# food



## SirRon

missing american comfort foods,

pot pies, cube steak, country fried steak and eggs, sausage gravy and biscuits, polish foods, German , Korean, just about everything american food is about a mix of different cultures 

how to find potatoes for baking and mashed tators? these white skin potatoes have so much starch almost impossible to make good mashed tators 

also shocking if you have a walmart in your location like we have many here in acapulco,

why does the meat deli have 250+ hams only a little bacon cheeses and hot dogs hot dogs?

where is the bratwurst, kielbasa, corned beef, pastrami, roast beef, salami, Bologna, turkey breast, chicken, etc ... 

can these foods be shopped online from mexico?

finding spices hard also

its 2014 lots has changed in the last few years here in mexico so there has to be a few good websites to shop online from here in mexico


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## joaquinx

Welcome to Mexico where things are a little different.


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## sparks

Shop on line for food in Mexico? Maybe some exotic dry goods but real food ?? Move or drive to where stores have the stuff


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## Hound Dog

Well, SirRon;

No problem here at Lake Chapala where I regularly purchase russet potatoes imported from The U.S. and the quality difference between russets and those dreadful Mexican white potatoes so beloved around here is astonishing. I also enjoy my yellow onions, imported hams, turkey breasts including excellent hickory smoked turkeys, U.S style hot dog weiners, and a huge variety of international spices. I can also find pulled pork BBQ sammiches and on and on. The only thing I can´t find here are Krystal (White Castle) Slider Hambugers and I really miss those goodies I can find lots of other stuff but my brain cramp has taken over. 

I can´t find most of these things in Chiapas so I have to load the trunk to capacity when I drive down there every few months.


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## SirRon

Hound Dog said:


> Well, SirRon;
> 
> No problem here at Lake Chapala where I regularly purchase russet potatoes imported from The U.S. and the quality difference between russets and those dreadful Mexican white potatoes so beloved around here is astonishing. I also enjoy my yellow onions, imported hams, turkey breasts including excellent hickory smoked turkeys, U.S style hot dog weiners, and a huge variety of international spices. I can also find pulled pork BBQ sammiches and on and on. The only thing I can´t find here are Krystal (White Castle) Slider Hambugers and I really miss those goodies I can find lots of other stuff but my brain cramp has taken over.
> 
> I can´t find most of these things in Chiapas so I have to load the trunk to capacity when I drive down there every few months.



white castle or krystal burgers OMG i have almost forgot about them until you mentioned them, i miss those two, you can make them at home, just finding the right bread is difficult


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## AlanMexicali

tangamanga

They have most processed meat items here but different places have different brands. Costco has the best selection and Walmart has some including Johnsonville sausages and Costco carries them also. 

The price of "carnes frias" [cold cuts] here has gone down over the years but still remains quite high. For a good salami or other cold cuts, even at Costco, expect to pay about $200 to $250 pesos per 100 grams in smaller packages of about 300 grams or less at supermarkets.

Russet potatoes are available at large supermarkets most of the time. Large thick skinned baking potatoes I rarely see here.

Country fried steak you would have to cook yourself and make your own white gravy.

I cure corned beef from "carne de pechco de res" [brisket] available at Costco many times but in 4 to 7 kilo bags. 

Pot pies are rare in the freezer section and I have never seen them prepared in a restaurant.


The roast beef in small packs is rubbery and not like good deli roast beef you are probably used to but here you can buy unseasoned "barbacoa" which is cooked roast beef at many places for about $150 pesos or more per kilo and make it into sandwiches or anything cooked roast beef is used. 

The corned beef and pastrami is also rubbery and expensive and best to avoid usually.

I haven´t tried all the brands but have tried most of the ítems of the brand I posted above and it is good for salami and brautwurst etc.

Good cheese is available here at many places but imported cheese is expensive at supermarkets but reasonable at Costco but more than NOB.

Imported US hams are in stock now until New Years at most supermarkets and reasonably priced.


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## Belizegirl

Regarding the potatoes, I have no problem making mashed tators. There are just two easy extra things I do so my mashed tators do not look and taste like glue.


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## buzzbar

Come on, it's Saturday night. I wanna be out there having a good time in Zona Norte but instead I'm sitting at home on the edge of my seat watching and waiting for the potato secrets to be revealed. Put me out of my misery so I can leave this computer!


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## Rwrobb

*Food*

A little off topic but its a good story. Whenever I go to Mexico with a newbie and its time for breakfast, I always tell my friends to order sausage and eggs. Its good for a laugh to see the look on their faces when it comes and they go whats this. Eggs and hot dogs. What no sausage? lol. Also something that always used to leave me scratching my head was they would bring the toast first then when they brought you the main course the butter would also arrive. By then the toast was stone cold and hard as a rock. Now I,m talking about mom and pop small Mexican restaurants not chain ones. It was the Mexican way and you just kinda just got used to it . Gotta like it Viva Mexico


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## citlali

I do not have any problem making mashed poatoes either. They are better if made with the Russet when we find them but the white thin skinned potatoes come out fine. 
I find it a whole lot easier getting used to different food than trying to duplicate anything I was used to in France or in the US. 
If I cannot duplicate whatever I do without and forget about it.

I do not find spices difficult to find but I shop for them in medecinal stores, spice stores and I grow some of them. Thre are very few things I cannot find spice wise. San Cristobal can be a little more challenging but I usually end up with that I am looking for. I cook Vietnamese, Thai, French, Arabic and Persian food so I use a lot df different spices.
If you cannot find the spices you are looking for go to the medecianl stores, they carry just about every spice under he sun.


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## TundraGreen

citlali said:


> …
> I find it a whole lot easier getting used to different food than trying to duplicate anything I was used to in France or in the US.
> If I cannot duplicate whatever I do without and forget about it.…


Stephen Stills 1970 song comes to mind, "If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with".


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## Anonimo

_Milanesa de Res_= Country/chicken fried steak. There's little difference.


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## sunnyvmx

I spent 5 years in the small town of Catemaco in the Gulf State of Veracruz. Almost everyone in that part of Mexico recognized the name in conjunction with Witches (Brujos) and every year they came from all over for their annual Witches convention. The small tiendas carried a great supply of spices, dried herbs and special potions for whatever you might wish for. Some items were identifiable and some were not, but creepy all the same.

I always warned the newbies visiting the town to be aware of tall ladies walking the malecon along the lake in beautiful long flowing dresses, exquisite hairsyles and jewelry as they were the Hungarian gypsies pretending to be authentic witches. They would come flying at you the minute they spotted a foreign face and you had to back away from them, keeping your hands behind your back. Once they had ahold of your palm, your fortune would be read and you would be liable to pay even though you didn't understand a word.

Fortunately, all respected the wagging back and forth of the finger and the emphatic spoken "No" and they retreated leaving you in peace and ignorance for who knew what you future might hold.


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## AlanMexicali

Anonimo said:


> _Milanesa de Res_= Country/chicken fried steak. There's little difference.


Here Milanesa is a harder crusted [maybe corn meal or bread crumbs] fried thin slice of round steak and not a thicker cut of steak put through a beef tenderizing machine that breaks up the fiber and fried in a fluffier batter. I like milanesa but it is not like chicken fried steak. IMO It also is usually over- cooked in many places here. It might be different where you live.


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## joaquinx

Anonimo said:


> _Milanesa de Res_= Country/chicken fried steak. There's little difference.


When asked why Chili's didn't serve a Chicken Fried Steak, the answer was that they could't find a supplier for the cut of beef. Of course the best Chicken Fried Steak can only be found at Jake and Dorothy's Cafe in Stephenville, Texas.


