Category Archives: Road trip food

Raising the Bakery Bar in San Francisco

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Gorgeous, gooey gougere at glorious Tartine Bakery & Cafe in San Francisco

Gorgeous, gooey gougere at glorious Tartine Bakery & Cafe in San Francisco

Tartine Bakery & Cafe, in San Francisco’s Mission district, has 5,600 Yelp reviews and counting. So it doesn’t need any help from me. Still, that many people can’t be wrong, and a Canadian coffee roaster I respect suggested it as the one place I should visit on my road trip down the U.S. west coast.

Lots of tempting treats at Tartine

Lots of tempting treats at Tartine

The line, in mid-morning, is short and fast moving, and I scarcely have time to decide whether to get a buttermilk currant scone or a decadent brioche bread pudding brimming with fresh fruit. Instead, I go with a gorgeous gougere, the light, flaky pastry encasing a soft, croissant-like filling of Gruyere cheese.

I might have to add a 5,601th review.

A perfect breakfast

A perfect breakfast

Tartine co-owner and baker extraordinaire Chad Robertson also has a restaurant, Bar Tartine, and is opening a second bakery, The Manufactory, in the exquisite, historic Heath Ceramic building in San Francisco’s Mission district. It will go well with the funky Blue Bottle coffee kiosk in the same space.

Tartine Bakery & Cafe
600 Guerrero Street, San Francisco
Opens at 7:30 am Tuesday to Friday, 8 am Monday and Saturday, 9 am Sunday. Closes at 7 or 8 pm, depending on whether the moon is full and the mood strikes them. Restaurateurs of the world, can you please think of your poor customers and simplify your hours? Is that too much to ask?
Tartine Bakery on Urbanspoon

Befitting San Francisco’s socially conscious nature, Arizmendi Bakery is a cooperative. Not content just to produce good scones, muffins and breads (try the cheddar jalapeño breadsticks), Arizmendi, a loose affiliation of various local bakeries under the same name, has a mandate to create a positive workforce and develop skills.

I’m here for the $2.50 slice of the day’s thin-crust lunchtime pizza, which today comprises just three toppings: house-made tomato sauce, tangy goat cheese and fresh basil. There may be fancier creations of chef-driven pizza palaces in San Francisco, but this humble pie hits the spot, and does a world of good.

Pizza slice of the day at Arizmendi Bakery

Pizza slice of the day at Arizmendi Bakery

Arizmendi Bakery
1286 Valencia Street (and several other area locations)
Weekdays 7 am-7 pm (except closed Tuesday), weekends 8 am-7 pm
Arizmendi on Urbanspoon

Java Jamboree Loses its Jolt

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This bathroom sign says it all about the imminent closure of this great Cochrane, Alberta coffeehouse

This bathroom sign says it all about the imminent closure of this great Cochrane, Alberta coffeehouse

It’s always a sad day when a great place to eat, drink and gather closes.

Such is the case with Java Jamboree, which is shutting its doors at the end of March because of escalating rents in the Cochrane, Alberta mall where it has resided for 13 years.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Java Jamboree has long been my favourite coffeehouse in the Calgary region. The reasons are many.

First, the coffee (from Phil & Sebastian and Bows & Arrows beans) is exactingly produced by well-trained baristas and often presented in little bone-china cups, a lovely touch.

Cappo in a bone-china cup. Who else does that?

Latte in a bone-china cup. Who else does that?

Second, unlike most coffeehouses, there’s good food, much of it made in house. Like my aged cheddar panini on rye, with caramelized onion jam and a little dish of homemade ketchup—all served on a wee cutting board.

You want to eat this, don't you?

You want to eat this, don’t you?

Third, and certainly unlike better known artisan coffee shops in Calgary, the owner, Jess, is invariably there, preparing lunches, doing pour overs and chatting with the regulars.

Owner Jess and one of her expert, personable baristas

Owner Jess and one of her expert, personable baristas

And that’s going to be the greatest loss: a community of disparate souls that regularly gathers for a relaxing java in a wonderful space, lovingly decorated and featuring the work of local artists. Indeed, an artist who regularly makes the journey here from Calgary came up to me to decry the loss of this vital local business.

Maybe the rise in rents is just a business decision. But in a burgeoning town that’s steadily losing its western heritage, and in a mall of mostly indistinguishable tenants, Java Jamboree was an independent light of character and community. And now that light is going out.

