Danza con el plátano

Café Viejo San Juan
1428 La Salle Ave
Waco, Texas 76706
# 254-235-2227
CafeViejo_SanJuan@yahoo.com


Ive really never had Puerto Rican food before and really don’t know much about it; so when I read about this little joint on The Waco Fork I decided I had to give them a try. So me and my dad decided to stop by earlier this week. My dad knew exactly where the place was, apparently he used to deliver mail to this place when he was still at the USPS, and that this place has been several different restaurants including Waco’s Papa Walton’s BBQ.

It’s a small little joint, decorated very vibrantly on the outside with paintings, signs and such. When we got out of the car we were hit with Puerto Rican Reggaeton; like Wisin y Yandle… which is one of my Favorite Reggaeton groups).

When you walk in you are greated by the family and hit with the smell of fried foods. We were seated (they have chairs with wheals… AWESOME) and given our menus to look over while she got our drinks. The menu was simple- apps, salads, soups, main dishes, and desserts… and only a few items in each category expect for the main dishes. I wasn’t extremely hungry so I decided to just get a main course. I decided to get something simple and something I knew, so I ordered the Arroz Blanco, Con Carne Frita—White Rice with fried meat. My dad got something similar, but the meat wasn’t fried, and I don’t remember the name.

So not too long passes and our food comes out hot and fresh. At first I’m surprised about the quantity of food, for the price, but I reminded myself that its quality not quantity. At first look the fried pork bits look over cooked and dry… but looks can be deceiving and they definitely were this time. The pork was nicely crispy on the outside, sweet and juicy on the inside with great flavor, none of the seasonings on them were overpowering the others… was excellent. Next I tried the white rice. Now anyone who cooks knows rice can be a pain to cook; It is very easy to overcook and even under cook, and it is one thing we had to nail to pass in culinary school. This rice was cooked perfectly, he nailed it. Last but not least I tried the fried plantains. For those of you who don’t know what plantains are: They are the fruit of a banana plant and are known as the “cooking banana”, since they are best eaten cooked not raw. They are also not as sweet as your dessert banana and are quite firmer. Now back to the fried plantains… they were awesome. Nice crispy crust from the frying, very fresh, and great flavor. I’ve never been a big fan of bananas and such, but these were really good and plan on adding them to my “menu” at home.

So over all I really enjoyed the food, and will be going back to try more items on their menu. There are a few things I would like to see changed; while eating there was a really odd TV show on, and it was a little loud. I know they are trying to target more of the Latin and Puerto Rican community, but the TV doesn’t need to be so loud for that. Second, I wouldn’t mind seeing little more items on the menu; it seems really limited to plantains and 5 meats. I know it’s a small joint, so for now the smaller menu works best to their advantage. Besides those 2 very minor details, I had a great experience.

To conclude I really recommend giving this new joint a try. Id love to see them stay and grow. Waco needs more places like this; diverse, fresh and that focuses on quality. Next time Im going to get the shrimp, and appetizer and dessert to expand on my experience.

Affordable Fine Dining in the 254 ; Part 2

CLOSED CLOSED CLOSED

Garretts @ 725
725 Austin Avenue, Waco, TX 76706
(254) 752-8700
Tues - Thurs: 5:00 pm-10:00 pm
Fri - Sat: 5:00 pm-12:00 am

Part 2:

I recently visited Garrett’s for a second time after seeing a Special for Spaghetti and Meatballs with a side salad for $14 and ½ off wine. I mean who can beat passing up homemade spaghetti, meatballs and ½ wines… that’s a no brainer. So I plan the night around eating dinner at Garrett’s; Have a couple beers with my cousin at the Salty Dog, Hit Garrets, listen to some music at Austin’s on the Ave, then back to the Dog to wrap up the night. I tried to get my cousin & his girlfriend to join me at Garrett’s but they already had plans to eat there the following night.

So I stop by, say high to Rebecca and take a seat at the bar. She hands me the menu and the wine list… I already know what I want to eat, so I glance around at the wines and chose a Prosecco (dry sparkling white wine). So I get my wine and place my order. While waiting on my salad (with a Caesar dressing) I talk to the Bartender and Rebecca, to see how business has been going, what they got in the works, and such.

So the salad comes, I pour on the dressing… which really doesn’t look like a Caesar dressing, but I go along with it. It was alright, definitely homemade, but it had a rather strong citrus/lemon flavor that I wasn’t too fond of. I’m not sure if that’s how they style their Caesar dressing or if they gave me the wrong one, either way I rolled with it and finished my salad. Besides the dressing not being my favorite, the vegetables were nice and fresh, as they should be.