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## lagoloo

I understand, up to a point, how important having food like it was in the "old country" is to some, but ferhevvins sake, where did anyone get the notion that moving to Mexico wasn't going to require some serious lack-of-product adjustments? Those comfort foods are something you'll need to make at home, unless you're living in a ****** centered enclave like the Lake Chapala area, where you can find restaurants catering to NOB tastes, with all the greasy, chicken fried stuff your taste buds desire. Clue: look for places with names like "MOM's" or "Bubba's" .

About those white potatoes: take a few, cut 'em into chunks, nuke 'em for around 8 minutes, then fry 'em in the pan with olive oil (or even butter) and get 'em browned. Tasty enough.

I miss all those ethic restaurants I enjoyed in the S.F. Bay Area, but until Mexico looks more attractive that there to the people who run those places, I file all that under "than was then and this is now" and forgeddaboutit. Have a tortilla.

And another thing: I'm a dedicated label reader. if you like Johnsonville sausages, you might want to read the label. You'll probably drop the package of chemically enhanced junk and look in the freezer at Costo for some Jones Farm Sausages. No junk.


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## joaquinx

Real food doesn't need a label.


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## FoxIslander

SirRon said:


> missing american comfort foods,
> 
> pot pies, cube steak, country fried steak and eggs, sausage gravy and biscuits, polish foods, German , Korean, just about everything american food is about a mix of different cultures
> 
> how to find potatoes for baking and mashed tators? these white skin potatoes have so much starch almost impossible to make good mashed tators
> 
> also shocking if you have a walmart in your location like we have many here in acapulco,
> 
> why does the meat deli have 250+ hams only a little bacon cheeses and hot dogs hot dogs?
> 
> where is the bratwurst, kielbasa, corned beef, pastrami, roast beef, salami, Bologna, turkey breast, chicken, etc ...
> 
> can these foods be shopped online from mexico?
> 
> finding spices hard also
> 
> its 2014 lots has changed in the last few years here in mexico so there has to be a few good websites to shop online from here in mexico


It would seem I have the opposite problem. I'm NOB in the Seattle area waiting for my house to sell. What I'm missing is good ceviche, fish tacos and I would kill for a "4th of September" dinner at El Brujo. The grass is always greener.


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## SirRon

AlanMexicali said:


> Here Milanesa is a harder crusted [maybe corn meal or bread crumbs] fried thin slice of round steak and not a thicker cut of steak put through a beef tenderizing machine that breaks up the fiber and fried in a fluffier batter. I like milanesa but it is not like chicken fried steak. IMO It also is usually over- cooked in many places here. It might be different where you live.


I agree its not the same , maybe some what close, it needs to go threw the machine to get the taste and texture

guess a small table top tenderizing machine will be on my x mas wishlist


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## manuel dexterity

SirRon said:


> guess a small table top tenderizing machine will be on my x mas wishlist


Or just pound your meat.


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## SirRon

that just didn't sound right ..... hahahahaha


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## lagoloo

In case you aren't familiar with the fine points of truck stop cooking:

Start with a piece of top or bottom sirloin steak. Pound with an inexpensive wood or metal tool that has pyramid-like points to make the indentations. You are the machine. hwomp, whomp, whomp.
When you wave the meat over the board, it should be mighty limp, but not transparent or holey.
Then, toss into a baggie filled with flour, salt and pepper, shake off excess flour and place into some seriously hot grease in the pan. Open the windows and turn on the exhaust fan NOW. For health conscious types (who wouldn't be eating this anyway), use olive oil. For authenticity, use bacon drippings or lard. Turn when blood seeps through very slightly. Cook some more. You now have "chicken fried steak". Naturally, you can do the same with an actual chicken breast. For "double fried chicken" run through the flour routine and cook it again after it's cooled.

I learned this from a genuine Alabama cook. Guaranteed to delight good old boys and girls while clogging arteries.
Buen provecho.


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## Anonimo

AlanMexicali said:


> Here Milanesa is a harder crusted [maybe corn meal or bread crumbs] fried thin slice of round steak and not a thicker cut of steak put through a beef tenderizing machine that breaks up the fiber and fried in a fluffier batter. I like milanesa but it is not like chicken fried steak. IMO It also is usually over- cooked in many places here. It might be different where you live.


I was speaking generally. I'd be interested in learning more details of these delicacies.


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## manuel dexterity

SirRon said:


> that just didn't sound right ..... hahahahaha


But it may satisfy a craving.


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## SirRon

i wish arby's would come here


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## manuel dexterity

SirRon said:


> i wish arby's would come here


They were in Guadalajara for awhile in the 90's. Had a good location and looked like they were busy. Then one day they were gone.


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## SirRon

there was a kfc almost walking distance from my house, they closed down out of the blue, rumors said mafia demanded too much, so they just closed its doors and said hell with it, now its a fabric store, now if i want kfc i have to go across town


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## travelinhobo

Well, I'm not gonna read all the replies, but my first thought is that you must be going thru your culture shock/I wanna go home period.  Don't worry, it'll pass.

Second, what's wrong with mashing the potatoes here? They come out the same. Be thankful the milk is normal here. In Turkey, my body goes thru withdrawal.

The other thought I had reading your post was... Why not learn to cook? 

Oh, and if you haven't bought the Oreos here yet, wait til you do. Then you'll be adding those to your list too.


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## SirRon

i am going threw culture shock, correct, I have learned its mexico and they do it there way, if i go to a restaurant here, i don't complain just don't go back, one of the things i have learned so far

before i only vacationed here, now I have been here for 17 months and still counting, so I am a fairly new expat as most been here a lot longer 

I have changed much since i been here, not sure yet if its for the good or bad yet


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## ojosazules11

FoxIslander said:


> It would seem I have the opposite problem. I'm NOB in the Seattle area waiting for my house to sell. What I'm missing is good ceviche, fish tacos and I would kill for a "4th of September" dinner at El Brujo. The grass is always greener.


I'm in the same boat. My taste buds crave South of Border foods here in Canada. Fortunately my husband is a great cook, and I'm not too terrible myself. Toronto has enough Latin stores where we can get our dried chilies, tomatillos, etc. and chipotle has become almost mainstream. I can get Maseca at our main chain grocery store to make tortillas, although they aren't nearly as tasty as the ones we buy daily in Mexico made from fresh masa. We can also get factory made corn tortillas here, which are better than nothing. 

I read on another forum about someone missing NOB sour cream. That one stumped me, because I find sour cream in the US and Canada to be insipid, and I indulge far too much in the rich, tasty _crema_ found in Mexico and Central America. 

The foods I find myself missing when we're in Mexico are the wide variety of international offerings we get in Toronto - within walking distance I have Ethiopian, Indian, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, Greek, Middle Eastern, and many more.


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## dwwhiteside

What about sushi? There seem to be quite a few sushi places around here but, what's with all the cream cheese (filadelfia?)? Is it just in this part of the country or do all sushi places in Mexico use more cream cheese than fish?


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## joaquinx

dwwhiteside said:


> What about sushi? There seem to be quite a few sushi places around here but, what's with all the cream cheese (filadelfia?)? Is it just in this part of the country or do all sushi places in Mexico use more cream cheese than fish?


No one understands this. I place it with Mexican pizzas which are a flour tortilla covered with cheese. Where is the sauce?


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## diablita

joaquinx said:


> No one understands this. I place it with Mexican pizzas which are a flour tortilla covered with cheese. Where is the sauce?


That's not how pizza's are made at the local pizzeria where I live. I bought one yesterday and it was just as good as Dominos.


