 AM, Nueces River Rat said:

Good way of finding the good stuff for sure....   I Would add what you don't know about their last inspection from the local health department is ok....  kind of site unseen..  LOL

For most ethnic foods in countries with health scores, I will always pick the place with the lower health score - frankly I want the priority to be the food, not the cleanliness and health score. Here in Asia, I pick the dirtiest, shittiest looking place, because if they're open and busy, you know people sure as hell aren't coming for the clean premises.

 

13 hours ago, Hefeweizen said:

The funniest habit I had to break when I got to UT was putting my money in my sock, and keeping an empty wallet in my pocket.  Never been robbed here.  I was robbed a lot in Rio.

I spent many a teenage summer in China, the money in sock or under foot in shoe was a lesson I very quickly learned. At the very least keep enough taxi/motorbike fare to get home in a separate place under your sock. To this day I keep a separate stash of cash, enough for one-way fare home, every time I travel anywhere. It wasn't robbery/mugging there, it was pickpockets. I'm still in awe of the pickpockets, even knowing it was happening I could not tell how or when it happened.

[RDCanecutter 26379]

8 hours ago, Sam Lin said:

I spent many a teenage summer in China, the money in sock or under foot in shoe was a lesson I very quickly learned. At the very least keep enough taxi/motorbike fare to get home in a separate place under your sock. To this day I keep a separate stash of cash, enough for one-way fare home, every time I travel anywhere. It wasn't robbery/mugging there, it was pickpockets. I'm still in awe of the pickpockets, even knowing it was happening I could not tell how or when it happened.

Fellow Money-in-Sock club member checking in. Also, wallet in front pants pocket. And maybe 50 pesos in the shirt pocket-- I ain't diggin out my real wallet at the taco stand. Any necessary shifting of stashes between sock/wallet/shirt take place during bathroom stops.

In Mexico I quickly accumulate a couple pounds of peso coins, so those go in the other front pocket. I guess I could stuff those in a spare sock and have a makeshift weapon, but Jedi Mind Trick works better.

From my cool bargaining Pakistani college roommate, I learned to stuff small bills of various denominations everywhere, so if they ask for 20, you can go to the $10 pocket, pull that out, act all surprised that you didn't have more. If they don't bite at that, maybe go to the $3 pocket...

[Brisketexan 105057]

Sam Lin, those chicken hearts look first-rate.  Seriously, a thing of beauty.  I love em so much.

[RDCanecutter 26379]

I think we need to pay tribute to the ubiquitous plastic Coca-Cola chair, seen here outside a snack bar at the Universidad de Coahuila, Saltillo:

[Brisketexan 105057]

50 minutes ago, RDCanecutter said:

I think we need to pay tribute to the ubiquitous plastic Coca-Cola chair, seen here outside a snack bar at the Universidad de Coahuila, Saltillo:

Why you neglecting the metal Carta Blanca table?

[Nueces River Rat 5537]

37 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Why you neglecting the metal Carta Blanca table?

Lol.. was thinking the same thing...,    I recall the day when the Carta Blanca logo was pretty much the standard on store/bar signs and tables like this ....   Now it's Tecate

I may just have to stop by Specs tomorrow a get a six of Carta...  Decent beer.

[tx 3 putt 76868]

21 hours ago, Sam Lin said:

Really enjoying this thread, always been a fan of whatever food and culture I got to experience from any region south of the US. Tried to make corn tortillas a few weeks back and failed miserably, a topic for its own thread.  

 

tweak it a little, more oil, little seasoning. very hard to fuck up 

[Patricio Swayze 17058]

Some really delicious looking food Sam.  And the clock is a nice touch.

Ah yes, the Coca Cola chairs...a truly universal item throughout Latin America.

More photos?  Going back through some of my travels, I am truly frustrated at my photos.  Then further frustrated that I lost all my RAW files from a 2014 trip.  Oh well I guess.  Not sure if these type of photos interest y'all.  Maybe this will push some of the folks who have expressed interest in visiting to make the jump (once COVID isn't fucking nuts there).

Single dune buggy ferry's in Natal.

Kids playing futebol on the Island of Paquetá.  I was there with my old Jiu Jitsu team teaching the kids and training with adults.

Letters, bread and Milk...old school in Campinas, São Paulo

Church at the Fazenda Pimenta in São Paulo (near Indaiatuba).  For many years they were producing peanut oil here, I wish I would have kept one of the cans.

Vendor feeding the press some sugar cane to make guarapa (or caldo de cana).