Once I finished my salad they brought out the Spaghetti & Meat Balls with some garlic bread. The first thing I tried was the past and tomato sauce. The pasta was cooked perfectly al-dente and had a good flavor. The tomato sauce was made of freshly chopped tomatoes and onions, so it wasn’t exactly a “sauce”, but was still extremely good, fresh and flavored the pasta perfectly. On top of Spaghetti, all covered in Cheese, was 3 meat balls, all delicious and made just for me. I’m not sure what meats the meat balls were made of; but I think it was a beef/pork mixture. They were flavorful, with great seasoning and meat flavor. They were crunchy on the outside, moist on the inside. The best meat balls I’ve ever had at a restaurant. The Garlic bread was a baguette, sliced thin, buttered and lightly toasted.

Last but not least, I figured I would go all out and get something for dessert. But what, what to get. I had a toss-up between “moms” bread pudding or a chocolate mousse. So I asked Rebecca what I should get, she said both are great choices, but that they were working on a new dessert- Chocolate Cake with Peanut butter mousse, whipped cream and fresh strawberries. She had me hooked as soon as she said “peanut butter.” So I obviously I decided on that. Though to be honest I was a little worried that the chocolate was going to overpower the peanut butter flavor, as I’ve tasted in previous cases. It was awesome; neither flavor was overpowering and complimented each other very well. Topped off with whipped cream and fresh strawberries, it was a most excellent finish to a great dinner.

Not only was the meal great, but once again the staff was friendly and on top of the ball. Checking on refills of water, wine, and checking on how I liked the food. The live piano man was great, really added to the already great atmosphere. Overall it was once again a great experience and Highly Recommend Garrett’s for a great dining experience.

Hong Kong French Toast

Dave’s Hong Kong French Toast

CNN Article that Inspired this.

So a couple of days ago I came across an article that listed what they considered “World's 50 most delicious foods” and one of the items that caught my eye was “Hong Kong style French Toast.” I thought it sounded awesome, so I decided Id make some that later Sunday.

I didn’t have a recipe to go on, so I decided to just throw my own together based on the info the article gave me.

RECIPE:

→ 4 Slices, Texas Sized Sliced, White Bread
→Crunchy Peanut Butter
→1/2 Stick Butter (salted)
→1 Large Egg
→Pure Maple Syrup

For the batter:

ɷ3 Large eggs
ɷ4 Tablespoons Buttermilk
ɷ2 Tablespoons Pure Ground Cinnamon

Instructions:

ڡTake two slices of bread and spread about 1-2tbsps of peanut butter onto each slice. Then press a slice of bread onto each of those. Forming 2 peanut butter “sandwiches.”
ڡWhisk the ingredients of the batter together and pour into a square pan no bigger than 8in x 8in and no shallower than 1in. If you don’t have a square pan, you can use a bowl to, just make sure it is big enough for the bread to fit into decently.
ڡHeat the butter in a skillet, over medium heat.
ڡSoak the peanut butter “sandwiches” in the batter for a few seconds on each side.
ڡLay the “sandwiches” into the heated butter, cook on each side for 1-3 minutes…. Or until nice and golden brown. Don’t throw away the spare batter.
ڡSent the French toast aside, cover with a towel to keep warm.

ڡWhisk the extra egg into the batter and pour into the skillet to make scrambled eggs.
ڡServe the French Toast and the Eggs with real maple syrup.

-Id never used the spare batter to make scrambled eggs before, so I thought Id give it a try and they turned out real nicely. Fluffy, “eggy”, with a hint of cinnamon. If you drizzle syrup over the eggs, it makes them even better. This was by far my favorite French Toast Id ever eaten, and I eat a lot of French Toast. I hope ya’ll enjoy and play around with the recipe some to make it your own.

I will try to post new, and better pictures soon. (last edited 11/28/2012).

Mamas & Papas BBQ

The Eyes Of Texas Are Upon You
Part-9


Mama & Papa B’s Bar-Be-Que
525 S. 8th Street
Waco, Texas 76705
Bus: 754-8001
Hm: 799-6634


So one of my best friends told me about this place a couple weeks back, and that I really need to try it. She raved about the food and about the people who own it, so I figured I would give it a try.

Me and my dad decided we would go there for lunch today, he apparently has been before back when he was a mail carrier for the USPS and how packed this place gets when Baylor is in session… always a good sign.

It’s a nice small building, what you one might call a “hole in the wall”… but those are usually the best. So we go in and are greeted by the owners and workers. There is a lady in front of us placing an order and another gentle man sitting down chowing on some BBQ. I look over the menu; they have brisket, sausage, hot links, ribs, chopped, sandwiches, beans, yellow potato salad, chips, cookies, cake, and plenty of drinks to choose from. I decide on the two meat plate with Ribs, Brisket and two orders of potato salad, since I don’t do beans. My dad goes with the rib plate, beans and potato salad.

