On the way to a coffeeshop last Sunday, I thought I would avoid the inflated prices of cafe pastries by buying lunch at a grocery store along the way.
I ended up blowing about $15 on various tastees at the MGM South Asian grocery, tucked into a hidden corner of a strip mall (Burnet&Richcreek).
Note the Virginia Brand Spice Soda at the lower right. The third ingredient is salt (after carbonated water and sugar). It tastes like a spicey masala explosion. It’s as close as ‘pop’ can get to being a savory meal. I couldn’t stop drinking it, despite it’s absolutely revolting taste.
A last-second impulse purchase, the "kulfi" bar hit the spot in the texas heat.
Real cream and milk with chunks of pistacios.
The bagged snack food tasted a lot like the "spice soda" only crunchy.
Which is to say they were delicious. What a difference being solid makes.
The two-minute noodles are exactly like the familiar ramen, only with a "masala tastemaker" instead of a soup-base packet.
It also brags on the cover "Taste Bhi, Health Bhi." Is that supposed to be a pun?
I had thought "Grandma’s Fish Pickle" would be a lot like the pickled herring of my own cultural background. I was wrong.
The fish bits were hard and stringy, like a good beef jerky. The taste is like a drywall screw in the eye, all salt and sesame oil and tumeric and vinegar.
I should make a diet scheme that is all Indian pickles. Two bites of this stuff will give you enough flavor to last the next twelve hours.
El Rincon Michoacan (@Airport&51st) used to be pretty run down and sketchy, but some young and ambitious management has cleaned it up. They make some truly delicious salsa from smoked peppers.
The tamale plate came with sauce-soaked pechuga (chicken breast) and tamales wrapped in banana leaves. The tamales were some sort of flat and rubbery bean and corn thing. In the absence of further instruction, we used it as we would a tortilla.
As we entered the restaurant, a couple of old ladies on their way out informed us that the gorditas (little fatties) were particularly tasty. And they were.
Just remember not to refer to the "gordita plate" as "mi gordito plate." Because the latter is pretty dirty.