Java Jamboree
9, 312 5 Avenue West, Cochrane, Alberta
Monday to Saturday 8 am-6 pm, Sunday 9 am-6 pm
Java Jamboree Coffee Co. on Urbanspoon

But not all is bad news in the Calgary-area coffee scene. I just met some friends at the newish Caffe Artigiano location near Mount Royal University, their first cafe outside downtown. When I wandered into the roomy, glass-walled space at the bottom of a new office building, I noticed nearly a dozen black-clad employees behind the coffee bar.

They were being trained in preparation for next week’s opening of yet another Artigiano location, this one in a brand-new building in the fashionable southwest Britannia neighbourhood (look out Starbucks!).

Training day at Caffe Artigiano location in southwest Calgary

Training day at Caffe Artigiano location in southwest Calgary

So I amble up to the bar and notice three lattes, with lovely foam art, sitting on the counter. “Are you giving away those training shots?”, I ask somewhat innocently. “Sure. Let me give you a hand taking them to your table.”

Now, you know I’m not going to say anything bad about $10 worth of free coffee. But these were indeed flavourful, full-bodied cups, and I’ll certainly be back, happy to pay full price.

Three free lattes. Can't beat that

Three free lattes. Can’t beat that

They get bonus points for the treats—pastries from Manuel Latruwe, scones from Sidewalk Citizen and muffins from another local baker. Sounds like they’re planning on doing some in-house baking in the future.

Caffe Artigiano
110, 5010 Richard Road SW (four other Calgary locations)
Weekdays 7 am-4 pm. Closed weekends
Caffe Artigiano on Urbanspoon

On a Mission to Find San Francisco’s Best Burrito

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Reflection of Taqueria El Farolito on San Francisco's colourful Mission Street

Reflection of Taqueria El Farolito on San Francisco’s colourful Mission Street

According to those who study such things, San Francisco’s Mission district is the epicentre of North America’s burrito scene, at least north of the Rio Grande. There’s a reason it’s called the Burrito Belt, with countless taquerias doing their take on this Mexican torpedo classic.

But which is the best to visit on perhaps your only foray into this colourful SF district? Wars have been fought over less, with loyalty and personal taste weighing heavily on the outcome. Some folks, for instance, won’t touch burritos containing rice and beans; others insist on it.

After an exhaustive, nationwide search, the Mission’s La Taqueria was recently named the best burrito maker in the U.S. Phooey, say some. It’s long-standing Taqueria El Farolito. Others prefer Taqueria Cancun or maybe El Metate. You can sift through thousands of Yelp reviews should you care to do your own online research.

To me, it’s as much about the experience as the actual burrito composition and taste. The main character in this drama is faded, dirty Mission Street itself, with no wish to become gentrified.

Faded Mission Street is home to many burrito palaces

Faded Mission Street is home to many burrito palaces

Fitting exquisitely into this unvarnished aesthetic is Taqueria El Farolito. The outside sign has faded towards illegibility, the order line a narrow row skirting plastic tables. I look over the counter and watch a guy attacking a huge pile of cooked steak with a menacing chopping knife.

Preparing the meats for the lunch burrito crowd at El Farolito

Preparing the meats for the lunch burrito crowd at El Farolito

But the real theatre is at the front, where through grease-stained glass, I observe a whirling-dervish cook working the blacktop. Wielding two long metal spatulas, this pro lightly singes oversized tortillas, tosses sizzling, marinated meat and then rolls everything up into two-pound logs, which he might sever in half with a decisive thwack of said spatula.

Decades of grease cloud the glass overlooking the grill at El Farolito

Decades of grease cloud the glass overlooking the grill at El Farolito

Make sure you order a super burrito, which includes all the fixings, including avocado, and your choice and style of grilled meat. And don’t forget to throw some good, house-made guacamole, salsa and pico de gallo into little plastic cups, and keep splashing them on as you work through the layers.

If you’ve got the time and stomach space, consider organizing your own burrito crawl up Mission Street. A warning: After just a couple of stops, you might be reduced to a crawl.

Taqueria El Farolito
2779 Mission Street (several other area locations)
Daily 10 am-2:45 am
El Farolito on Urbanspoon

6 Ways to Eat Out Three Times a Day, Without Becoming Fat

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Do you really need all that toast at breakfast?

Do you really need all that toast at breakfast?