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## joaquinx

diablita said:


> That's not how pizza's are made at the local pizzeria where I live. I bought one yesterday and it was just as good as Dominos.


That is just terrible. Dominos stopped making pizzas four years ago.


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## Isla Verde

joaquinx said:


> No one understands this. I place it with Mexican pizzas which are a flour tortilla covered with cheese. Where is the sauce?


I've never had a pizza here made with a flour tortilla, or was your comment made tongue-in-cheek, joaquinx . In Mexico City, in my experience, pizzas are made with dough, cheese and assorted toppings, but never with tomato sauce. However, little packets of ketchup are usually part of the deal  . After a while, you get used to it, or you just don't eat pizza anymore.


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## regwill

Isla Verde said:


> I've never had a pizza here made with a flour tortilla, or was your comment made tongue-in-cheek, joaquinx . In Mexico City, in my experience, pizzas are made with dough, cheese and assorted toppings, but never with tomato sauce. However, little packets of ketchup are usually part of the deal  . After a while, you get used to it, or you just don't eat pizza anymore.


Isla , do not forget the salsa ingles and valetines !


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## Isla Verde

regwill said:


> Isla , do not forget the salsa ingles and valetines !


Salsa inglesa? Is that worchestershire sauce? I have no idea what "valetines" are


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## manuel dexterity

Isla Verde said:


> Salsa inglesa? Is that worchestershire sauce? I have no idea what "valetines" are


The ubiquitous Salsa Valentina. Salsa inglesa is worcestershire. You have never had a pizza in the DF made with a tomato based "pizza" sauce?


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## Isla Verde

manuel dexterity said:


> You have never had a pizza in the DF made with a tomato based "pizza" sauce?


Nope.


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## SirRon

The american foods chains we have here in acapulco:

domino's pizza, pizza hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken, AppleBee's, Hard Rock Cafe, McDonald's, BurgerKing

I might have missed one or two

the price is so high i rarely eat at these places


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## Hound Dog

[_QUOTE=manuel dexterity;5713578]The ubiquitous Salsa Valentina. Salsa inglesa is worcestershire. You have never had a pizza in the DF made with a tomato based "pizza" sauce?[/QUOTE]_

So, cutting to the chase. Do any of you know where "worcestershire sauce" got its name?

It seems that the first U.S. army grunts from Alabama during WW 1, upon arrival in London prior to deployment to the front, were eating upon their ration coupons in local restaurants and,after having had their first taste of "Salsa Inglesa¨, inquired "Whusdisheresauce?" 

I am not making this up.


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## SirRon

i just wish I could shop other international foods I love such as:

bratwurst, kielbasa, pastrami, roast beef, gyros also known as heroes, philly steak sandwiches, country fried steak, biscuits and gravy

stouffer's tv dinners, lasagna and the mac and cheese where my fav

if there was a crappy arby's here, then all my american craving would be satisfied
omg i could go on and on


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## Isla Verde

SirRon said:


> The american foods chains we have here in acapulco:
> 
> domino's pizza, pizza hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken, AppleBee's, Hard Rock Cafe, McDonald's, BurgerKing
> 
> I might have missed one or two
> 
> the price is so high i rarely eat at these places



Why would you want to eat at most of these places serving lousy American-style food? Mexican food is so much better, and cheaper too!


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## SirRon

Isla Verde said:


> Why would you want to eat at most of these places serving lousy American-style food? Mexican food is so much better, and cheaper too!



I been here 17 months now, i have been craving these things like there is no tomorrow

i am sure it will pass, i have made some american foods homemade, i just cant seem to get the taste correct or maybe my taste has changed


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## manuel dexterity

Isla Verde said:


> Nope.



That is interesting. When my daughter lived in la Condesa we would go to 50 Friends for pizza. I think most of the pizzas there had a tomato sauce. Went to another Italian eatery in Polanco and they also served pizza with a tomato sauce.


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## Longford

I can understand the assimilation period many expats go through. At some point we just adapt and grow to like whatever differences in cuisine/cooking there are. I've been traveling in Mexico for 45 years now and I've grown so accustomed to what I eat when I'm in Mexico that what I eat or how I cook in the USA isn't all that different than eating/cooking in Mexico. I do bake more in the USA, however. I'll admit that every so often, when I'm in Mexico, I crave a Burger King Whopper with cheese. I don't patronize other fast food outlets, though. But, if there were an honest to goodness White Castle in Mexico City ... I'd probably eat there often. By the way, there really isn't an "American-style" cuisine, not for decades. The cuisine in the USA is so varied and so influenced by cuisines of other parts of the World ... and by regional variances in the USA ... it's truly a mixed-bag of goodness.


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## Isla Verde

manuel dexterity said:


> That is interesting. When my daughter lived in la Condesa we would go to 50 Friends for pizza. I think most of the pizzas there had a tomato sauce. Went to another Italian eatery in Polanco and they also served pizza with a tomato sauce.


I hang out in less upscale barrios than Condesa and Polanco.


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## Hound Dog

My God, Longford, Cheese Whoppers from Burger King and Krystal (White Castle) Sliders. We finally agree on something absolutely. I can get those Cheese Whoppers in Guadalajara and San Cristóbal but Sliders is another matter. In Tuscaloosa,Birmingham and Mobile, those sacks of Krystal Sliders (the southern versión of White Castle) and Jack Daniels Tennessee Sipping Whiskey were the Hound Dod food pyramid throughout my youth. When I moved to San Francisco, this was the irreplacable void in my life but then White Castle came up with frozen Sliders down at the Safeway. They were never as good as the originals served up by fat ladies with mustaches in funny aprons grilling Sliders on that hot , greasy grill in some scary neighborhood in Downtown Mobile at 3:00AM but living in San Francisco had other advantages although I can no longer remember what they were without Sliders. If they could sell frozen Sliders at Safeway in San Francisco, why can´t we find them here in Mexico at, say, WalMart or Chedraui? Maybe mail order frozen Sliders delivered by FedEx overnight to anywhere in Mexico. Money is no object. I´ll bet Carlos Slim could arrange to get them but I, unfortunately lack his clout or financial resources. Annway, he´s Lebanese and probably prefers Lebanese food which also ain´t bad

I think my record was 31 Sliders in 20 minutes at the Tutwiler Hotel in Birmingham circa 1964 after the Alabama/Auburn game but I wasn´t really keeping count. My girlfriend kept insisting on a sexual encounter but she didn´t have a chance until I finished those sliders and that BlackJack and then, as memory serves me, I passed out. Whatever happened to her? I think I last saw her at the Greyhound Bus Station in Downtown Birmingham the next morning.


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## Longford

Hound Dog said:


> I think my record was 31 Sliders in 20 minutes at the Tutwiler Hotel in Birmingham circa 1964 after the Alabama/Auburn game


In the late 1980s/early 1990s I lived in the Tutweiler for a year, as a guest of AmSouth Bank for whom I was managing a project. General Henry Graham (Ret.), a name which you may be familiar with, and with whom it was a privilege to work with, was a member of my team. I've been in Birmingham for an Alabama/Auburn game, and understand the intensity. Birmingham has always been a city I enjoy visiting. I've never, _ever_, eaten as many vegetables with a meal as I've eaten in Birmingham.


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## Hound Dog

Well, I must say, Longford, you just went up several notches on Dawg´s approval meter. Most of the vegetables in which I indulged in Birmngham in those days had gone through a three-stage distillation process unless they were dressing hamburgers. I still occasionally wonder where my girlfriend went when I let her off at the Greyhound Bus Statons bidding her adiós in 1964 but, wherever that may have been, she is no doubt in in some Sun City today riding around on a golf cart wearing protective undergarments and holding tightly on to her wig. Hell, she may even be here at Lake Chapala which is choc-a-bloc with people encountering my personal age situation but today everybody my age looks like me so who knows.


