Straight talk ("honest") about Kansas Ave. Mexican Restaurants, Kansas City, KS

[Pete]

Flour tortilla's are not too common in Mexico, seems like Ninfa sold out to the Flour Man.

hey, pete.  i like you a lot more than whoever i just replied to, so i'm going to reply nicer.  my friendly advice is to just evaluate stuff on how it tastes, not on whether or not you think it is "authentic".  for one thing, you don't know what is authentic, and for another thing, it doesn't matter.

I like the idea that there is one style of "authentic" Mexican food, despite Mexico being a fairly large country. Like Louisiana has the same "authentic" food as New York.

Wrong, dumb dumb.

[EMAWmeister]

Why are we not talking about the segmented paper plates?

[Pete]

Why are we not talking about the segmented paper plates?

It's a frugal choice that I respect.

[EMAWmeister]

Why are we not talking about the segmented paper plates?

It's a frugal choice that I respect.

In no way was I saying it was a bad thing

[sys]

I was told that in Northern Mexico (the crap hole and pit of despair of all of Mexico) they can't grow corn as effectively and resort to flour.  I was told that 90%+ of the rest of Mexico prefers corn over flour.  Please correct me if I was mis-informed.

I should add a disclaimer that I don't consider the dirty ass border towns of Northern Mexico to be authentic traditional Mexican fare.  I hope that doesn't offend anyone.

the part about nortenos eating more flour tortillas (really, it's not everywhere in the north, and in most places in the north except sonora most people prolly eat more corn than flour) and most of the rest of the mexico eating mostly corn is true, but it's more nuanced than that (like some foods you normally eat/make with flour tortillas no matter where you are; and everyone everywhere tends to eat what they happen to prefer, be it corn, flour or bread, all of which are commonly available everywhere).

it's also not true that northern mexico is a shithole, or that southern and/or central mexican cuisine is more mexican than northern mexican cuisine.

it's also true that it seems harder to make a good corn tortilla than a good flour tortilla.  most flour tortillas are at least decent.  a lot of corn tortillas are horrible (some are great).

[Pete]

I will obviously defer to you on Mexicanity, but flour tortillas are poop in my book.

[steve dave]

pete, did you see any nachos?

[gato montes]

One thing I haven't seen on any of these menus is chile rellenos. They are one of the first things I try at most Mexican restaurants. Always important to know whether they are made with real green chiles or poblano peppers. Poblano peppers tend to be meatier, which makes it easier to stuff without falling apart, but they really lack in flavor IMO. Green chiles on the other hand are thinner and more difficult to keep whole, raising the craftsmanship level, but the flavor is undeniably better.

Something to look for even if you don't order it is the enchiladas. Do they offer the option to add an egg on top? If not, not an authentic Mexican place. Also, do you get the option of smothered in red or green chile (real green chile sauce not tomatillos)?

gmafb.

  You obviously don't give the chile enough credit. T's and P's for your tastebuds.

[8manpick]

Flour tortilla's are not too common in Mexico, seems like Ninfa sold out to the Flour Man.

hey, pete.  i like you a lot more than whoever i just replied to, so i'm going to reply nicer.  my friendly advice is to just evaluate stuff on how it tastes, not on whether or not you think it is "authentic".  for one thing, you don't know what is authentic, and for another thing, it doesn't matter.

I like the idea that there is one style of "authentic" Mexican food, despite Mexico being a fairly large country. Like Louisiana has the same "authentic" food as New York.

Wrong, dumb dumb.

[Dr Rick Daris]

pete, did you see any nachos?

sd doing recon for the next time he's hammered at 2am in kck

[Pete]

pete, did you see any nachos?

I'll bet Ninfa's has them!  They probably make them in slider form and on a stick.

[Pete]

Flour tortilla's are not too common in Mexico, seems like Ninfa sold out to the Flour Man.

hey, pete.  i like you a lot more than whoever i just replied to, so i'm going to reply nicer.  my friendly advice is to just evaluate stuff on how it tastes, not on whether or not you think it is "authentic".  for one thing, you don't know what is authentic, and for another thing, it doesn't matter.

I like the idea that there is one style of "authentic" Mexican food, despite Mexico being a fairly large country. Like Louisiana has the same "authentic" food as New York.

Wrong, dumb dumb.

You have it backwards.  There are "American" style foods and even restaurants who claim to produce "American Fare" (e.g. J. Alexander's, Houston's, etc.).

They are saying that their foods are broadly recognized as "American."

