Great Burrito Mexican Fast Food Restaurant & Pizza

At first blush, a hole-in-the-wall lunch place with not just tacos and pizza but also pitas and "Italian Heroes" on the menu is not going to be a winner. But going on a recommendation from a friend, I decided to give Great Burrito a go and am glad I did. In addition to tacos, the Mexican side of the menu (where I'd advise you stay) also features burritos, tortas, quesadillas, tostadas, sopes, enchiladas and huaraches. Meat choices go from chicken, steak, chorizo, to pork carnitas and al pastor, lengua and "a la casa" (chicken, beef and pork together). For the first test-run I went with one chicken taco and one each carnitas and al pastor.

The tacos (at $2.50/per) were big enough that two would've sufficed, but I'm glad I tried all three. Each was complimented with raw onions, cilantro and a salsa particular to the taco, and each featured very nicely differentiated marinade. The al pastor was savory and a little sweet, pork meltingly delicious and tender. The carnitas were spicier and had a nice pepper edge to the flavor, while the chicken was oddly but nicely definitely marinated in soy sauce (in part, at any rate), and nicely charred. Served with a wedge of lemon (not lime) each, washed down with a Jarritos Mandarina, a truly excellent lunch. Definitely worth a return trip, or worth stopping by if you work in this part of town or find yourself here around food-time.

Cerveza Cucupá Chupacabras Pale Ale

One of only a few Mexican mircobrews, Cucupá is out of Mexicali and makes a nice range of beers. Carrboro Beverage Co. recently started carrying a few, and I tried the excellently-named Chupacabras Pale Ale. And: a very, very nice beer. Great hop character and creamy body, well-balanced with malt. Super-satisfying beer and well more than just a novelty - pick it up if you get a chance.

Spicy Mexican Fried Green Tomatoes

While making Bill Smith's collards (cribbed from the excellent Holy Smoke), I decided to nose about for some other recipes and found a perfect one at the Southern Foodways Alliance, given that I have two green tomatoes and am doing Mexican pork tomorrow.

Ingredients

• 
2 green (unripe) tomatoes
• 
Salt
• 
1/2 c. white cornmeal
• 
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 
2 tsp. cumin

• 2 tsp. cayenne pepper (or to taste)
• 
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

• 1 tsp. salt

• Canola oil for frying

Procedure

1. Slice tomatoes into 1/4" slices and salt both sides. 
2. Mix cornmeal, flour, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper in a shallow dish. 
3. Heat 1/4” oil over medium-low heat in a frying pan. 
4. Dredge tomato slices in cornmeal mixture, coating both sides generously. 
5. Fry in batches in oil until golden brown and tomatoes are softened. 
6. Drain on paper towels.
7. Enjoy!

Verdict

Astonishingly delicious. Very, very highly recommended.

Lazy Man's Mole

Felt like a mole but without the time, so tried my hand at something kinda-sorta-similar.

Ingredients

• 1/3 bar good dark chocolate (I used Green & Black's Maya Gold)
• 1 bottle dark beer (in this case, Bell's Porter)
• 1 onion, minced
• 2 Anaheim peppers, minced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Serrano pepper, chopped
• 2 Chipotle peppers, diced
  
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, in 1" cubes (or whatever other meat you like)
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• t tbsp sunflower or canola oil
• 1/2 cup water or stock

Procedure

1. Over low heat in large saucepan (one that has a lid), melt chocolate
2. When chocolate is melted, add a few ounces beer and peppers; raise heat to low-medium and cook for 5-10 minutes
3. Add onions, oil and a few more ounces beer; cook for 3-5 min.
4. Add garlic, spices, remainder of beer and raise to simmer, mixing well
5. Add tomatoes, mix thoroughly and cover; cook 15 min.
6. Add water or stock and meat; cover and cook, stirring periodically, until chicken is tender (this will take a while, probably 45 min. or so – use this time to cook some rice!)
   
7. Enjoy!

Verdict

Really good. Rich, spicy, tasty. A perfectly acceptable alternative to driving up to DC for mole.

Carrboro Taco Review: Coma Rica

Taco Provider: Coma Rica
Location: NE Corner of W. Main and Weaver Street in gas station parking lot
Taco Type: chicken
Toppings: fresh onion, cilantro
Sauces: red, green
Tortilla: single corn, handmade right there
Cost: $2/taco
Summary: The chicken was tender, had obviously been marinated in something yogurt-and-tumeric-y, and super-tasty. The red salsa was spicy but not blindingly so, the green super flavorful and smooth. The single complaint is that the just-handmade tortilla fell apart halfway through each taco, but this is a minor quibble – the tortilla was excellent if not structurally sound.
Overall rating: Excellent. Best chicken tacos I've hasd thus far in Carrboro. Had ordered a pupusa to go with one chicken taco but the mistake was just as well; I'll simply have to go back for more. They also have tortas (including Cuban) and something semi-terrifyingly translated as "Beef Rose."