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## Anonimo

The best Whopper we ever ate was at 7:30 a.m. in the GDL Airport. Normally, we avoid them, but we were desperate. But they were good.


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## TundraGreen

Hound Dog said:


> …Whatever happened to her? I think I last saw her at the Greyhound Bus Station in Downtown Birmingham the next morning.


Was this the same girlfriend that you abandoned in the wilds of Mexico after she complained about your drinking and driving? Inquiring minds want to know.


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## citlali

For the record that was a different one, that one was left somewhere in Acapulco and had to find her way back to NY.


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## AlanMexicali

Anonimo said:


> The best Whopper we ever ate was at 7:30 a.m. in the GDL Airport. Normally, we avoid them, but we were desperate. But they were good.


One of my first trips to San Luis Potosi had me waiting for my flight back to Mexicali at that Burger King for many hours and I saw many famous people departing the international arrivals from the doors right there. 

Other topic not linked to your post: I agree some posters seem to think we miss our US or Canadian comfort food every day or every week it seems by their comments but in really it is once in awhile. 

Why would someone living in Mexico eat expensive overpriced US type food even on a weekly basis when cooking food with Mexican ingredients is normal? Are they going to deny a guy a good salami sandwich every 6 or 7 months?


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## Longford

AlanMexicali said:


> Why would someone living in Mexico eat expensive overpriced US type food even on a weekly basis when cooking food with Mexican ingredients is normal?


The culinary desires of expats are probably no different than those of Mexicans, who flock to the many locations of internationally popular fast food companies: a lot of people enjoy that food, even at that price. 

I'm no longer a coffee drinker, not for the past 35 years or so, and I find it humorous, and odd, that people spend so much money for a cup of coffee from Starbucks. Even more odd to me is that so many Mexicans in urban areas like the D.F. frequently pay that kind of money in Mexico for a cup of Starbucks when they can drink coffee at home or bring it at home to drink on the way to work, or make coffee in the office instead of going outside for it, or buy a cup of less expensive coffee from someplace else.


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## joaquinx

Longford said:


> . . . frequently pay that kind of money in Mexico for a cup of Starbucks when they can drink coffee at home or bring it at home to drink on the way to work, or make coffee in the office instead of going outside for it, or buy a cup of less expensive coffee from someplace else.


While drinking coffee at home may be cheaper, one does miss the ambiance of the cafe.


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## Longford

joaquinx said:


> While drinking coffee at home may be cheaper, one does miss the ambiance of the cafe.


I'm not criticizing going to a cafe in general, but, rather, the prices people sometimes, a lot of times, for a cup of "designer" coffee. 

If I'm recalling correctly what I saw in the D.F. last month, a frappuccino (popular drink) cost MX$60.  I think a cup of the coffee of the day, or Americano, was going for about MX$30. 

Understanding how hard most Mexicans work and what they receive in return for their labors ... the prices strike me as obscene, or the indulgence a bit ostentatious. But, as I said earlier, I don't drink coffee anymore and I missed the success of the marketers (i.e., Starbucks) to convince coffee-drinkers the high cost is well worth it. (What was wrong with what Juan Valdez was selling?)

Then again, to me it's just fine spending MX$50 or whatever for a _comida completa_ at Burger King ... once and a while.


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## joaquinx

Longford said:


> Then again, to me it's just fine spending MX$50 or whatever for a _comida completa_ at Burger King ... once and a while.


Think 90 pesos at Burger King for the full monty.

Recently, I had coffee at a number of places in Condesa, while avoiding Starbuck's, and the prices were not as high as you stated.

Plus, I'm not cheap.


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## Longford

joaquinx said:


> Recently, I had coffee at a number of places in Condesa, while avoiding Starbuck's, and the prices were not as high as you stated.


You haven't read what I've written. Try again.



> Think 90 pesos at Burger King for the full monty.


No, not in the D.F. Not that I've ever observed.


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## joaquinx

Longford said:


> You haven't read what I've written. Try again.


You haven't read what I've written. Try again without being obtuse.


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## Longford

joaquinx said:


> You haven't read what I've written. Try again without being obtuse.


A Starbucks patron, revealed?  Whatever your beverage of choice, and at whatever price you're willing to pay - have another cup. The day is long, and it's still early. :tea:


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## citlali

Many people go out to see and be seen, to ejoy a scene rather than for the food itself.
Coffee in SC is 18 or 20 pesos so it is not surprising considering that the rent are higher and the crowd wealthier that one would charge 30 pesos on up in fancier areas of Mexico.
Just the floor space in one of these places has to cost a pretty penny, the cost of coffee itself has little to do with the price of a cup of coffee.
It is up to the consummer to accept it or forget it.

How would you explain going to Starbucks in Paris unless you factor in the marketing the company did to the young upscale crowd who does not mind paying the price for mediocre coffee so thay can meet all the other people paying a high price for mediocre coffee.
You can have a way better cup of coffee in may a bar there for a whole lot less money but that is not "in".
We make great coffee at home because we are past that stage but many people do not outgrow this stage. To each is own, if you want street entertainement and like crowd waching that is the price you have to pay.


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## citlali

In France you pay 3 different prices for café express, standing up at the bar, sitting inside theplace and outside.


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## Isla Verde

joaquinx said:


> While drinking coffee at home may be cheaper, one does miss the ambiance of the cafe.


Exactly, joaquin. It's not so much the coffee as the occasion, a chance to hang out in a supposedly "cool" place, maybe run into some friends or play with your smart phone or even (gasp!) read a book.


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## manuel dexterity

And don't forget the free Wi-Fi and computer friendly atmosphere at Starbucks. You'll see people linger for a long time while connected. One tactic that made it difficult to trace communications with Chapo Guzman and his top aides was to send messages from Starbucks using their wireless connection. Then off to another for the next message.


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## SirRon

those of you who haven't ate a white castle slider in ages, just to let all the slider lovers know, its now almost 8 dollars for 3 sliders a drink and fries at white castle, those little burgers are no longer cheap

make your craving worse go to the white castle website sign up for email alerts every other day they are sending a coupon or something, the pictures make you want them even more


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## Longford

SirRon said:


> those of you who haven't ate a white castle slider in ages, just to let all the slider lovers know, its now almost 8 dollars for 3 sliders a drink and fries at white castle, those little burgers are no longer cheap


In Chicago, you can get 3 White Castle hamburgers, a small french fry and a medium drink for about $5.25 or less (no coupon necessary) if I'm remembering correctly. I get my WC with cheese, though ... and it costs about $.15 additional, each.


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## SirRon

Longford said:


> In Chicago, you can get 3 White Castle hamburgers, a small french fry and a medium drink for about $5.25 or less (no coupon necessary) if I'm remembering correctly. I get my WC with cheese, though ... and it costs about $.15 additional, each.


look at these prices:

.70 cents for a slider .87 cents with cheese

White Castle Prices - Fast Food Menu Prices


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## makaloco

I'm not familiar with White Castle, but what's special about it? On the website the sliders look like thin beef patties on squishy white buns, same as other fast food places. Please enlighten me.


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## joaquinx

makaloco said:


> I'm not familiar with White Castle, but what's special about it? On the website the sliders look like thin beef patties on squishy white buns, same as other fast food places. Please enlighten me.