“How do you stay so slim eating all those road-trip restaurant meals?” people often ask me. The answer? Wearing loose clothes to hide the little tire that gets pumped up by about five pounds after a month of steady grazing on volumes of fatty, starchy foods I certainly wouldn’t inflict on my body back home. It all tastes great at the time, but I know there’s a starvation diet in my near future. Still, it could easily be worse, say 10 or more pounds worse. But I’ve learned a few tricks to keep the ballooning at bay.

Continue reading →

6 Ways to Save Money at Restaurants While Travelling

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Breakfast is your best value meal while road tripping

Breakfast is your best value meal while road tripping

On an intense, road-food research trip, I forage like a shark. In a typical day, I’ll eat three restaurant meals, sip two high-end coffees, hit a bakery and finish things off with a pint or 22-ounce bomber of craft beer. I can stuff all this down for an average daily cost of $40, what many folks would spend on a single meal.

Here how I do it:

  1. Abstain from booze: A bottle of wine can easily be marked up three times its retail price and cost as much as the rest of the meal combined. Fancy cocktails are also ridiculously expensive. A pint of beer is your best bet and can be shared. Better still, have a drink at your motel/campsite before heading out to dine.
A pint of beer is often your best booze value when dining out

A pint of beer is often your best booze value when dining out

  1. Avoid appetizers: Particularly at chef-driven joints, you can spend upwards of $10 for a few mouthfuls of food artfully arranged on a plate. If the appetizers are more substantial, consider sharing two or three in lieu of a more costly main course.
These fabulous three appetizers, at Restaurant 415 in Fort Collins, Colorado, set me back only $15

These fabulous three appetizers, at Restaurant 415 in Fort Collins, Colorado, set me back only $15

  1. Skip dessert: You know why desserts are often described as sinful? Maybe it’s because these sugar bombs aren’t good for you. Or your wallet. When I see fancy cakes, tarts or puddings cresting $10, I’m thinking that much coin could buy a hearty breakfast.
You know it's not good for your wallet or blood-sugar levels. But can you resist this divine slice of pie at Hilltop Diner Cafe in Langley, B.C.?

You know it’s not good for your wallet or blood-sugar levels. But can you resist this divine slice of pie at Hilltop Diner Cafe in Langley, B.C.?

  1. Bulk up at breakfast: Remember how mother said breakfast was the most important meal of the day? It’s also the best value. On a long day of driving, I’ll often hit the road early with a banana and coffee under my belt. After a few hours, I’ll stop to load up on a full breakfast (let’s say bacon, eggs, hash browns and toast), for maybe $8. I’m then good to go till dinner.
Eat this flavourful, full-on breakfast at Village Smithy in Carbondale, Colorado, and you're good to go for the whole day

After swallowing this flavourful, full-on breakfast at Village Smithy in Carbondale, Colorado, I’m good to go for the whole day

  1. Eat out at lunch, not dinner: Lunch is almost always cheaper, often for the same items. The reason, I think, is restaurant owners realize people won’t spend above, say, $15 for lunch, but will shell out considerably more for a leisurely, celebratory dinner. Lunch menus are more limited, but at least you won’t be coughing up $35 for a steak.
This wonderful, healthy lunch at Point No Point, near Sooke B.C., would be a more expensive dinner at most places

This wonderful, healthy lunch at Point No Point, near Sooke B.C., would be a more expensive dinner at most places

  1. Seek out happy hours: Happy hours are offered in the dead times of mid-to-late afternoon to get customers in the door. It’s a great way, especially at higher-end places I’d normally avoid, to get good deals on drinks and appetizers or light meals. Just check the restaurant website for times and to be sure that what they’re offering is worth your while.
The happy-hour deals are on seven days a week at Gallo Blanco Cafe & Bar in Phoenix.

The happy-hour deals are on seven days a week at Gallo Blanco Cafe & Bar in Phoenix.

My Best Road-Trip Meals and Drinks of 2014

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This simple but superb BLT at Magpie Cafe in Sacramento, California was one of the best sandwiches I ate in 2014

This simple but superb BLT at Magpie Cafe in Sacramento, California was one of the best sandwiches I ate in 2014

Two themes dominated my 2014 road-trip eating adventures in western North America. One was the preponderance of top-end chefs setting up shop in food trucks and churning out imaginative, excellent and most affordable fare (maybe the release of the fun movie Chef is an instance of art imitating life).

