Yuma – Page 5 – mmm-yoso

¿Pupusas en Yuma? ¡Si!: Pupusas Maria

April 2, 2012 ed fromyuma Salvadoran Restaurants, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

Kirk deserves a day off and Cathy is seriously occupied, so ed (from Yuma) has a report (from Yuma).

When Pupusas Cabañas closed, I was pretty sad. Then last year, I discovered a tiny truck parked occasionally next to a hair salon on Eighth Street:

While the hot dogs they served – at least the one I tried – were mediocre Sonoran style dogs, the pupusas here, served with cabbagey crudito and tomato water, were well made, cheesy, and good:

Recently, however, I have not been able to find that little truck. If anyone knows where it's hiding, please let me know. The good news is that a new larger truck has appeared in a much better location on the north side of Eighth Street about a half block east of Avenue B. Called Pupusas Maria, it is owned and operated by Maria, a friendly woman who used to cook at Cabañas:

I still love the pupusas – this one covered with the slightly sour cabbage, carrot, onion, and jalapeño crudito and a lightly picante tomato water:

The tamales, wrapped in banana leaf and tinfoil, are especially rich and moist:

And filled with a lot of chicken and an un-fried french fry:

On weekends, specials are sometimes available. The chicken is stewed in a thin tomato sauce until it falls apart. Sometimes it is three legs served with a cabbage salad and rice:

On another occasion, a leg and a thigh with macaroni salad and rice – damn near a plate lunch:

On Sundays and other special occasions (like last Christmas Eve), the special is Sopa de Pata (the bowl is Tina's):

This is a fine version. You can see part of the hoof with its tendon, a nice selection of Salvadoran vegetables, and pieces of rich flavorful tender beef tripe, all swimming in a savory broth: muy rico.

Pupusas Maria, near the Northeast corner of Eighth Street and Avenue B, open 4 PM until it closes. Tuesday through Sunday (I think), 928-304-9577.

Mariscos El Navegante: New Seafood Truck in Yuma

February 12, 2012 ed fromyuma Mexican Restaurants, Seafood, Taco Shops, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

Believe it or not, ed (from Yuma) finally has finished a post and Kirk and Cathy can finally take a day off.

Navegante is no longer on Ave B. Currently (2014) Pacific Ave has become a new taco truck hotspot, with two stands across from each other at the intersection of 24th and Pacific, and several stands (4 or 5 some nights) in a large lot on the west side of Pacific a couple of blocks or so south of 16th.

Every fall, as the snowbirds, packers, and fieldworkers come back to Yuma, new mobile eateries – taco trucks if you prefer – open to serve the burgeoning population. This year, I was delighted to spot a new Mariscos truck, El Navegante, on the east side of Avenue B between 8th Street and 12th – just behind the location of Yuma's Best:
A meal there starts with complementary peel and eat shrimp:
The shrimp are served along side a container of spiced red onions and fresh sliced limes, both of which improve the flavor of the crustaceans:

Soon roasted yellow chilies also make an appearance. Spicy, smoky, and juicy:

Although the menu is limited, just about everything is well done. For example, the fish ceviche has all the right flavor notes, lightly fishy and citrusy. It is also crunchy and fresh flavored:

As good as fish ceviche tostada is, Tina and I think the ceviche de camaron tostada is even better:

The shrimp has not been cooked before marinating and has a very fresh flavor and a bit of chewy texture. The fish and shrimp tacos are also good:

The shrimp tacos have a bit more breading and a bit more crunch. The fish tacos are wonderfully fresh with moist real fish fillets. This fish has never seen a freezer and, after frying, hasn't sat under a heat lamp waiting for someone to order it.

The aguachile at El Navegante is close to perfect. When Roger Naylor, the travel writer for the Arizona Republic (and other publications) was in town, I made sure he and I and some other local eaters dropped in on Navegante around 6 one evening, and the whole lot of us were impressed by the chile and lime marinated raw shrimp plate:

We had ordered it moderately picante, so the hot chili flavors did not overwhelm the freshness of the pristine shrimp. Unlike other aguachiles I have had in the past, the lime juice complemented the seafood instead of souring it. Spice, tang, and shrimpiness were perfectly balanced. Crunchy tostadas, avocado wedges, and mild slices of cucumber went with the camarones perfectly.

On a more recent visit, Tina and I tried their seafood soup, simply called caldo. This is the small size:

The clear mild natural tasting broth was filled with pieces of fish, two or three small shrimp, and a little bit of octopus. At three dollars, it was certainly a good value. I found that the soup got even better when I added the chopped onion and cilantro, squeezed in some lime juice and shot some house salsa into the Styrofoam cup.

We also had what they call chile relleno, a yellow chile stuffed with cheese and shrimp, breaded (or not if you prefer), and served with a chili mayonnaise dip:

While a little bit greasy, it was also crunchy and irresistible:

On this visit, the restaurant even had mantaraya, reconstituted dried giant stingray from the sea of Cortez. We had it in a taco:

Muy rico. I had never had stingray with such rich and concentrated taste before. Not overly salty, the smoky, almost sweet flavors filled the mouth. Amazingly good.

El Navegante also does take out. For example, I once brought home a good fresh tasting campechana (mixed seafood cocktail with onions and cucumber in complex tomato water). While lacking the seafood variety of Juanita's campechana, The mariscos were excellent in flavor and half of it filled a small soup bowl:

From that same day, here is a fish taco, a shrimp taco, a chile relleno, lime wedges, and marinated onions, making a tasty and attractive plate:

El Navegante seems to open around 10 AM and closes around 6:30 or 7 PM. The mantaraya is only available on the weekends and the aguachile takes a little while to marinate. Prices are extremely reasonable, and the family that operates this little truck is friendly and helpful. English (as well as Spanish, of course) is spoken. A little dining gemstone in the southwest corner of Arizona. Navigate yourself here.

Mariscos El Navegante, 1019 S Ave B, Yuma AZ, 928-261-6481

Yuma Mexican Miscellany – Pollos El Correteado, Rossy’s, El Buen Taquito, and Taqueria Reyes

July 6, 2011 ed fromyuma Food Trucks, Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

Kirk is busy doing something. Cathy is busy doing something else. ed (from Yuma) has been busy putting together this post on 4 different places in Yuma (in Arizona).

Kirk calls these type of posts "Cleaning out the Memory Card." I have pictures of interesting and good Mexican food I've eaten recently at several different small eateries. No point in doing a bunch of little posts, so I'll just throw them all together here. There should be something of interest in this post for almost any Yuman being.

Pollos El Correteado

In Yuma County, there are three different locations for this restaurant chain (I have no idea how widespread the chain is in Mexico, but there are locations in San Luis, Sonora). One location is on Main Street in Somerton, one is on 3E by the base, and one is on Eighth Street next to the Subway across the street from Food City:
These folks do one thing very well:
Great Mexican roasted chicken. What Pollo Loco aspires to be:
These are special chickens that have four legs, four thighs, but no breast or wing. That anatomical peculiarity puzzled me the first time I ordered a whole chicken ($9). Must be a damn strange looking bird when alive, but it looks pretty good when served:

The macaroni salad and the mashed potatoes are pretty much meh, and the salsa and the white corn tortillas (both gratis) are far from distinguished. So I usually get the chicken to go and have it with homemade macaroni or potato salad.

Rossy's

Rossy's used to be a small truck in a small space with rather poor lighting and great corn and hotdogs. Now the same small truck (and a little hot dog cart) occupy the large lot that was most recently Tata's:

The corn (with butter, crema, and cheese) is still good, if not especially good for you:
They now serve a range of decent tacos that you can decorate with guacamole, pico de gallo, shredded cabbage, and lemon wedges. A carne asada taco with all the fixings looks like this:
For me, however, the big draw of the place are the bacon-wrapped hotdogs which they will happily accessorize for you:

Love those grilled onions, along with salsa and who knows what else.

El Buen Taquito

Getting a meal at El Buen Taquito was not easy for Tina and I. First, the truck is almost hidden toward the back of a lot on the east side of Avenue B, about a block south of the intersection with Eighth Street. Then, after we had discovered it, every time we wanted to go there, the place was closed. We realized, finally, that it opened later than most of the other taco trucks in the neighborhood and is not open every evening. However, many times we would drive by – let's say returning from San Pedro or Rossy's – it would be open and busy, much busier than the truck called "Yuma's Best" just up the street from it.

Our luck changed a few months ago when we pulled up, saw the lights, and decided to find out why this place was so popular:
The menu is extremely limited, but very reasonably priced:
We ordered a variety – crispy tacos, tostadas, rolled tacos, and sopes along with a couple of aguas frescas. However, the first thing we were brought were little cups of incredibly rich and flavorful consommé:

The only meat used by this truck is beef, and the beef has been cooked a long time so that its flavor in the tacos and flautas is fairly neutral and background. The consommé, on the other hand, is as beefy as Arnold Schwarzenegger in his glory days.