What is special about WC, is that after eating six for lunch, no one will get near you for the rest of the day. I worked with a guy from Chicago and he would eat six or seven of them. I had to shut the door to his office.


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## Longford

makaloco said:


> I'm not familiar with White Castle, but what's special about it? On the website the sliders look like thin beef patties on squishy white buns, same as other fast food places. Please enlighten me.





> White Castle beef patties are 100% beef, which is all they have in common with most other fast-food hamburgers. The patties are square, about 2 ½ inches on each side, thin, and each has five holes. They are cooked on a large flattop griddle, in a very particular way. First, the griddle is covered with ladles full of liquidy chopped onions. The frozen patties are arranged methodically on top, and since they are square, the entire cooking surface is covered. Because of the holes, and the fact they sit on the onions, the patties steam, rather than grill or fry, and do not have to be flipped. Partway through this odd process, the small square buns are placed on top of the patties, so the bread steams too, and when they are finished cooking, each is sort of flipped with a spatula and sleight of hand so the patty ends up between the buns. Pickle slice and ketchup are then added, plus a slice of yellow American cheese if you order a cheeseburger.


Read more: Great American Bites: Why I love White Castle


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## SirRon

makaloco said:


> I'm not familiar with White Castle, but what's special about it? On the website the sliders look like thin beef patties on squishy white buns, same as other fast food places. Please enlighten me.



very different taste and texture, they are very lite, you can eat 12 at one sitting very easy


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## lagoloo

I feel deprived, never having had a real White Castle burger and not likely to see one in Mexico. A life lived in vain. Waaaah!!!


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## SirRon

lagoloo said:


> I feel deprived, never having had a real White Castle burger and not likely to see one in Mexico. A life lived in vain. Waaaah!!!


I am sure you have some fav foods that we have never tried also


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## Longford

lagoloo said:


> I feel deprived, never having had a real White Castle burger and not likely to see one in Mexico. A life lived in vain. Waaaah!!!


Maybe a decade ago .. there was a "White Castle" in Mexico City's Colonia San Rafael ... very near the intersection of Paseo de la Reforma and Avenida Insurgentes Norte, across from the Monument to the Mother (how appropriate!). Outfitted with the White Castle corporate logo (but not the iconic white tiled exterior) the location served warmed previously frozen White Castle hamburgers. I believe someone opened the location without the permission of White Castle, thinking they would go un-noticed, and it closed within a couple or several months of opening. White Castle's are company owned, not franchised, and, believe it or not ... many people living in areas of the USA where White Castle isn't present .. crave the little things. Which tells us ... there's no accounting for taste! Actually, as I've already said ... I like 'em and I'm happy I don't have a car anymore because if I did I'd be driving to the nearest White Castle for a sack! I like them about as much as I like the D.F. version of _tacos al pastor_.


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## makaloco

Thanks! The USAToday article makes White Castle's food sound pretty gross. Soggy and mushy is just the opposite of what I prefer in a hamburger, and I don't like ketchup, sweet pickles, or American cheese. I suppose it's a matter of what people get used to, though, and it sounds like many are White Castle fans.


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## manuel dexterity

When I was in high school I played sports. When we traveled to away games by bus, White Castle was many times the preference for a post game meal. I can still remember burping the flavor of those sliders far into the next day. And of course the smell on a bus load of teenage jocks after a stop at WC would knock a buzzard off a sh*t wagon.


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## buzzbar

Sorry to go back to the coffee discussion, but on my walk to the supermarket this morning I saw that the 'Authentic Tamale' shop is now the 'American Coffee Bar.' Maybe White Castle isn't too far away??


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## Longford

buzzbar said:


> Sorry to go back to the coffee discussion, but on my walk to the supermarket this morning I saw that the 'Authentic Tamale' shop is now the 'American Coffee Bar.' Maybe White Castle isn't too far away??


Your comment reminds me of an often seen question on Mexico travel web forums, when people (foreigners) ask where they can go, when in Mexico, for some "authentic Mexican food."


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## Isla Verde

buzzbar said:


> Sorry to go back to the coffee discussion, but on my walk to the supermarket this morning I saw that the 'Authentic Tamale' shop is now the 'American Coffee Bar.' Maybe White Castle isn't too far away??


There is no such thing as a "tamale". The singular of "tamales" is "tamal". I guess that shop's tamales weren't so authentic after all, and that's why it went out of business!


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## Hound Dog

Sincé White Castle is getting all of the credit here, I must intercede. Let us not forget the southern versión of White Castle , the Krystal Burger which is precisley the same thing only with southern charm Those of you who have been reading this thread already know what a slider is so let´s not backtrack though that. In addition to the incredible greasy little Burger itself and its unique characteristics, a true White Castle/Krystal joint and its clients must have the following characteristics:

* The burgers must be served up by cooks/servers of plain appearance , usually middle-aged and never gifted with effusive or sparkling personalities. "Howyoudoin" greetings are strictly forbidden as are other inappropriate and unseemly welcoming remarks. You are thare to eat the slider, not engage in whimsical chatter. 
* The branch must preferably be located in the dismal, poorly lighted dowtown section of some southern or midwestern city near a place where you can buy a used car from somebody with the handle "Big Bill Johnson" and, hopefully, the car will deliver your butt home before breaking down and you will need the slider energy an hour later to try to find Big Bill which, as an endeavor, is a waste of time.
* If you eat these things for 20 years or so, heart bypass surgery is a virtual certainty unless your prostsate gets you first so think of all the money you´ll save on bargain sliders which you can then put in your piggy bank for the eventual operation which may cover the costs as long as you have enough left over for the required flight to Somaila for the operation.
* Never go into a White Castle o Krystal joint and ordr one slider. If tyou do they'll figire you are out to use their clients only bathroom a lowest cost or you are insane. the minimus order is five sliders per person and evve that is a light lunch.

More later.


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## RVGRINGO

On arrival in Tucson, and while house-hunting, etc., we ate some fast food and some convenience foods from the grocery stores. What crap! Nothing had any real taste or expected texture. Now, in our new home, cooking in will help to solve the blandness problem. We even found some halfway decent tamales and now have the fixings for burritos, etc. Even the breakfast sausages are bland and the hot ones aren‘t picante at all. No wonder obesity is a problem in the USA; folks are probably continuing to eat in hopes of finding some flavor. 
We have found one Chinese restaurant and one Mexican restaurant so far; both were pretty good.


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## SirRon

I rarely eat Asian food here in mexico, you always hear horror stories in the USA, dog, cat, pigeon other bad things instead of the beef, pork, or chicken you think your getting

mexico has no surprise visits from the heath dept, so as much i enjoy oriental food, i pass on it

but i will eat sushi here (which is probably worse)


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## joaquinx

SirRon said:


> I rarely eat Asian food here in mexico, you always hear horror stories in the USA, dog, cat, pigeon other bad things instead of the beef, pork, or chicken you think your getting


You're thinking of Texas Bar-B-Q. The Asian food is OK.


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## SirRon

joaquinx said:


> You're thinking of Texas Bar-B-Q. The Asian food is OK.


Chinese restaurants caught serving dog,cat,rats and more, but in mexico you never hear of any Chinese restaurants caught serving dog,cat,rat as there is no heath dept making a surprise visit to catch them

just google "Chinese restaurants caught serving" tons will pop up

this is why i pass on Chinese food in mexico


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## manuel dexterity

SirRon said:


> Chinese restaurants caught serving dog,cat,rats and more, but in mexico you never hear of any Chinese restaurants caught serving dog,cat,rat as there is no heath dept making a surprise visit to catch them
> 
> just google "Chinese restaurants caught serving" tons will pop up
> 
> this is why i pass on Chinese food in mexico


That sounds like racist BS.


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## Isla Verde

manuel dexterity said:


> That sounds like racist BS.


Please watch your language, md.


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## SirRon

here is one in kentucky caught with roadkill

A Chinese Restaraunt in Kentucy Gets Caught Serving Up Roadkill

the first sentence of this article says:

First off, let me just say that I am sure that 99.9% of Chinese restaurants in this country are making good, clean food and not getting caught for legendary health code violations. 

However, it’s stories like this that make you suspicious of all of them!


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## TundraGreen

SirRon said:


> Chinese restaurants caught serving dog,cat,rats and more, but in mexico you never hear of any Chinese restaurants caught serving dog,cat,rat as there is no heath dept making a surprise visit to catch them
> 
> just google "Chinese restaurants caught serving" tons will pop up
> 
> this is why i pass on Chinese food in mexico


What is the difference between eating dogs or cats and eating cows or chickens. They are all animals, if you are going to eat one of them, why not another. The difference is purely cultural.


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## SirRon

TundraGreen said:


> What is the difference between eating dogs or cats and eating cows or chickens. They are all animals, if you are going to eat one of them, why not another. The difference is purely cultural.


I might consider what i myself call taboo foods, if the menu said that what it was

i'm talking about the ones that pass it off as beef,pork, or chicken


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## SirRon

this one can of worms i wish i didn't open

lol

I welcome back the over priced coffee conversation 

lol


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## SirRon

I wonder if the famous Mexican pizza with no sauce is what they call sopas here which I love and eat at least 2x a week


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## Isla Verde

SirRon said:


> I wonder if the famous Mexican pizza with no sauce is what they call sopas here which I love and eat at least 2x a week


SirRon, you're thinking of _sopes_, which are like little saucers, made from corn masa, with ingredients sprinkled on top. Pizza dough is made from wheat flour and has a different texture and flavor. I like sopes too!


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## Longford

I don't think we see many cats wandering about Mexico, so you may have something there ... suspecting they've been served to unsuspecting restaurant guests. I recall seeing news reports over the years, in Mexico City, about taco vendors being shut-down for selling dog meat in their tacos. Woof! Woof! Who knows what we might eat when visiting Acapulco! I remember when, once, my father got "taken" by someone selling "beef steaks" from their trunk on his payday. He was quite proud of his negotiating skills, until my mother told him he'd bought horsemeat steaks, not beef. We were no worse off eating the horsemeat ... my mother apparently knew how to cook it (probably from being confronted with my father bringing it home sometime before). I haven't found what I'll describe as "good" Chinese restaurants in Mexico. But if all I want is some chop suey, American style, I can find some which is pretty good. Yes, it's all about perception, culture ... and personal taste.


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## SirRon

Isla Verde said:


> SirRon, you're thinking of _sopes_, which are like little saucers, made from corn masa, with ingredients sprinkled on top. Pizza dough is made from wheat flour and has a different texture and flavor. I like sopes too!


correct, im still learning spanish and not spelling things correctly

but i love those things! i seen them small as the size of a taco tortilla or big as large pizza from pizza hut, so many different ways ,so many different possibilities i love them


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## SirRon

4 things I would miss if i ever moved back to the USA:

1 Tamales (here in acapulco most are cooked in banana leaf's and 1 or 2 is a meal)
2 Sopes
3 tacos al pastor
4 pozole (green or white, chicken or pork)


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## Isla Verde

Everything you ever wanted to know about _sopes_, and its near relatives including (but not limited to) _huaraches_, _gorditas_ y _chalupas_. Sope - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Just quickly skimming this article has given me a bad case of the munchies!


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## SirRon

I also have some foods I have been sitting on:

Lipton family size tea bags for ice tea ( I love my sun tea)

2 pound block of Velveeta cheese

case of tomato paste !!!

bear creek chili mix (has everything just add tomato paste and ground beef)

Skyline Chili Packets

Cincinnati Chili mix 

ham glaze kit from honeybaked hams ( I have made american style spiral sliced hams here many time no one seems to like it here)

I have my cravings for american style chili all set when it happens, dont know why I cant find kidney beans for chili here in Acapulco


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## SirRon

Isla Verde said:


> Everything you ever wanted to know about _sopes_, and its near relatives including (but not limited to) _huaraches_, _gorditas_ y _chalupas_. Sope - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Just quickly skimming this article has given me a bad case of the munchies!


one of my most fav street food !!! Gorditas!

they stuff them with a pinch of cheese and salsa by request here (they always ask green or red, I always say "que es mas pica"

I have the Munchies from all this food talk, Think I will call Los Tarascos, and order 1/2 kilo, tacos al pastor, which is 110 peso delivered to my house


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## diablita

Longford said:


> I don't think we see many cats wandering about Mexico, so you may have something there ... suspecting they've been served to unsuspecting restaurant guests. I recall seeing news reports over the years, in Mexico City, about taco vendors being shut-down for selling dog meat in their tacos. Woof! Woof! Who knows what we might eat when visiting Acapulco! I remember when, once, my father got "taken" by someone selling "beef steaks" from their trunk on his payday. He was quite proud of his negotiating skills, until my mother told him he'd bought horsemeat steaks, not beef. We were no worse off eating the horsemeat ... my mother apparently knew how to cook it (probably from being confronted with my father bringing it home sometime before). I haven't found what I'll describe as "good" Chinese restaurants in Mexico. But if all I want is some chop suey, American style, I can find some which is pretty good. Yes, it's all about perception, culture ... and personal taste.


We have lots of cats in my neighborhood and as a matter of fact I am taking care of 5 of them. [snip]


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## SirRon

I have one corner of my property I feed all the stray animals in my neighborhood, first the dogs ate it all, the stray cats have taken over that spot and chased off the dogs, we have some bad boy street cats here i guess, but when they are here I have no problems with rodents 

so they continue to get our scraps


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## buzzbar

And since I'm the third person to get the munchies, I'll bring it back to cats. It was explained to me in China that people in the south believe eating cat meat, or meat from any animal with fur, helps the body prepare for the harsh winters. "It was freezing cold today, I think winter's arrived. I need to eat something furry." 

So with the climate we have in Mexico it's totally unnecessary for us to eat cats. There's no reason to do it, and we should stop.


----------



## Detailman

diablita said:


> We have lots of cats in my neighborhood and as a matter of fact I am taking care of 5 of them. [snip]


The following comment is not directed at simply the last poster, so don't sweat it Diablita!

I note over a period of time that various posters lambaste Longford for being in Chicago. Why do people do this? He has been traveling to many places in Mexico for 45 years (according to previous posts) and in "some " cases might be more familiar with areas than current residents. 

Disagreement on topics is normal. These types of comments, and there have been "many" of them by different posters, are unbecoming-- in my opinion. Hopefully others agree on this aspect of respect. 

I do notice that there is more name calling in the last year. A lot of it. Would those of you who habitually do this in your posts react this way if you were in a face to face conversation? If so, you need to take some courses in tact.

Sent from my iPhone using ExpatForum


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## Longford

SirRon said:


> I have one corner of my property I feed all the stray animals in my neighborhood, first the dogs ate it all, the stray cats have taken over that spot and chased off the dogs, we have some bad boy street cats here i guess, but when they are here I have no problems with rodents


It's one thing to sort of adopt a street dog (or cats) who visits for food/water, and another thing to welcome all sorts of strays. Attracting and feeding stray animals to your home can provoke animosity from neighbors living in close proximity to you who have children and worry about such things.