MKD Foodstravaganza: Recipes

Of course MKD's visit is marked by incessant consumption of foodstuffs and beerstuffs. Recipes follow, and beer reviews below.

Mexican (?) Chicken a la MKD

Ingredients:

• 2 split chicken breasts
• juice of 1-2 limes
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 of 1 medium white onion (sliced)
• kosher salt
• black pepper
• chili powder
• cayenne or other spicy pepper powder
• (all spices to taste, don't over-do it)

Procedure:

1. Place chicken in an oven-safe pan, cover with liquid and dry ingredients, toss to coat
2. Dust top of chicken with a touch more pepper and/or salt
3. Cover pan tightly with foil
4. Place in oven preheated to 375F for about 25 minutes
5. Remove foil, toss chicken in remaining liquid, and continue to cook uncovered until thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast reads 165-170 (another ~20 minutes)
6. Let the chicken cool for at least 10 minutes, then using a fork, pull it into shreds.

Verdict:

Delicious, tender, tasty.


Mushrooms with Roasted Poblano Peppers

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb. mushrooms, sliced
• 4 poblano peppers, roasted, skinned
• olive oil
• kosher salt

Procedure:

1. Roast poblano peppers. Place in paper bag to cool and sweat, remove skins and slice in 1/2" strips
2. Wash and, if mushrooms are not already sliced, slice them
3. Heat olive oil over medium heat in sauteé pan
4. Add mushrooms, sprinkle salt over them, and continue adding olive oil until mushrooms are well coated
5. Cook mushrooms until they begin to soften, and add peppers
6. Mix peppers and mushrooms and cook for several more minutes until thoroughly combined
7. Serve and enjoy!

Verdict:

Super-good and, obviously, very very easy.


Ancho-Roasted Jalapeño-Roasted Red Fresno Salsa

• 4 dried ancho chili peppers
• 4 large jalapeño peppers, roasted
• 2 red fresno peppers, roasted
• white vinegar

Procedure:

1. Rehydrate anchos by setting in a bowl and pouring near-boiling water over them; let sit until they swell, and then chop roughly
2. Roast jalapeño and red fresno peppers. Place in paper bag to cool and sweat, remove skins and chop finely
3. Combine all peppers in a small blender and blend on low, adding small amounts of white vinegar to desired consistency (should be a usable paste)

Verdict:

A real winner – smoky, spicy-but-not-too, and compliments a wide range of other foods. Very highly recommended.


Refried Pinto Beans

Ingredients:

• 2 cups pinto beans (either from a can, or rehydrated)
• 1 head garlic
• 1 jalapeño pepper
• 1/2 white onion
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
  
• salt
• water
• vegetable oil
  

Procedure:

1. Skin garlic, and either chop very finely or combine in blender with jalapeño and onion
2. Heat oil to medium in large cast-iron skillet with high sides
3. Add garlic, pepper and onion and fry in oil for 1-2 minutes
4. Add pinto beans, salt and cumin. Mix all thoroughly.
5. Add water covering beans thoroughly; raise heat to medium-high
6. Allow beans to cook down, adding water periodically, for 30-45 minutes
7. When beans soften, begin mashing (potato masher works well), adding more water and some more oil as necessary
8. Beans will begin to stick to the pan – this is good, just make sure they don't burn too much
9. When it looks like refried beans, you're done

Verdict:

An old stand-by, this never does me wrong. Also works quite well with black beans, subbing in a section of fresh ginger root for the cumin powder.


Roast Tomatillo Salsa

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. tomatillos, de-husked and washed
• 1 jalapeño pepper
• 1/2 large white onion
• 2 roast poblano peppers
• 6 cloves garlic
• 2 limes, juiced
• white vinegar
• salt

Procedure:

1. Roast tomatillos and poblano peppers in separate pans (make sure the tomatillos are in a deep baking pan)
2. Place poblanos in paper bag to cool and sweat, remove skins and set aside
3. When tomatillos are blackened on top and beginning to fall apart, remove from oven and set aside to cool
4. Add onion, garlic, jalapeño, poblano and lime juice to blender and blend until fine
5. Add tomatillos and their juices to blender; blend until all is combined
6. Add several liberal dashes salt, and liberal pour of vinegar; blend all again, adding vinegar until reaching desired consistency (anywhere from very viscous to more liquidy)
7. Enjoy!

Verdict:

Been making this one a while and there was a little too much lime juice in this iteration, but adding the poblanos (which I did late) saved it. Very much a favorite, there's always some of this in the fridge.