Then we received our order. The lighting, as you can tell, is far from ideal for photographs, but here is a picture of a couple of the excellent crunchy tacos:

Because the primary difference between the sope and the tostada are how thick the tortilla/patty is, it is hard from me to tell which one is which in my photographs. I think this is a tostada:
And perhaps this is a close-up of a sope:
Underneath the lettuce and cheese is a flauta:

In any case, Buen Taquita does one thing extremely well – deep frying. The tacos, flautas, sopes, and tostadas all had crunchy deep fried corn tortillas or patties. None of them was greasy; all of them were tasty. The sope was a little more chewy than the others. The soft meat and frijoles provided a flavor and texture contrast with the fried shells and abundant shredded lettuce. Everything was covered with cotija cheese.

Would I want to eat here every night? No, of course not. But sometimes you just gotta have crunch and this is the taco truck to provide it.

Taqueria Reyes

Taqueria Reyes recently opened in Palm Plaza on Avenue A, where Taqueria Jalisco had been in business for many years:
As well as providing a range of standard tacos, I am very fond of the tortas there, for example this one made with machaca:

Inside, there is a smear of frijoles, slices of avocado, chopped lettuce, tomato and mayo. I, for one, appreciate the pickled jalapeno, which I've always thought was perfect with tortas.

The other item that I love here is the Menudo ($5.99). For a dollar extra, you can get it con pata. When placed on the table, it looks like this:

It comes with a choice of bread or tortillas and is served with all kinds of condiments including lemon wedges, oregano, cilantro, menudo spices, chopped onion, and a deep and powerful salsa:

After I add some condiments and stir it up, it looks like this:
Look at all that tripe and hominy! But what I find most truly satisfying about the Menudo here is that pata, a big piece of cow hoof. And when I get lucky, the hoof is completely covered with wonderfully chewy tendon:
Sooo goood!! While the soup overall is not as complex as the incredible sopa de pata at the old Pupuseria Cabanas (I still miss that place a lot), it's the best cow hoof I can find in Yuma. And cow hoof is a good thing.

Asian Star in Yuma: The Rest of the Story

June 21, 2011 ed fromyuma Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Japanese Restaurants, Thai Restaurants, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

mmm-yoso is a food blog usually written by Kirk, sometimes written by Cathy, but today written by ed (from Yuma).

Except for chain restaurants, I am usually willing to try any dining establishment at least once. But I do have a certain skepticism about restaurants that try to do too many things. I've never been tempted, for example, to stop into the Mexican Greek restaurant I see somewhere on the east side of San Diego County. Places that promise "oriental" or "Asian" food always make me want to ask if the chef is from somewhere close to the capital of Asia. In any case, that's my excuse for not going to Asian Star the first month or two that it was open. Better late than never.

I've already posted about the Chinese food at the restaurant, so this post is going to look at the other stuff available, such as this lunch sized order of pad thai ($6.55):

Overall, pretty boring. The sauce reminiscent of a sweet and sour sauce. The noodles and chicken also nothing special. Not nearly as good as the same dish at Highway 95 Café.

On the other hand, the Thai basil chicken is okay (dinner, $8.95):

Mildly spicy, the dish has a true Thai basil flavor. The vegetables add crunch and variety. I would happily order it again.

And recently for lunch, I tried the Thai curried chicken ($5.95):

It is really good. For one thing, look at all the chicken. This isn't curried vegetables with chicken; the focus is on the numerous tender slices of chicken. At the same time, strips of onion add flavor and crunch. Just enough peapods, carrots, and mushrooms in the background. The curry sauce is excellent – balanced spicy creamy flavors. And just enough sauce to flavor the entire dish without becoming soupy or goupy.

The Japanese food here can also be quite good. My favorite cup of soup is the miso(free with lunch special):

The broth usually has a good flavor with some depth and I am always impressed by the number of tofu cubes, seaweed pieces, and green onions slices. I have been served much worse in San Diego.

The baby squid salad ($3.95) looks nothing like I thought it would:

Though the mini mollusks have little flavor in themselves, their slightly chewy texture is nice and the tangy sauce is also pleasant. It just gives me a good feeling that I can order something this weird in Yuma.

On another occasion, we ordered poki ($7.95) and were served this:

The cynic in me noticed that a huge plate was being used to present the amount of poki that a Hawaiian would put in a small bowl. And a lot of daikon and slivered cucumber for the amount of tuna. But once I started eating, my cynicism melted away. The tuna was absolutely fresh. This was not the sashimi from three or four days earlier that had been marinating in the refrigerator. The ponzu sauce was nicely balanced. Tina and I loved the appetizer down to the last thin thread of radish.