The other theme is how geographically diverse these winners are. Yes, the ethnic cauldron of Los Angeles produced many of my top choices. But so did unheralded southern Washington; take a bow Walla Walla and Tri-Cities. So did a lot of places not considered culinary hotbeds. I’m thinking of you Logan, Utah, Idaho Falls and Salmon (both in Idaho), and Mayne Island, a tiny place in B.C.’s Gulf Islands.

Best Breakfasts

Restaurant breakfasts are often the least healthy meal of the day. The holy pairing of grease and carbs bring together eggs cooked in butter, fat-laced bacon, oily hash browns and yet more butter smeared on a whack of toast. Alternatively, you can toss a pound of gluey, syrup-drenched pancakes down the hatch.

Waffles are pretty traditional but certainly enticing looking

Waffles are pretty traditional, but this one is certainly enticing

So it’s nice to see more eateries throwing a healthier curve at the morning equation. Heck, when well done, it can even taste better than the old comfort fare, without the post-meal need to curl up in the fetal position.

Lotus Cafe is a treasure in touristy Jackson, Wyoming. Where it really shines is its imaginative breakfast bowls, like a sprouted buckwheat granola or a raw acai with a ton of fruit and other healthy goodies. Even the oatmeal is unique, featuring nutmeg and cardamom and a topping of pecans, dates and figs.

A beautiful stamped-tin ceiling is just one of Lotus Cafe's many charms

A beautiful stamped-tin ceiling is just one of Lotus Cafe’s many charms

Lotus Cafe
145 North Glenwood Street, Jackson, Wyoming
Daily 8 am-9 pm (reduced winter hours)
The Lotus Cafe on Urbanspoon

Ironically, there’s not a lot of bacon on the menu at Bacon & Eggs in Walla Walla, Washington. And you can get tofu or egg-white omelettes. But what catches my attention, and taste buds, is the Texas eggs, served atop brown rice and black beans, with a heavenly slice of house-made cornbread.

A delicious, healthy bowl of Texas eggs

A delicious, healthy bowl of Texas eggs

Bacon & Eggs
503 East Main Street, Walla Walla, Washington
Thursday to Tuesday 8 am-2 pm. Closed Wednesday
Bacon & Eggs on Urbanspoon

Not often does a lowly breakfast sandwich make me swoon. But it certainly does at Crumb Brothers Artisan Bread & Cafe, in Logan, Utah. It’s the excellence of all the ingredients—from an ethereal ciabatta bun to lemon aioli—plus the painstaking execution that propels it into the stratosphere.

Breakfast sandwiches don't get any better than this

Breakfast sandwiches don’t get any better than this

Crumb Brothers Artisan Bakery
291 South 300 West, Logan, Utah
Weekdays 7 am-3 pm, Saturday 8 am-3 pm. Closed Sunday
Crumb Brothers Artisan Bread on Urbanspoon

Best Coffee

Yes, the fresh-roasted coffee is great at Iconoclast Koffie Huis in Edmonton, Alberta. As is the ultra-cool coffee bar, built from repurposed wood in this old warehouse. But it’s the half-hour conversations with co-owner Ryan Arcand and assorted regulars that make this a great coffeehouse in an era of heads glued to screens.

Iconoclast's roaster is in back of the coffee bar in this refurbished warehouse

Iconoclast’s roaster is in back of the coffee bar in this refurbished warehouse

Iconoclast Koffie Huis
11807 105 Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta
Weekdays 9 am-5 pm, weekends 9 am-5 pm
Iconoclast Koffiehuis on Urbanspoon

Honourable Mentions: They both boast custom-built Slayer espresso machines and excellent coffee. Where they differ is in their decidedly unique locations: SnowDome Coffee Bar in a Jasper, Alberta Laundromat, and Strom Coffee, inside a refurbished Airstream trailer in Richland, Washington.

Best Bakery

purebread is based in the B.C. resort town of Whistler. But I encountered it at a Vancouver farmers’ market, where folks were lined up to buy its creative roster of breads—how about a sour cherry chocolate, a Disfunction Ale or an amazing fig loaf studded with hazelnut slices? The sign of a great bakery is when you can’t stop buying… or eating. Indeed, the crumbly slice of cornbread vanishes before we’ve walked a hundred feet.

