BS: Mexican food without chili?

Subject: BS: Mexican food without chili?
From: Santa
Date: 16 Jan 04 - 01:59 PM

We're off to San Diego in February to pester Edain, but there's a problem. I like spicy food but Mrs Santa is allergic to chili. Is it a slander that all Mexican food contains chili? Or can you recommend something we could get in restaurants/fast food places?

Subject: RE: BS: Mexican food without chili?
From: Rapparee
Date: 16 Jan 04 - 02:03 PM

Chili in Mexican food bears the same relation to the cuisine as chili in American food does: you can get it with or without. Ask the person who takes your order if you have doubts.

Subject: RE: BS: Mexican food without chili?
From: Sorcha
Date: 16 Jan 04 - 02:04 PM

Is she allergic to ALL the caspicums? There is Mexican food w/o chile but you have to hunt for it....

Subject: RE: BS: Mexican food without chili?
From: Bill D
Date: 16 Jan 04 - 02:11 PM

any really decent Mexican restaurant will have dishes for those who don't like hot foods or who have allergies.

Subject: RE: BS: Mexican food without chili?
From: GUEST,heric
Date: 16 Jan 04 - 03:52 PM

You must go to Pokez. I don't know about food allergies, but even if she has to watch you eat, or even stand outside, you must go to Pokez. Trust me on this.

Subject: RE: BS: Mexican food without chili?
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 16 Jan 04 - 04:07 PM

Better Mexican restaurants have many dishes without chili. Snapper veracruzano, for example, especially with a good escabeche sauce.

Subject: RE: BS: Mexican food without chili?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Jan 04 - 04:34 PM

There are many Mexican dishes made without chili in them. That's like asking if you can get American food without cheese in it.

Subject: RE: BS: Mexican food without chili?
From: open mike
Date: 16 Jan 04 - 04:35 PM

is she sensitive to anaheim peppers? they are the main ingredient in
chili relleno, but are not hot, like cayenne pepper is..
some mex. restaurant have a corn dish that is yummy-sort of a pudding
made of whole corn kernals...some times made into cakes called
Zopitos or Sopitos...often made into a tostada like concoction...
with beans or meat, salad , sour cream or guacamole on top. she could leave off the salsa.

Subject: RE: BS: Mexican food without chili?
From: artbrooks
Date: 16 Jan 04 - 06:18 PM

Like they all said...   Anyway, the use of chilis in Mexican food is a regional thing, and when we (citizens of the US) refer to Mexican food we are actually thinking of the cuisine of the states of Sonora and Chihuahua. For an entirely different taste, look for a restaurant that specializes in the food of Yucutan or the Vera Cruz region. A real brief web search comes up with this one:
Palenque
1653 Garnet Avenue
Pacific Beach
[phone]

Subject: RE: BS: Mexican food without chili?
From: Santa
Date: 16 Jan 04 - 07:02 PM

I can assure you that the only Mexican food we get in the UK contains lots of chili.... but then the only US food we get is hamburgers. From here is not the best place to judge such things. From reading the guide books I get the impression that the Mexican food available in the States, even in San Diego, is only a small and unrepresentative sample of the nation's cuisine. It is, however, the sample that we will be most exposed to. We'd like to try it, but have to be careful.

A special thank you to those who made specific suggestions. Please add more. That snapper sounds interesting, it would make a nice comparison with the one we had in Athens,but I guess fish would be a fairly predictable "safe" alternative.

Subject: RE: BS: Mexican food without chili?
From: GUEST, heric
Date: 16 Jan 04 - 07:45 PM

Not to be critical of Mr. Brook's reference as he said it was just an example from a search, but:

" This is the only Mexican restaurant in San Diego!" proclaims [Palenques] owner Leonardo Vilchis, and I have to admit, I'm perplexed. This close to the Mexican border? I know that can't be true. Mr. Vilchis elaborates: "Americans eat this food which is shit! What these guys call Mexican food insults Mexico." Now I'm starting to get the picture. . . . "

Yikes.

http://www.sallys-place.com/food/dining_directory/north_america/san_diego.htm

Pokez is beautiful inside and out:
pokez
It's authentic San Diego is what it is.

Subject: RE: BS: Mexican food without chili?
From: artbrooks
Date: 16 Jan 04 - 08:29 PM

Huuum...looks like you'd catch something walking into Pokez...anyway, what I searched on was "Yucatan," so there are certainly many more Mexican restaurants in San Diego. Of course, there are 95 listed in the Albuquerque phone book...

