Our good friend "Alle" just got back from Mexico and had some great omiyagi for us. Among the goodies was some Chapulines. She told me they were from Mercado de San Juan and were among the best she's ever had. We had come to really enjoy chapulines during our time visiting Oaxaca and nothing here we've gotten here in the states compares.
In case you don't know what chapulines is, here's the Wikipedia page. It's basically roasted grasshopper and has a smoky, almost shrimpy flavor, with a crunchy texture.
Man, these were so good!
The Missus was really enjoying this with Her avocado toast or on eggs or with some Mezcal, but She wanted to have these for brunch.
So, we headed on over to Carnival Market and got some of the house made chicharron.
So, with the chopped chicharron and the chapulines….
With some of the house made tortilla chips, grape tomatoes, perfectly ripe avocado, salsa verde, salsa habanero, white onion, micro cilantro….you get the picture……some hipster chilaquiles.
But let's not forget what chapulines brings to this….
Thanks again Alle!
Hope you're having a great weekend!
These seem a little smaller than I recall, but the sausage was nicely grilled and the proportion of ingredients seemed right, so one could enjoy the salty-sweet-savory flavors of the "bouncy" nem nuong and the crunch of the crisp egg roll wrapper. The wrapping was done perfectly, neither too loose nor too tight which would make the rolls tougher, creating what I'd call "bad botox spring rolls". The sauce was as before slightly sweet-sour, with garlic and umami tones. I does seem a bit more watered down than I recalled.
I did notice that one of the shrimp was "MIA". Still, the Missus enjoys the crisp rice flour cup/shell, which has a hint of coconut. The shrimp were plump and tender, nicely cooked. These are quite a treat with the mung beans, pickled veggies, the anise-citrusy tiet to (perilla), and the slightly sweet-chili-fish sauce concoction.
The poppy seed bun was adequately fluffy, the sport peppers spicy, of course there was the radioactive green relish. The dog had a nice snap, I'd expect no less from a Vienna Beef wiener, though for some reason it seemed a bit thinner than what I'm used too? Everything else was in line; pickle wedge, check, tomato slices, check. A bit too heavy handed with the celery salt, but this was a decent Chicago Dog. 
Soon enough the steaming bowl of pho arrived. It was chock full of cilantro and scallion. Hot but not overly so. I had a taste of the broth; which had been decently defatted, looking perhaps too clear. It had hints of anise and beefiness, though it did go in the direction of being "San Diego sweet" in flavor. Still, it was not bad.
Best of all, the noodles weren't overcooked, something that I've been running into recently.
Loved how the broth had a nice, even fat content, but it was too salty and had me chugging water for the rest of the day.
This was a nice bowl. The highlights were the wonderful soft poached egg, which added a wonderful creaminess to things. And the noodles, slippery, springy, with a nice chewiness. This was much better than expected. The broth didn't seem hot enough for me, though I did like how the soy sauce, and light sweetness balanced out the dashi in the "BK" (I remember when they called this, ahem bukakke) sauce.
The scallions are a must as they add a bit of "sharpness" to things, though the agedama really helps with textural contrast initially, it'll get soggy quick, though it does add another range of textures to things. As for the beef, which is like beef teriyaki, they call it "sweet beef" on the menu and they weren't kidding. It was chewy and overly sweet for my taste.
For now, we're in need of more escargot and boudin blanc. I like the folks here, they are friendly, and are always ready with some tips and recommendations on using the products they sell.
All sandwiches come with a pickle wedge. This was a straight forward, no-nonsense 3 meat (Salami-Mortadella-Cappicola) on a French Roll. There provolone, with Italian Dressing and mayo. I enjoyed that the sandwich wasn't over-dressed. It was a bit too much bread to "stuffs" ratio. I prefer the almost same version of the sandwich is better at 
Not sure about the how or why the name of the sandwich was earned. But this was a turkey and mortadella on sourdough. I enjoyed the heat brought on by the jalapenos, but it was over-dressed, with too much "chipotle" (only in spirit) aioli. Again, the amount of protein was decent in proportion, though folks wanting a super stuffed sandwich would not be satisfied….but really, would you get one for under ten bucks these days?
So, the rye bread was nicely toasted which held up to the generous amount of Thousand Island dressing. In keeping with the previous sandwiches; this was quite simple. Corned Beef, mild Sauerkraut, Swiss on Rye. It's a sandwich that one might think is on the smallish side, but it was enough for me. The proportion of savory, salty, earthy, worked fine. The toasty bread held up fine and this did the trick as a light lunch. 