So we sit down and the first thing I try in the potato salad. The PS is very smooth and creamy, almost like mashed potatoes, very little mustard is used and a little bit of sweet relish is used to make it sweeter than “Bite.” I liked it. Next up is the ribs, covered in their BBQ sauce. The meat was tender, came off the bone very easily… but wasn’t over cooked so it still had a little crunch to it. I would’ve like to have been able to taste the meat pre-sauced, so I’ll have to request that next time I go. The sauce though was pretty good, a “hin-ish, sweet, BBQ sauce. Last but not least I tried the sliced brisket- was tender and had great texture- nice amount of smoke ring and good fat content. It too was covered in the sauce, so I'm not sure how it tasted alone… but it was still really good. I’m sure if either meat had a bad flavor it would’ve shown through the sauce. So overall I really enjoyed the food and polished off my plate.

While we were sitting down eating, a man who was is a member of the Army National Guard came in to grab a bite. My dad noticed it and the guy noticed my father’s Airborne cap. So while I finished up, that discussed the Iraq, the heat over there, and how he is still under “contract” for the guard for another 2 years. Real nice guy, really glad to be back home for a while. Before we left we chatted with the owners for a min or two about the weather and whatnot. Real nice couple… with a great place.

I will definitely be going back again to chow down on some more BBQ, and highly recommend you go give them a try. Support your local businesses and enjoy some quality BBQ.

Update Jan, 2 2012: 

So Ive been back a few times since, I actually went just a couple weeks ago... it was raining and I felt like some good ole Q. Again I got the 2 meat plate- Ribs, brisket and two sides of yellow potato salad. What can I say; it was just as good as the first time. The ribs were sweet, flavorful and tender. The brisket was equally as good. Still loving their Sweet tasty BBQ sauce and their freshly made mild mustard potato salad. I usually like my sauce on their side, but when I come here, I tell'em to pour it on. Goes great on the Q, the potatos and great to soak up with their bread. Just writing up this small little blurb is making my mouth water for some more of their Q. They have some of the best ribs, by far, in Waco and surrounding area.


Consistency is a big key to great BBQ, and they have it nailed.

I really need to start going here more often, with them being so close to home. They always have a steady flow when I go by and they have such a great family like atmosphere there.

Tell’em DavieG sent ya ;)

A Family Southern Kitchen

Raymond’s Southern Kitchen
417 S Frontage Rd
Lorena, TX 76655-9654
(254) 655-4196


So I stumbled upon this place after visiting Texas Cheese House, it is right off I-35 on the north bound side. It sounded good, cause who can’t pass up real southern cooking, so I went there for my lunch the following week. Before I went to eat there, I did a little research on the place and found out that and it is managed by the long time Waco veteran restaurant manager Raymond Carter; who used to manage Ryan's Cafeteria in Waco.

You walk in it’s a real nice homey place, friendly, and clean. You get truckers, travelers, and people from all walks of life and obviously the locals who know everyone there. Our hostess/waitress, Deborah, was very nice and had that sweet southern accent. She seated us and asked us if we’d like to eat off the menu or the buffet (single meat or all meat combos). We went with the buffet, all meat combo, cause I was hungry and wanted to try a little bit of everything.

The first thing I grabbed was some garden salad with Italian dressing, yellow potato salad, yams, mashed potatoes, and chicken fried steak fingers. All of it was great; the garden was fresh, the potato salad was creamy and had great flavor. The yams were a little different than I’ve had before, the texture was really interesting, but the flavor was there and it was great (I had two servings of them). The mashed potatoes were fresh, not that boxed crap that a lot of places are switching to. The chicken fried steak tenders were excellent, great flavor and there were tender enough to cut with my fork. Next I went and got some of the Chicken N Dumplings, some Liver N Onions, some more of the yams and throw in some steamed broccoli. I love liver n onions, so I can be really picky when it comes to eating them; these were really good, very flavorful and tender. Same with the dumpling; the chicken wasn’t dry or flavorless, and the broth had good flavor and the dumpling were good too.My dad got the same buffet deal I chose and his favorite dish was the fried catfish; had a nice light flaky batter and the fish was cooked nicely. All this just for a little over $20 for the both of us- WHAT A DEAL!

Ill definitely be going back for more of the buffet and to try some items off their menu, like the rib eye steak, their burgers, and a few other items. If you like good quality southern food (and food like Lubys serves) I definitely recommend giving this place a try. Raymonds is only a few minutes outside Waco, and has such a great selection of food for a very fair price, with a great atmosphere and service.