My Mexican Second Home

Sorry for the lack of updates recently. This is the first time in a while that I remembered to ask a friend to take pictures of food before it got devoured in a grisly scene.

This post concerns my favorite Mexican spot in New Brunswick, NJ. Now, I'd love to give you the address and name of this place, but I'm afraid the NBPD might go there and break up our good time...........kinda-inside jokes aside, this could be any number of Mexican places in New Brunswick that doesn't have "Burrito" or "Bell" or "Cantina" in the name. Basically, in New Brunswick, you find a place with a name and menu that's in Spanish, in a neighborhood you wouldn't want to live in, and go there. That'll be where the good food is, I promise. This is one of those places. It's across the street from a bar on French St. that has an astounding number of transexual prostitutes hanging around it at all times, day and night. So you can imagine why I've taken such pleasure in walking there after a night at a non-tranny bar with a bunch of punk rockers and such.

Backstory on this joint: I was first taken here by my friend Vic Ruggiero and some friends after a night of spinning records at the Court Tavern (before I was old enough to legally drink there). I was blown away by the THREE fresh salsas they give you (a red, a green, and a pico de gallo) with chips, as well as the $4.00 pricetag on a burrito the size of my thigh. I've since taken an untold number of friends there for a taste of some phenominal, authentic Oaxaca-Mexico cuisine. In my hayday I was there 1-3 times a week. Various jerks I used to hang out with who were free Monday nights and Tuesday mornings would gather at our local watering hole, then at last call, we'd walk over to this spot, as they don't close until 3 AM. We closed the restaurant on more than one occasion. These were carefree days of innocence and beauty, when growing up was the last thing on any of our minds. Mondays were like any other night of the week: PARTY NIGHT.

So fast-forward 4 years, and here I am with one of the very same jerks I used to close the place with; a man called Jay Insult. I can no longer party like I could in the old days (a whopping 4 years ago), so I leave all the partying to Jay. On this night, we made a pre-bar run to the secret spot, as we would sometimes do back in the good ol' days, although now I don't pile beers and more Mexican food on top of it. We ordered what we'd normally order: I got a burrito al pastor (with seasoned, tender pork), and he got a vegetarian burrito without lettuce (he's a freak). The prices went WAY up to $4.50 or $5.00 for a burrito, but we carefully pick change out of our friends' couches and car floors and make up the difference in price. Let me now take an entire paragraph to explain something about these burritos.

Now, I know you're not supposed to judge a Mexican joint by their burritos, because burritos are bullshit gringo food, and restaurants in Oaxaca don't serve them. But these are awesome, and transend gringo burrito bullshit. They're huge, and you don't eat them with your hands, but with a knife and fork. They come with lettuce and tomato on top, as well as a nice salty grated cheese (akin to pecorino romano) and crema. They're stuffed with meat, rice and beans, veggies, and sometimes a little cheese. They're an intense burrito experience. The main reasons we mainly get burritos are: the price, and the fact that every other item on the menu (priced 6-8 dollars or so) is enormous and requires a to-go box, and there's no room for leftovers when you're walking with them to a bar, or what have you. That being said, I've never gotten a meal there I didn't like, and I've tried a variety of dishes. The salsas here are my favorite, as they're very fresh, and you know this because they're different every time you come. Sometimes one is hot, the next time it's not. Sometimes one is really salty, and other times it's kinda bland. You can always count on at least 2 of the 3 being winners, and one being so-so. As Meatloaf once sang, however, 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

I've got plenty of awesome stories about this place, and could honestly do a weekly blog just about this restaurant, but I'll spare you all the gory details and let you experience it for yourself. This place is as good for a meal as it is for entertainment from a cast of characters that comes through the doors almost constantly. Here's pictures of our meal, and some of the awesome dudes you may encounter on French St.

PS: If I've never taken you here, and I know you, it's your fault. I'm always down to go here, so force me to take you. And if you go without me, brush up on your Spanish before going, because you'll likely have a tough time ordering in English!

My Burrito
Jay's burrito

Awesome dudes. Grimey and awesome.

My first Peruvian expedition

So this kid I know that sometimes goes by "Marz", whom I got Pho'ed recently, hails from Peru. Well, really he hails from Long Island originally, but his parents are from Peru. So he knows some stuff about his native food....as well as Peruvian food. My friends Frank and Aimee from Toms River wanted to try something different (we got Kabobs a few weeks back), so I called Marz to get some advice regarding what to order at the Peruvian spot in Toms River called Chim Pum Callao. He dropped some knowledge on me, because I didn't know what I was in for. The weather sucked, and the mood was kinda dim. My last food adventure was rather weak, which hit me where it hurt, and I needed a success to get me back on the horse, so to speak. We rolled into the EMPTY restaurant armed with a few things to look for on the menu and a complete lack of experience eating Peruvian food.

We started with some Escabeche de pollo as an appetizer, as Marz had suggested we try. WOW. Tangy and flavorful, slightly crispy, with awesome fried potatoes and onions. Amazing. I got a steak meal with rice, fried plantains, a fried egg, and french fries on the side. The steak was well-marinated and thin, but tender. Everything was presented expertly. Frank got a braised pork dish in a tomato-based sauce. Aimee got some arroz con pollo that was green in color, and packed with flavor. Everything had spices that I couldn't completely figure out. It was unpredictable in the BEST way. I then went ahead and researched Peruvian food and found that it's among the most diverse and multi-faceted in the world, pulling from influences reaching all over the globe. I wish I could tell you exactly what flavors tickled my tongue tonight, but I literallly don't know! That fact makes tonight's meal the most exciting one I've eaten in a while.

I feel like I need more visits to this fine establishment to better explore the menu and pick the brains of the friendly staff, as well as my Peruvian comrade. If you want in, let me know. Here's a few pictures of the things we tried tonight. There will be a follow-up visit, for sure.

This BBQ was so EXXXTREME!

Okay, this post doesn't involve eating out, unfortuntately for everyone involved. It was actually eating in, down south of Toms River where I've been living all summer. There's a BBQ joint down there called Ben's Extreme BBQ that sounded like it would be good for blogging about. I mean, I'm an EXTREME kinda dude, and I love BBQ, so this should be a sure win. So last time I tried going there with my friend "Rick Moranis" my car died and it was a major bummer. This time I said screw this, I'll get take-out and we'll eat at my house.

I got some different stuff to sample, hoping to find the EXTREME, FACE-MELTING awesome BBQ I'd dreamed of. Got some hot links, pulled pork, ribs, brisket, burnt ends, collared greens, mac 'n cheese, and baked beans. The selection of meats was extreme, and the place is this tiny little shack with about 2 tables and 4 different sauces to sample on your BBQ. I felt like that should be an extreme feast that would surely turn my hair white and/or sterilize me or SOMETHING. Unfortunately, I'm not sterile (sorry ladies) and still have brown hair. The BBQ, while tasty, was not particularly EXTREME. The beans were kinda boring, greens had little character, and everything kinda seemed like it'd been sitting around for a while. Rick Moranis was hoping for some EXTREME food adventure, and I don't really think I provided it. But, we did have a good evening of eating out/in New Jersey.

Here's a photo of my being cautious, afraid that the BBQ might be too extreme, even for ME!

And EXTREME BBQ CLOSE-UP: