Comments on: Cinco de Mayo

By: Bryan

Bryan — Sat, 07 May 2011 17:26:30 +0000

We would freeze in class when we had to shift to summer uniforms at Monterey. Salinas was, of course, hot, but hitting the mid or upper 70s was summer along the coast.

The weather is just screwed up.

By: Badtux

Badtux — Sat, 07 May 2011 05:48:22 +0000

Well, the temperature was more normal today — topped out about 72F, was 60F by the time I headed home around 6:45PM, probably around 50F now. Normal for this time of year. I don’t know what the deal was yesterday, the weather thought we were in the Central Valley or somethin’…

By: Bryan

Bryan — Fri, 06 May 2011 16:11:53 +0000

I can’t get my head around temperature like that in the Bay area. We often went to San Francisco [Russian area] from Monterey [DLI], and jackets were always part of our kit.

By: Badtux

Badtux — Fri, 06 May 2011 07:02:51 +0000

Yes, I celebrated with two tamales today. They were good. That was the entirety of my celebration, it got too bloody *HOT* (95F) to celebrate much other than the fact that my place of employment is air conditioned (though the air conditioning was struggling, still, better than the outside was!).

By: Bryan

Bryan — Fri, 06 May 2011 05:34:30 +0000

No interest in burning out my insides with peppers, as alcohol is the only way of cleansing the oils, and I don’t drink anymore. I’ve cut back on my vices over the years and that one was expendable.

You can get the flavor without the fire, and it is more enjoyable for me. The secret is having the right ingredients and cooking them properly. If the basics are correct, then you can add the embellishments. Too often the peppers are used to cover the mediocre quality of the basic ingredients.

In the last few years we have gotten some real Mexican food, and even have a couple of real Mexican grocery stores. Alas they are all from the southern states. The tamales are good, better than the Baja versions, but most other things just don’t taste right.

Oh, yes, beginning in Texas and heading West, there is always mañana…

By: Steve Bates

Steve Bates — Fri, 06 May 2011 04:48:58 +0000

Try the New Mexico versions someday. Be prepared to have your scalp lifted by the pepper content, but the flavor is wonderful. And I say that as someone who grew up on Tex-Mex.

I have only 15 minutes left of Cinco de Mayo, and it looks unlikely I’ll manage to have any Mexican food. Fortunately, in Houston, for Mexican food, as Little Orphan Annie might have sung, there’s always mañana…

By: Bryan

Bryan — Thu, 05 May 2011 20:29:33 +0000

In reply to Badtux.

The amazing thing is that the bars on the beach are celebrating, while most of the Mexican restaurants are reacting in line with CG. Out local Mexicans prepare their food differently than the same dishes in Texas or California. I personally prefer the Baja – SoCal versions.

I admit it took me a bit to figure that picture out.

By: Badtux

Badtux — Thu, 05 May 2011 05:28:57 +0000

You link to that picture every year, and it gives me a chuckle every year :).

I’m going to celebrate by eating some real tamales (not the stale kind in a can, the kind made by some little Mexican woman with corn husks, masa flour, and meat filling). Otherwise I’m not much for celebrating, penguins tend to be rather formal creatures…