Beach in Maceió.  This was one set that I was really disappointed in.  Ate some good food there.  I will post about one dish later.

I wish I had some exterior photos of this spot.  Historic farm/warehouse/restaurant/bar in the interior of São Paulo near Itu.  A lot of Italians in the area.  It was called Armazém do Limoeiro and has since permanently closed. 

Looking out from Ilha Anchieta off the Northern Coast of São Paulo.  There is a cool abandoned presidio on the island.

Scene from Maceió.

 

[RDCanecutter 26379]

21 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

Why you neglecting the metal Carta Blanca table?

Because I am merely one man, powerless on my own. But if I can awaken the desire for posting beverage-labeled furniture in you and the rest of my brothers and sisters, then yes, sí se puede.

 

[RDCanecutter 26379]

9 hours ago, Patricio Swayze said:

Some really delicious looking food Sam.  And the clock is a nice touch.

Ah yes, the Coca Cola chairs...a truly universal item throughout Latin America.

More photos?  Going back through some of my travels, I am truly frustrated at my photos.  Then further frustrated that I lost all my RAW files from a 2014 trip.  Oh well I guess.  Not sure if these type of photos interest y'all.  Maybe this will push some of the folks who have expressed interest in visiting to make the jump (once COVID isn't fucking nuts there).

Single dune buggy ferry's in Natal.

Kids playing futebol on the Island of Paquetá.  I was there with my old Jiu Jitsu team teaching the kids and training with adults.

Letters, bread and Milk...old school in Campinas, São Paulo

Church at the Fazenda Pimenta in São Paulo (near Indaiatuba).  For many years they were producing peanut oil here, I wish I would have kept one of the cans.

Vendor feeding the press some sugar cane to make guarapa (or caldo de cana).

Beach in Maceió.  This was one set that I was really disappointed in.  Ate some good food there.  I will post about one dish later.

I wish I had some exterior photos of this spot.  Historic farm/warehouse/restaurant/bar in the interior of São Paulo near Itu.  A lot of Italians in the area.  It was called Armazém do Limoeiro and has since permanently closed. 

Looking out from Ilha Anchieta off the Northern Coast of São Paulo.  There is a cool abandoned presidio on the island.

Scene from Maceió.

 

Nice. The letters/bread/milk slots show some thought about what needs to be where if anything springs a leak. I'm diggin the two-masted brig in the next to last photo.

[RDCanecutter 26379]

On 7/7/2021 at 7:15 PM, Zepol87 said:

Hell yea. That was my spot at least once a month when I lived in Santa Catarina. That place was my shit , and the badass mercados you would pass on the way had the best fucking cabrito I have ever had. 

I will also say La presa was underrated. Way more "mexican" I guess since it was in Santiago but the lake was cool and if you have ATVs and shit it was always a blast

Also going to rep for Cartel de Santa right now. 

 

Zepol, this was stuck in my head running the weed-whacker yesterday.

[Brisketexan 105057]

9 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

 

tweak it a little, more oil, little seasoning. very hard to fuck up 

Yep.  Hell, my son makes sure we have this on hand at all times, because he likes to make fresh tortillas with his friends.

[Patricio Swayze 17058]

I had this dish in Maceió, Alagoas, which I think is where the dish originated from.  It kind of threw me for a loop because growing up, I have eaten my weight more than few times over in shrimp, but never with cheese.  It is called Chiclete de Camarões (shrimp gum).  And when I say cheese, I am talking heaping amounts of mozzarella, Parmesan, cream cheese (and sometimes others like Gorgonzola).  The shrimp is cooked with onions, tomatoes some herbs, etc...and lots of cheese.  It was really good, but rich and heavy.  I didn't finish (partially because it was a big portion, but it was pretty heavy).  Hefe, have you ever eaten this??  It looks like this:

 

[956 Worldwide 34698]

On 7/8/2021 at 2:37 AM, Sam Lin said:

(If this doesn't meet the intent of this thread, let me know and I'll delete it. I will probably never be mistaken for Latino/Hispanic.)

 

 

 

 

For most ethnic foods in countries with health scores, I will always pick the place with the lower health score - frankly I want the priority to be the food, not the cleanliness and health score. Here in Asia, I pick the dirtiest, shittiest looking place, because if they're open and busy, you know people sure as hell aren't coming for the clean premises.

 

 

 

This is all fun and games till food poisoning leaves you literally hugging the toilet for three days and eventually with an IV drip. After than you learn to love the faint smell of bleach with your salet.