----------



## diablita

Detailman said:


> …I do notice that there is more name calling in the last year. A lot of it. Would those of you who habitually do this in your posts react this way if you were in a face to face conversation? If so, you need to take some courses in tact.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using ExpatForum


I don't agree and yes I would do it if I were face to face with someone.


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## lagoloo

I've often wondered the same thing: if you aren't going to be a vegetarian, what difference does it make which dead sentient being you are having on your lunch plate? (I'm a carnivore, myself)

As the poster said: it's purely cultural. No logic involved.

Name calling? Send that boy or girl to the principal's office.


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## Longford

SirRon said:


> 4 things I would miss if i ever moved back to the USA:
> 
> 1 Tamales (here in acapulco most are cooked in banana leaf's and 1 or 2 is a meal)
> 2 Sopes
> 3 tacos al pastor
> 4 pozole (green or white, chicken or pork)


When I'm at home in Chicago I have no difficulty finding a wide-variety of Mexican food, because the size of the Mexican and Mexican-American communities are so large and varied. I can get tamales as good as any I've had in Mexico - all varieties. Sopes? They're all over town. Tacos al pastor? Impossible to find anything close to what's available in Mexico City. I've never found what I consider tobe a good bowl of pozole in Chicago, either. In Acapulco ... my "go to" place for pozole (I prefer green, with chicken) is La Casa de Tere. In Mexico City, I've been eating the pozole at Pozolería los Tolucos for more than 20-years.


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## Hound Dog

_


TundraGreen said:



What is the difference between eating dogs or cats and eating cows or chickens. They are all animals, if you are going to eat one of them, why not another. The difference is purely cultural.

Click to expand...

_Hound Dog had his first horsemeat dinner at Citlali´s parents´ home in Paris way back in the 1970s. Lean and delicious horsemeat roast served rare with a full-course French-style dinner usually meaning, in those days, several courses preceded by an alcoholic appetizer (and, in France, protocol means just one - a protocol I repeatedy violated to my eternal disgrace since, in my native Alabama, the point was to get wasted before eating dinner), accompanied by wine during the meal and followed at the end of this adventure by a fine cognac or calvados. As Julia Child indicated years ago, dining in France opened her eyes and palate as did that cuisine open mine. 

Some things I learned having married into a French family:
* During WW 11 when everyone was as poor as churchmice and there was no food; all the cats in Paris disappeared.
* Today, many years later, butchered rabbits available in stores in France always have their paws and heads intact in order to certify they are not cats.
* As hunger is the best sauce, after a while pussycats can seem quite appetizing. 
* Horsemeat is a quite healthy, lean food but one must know how to buy and prepare it properly and it must be fresh, not aged. Burgers at my mother-in-law´s house in Paris were always prepared with horsemeat . Quite tasty.
* Back in the 1950s, the principal of my high school in rural South Alabama loved to ask of students, "What´s the best part of the chicken?", and when the student responded (as required at all times) , "Dunno Dr. Scarborough, what is the best part of the chicken?" at which prompting, Dr. Scarborough would respond, "The gravy!" Dr. Scarborough was rather transparent but it was a good idea to please him rather than piss him off since, after all, he was the principal and, in those days visiting the principal´s office usually resulted in a sore butt. as paddling was still in vogue. Well, in France, the best part of any meat is the gravy known in those parts as bearnaise.


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## SirRon

tonights dinner from "sushi itto" here in acapulco

200 peso total including tip to the delivery man

had a craving for it


----------



## AlanMexicali

AlanMexicali said:


> The price of "carnes frias" [cold cuts] here has gone down over the years but still remains quite high. For a good salami or other cold cuts, even at Costco, expect to pay about $200 to $250 pesos per 100 grams in smaller packages of about 300 grams or less at supermarkets.


Correction: I should be $20 to $25 pesos per 100 grams, not $200 to $250 pesos.


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## SirRon

Today: Picked up a package of oscar mayer bologna at the costa azul soriana here in acapulco less than half pound package for 50 peso, price insane high, but I do get a taste of home

woohoo time for fried bologna sandwiches !!


----------



## Hound Dog

_


SirRon said:



Today: Picked up a package of oscar mayer bologna at the costa azul soriana here in acapulco less than half pound package for 50 peso, price insane high, but I do get a taste of home

woohoo time for fried bologna sandwiches !!

Click to expand...

_
Good for you Ron. You might want to squirrel away a few pesos for the coming heart bypass surgery or just eat a lot of oatmeal, drink a bottle of tequila the next morning and keep your fingers crossed.

I am not fond of fried bologna so I´m off for a cheese whopper with extra mayo.


----------



## TravelLover

TundraGreen said:


> What is the difference between eating dogs or cats and eating cows or chickens. They are all animals, if you are going to eat one of them, why not another. The difference is purely cultural.


I second that! :nod:


----------



## SirRon

*Help !!!*

expat needs help !!!, lots of comfort foods i want to make, require cans of cream of celery or cream of chicken, cream of mushroom is available here but others no

what do you do in these cases?


----------



## manuel dexterity

SirRon said:


> what do you do in these cases?


Usually learn how to cook.


----------



## SirRon

manuel dexterity said:


> Usually learn how to cook.



what the smell you think i'm trying to to do, laughing out loud, thanks for the help


----------



## Dray2

SirRon said:


> expat needs help !!!, lots of comfort foods i want to make, require cans of cream of celery or cream of chicken, cream of mushroom is available here but others no
> 
> what do you do in these cases?


I usually do a search of "how to make????" and a recipe will show up. I'm not a chef so it's the best I can do and it usually comes out fine.


----------



## Isla Verde

Dray2 said:


> I usually do a search of "how to make????" and a recipe will show up. I'm not a chef so it's the best I can do and it usually comes out fine.


But SirRon's problem is that the ingredients he needs are not available in Acapulco. My solution to his problem is "go out for tacos!".


----------



## ojosazules11

I'm in the go for tacos camp, but for nostalgic stomachs wanting their comfort food here's a link to substitute recipes for the Campbell's Cream of ... Soups. The author makes her own to reduce sodium content - a worthy goal, but perhaps not satisfying for the stomach longing for a taste of home - so you may want to adjust salt to taste. Also I would personally sauté the "extra flavour ingredients" (mushrooms, celery or chicken) withe the oil and onions BEFORE adding the milk and broth. 

(But then I would also add garlic, a bit of chipotle, maybe some cilantro, etc and I guess it wouldn't end up tasting like Campbell's.)

Make your own Campbell’s Soup | Sugar Buzz Chicago

Not Campbell's Cream Soup
Soup Base Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup minced onion
3 Tbsp. flour
1 cup chicken broth, boiled and reduced by half
1/2 cup skim milk

Optional Flavor Ingredients

For Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 1/2 cups chopped cremini mushrooms

For Cream Of Celery Soup
1/2 cup minced celery

For Cream of Chicken
1 cup of finely diced cooked chicken

In a saucepan or pot, heat oil on medium. Add onion and saute until translucent. Add flour and stir for two minutes, until golden brown. Stir in broth, milk and optional flavor ingredients.

Bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 10 minutes, until thickened. Allow to cool and use as desired.


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## makaloco

Also, when a recipe calls for soup, it doesn't have to be Campbell's. Some Mexican brands are just as good or better and have less sodium.


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## lagoloo

In Ajijic, there's a large store individually owned by Mexican called "Superlake".
On one side of the aisle, there's Campbells' soup made in the U.S.A.
On the other side is Campbell's soup made in Mexico. The Mexican version is better, and much cheaper. 
The entire store is an adventure in such matters.


