Hey Man, Can't We All Just Get Along?
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Phillyist’s special affinity for all things Texas isn’t just because it’s the state of our birth. No, no, guys and gals. Phillyist also really loves Mexican food. Like, enough that we’ve started importing ingredients every time we go back to visit our parents.
One thing we can make without specialty ingredients is salsa fresca (that is to say, salsa using fresh vegetables as opposed to roasted ones). This recipe can be made quickly and easily using produce you can find at just about any grocery store or produce stand – but make sure it’s really fresh.
Salsa Fresca
Four Roma tomatoes
Two jalapeño peppers (seeded and de-veined if you want the recipe to be less spicy)
One tomatillo (see our first post if you’re not sure what that means)
Two cloves of garlic
Cilantro, fresh lime juice, salt, pepper (to taste)
Puree first four ingredients in blender or food processor until lumpy (if it’s too smooth, you’ll have gazpacho). Chop additional tomatoes and jalapeños finely and add to mixture, if desired. Blend with desired amount of cilantro and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper.
This recipe is great with tortilla chips, but it also makes a great ingredient in traditional Mexican recipes or as an alternative to spaghetti sauce (toss pasta with salsa, grilled chicken, and black beans).
Note to readers: Phillyist doesn’t usually cook with onions due to a minor food intolerance. Feel free to add onion to this recipe (salsa fresca traditionall has onions in it), but be careful! The flavor of raw onions can overpower the delicate taste of the recipe. We’d recommend no more than a handful of chopped onions.
Image via America's Harvest.
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I used to eat at Zocalo literally every other day. (It's just down the street from my apartment.) Then I found out that one of the bartenders is a Bush supporter, and I haven't been there for a month. (The thing he said that pissed me off the most was, "Well, I'm entitled to my opinion." As in, "I'm entitled not to listen to contrary facts and arguments." Yes, you're legally entitled to be an idiot and a terrible citizen and still vote, but I'm not going to support people like that. And I was frequently the only customer there in the afternoon, not having had time to eat lunch prior to class.) Nonetheless, I've been a little silly about all this, and I should start going back... but I'm not eating at the bar if that guy's tending. (It's not that I hate all Republicans, or even all Bush supporters. Some annoy me more than others.)
I've never tried Copabanana, or whatever that place is. Though at my prior Philly apartment I lived just a few blocks down from a renowned (multi-best-of-Philly-awards-winning) cheap Mexican place. As well as Philly's most renowned cheap sushi place (which I was a little more ambivalent about... though it was great that I could pick up mochi just down the street).)
As a teenager one of my favorite restaurants was a haute Mexican place in the suburbs---they claimed to serve the French-Mexican fusion cuisine developed during the French occupation of Mexico. They had incredible flan.
Odd how hard it is to find, say, tilapia tacos around here. Or lime soup. But Philly's a pretty good ceviche town, between Pasion! and Alma de Cuba and the rest (though these are not Mexican...).