- Signed, a year on the subcontinent

[Zepol87 9185]

Maseca is fool proof. @Patricio Swayze amazing pictures.

[RDCanecutter 26379]

Let's talk about Vochos, Bondo, and the virtues of Auto Restoration and Repair.

[Armybrat 40822]

On 6/28/2021 at 10:15 AM, Nueces River Rat said:

  because Monterrey is great place to get a taste of everything Mexico.   

Very much this. My favorite pastime was going to Plaza Zaragoza on Sunday evening to do La Vuelta. So many hot girls when I lived there in the early 1960s, but the old social rules were still in effect back then. Introductions were very formal, and dating was not feasible for a gringo who only spoke rudimentary Spanish with a slight Puerto Rican accent (lived there for 4 years) and wasn’t a long term prospect. (Moved back to Austin in 1961)
However, I will say the best meal I ever had in that town was the carne asada tenderloin at Las Pampas Argentine restaurant near ITESM

it was a diverse, bustling industrial city then, always on the move. I’m an Ex-a-Tec, so chinga los putos over at the U. of N.L.

[Sam Lin 3550]

On 7/9/2021 at 9:30 PM, 956 Worldwide said:

This is all fun and games till food poisoning leaves you literally hugging the toilet for three days and eventually with an IV drip. After than you learn to love the faint smell of bleach with your salet.

- Signed, a year on the subcontinent

I've gotten food poisoning a handful of times, and it has never been from the shitty looking street stall. The key is traffic; if they're giving locals food poisoning, they won't be able to stay open and certainly will never be busy. Always pick the shitty looking busy stall. Don't pick the good looking busy stall, as that one is probably all tourists.

[RDCanecutter 26379]

9 hours ago, Sam Lin said:

I've gotten food poisoning a handful of times, and it has never been from the shitty looking street stall. The key is traffic; if they're giving locals food poisoning, they won't be able to stay open and certainly will never be busy. Always pick the shitty looking busy stall. Don't pick the good looking busy stall, as that one is probably all tourists.

I echo this. Plenty of food poisoning from the big tourist restaurants on the beach little or no problem with the taco stand/hot dog joint on the corner.

(Maybe it's universal-- my Health Inspector bro-in-law said the only places that never gave him a problem were the simple food stands.)

That said, worst food poisoning for me was eating bad chicken from the hot bar in the Ley grocery store. If you've ever watched the sun rise and set from the same shit-stained hammock, maybe you ate the chicken at Ley. It was so bad for about a week that I wondered if I was Bruce Willis in "Sixth Sense, Mexico" and just didn't realize I was dead. When I finally came back to full life, my students cackled with "NOBODY eats the food at Ley!"

[Zepol87 9185]

17 hours ago, Armybrat said:

Very much this. My favorite pastime was going to Plaza Zaragoza on Sunday evening to do La Vuelta. So many hot girls when I lived there in the early 1960s, but the old social rules were still in effect back then. Introductions were very formal, and dating was not feasible for a gringo who only spoke rudimentary Spanish with a slight Puerto Rican accent (lived there for 4 years) and wasn’t a long term prospect. (Moved back to Austin in 1961)
However, I will say the best meal I ever had in that town was the carne asada tenderloin at Las Pampas Argentine restaurant near ITESM

it was a diverse, bustling industrial city then, always on the move. I’m an Ex-a-Tec, so chinga los putos over at the U. of N.L.

I have eaten at Las Pampas. That place is badass

[Nueces River Rat 5537]

7 hours ago, RDCanecutter said:

I echo this. Plenty of food poisoning from the big tourist restaurants on the beach little or no problem with the taco stand/hot dog joint on the corner.

(Maybe it's universal-- my Health Inspector bro-in-law said the only places that never gave him a problem were the simple food stands.)

That said, worst food poisoning for me was eating bad chicken from the hot bar in the Ley grocery store. If you've ever watched the sun rise and set from the same shit-stained hammock, maybe you ate the chicken at Ley. It was so bad for about a week that I wondered if I was Bruce Willis in "Sixth Sense, Mexico" and just didn't realize I was dead. When I finally came back to full life, my students cackled with "NOBODY eats the food at Ley!"

 But it’s a great way to lose weight. Lol. 