Fresh raw fish is also my favorite part of the sashimi bento boxes ($7.95):

While the California roll is decent, many of the other items in the box are pretty ordinary. I really do not like the lettuce with the flavorless gloppy dressing. The deep-fried shu mai are meh and the eggroll contributes little beyond crunch.

But the sashimi itself has been good every time:

On this occasion, the salmon and tuna were perfectly adequate, and the tilapia was very fresh. By the standards of Yuma, Arizona, this was good raw fish, particularly for a bento box.

On another occasion, the same bento box came with only tuna and salmon as sashimi:

I was impressed. The sake was rich and flavorful, and the tuna tasted like decent sushi bar maguro.

On another visit, I decided to put Asian Star to a real test. Without looking at the raw fish case, I ordered some random items from the sushi menu. The few times that I have ordered sushi by the piece at other restaurants in Yuma – from fancy fine dining locations to Japanese chain restaurants – the results have been pretty disastrous.

However, at Asian Star the squid and eel were perfectly fine ($3.95 for each pair):

The unagi wasn't drenched in sticky sauce, and the ika was tender and mild. I had also ordered mackerel ($3.50) and hamachi ($3.95). We were served these:

The mackerel was quite good; better than I expected. The pale pinkfleshed fish was also very tasty, perfectly fresh and clean flavored. It was not, however, hamachi – at least not like any hamachi I had ever eaten before. Instead, it looked and tasted like light tuna (shiro maguro). My guess is that the sushi chef simply made a substitution without telling anyone. I suppose I could've gotten upset, but the fish was quite good, and it was being served to me in Yuma.

The shrimp tempura ($12.95) is also worth ordering:

It is not greasy and the portion is adequate. On the other hand, notice that the shrimp have a different coating, more like a panko, from the vegetables. Overall, though, a pleasant enough dish.

Similarly, the seafood yaki udon ($12.95) is okay as well:

The broth is very light in flavor, but the noodles are perfectly cooked and wonderfully juicy. The soup also contains shrimp, fish, and bay scallops, along with the noodles, fake crab, and poached egg.

And to my surprise, they even have togarashi seasoning:

This udon is very far from the best I've ever had, but it is the best I've had in Yuma.

The menu specials also include something called "Amazing Veal Chops, Korean Style" ($15.95). That puzzled me because I have never seen veal listed on any Asian menu before. Usually, veal dishes are native to countries with a strong dairy tradition – like Holland, Italy, Switzerland, and Austria. Not Korea. So I had to order it, of course:

This is dang good. The chop is large enough to be a beefsteak, more substantial than any vealchop I've ever seen in a local supermarket. Although this picture does not show it, it is cooked to a perfect medium rare – with a nice pinkish interior. The Korean barbecue sauce and the sliced peppers and onions add flavor. I can't imagine a steak loving carnivore not enjoying it. And in Yuma, most families include at least one steak loving carnivore.

Overall, I understand why Asian Star has become a very popular restaurant in Yuma. The prices are fair. The chefs tackle a wide range of Asian dishes and don't embarrass themselves. Some things, in fact, are quite good. Many are the best you can find locally. If you're in San Diego, don't hop in the car and drive over for this food. But if you are living in Yuma, like me, this is a restaurant you will enjoy.

Asian Star Oriental Cuisine, 276 W. 32nd St, Suite 1, Yuma AZ 85364, 928-317-9888, Open daily 11 am – 9:30 pm

An Asian Star in Yuma: the Chinese Food

June 11, 2011 ed fromyuma Chinese Restaurants, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

Somedays the mmm-yoso blog is cooked up by Kirk (our head chef), somedays Cathy serves the daily special, but today ed (from Yuma) is dishing up something different.

Last winter a new restaurant opened in the Big Curve shopping area called Asian Star:
Owned and operated by a group of experienced Mandarin speaking Chinese mostly from the Fujian region of China, this place is pretty stylish for an eatery in Yuma:
The major shortcoming of the restaurant can be seen in the background of this interior shot:

Once a customer is seated in the restaurant, service tends to be friendly and professional – if a bit hurried and harried. Getting seated, on the other hand, is often a serious problem. There appears to be no one in charge of customer management. Sometimes we have had to wait in the vestibule for five or 10 minutes even though plenty of empty tables and seats are clearly visible. The same thing has happened when I have had a reservation. Some friends of mine will not return because they were forced to wait standing up for 20 minutes because one member of their party was delayed. At busy times, the line of waiting customers extends out of the door. In fact, two of the first four times Tina and I tried to go there, we looked at the line and said, "no restaurant in Yuma is worth waiting half an hour."