Amazing fig loaf studded with hazelnut slices from pure bread

Amazing fig loaf studded with hazelnut slices from pure bread

purebread
1, 1104 Millar Creek Road (another location in Olympic Plaza), Whistler, B.C.
Daily 8:30 am-5 pm
Purebread on Urbanspoon

Best Sandwich

In a crowded list of contenders, tiny food truck The Goodwich, in downtown Las Vegas, stands out. Why? Because co-owner and high-end chef Josh Clark believes you can take almost any first-class ingredients and slap them between two slices of bread to create amazing, affordable sandwiches.

Josh ... is putting high-end ingredients into most affordable sandwiches at The Goodwich, in Las Vegas

Josh Clark is putting high-end ingredients into most affordable sandwiches at The Goodwich, in Las Vegas

The Goodwich
1516 South Las Vegas Boulevard, Suite A, Las Vegas
Tuesday to Sunday 11 am-10 pm, except 4 pm closing Sunday. Closed Monday
The Goodwich on Urbanspoon

Honourable Mentions: Magpie Cafe, in Sacramento, California elevates the generic BLT to godly status with orange heirloom tomatoes, thick slices of bacon and caper aioli on a fresh baguette. Simply excellent. Yes, the oven-roasted turkey on sourdough is outstanding at grungy Junkyard Bistro in Salmon, Idaho. But what slams it out of the park is the fabulous side of chunky potato salad.

Best Burrito

This deserves its own category in 2014, since I spent some time in the global burrito hotbeds of San Francisco and Los Angeles. The best of the best was longstanding, family-run La Azteca Tortilleria, in East Los Angeles. The killer ingredients include a fresh-ground, toasted corn tortilla, good steak and, the kicker, a whole chile relleno dipped in egg and then fried. I hoover down this messy puppy in the front seat of my car in under five minutes.

Siblings Chris and Cynthia Villa at Los Angeles's La Azteca Tortilleria

Siblings Chris and Cynthia Villa at Los Angeles’s La Azteca Tortilleria

La Azteca Tortilleria
4538 East Cesar East Chavez Avenue, Los Angeles
Daily 6 am-3:30 pm except closed Monday
La Azteca Tortilleria on Urbanspoon

Best Food Truck

At El Fat Cat Grill, in Kennewick Washington, chef-owner Felix Sanchez is mixing Mexican and Asian influences to come up with tasty, affordable gems like crispy tortillas smothered in pork, chipotle mole sauce and jalapeno coleslaw.

Chef Felix Sanchez mixing Mexican and Asian influences at his El Fat Cat Grill truck Asian fare

Chef Felix Sanchez mixing Mexican and Asian influences at his El Fat Cat Grill truck
Asian fare

El Fat Cat Grill
539 North Edison (behind the Edison carwash), Kennewick, Washington
Weekdays 11 am-7 pm. Closed Saturday and Sunday
El Fat Cat Grill on Urbanspoon

Best Burger

Almost as good as the fresh-ground, perfectly cooked burger at The Bird, in Jackson, Wyoming, is the full page of the menu advising you how to order your meat. Let me summarize: Don’t dare ask for well done.

The "rules" at The Bird

The “rules” at The Bird

The Bird
4125 South Pub Place (South Highway 89), Jackson, Wyoming
Monday to Saturday the bar opens at 4 pm and the kitchen at 5 pm, Sunday opening is 10 am
The Bird on Urbanspoon

Best Pizza

Una Pizza + Wine’s Twitter feed lets you know how long the wait is at this exceedingly popular little joint in Calgary, Alberta. So best arrive early to order an outstanding, thin-crust pie—like roasted crimini mushrooms with smoked mozza and truffle oil—along with a mountainous kale Caesar salad topped with a boiled egg.

Una Pizza + Wine
618 17 Avenue SW, Calgary, Alberta
Daily 11:30 am-1 am
Una Pizza and Wine on Urbanspoon

Best Exotic Cuisine

Korean food is celebrated for its barbecue, plus all those interesting little dishes that come as appetizers. But at Hangari Bajirak Kalgooksoo, in Los Angeles’s Koreatown, the standout is a huge bowl of Manila clam kalguksu with a boatload of engorged, hand-cut noodles.

Clams and hand-cut noodles in this lovely bowl at Hangari Bajirak Kalgooksoo

Clams and hand-cut noodles in this lovely bowl at Hangari Bajirak Kalgooksoo

Hangari Bajirak Kalgooksoo
3470 West 6 Street, Suite 9, Los Angeles
Daily Monday to Saturday 10 am-10:30 pm, Sunday 10 am-10:30 pm
Hangari Bajirak Kalgooksoo on Urbanspoon

Best Fusion

Guerrilla Tacos owner-chef Wes Avila is storming the Los Angeles food world with a truck that’s spinning out stunning delights like a summer squash taco with runny chile and cashews.