[Zepol87 9185]

Man that happened to me in Mazatlan a few years ago. I had a coco loco and spent the night in the bathroom. Just took a nap in the shower and shit there with the water running it was a fucking nightmare. It is usually the cocaine that does that to me but it was just the coconut milk. Haven't had one since

[Nueces River Rat 5537]

When I travel  to Mexico, my first stop is at Farmacia for this

 

 

[Helobious 9453]

Some very weak-intestined pussies on this thread. Shameful. I’ve never gotten food poisoning from latino or spicy food. 
 

Only food poisoning for me was when I got the truffle fries and a mushroom Swiss burger from hopdoddys. It was good until I started shitting my soul out of my ass 15 minutes later. Fuck that place forever.

[956 Worldwide 34698]

7 hours ago, Helobious said:

Some very weak-intestined pussies on this thread. Shameful. I’ve never gotten food poisoning from latino or spicy food. 
 

Only food poisoning for me was when I got the truffle fries and a mushroom Swiss burger from hopdoddys. It was good until I started shitting my soul out of my ass 15 minutes later. Fuck that place forever.

It’s not at all spicy food that gets you, it’s the sanitation level or lack thereof. I’ve never gotten it in Mexico or any other Latin American country.

I did get it in Pakistan, so bad that I had to be hooked up to an IV and it was a week before my digestive tract approached “normal”. (I got it several times, but only once that bad). My rule is that if I can’t see where you wash your hands with soap at a street stall, it’s not happening for me. And no fresh/raw fruits or vegetables unless I know they’ve been bleached. 

[Nueces River Rat 5537]

2 hours ago, 956 Worldwide said:

It’s not at all spicy food that gets you, it’s the sanitation level or lack thereof. I’ve never gotten it in Mexico or any other Latin American country.

I did get it in Pakistan, so bad that I had to be hooked up to an IV and it was a week before my digestive tract approached “normal”. (I got it several times, but only once that bad). My rule is that if I can’t see where you wash your hands with soap at a street stall, it’s not happening for me. And no fresh/raw fruits or vegetables unless I know they’ve been bleached. 

Pretty much this.   In Mexico and other Latin American countries, it's possible  a  sudden change in your diet  contributes to digestive issues along with the combination of increased alcohol consumption, travel and not getting enough pure H2O into your system.   The later especially if you are going to a part of Mexico that is more tropical like the Yucatan where the humidity there makes it feel like Denver here on the Texas coast where we always complain about the humidity.   It might not be that the food is spicy or what have you that causes your stomach to reject it.  It just might not be used to a certain type of food and that is your stomach saying what the heck is this?    You might be used to eating beef on a regular basis as part of your diet and then you go to destination that has a diet based more on fish and plants and that can play tricks with your digestive system.  

[RDCanecutter 26379]

Yeah, in my case spice wasn't ever an issue. My own (lack of) cooking got me one time, then the chicken that tried to kill me was plain old fried chicken, the minute I bit into it I knew it was "off", but because I had spent almost a year in Mexico with few stomach problems I figured I could eat anything.

Less to do with the style of cuisine than my own operator error.

Edited July 14, 2021 by RDCanecutter
pinche sintaxis

[Zepol87 9185]

I am having a hard time finding the pictures I took during my time in Monterrey. Had this recently pop up in google. Wedding was in the street in the Colonia. They blocked off the whole thing and just had a big ass block party. It was badass

 

[CooterBrown 18002]

At Austin FC-Tigres game last night, we got both the Mexican and US National anthem.

I thought it was cool that many of the Mexicans in attendance did the hand on heart for both anthems. The little karate chop hand position for the Mexican anthem is much cooler though.

[Helobious 9453]

18 hours ago, 956 Worldwide said:

It’s not at all spicy food that gets you, it’s the sanitation level or lack thereof. I’ve never gotten it in Mexico or any other Latin American country.

I did get it in Pakistan, so bad that I had to be hooked up to an IV and it was a week before my digestive tract approached “normal”. (I got it several times, but only once that bad). My rule is that if I can’t see where you wash your hands with soap at a street stall, it’s not happening for me. And no fresh/raw fruits or vegetables unless I know they’ve been bleached. 

I drank the tap water in Mexico at least a couple times when visiting family as a kid. I think E. coli is in my DNA now. I’m impervious.

[El Tri 412]

On 6/30/2021 at 6:46 PM, RDCanecutter said:

I noticed in Mexico they'd go a little crazy for Sanborns and VIPs. Both places made me feel like I'd teleported back to a 1960s HoJo on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Sanborns has the best goddamned pan dulce in the world. The conchas are to die for.

they also sell Cuban cigars which is nice

Dude born in Monterrey checking in... will add more later