Subject: RE: BS: Mexican food without chili?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Jan 04 - 09:29 PM

I lived at the Mexican border in Lukeville, Arizona, when I was a park ranger at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. It was 2 miles into Sonoyta, Sonora, but it was 35 miles to the nearest U.S. town (Ajo, Arizona). So I shopped and ate in Mexico a lot. You could eat Mexican, American, or Chinese food in restaurants in town. I ate Mexican when I was there, I didn't often have spicy hot dishes, and there were many meals without chile at all. There were wonderful chicken and beef dishes, fish and fish soup, salads, casseroles, all without chili. Milanesa, a form of chicken-fried steak, was a favorite. In Texas a dish like that comes with gravy, in Mexico it didn't. (At least, in that part of Mexico). The Gulf of California was about 80 miles away and there was wonderful shrimp (I loved shrimp soaked in garlic) and fish available. There are many fancy breads and sweet breads (pan dulce) for breakfast or snacks. Grocery stores carry a large variety of goods, only a portion of it containing chili. And if all else fails, there is the cerveza. . .Negra Modelo is my favorite!

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Mexican food without chili?
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 16 Jan 04 - 10:38 PM

I fondly remember all the breads and partries in Mexico. Always left a bakery with more than I could (or should) eat.
Negra modelo reminds me of a draft dark beer we used to drink in Austin, Texas, years ago.

Subject: RE: BS: Mexican food without chili?
From: jaze
Date: 17 Jan 04 - 09:40 PM

The only American food available in England is hamburgers?? I'm shocked. No fried chicken?

Subject: RE: BS: Mexican food without chili?
From: CarolC
Date: 17 Jan 04 - 10:00 PM

I don't know how traditional this is, but when I eat in Mexican restaurants, I often have grilled vegetable fajitas. I've never noticed any chilis in those. And I usually ask for extra guacamole to go with my meal, and I don't think I've ever noticed any chilis in any of the guacamole I've had either.

Good luck to Mrs. Santa. I have some food allergies myself, and I know how difficult it can be to find something to eat in restaurants.

Subject: RE: BS: Mexican food without chili?
From: Santa
Date: 18 Jan 04 - 04:28 AM

Apologies, you can indeed get fried chicken. At least that's what it says on the sign.

Silly River Sage: I hadn't linked American food with cheese before. Is that why Bush want to go to the moon?

Subject: RE: BS: Mexican food without chili?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Jan 04 - 11:11 AM

Sometimes things right under our noses are all but invisible. I have to avoid diary products to keep my sinuses clear, and eating out is often a challenge. Cheese and milk turn up in lots of foods here. That doesn't necessarily make it only an American characteristic, however.

It's always safe to eat in Chinese restaurants, because dairy is rarely if ever used. Restaurants in the states that serve "Mexican" (or "Tex-Mex" down here in Texas) food often have tons of tomato sauce and cheese, something that I didn't find when I ate in Mexico. The places where I ate in Sonoyta were more likely to give you guacamole on top of your food than give you a cheese sauce. And instead of the sour cream we see in the states they used a "crema media," or a medium-weight cream product, runny compared to sour cream but thicker than regular cream. (It is more the consistency of a cultured dairy product my Dad used to make called "villi" and a search should bring up information on that because we've discussed it before).

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Mexican food without chili?
From: GUEST,Santa
Date: 19 Jan 04 - 05:03 AM

OK, as it has cropped up several times, what's "guacamole"?

(OK, I'm ignorant. Better that than ignorant and staying that way by choice.)

Subject: RE: BS: Mexican food without chili?
From: artbrooks
Date: 19 Jan 04 - 08:45 AM

Guacamole is basically mashed ripe avocado. Jenn makes hers with just a bit of lemon juice added.

Subject: RE: BS: Mexican food without chili?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Jan 04 - 11:22 AM

Good guacamole in my book has some onion and isn't shy about it's garlic content. There are some good commercial brands available now that you buy fresh and eat right away or it freezes well. When I make it I sometimes spoon in a little mild picante sauce. Lemon juice keeps it from oxidizing (turning an unappetizing brown).

Avacado is mostly oil, but it is one of those "good" oils you read about. It's much healthier for you than sour cream or cheese on a dish, if you have your choice.

If you ordered it in the Mexican restaurants where I ate, you called it "aguacate." If you're like me and don't speak much Spanish, then the trick was to point at the bare part of the plate and say "mas aguacate, por favor." This was often times accompanied by the request for "mas chips."

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Mexican food without chili?
From: CarolC
Date: 19 Jan 04 - 11:35 AM

I can't eat dairy either, so when I ask for extra quacamole, it's to replace the sour cream. The best I've had in a restaurant so far is what they make at a great little Mexican restaurant near here. On the menu, they have what they call a "guacamole cart". One of the staff (all of whom seem to come from south of the border) comes out with a tray on legs, with a gnarly looking mortar and pestle that look like they are made from volcanic rock. There are three big avocados on the tray, and five bowls containing chopped onion, chopped tomatoes, chopped cilantro, lime wedges (for squeezing), and salt, plus a pepper grinder.