Wes Avila concocts a summer squash taco at his Guerrilla Tacos truck

Wes Avila concocts a summer squash taco at his Guerrilla Tacos truck

Guerilla Tacos
826 East 3 Street (other area locations), Los Angeles
Wednesday 10 am-2 pm, Thursday-Friday 9 am-2 pm, Saturday-Sunday 9 am-1 pm
Guerrilla Tacos on Urbanspoon

Best Sushi

I don’t often get sushi on a road trip: it’s expensive and, all too often, generic. But at Koi Sushi—in a food court, next to a Walmart in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico—chef-owner Angel Huerta Ramirez fashions amazingly creative plates of affordable fare, featuring local wahoo and other creatures of the sea.

This wahoo sashimi plate was to die for

This wahoo sashimi plate was to die for

Koi Sushi
Plaza San Lucas, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Daily noon-9 pm

Best Pie

I don’t eat dessert. But when I’m offered a taste of a wee blueberry-raspberry pie with a port reduction sauce, at The Street Grill truck in Richland, Washington, I ignore spiking blood-sugar levels and keep shovelling till there’s not a crumb left.

The Street Grill
300 Knight Street (John Dam Plaza), Richland, Washington
Monday to Saturday 11 am-5 pm. Closed Sunday

Cast your eyes on this blueberry-raspberry, port-reduction pie and jump in your car.

Cast your eyes on this blueberry-raspberry, port-reduction pie and jump in your car.

Best Beer

Among the many pints and 22-ounce bombers I sampled on the road, the standout was a complex, flavour-filled Widmer Brothers Brewing (Portland) ale aged in bourbon barrels.

Widmer Brothers Brewing
955 North Russell, Portland, Oregon
Sunday to Thursday 11 am-10:30 pm, Friday-Saturday 11 am-11 pm
Widmer Brothers Pub on Urbanspoon

Honourable Mention: The combination might seem odd, but Wild Rose Brewery’s (Calgary, Alberta) seasonal cherry porter was a knockout. I stocked up on the one-litre bottles while they lasted.

Best Experience

At Farm Gate Store, on B.C’s Mayne Island, the divine grilled sandwiches are just the exclamation point on a fabulous rural shop that features local produce, meat and killer flower arrangements.

Co-owner Shanti arranges her farm-cut flower bouquets, a bargain $11

Co-owner Shanti arranges her farm-cut flower bouquets, a bargain $11

Farm Gate Store
568 Fernhill Road, Mayne Island, B.C.
Monday to Saturday 10 am-6 pm, Sunday 10 am-5 pm

Best Meal(s) of 2015

Why would I drive 1,100 kilometres (620 miles) for a meal? When it’s the best Mexican food I’ve devoured all year and served by wonderful owners Bertha Moreno and daughter Jessica. I thus trek all the way from Calgary not once but twice in a three-month span, to Morenita’s Mexican Restaurant, in Idaho Falls of all places.

Bertha Moreno and daughter Jessica serve up fabulous fare at Morenita's Mexican Restaurant

Bertha Moreno and daughter Jessica serve up fabulous fare at Morenita’s Mexican Restaurant

Sure, I was headed on to other destinations. But nothing made me happier in 2014 than plunking myself down at a nondescript Morenita table and letting Jessica keep bringing me fantastic plates of inventive Mexican food. Like an unforgettable taco ranchero—an open, crispy corn tortilla piled with sauteed pork loin, salsa fresca and avocado, doused with house-made sauces, all for $2.50.

Traditional tacos and tostadas elevated to star status

Traditional tacos and tostadas elevated to star status

Things were going so well, I threw caution to the wind and ordered a sampler bowl of menudo, something I swore I’d never touch again after a rubber-band greasefest with my appalled sisters in some dusty Mexican village. Here, the broth is perfectly seasoned, the little hominy balls a delightful surprise and the, gulp, beef tripe sufficiently tender I might order it again. Just not for a year or two.

Morenita’s Mexican Restaurant
450 Whittier Street, Idaho Falls, Idaho
Monday to Thursday 10 am-9 pm, Friday-Saturday 9:30 am-9 pm, Sunday 9:30 am-8:30 pmMorenita's Restaurant on Urbanspoon