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## Isla Verde

lagoloo said:


> In Ajijic, there's a large store individually owned by Mexican called "Superlake".
> On one side of the aisle, there's Campbells' soup made in the U.S.A.
> On the other side is Campbell's soup made in Mexico. The Mexican version is better, and much cheaper.
> The entire store is an adventure in such matters.


Acapulco is rather far from Ajijic to do some casual grocery shopping, don't you think?


----------



## lagoloo

Isla Verde said:


> Acapulco is rather far from Ajijic to do some casual grocery shopping, don't you think?


I wasn't making a travel suggestion; I was pointing out the virtues of Campbell's Mexican made soup.


----------



## Hound Dog

_


lagoloo said:



In Ajijic, there's a large store individually owned by Mexican called "Superlake".
On one side of the aisle, there's Campbells' soup made in the U.S.A.
On the other side is Campbell's soup made in Mexico. The Mexican version is better, and much cheaper. 
The entire store is an adventure in such matters.

Click to expand...

_The Mexican is better and much cheaper than what other versión? Total nonsense.

Who the hell since 1955 ever bought a can of Campbell´s soup? Tasteless gruel. Mexican soup in a can? Grind up those cockroach legs in Cleveland or Monterrey and the flavor is enhanced. 

Back in Alabama when my new French wife and I were living on the shores of Mobile Bay, lived in this extraordinary beautiful place where the mouth of the Fowl River emptied into the bay just north of Mon Luis Island. A more beautiful place on the planet is hard to imagine. Sincé we were renting, after a year we had to leave and move to San Fancisco. We had uncontrollable giant cockroaches one could ride as if horses. Is that what you folks seek?


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## Hound Dog

_


Isla Verde said:



Acapulco is rather far from Ajijic to do some casual grocery shopping, don't you think?

Click to expand...

_Acapulco is far from any place one would wish to approach. Fou hours from anyplace. There and sustained only by its bay long since outshined by the seas from Isla Holbox to the Belize border and the Bays at Huatulco. The past The 1950s only suvriving because of the dubious proximity of the Mexico Ciiy Megalópolis. Elvis and Rock Hudson are dead. Give it up.


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## Longford

Hound Dog said:


> The Mexican is better and much cheaper than what other versión? Total nonsense.


The Made in the USA version is, made in the USA ... and the higher price is most likely due to the fact that it's imported. Imported food items are typically more expensive than Hecho en Mexico ones. Superlake provides many specialty or hard to get (in Mexico) food items asked for in the several expat communities Lakeside.



Hound Dog said:


> Who the hell since 1955 ever bought a can of Campbell´s soup?


Obviously, you don't shop much ... in Mexico, or in the USA.  Canned soups, in addition to being eaten as marketed (i.e., "soup") are frequently used as a base or addition to other recipes. Canned soups are popular with many Mexicans, from what I witness when I'm in the grocery stores in Mexico. It's not just expats who ask for and purchase the canned soups.

Since Superlake provides many imported or USA-style products for the expat (and other) communities Lakeside ... what follows should give an indication of just how popular some canned soups are North of the Border (and likely within the Lakeside expat communities):



> The Campbell Soup Company (NYSE: CPB) has been claiming that its *chicken noodle soup, tomato soup and cream of mushroom soup are among the top 10 food items sold in grocery stores each week.* This holds true based on IRI Scanner data for shelf-stable grocery food items, which includes canned and packaged goods, as well as chocolates and candies.


Source: What is The Most Popular Soup in The US? - CNN iReport



Hound Dog said:


> Back in Alabama when my new French wife and I were living on the shores of Mobile Bay ...


Let's try to keep the discussion on topic.


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## lagoloo

Teapot tempest. Those soups are massively purchased by Mexicans and expats, wherever they are sold.
For those purists who don't believe the Mexican made are less salty and taste better, do the test: buy a can of Campbell's vegetable soup made in the U.S.A. and another made in Mexico and taste for yourself. Doesn't count if you're a smoker.

Also, I'm danged if I'm going to do a scratch soup as an addition to an ordinary casserole-type dish to be consumed within the next hour or so by the two residents of my casa. I came here to relax and pursue my own interests, which do not include elaborate cooking sessions except on special occasions. 
YMMV


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## SirRon

lagoloo said:


> Teapot tempest. Those soups are massively purchased by Mexicans and expats, wherever they are sold.
> For those purists who don't believe the Mexican made are less salty and taste better, do the test: buy a can of Campbell's vegetable soup made in the U.S.A. and another made in Mexico and taste for yourself. Doesn't count if you're a smoker.
> 
> Also, I'm danged if I'm going to do a scratch soup as an addition to an ordinary casserole-type dish to be consumed within the next hour or so by the two residents of my casa. I came here to relax and pursue my own interests, which do not include elaborate cooking sessions except on special occasions.
> YMMV


amen I am not wanting to spend days making a what was originally a 30 min or less dish dish


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## Longford

lagoloo said:


> Also, I'm danged if I'm going to do a scratch soup as an addition to an ordinary casserole-type dish to be consumed within the next hour or so by the two residents of my casa. I came here to relax and pursue my own interests, which do not include elaborate cooking sessions except on special occasions.


When I was living in Mexico, and even now when I visit ... I have always had a few sabanas of chicken breast in the fridge or freezer that I've used to wrap around steamed asparagas spears .. put into the frying pan for a few minutes (the chicken cooks quickly when cut into the thin sheets) ... and when it's done I serve it/them up with a Cream of Chipotle or Cream of Asparagas sauce made from Campbells soups. I serve this as a quick meal, with some steamed veggies on the side, when someone shows-up unexpectedly or I just have a taste for it. When I serve soup, now or when I was living in Mexico, it's always made from scratch, however. I understand the desire of some to stay away from kitchen productions, on a regular basis.


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## ojosazules11

lagoloo said:


> Also, I'm danged if I'm going to do a scratch soup as an addition to an ordinary casserole-type dish to be consumed within the next hour or so by the two residents of my casa. I came here to relax and pursue my own interests, which do not include elaborate cooking sessions except on special occasions.
> YMMV


Exactly - that's why I'm in the "go for tacos" camp.


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## SirRon

Amen on the taco's !!!


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## diablita

hound dog said:


> acapulco is far from any place one would wish to approach. Fou hours from anyplace. There and sustained only by its bay long since outshined by the seas from isla holbox to the belize border and the bays at huatulco. The past the 1950s only suvriving because of the dubious proximity of the mexico ciiy megalópolis. Elvis and rock hudson are dead. Give it up.


esad


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## SirRon

Waited in line this afternoon hour and half for "Pozole Verde" from one of the local restaurant in my neighborhood 

HOLY MOLE !!! was it worth it ...... YUMMY


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## Longford

SirRon said:


> Waited in line this afternoon hour and half for "Pozole Verde" from one of the local restaurant in my neighborhood
> 
> HOLY MOLE !!! was it worth it ...... YUMMY


Thursday: Pozole Day!

My favorite is Pozole Verde and, yes, I think it's worth waiting for (in Mexico, however - not Chicago!).


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## SirRon

Longford said:


> Thursday: Pozole Day!
> 
> My favorite is Pozole Verde and, yes, I think it's worth waiting for (in Mexico, however - not Chicago!).



not sure if i am spelling it correctly but I think the botana that comes with the soup is what completes the dish and isn't the same with out it 

Botana = tacos, tostada, pork rinds, cheese, sliced avocado, diced onions, chili powder, oregano, lime, sliced radishes, and a lot more depending where you buy your Pozole.


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