Corn Tortillas (maize) are by far and away more common across Mexico than flour (wheat)....and as such are a more traditional Mexican food.  Similarl to how Hamburgers with cheddar cheese and bacon are a more traditional American food than corned  beef on Rye,  but you'll find as much or more corned beef on rye in neighborhoods of NYC than you will a burger.

[Mikeyis4dcats]

I just ate a cool ranch taco....where does that fit in?

[8manpick]

I see what you mean Pete, but I guess if I was eating American food as a foreigner, I would call burgers, barbecue, hot dogs, mac and cheese, and jambalaya all authentically "American"

[steve dave]

I see what you mean Pete, but I guess if I was eating American food as a foreigner, I would call burgers, barbecue, hot dogs, mac and cheese, and jambalaya all authentically "American"

jambalaya is caribbean

[8manpick]

I see what you mean Pete, but I guess if I was eating American food as a foreigner, I would call burgers, barbecue, hot dogs, mac and cheese, and jambalaya all authentically "American"

jambalaya is caribbean

not Cajun? Is NY style pizza American or Italian? America is a bad example due to our melting potness.

[steve dave]

America is a bad example due to our melting potness.

yeah, also a very young country (obv. not counting those filthy natives)

[CHONGS]

I like all tortillas and their cousins.  A fresh corn tortilla is great and imho better than flour.

Authentic food is pretty nebulous.  You'll find it very hard for people to agree what qualifies something as authentic or not. 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

[8manpick]

I like all tortillas and their cousins.  A fresh corn tortilla is great and imho better than flour.

Authentic food is pretty nebulous.  You'll find it very hard for people to agree what qualifies something as authentic or not. 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

Kansas City style is obviously the most authentic barbecue

[Dr Rick Daris]

i make a very authentic spaghetti. what makes it great is that i don't just use jar sauce, i also cut up my own onions and tomatoes.

[8manpick]

I guess the true baseline for authentic Mexican food is La Hacienda right there in mhk.

[Pete]

In this week's episode, I re-visted a past location with a special guest....THAT GUEST WILL POST THEIR STRAIGHT TALK LATER TODAY!

[pissclams]

 

[JavaCat]

Any of these places serve sopaipillas for dessert and/or horchata?

[Dugout DickStone]

It was with a great measure of trepidation that I called Pete to get involved with this "Straight Talk" project.  But I had several questions that needed answering.  Unfortunately, I find myself left with new unanswered questions.

At approximately 11:21 I called pete to meet me at El Pollo Rey.  I was going to jump head first into this project and boy did I.  I met Pete in the parking lot of this place and we got to work.

1.  Ambience.  It is pretty great.  The parking lot smells of a wood fire.  My jacket now also smells like I was burning off brush out on the north 40.  But it is a good wood smoke smell with a hint of food to it.  The restaurant has a great grill being covered in quartered chicken behind the counter.  Promotional posters for the next norteno concert are on the windows and Mexican television is playing loudly on a t.v. over the sodas cooler.  No music was a huge minus but the adorable 8 month old girl with pierced ears behind the counter made up for it.  A-

2.  Food.  Pretty great.  I got the half AND ordered the whole avacado to go with it.  This even threw a veteran Straight Talker like Pete a curve.  The avacado was sectioned lengthwise and the nice lady behind the counter even let me look at the slices and decide if I wanted it./  Kind of like a sommelier handing you the cork and pouring a taster.  Except I didn't get to actually taste it.  I went with Pete's suggestion of pulling the meat off and making mini tacos with the rice, chicken, avacado hunks, pickled onions, corn tortillas and salsa.  Which however was pureed to a fine apple sauce like mash that made it look almost dessert like.  This raised a new question in my mind.  Did they in fact run their salsa through a food processor?  Is this authentic?  Does this give it better flavor (the answer is no, IMHO).  I have got to find out.  The pinto beans with the hunks of pork in it are pretty average.  There was a lot of fat in there, I'm not going to lie to you muchachos. The other downside to the food is the lack of a "crunch" i.e. no chips or other such items.  But the chicken does taste as good as advertised.  I could have easily taken down a whole bird.  B+

3.  People.  Pete adeptly noticed a business man take down a half bird in about 4 mintues, foregoing anything but his hands and an appetite for grilled chicken.  Lots of workers sharing wholes.  taking down real Cokes in glass bottles.  Pretty quiet though.  I guess the cold weather has everyone in kind of a funk.  B


Anyway, this has been Straight Talk featuring LSOC.