The waiter or waitress cuts open the avocado, scoops it into the mortar, and mashes it up while you watch. Then he or she asks you which of the other items you want in your guacamole. I ask for everything but the black pepper. As I said, it's the best I've ever had in a restaurant.

Subject: RE: BS: Mexican food without chili?
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 20 Jan 04 - 11:25 AM

My system can't handle hot food. It doesn't matter whether the source is chilis, jalapenos, cayenne or black pepper. I have tried asking to have my food mild in restaurants, with varying degrees of success. Sometimes it's mild. Sometimes, apparently, the concept of food that isn't hot is unthinkable.

My advice is to make Mexican at home and go to other restaurants when you want to eat out.

Subject: RE: BS: Mexican food without chili?
From: M.Ted
Date: 21 Jan 04 - 12:58 AM

The idea that you can't get real Mexican food in San Diego is absurd,San Diego used to be part of Mexico--and as to Yucatan, if I remember correctly, San Diego is farther from Yucatan than it is from Minneapolis--re-reading the first post, though, it is possible that Santa was under the mis-impression that all the food in San Diego is Mexican--The main thing is that the food in San Diego is generally pretty good, no matter what kind it is--

Subject: RE: BS: Mexican food without chili?
From: GUEST,Santa
Date: 21 Jan 04 - 05:01 AM

No, I think that I've a pretty good idea about the variety of food in San Diego. Including references to "real" Mexican restaurants. I've absolutely no need to eat Mexican-style, but I'd rather like to try some whilst avoiding the problem of my wife's allergy. In the UK, Mexican food is equated with the "throw some more curry in, luv, I like 'em hot!" crowd and we are increasingly finding chillis added to everything, fairly blindly. I've no feel for the true range of the Mexican national cuisine, and am quite sure it is wider than it might appear from here.

Plus, I have read enough comments about Tex-Mex and similar to feel that much Mexican food on sale in the US just might be aimed at a similar indiscriminate clientele. The way the San Diego ads stress the real Mexican cuisine of certain restaurants does rather imply something about the rest of them - it may just be a matter of styles rather than substance but we'd prefer to be prepared.

Eating Mexican at home is not an option here. Unless we find something really nice whilst we're out there.

Subject: RE: BS: Mexican food without chili?
From: CarolC
Date: 21 Jan 04 - 10:29 AM

In the UK, Mexican food is equated with the "throw some more curry in, luv, I like 'em hot!" crowd and we are increasingly finding chillis added to everything, fairly blindly.

That's definitely not the case here in the US. Some Mexican restaurants in the US may be like that, but there are just as many that are not.

The vegetable fajitas I like to order (when available) are just grilled vegetables (usually squash, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, and bell peppers), with flour tortillas to wrap them in. You can put salsa on them if you want, but that's purely optional. I like to put some of the refritos (refried beans) and rice that comes with the fajitas in the tortilla with the veggies, and top it off with some guacamole. There's no chilis or anything else that's hot in this combination unless I add salsa.

Subject: RE: BS: Mexican food without chili?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Jan 04 - 10:45 AM

One would do well to make a distinction between individually owned Mexican restaurants and the American chains of restaurants that have mass-produced food that they call "Mexican." I eat at a wonderful little Mexican restaurant in the town where I work. They have what one sees as "typical" food most Americans are familiar with, but they also make regional specialties. Mexico is a large country, and expecting the food to all be the same is like expecting food from Seattle to be the same as food from New Orleans.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Mexican food without chili?
From: M.Ted
Date: 21 Jan 04 - 12:13 PM

Don't worry too much--Mexican food in the US and Mexico is most likely completely unrelated to what you get in the UK--incidentally, no "curry" in it at all--for a lot of dishes, the only spiciness comes from the salsa, which is applied to the food at the discretion of the eater--Also, peppers are Chiles," Chili" is a meat and pepper stew that may or may not have beans in it(we had a fairly heated discussion about this here, not that long ago), and is really American rather than Mexican--

Subject: RE: BS: Mexican food without chili?
From: GUEST,heric
Date: 21 Jan 04 - 12:14 PM

The term "spicy," did not suggest to me a yearning for an anthroepicurean odyssey of gastronomic proportions. For that, I would suggest the similarly low priced Berta's in Old Town, with an eclectic mix of dishes from various South American countries. I believe the owners are Chilean. You can get spicy there, as well as a multitude of options for Mrs. Santa. If the search is for Mexican haught cuisine, I don't believe the restaurant will be promoted as "Mexican." My best guess in that regard, without actualy checking, would be Loew's.