It reminds me of the famous words of baseball philosopher Yogi Berra: "nobody goes there anymore because it's too crowded."

So why is it so crowded? The rest of this post should begin to answer that question.

First, the restaurant serves many of the usual and standard Chinese/American restaurant dishes at prices a little better than those at Grand China down the street. Most of the lunch specials ($5.95-$6.55) come with a complimentary cup of soup, such as this wonton soup:

Though the broth is very light, the soup as a whole is okay. Similarly, the hot and sour soup is equally adequate:
As are the eggrolls (2 for $2.95):
The filling was good, but the skin seemed too thick.

Several of us enjoyed an order of barbecue pork in honey sauce ($5.95?) without being truly wowed:
Other items can be quite good. Charles, who loves spicy kung pao chicken, ordered his lunch special ($5.95) extra hot and pronounced this version the best he's had in town. Very fiery with tender chunks of chicken:
I am not as impressed with what they call shumai (6 for $3.55), which do not seem homemade:
And while meaty, the pork dumplings (6 for $4.95) were also boring, dense and flavorless:
Once I ordered two of my standard favorite dishes for takeout. Both were ready on time and securely packaged in plastic. The shrimp in lobster sauce ($10.95) was very standard and gloppy:
While certainly not cutting-edge (notice the once frozen peas and carrots), the shrimp were well-prepared, tender and moist:
The double cooked pork ($8.55) was a good version of the dish for my tastes. The pork was tender and was not barbecue pork as in some local restaurants. There was also a greater range of vegetables than this photo would indicate:

Next time, I will probably emphasize spicy when I order, because this dish was only marginally picante.

Chinese dinners I have had at the restaurant have featured an interesting range of dishes, some very tasty and interesting. Listed on the menu, as "Crispy Roast Duck" ($13.95), this duck was not especially crispy, although it had a nice flavor, not too gamey, and moist tender meaty flesh:

On another evening, David wanted to try the M00 shu pork ($8.55), one of his favorites, and we all agreed that the pancakes and the filling were as good as you can get in Yuma:

That same evening, we had a wonderful dish called Eggplant Szechuan style ($13.95):

For someone used to Ba Ren in San Diego, this dish does not seem very authentic. Nonetheless, the combination of perfectly cooked Asian eggplant, abundant tender pork slices, and mildly spicy sauce rang my bell.

We also enjoyed the seafood bean curd pot ($15.95) that evening — served bubbling hot as you can see:
In fact, the combination seafood dishes here are very good. Even though krab is used, the shrimp, scallops, and squid are of good quality. Here is the combination seafood served on panfried noodles ($15.95):
While I found the texture of the pan-fried noodles to be inconsistent, with some noodles crisp, some soft, and some in between, I was pleased to find a slice of lobster tail as part of the combination of seafoods:

In fact, all the seafood combos at Asian Star include some lobster. While this is not like having real lobster dishes on the menu, it is pretty good for Yuma. And the lobster meat (what there is of it) tastes fresh and sweet.

What is even more surprising to me is that three of the restaurant's "Asian Star Specials" are said to have a "Szechuan Ma-La" sauce. I was truly amazed to read that. Here is one example called "Double Happiness" ($13.95):

The shrimp and scallops were perfectly cooked, still moist and tender. Truth be told, however, there was not a lot of ma-la flavor. Even though the sauce was different than another spicy dish we ordered that evening, with more of a front-of-the-mouth heat, no discernible numby tingly feelings touched my lips or tongue. Still, the restaurant deserves some credit for listing ma-la on the menu, even if they use very little Szechuan peppercorn in the dish itself.

Since I have begun eating at Asian Star, I have dined there by myself, with Tina, and with other friends as well. One great thing about sharing dinners with other people is that I get exposed to dishes that I would not have ordered on my own. For example, Tina and I went to Asian star with Penny and Earl recently, and one of them really wanted to try Fruit Shrimp ($12.95). I must confess I had visions of some poor shrimps drowned in a sickly sweet sauce with a consistency somewhere between paste and glue.

Instead, we were served this wonderful dish:

Each of the shrimp was perfectly fried, and their crunchy crusts crackled when you bit into them. The sauce was not sickly sweet at all, but nicely balanced with some (citrusy?) tang. While the cherries, pineapple chunks, canned lychees (?), and coconut were not especially memorable, they certainly did not detract from the dish.

That evening the four of us had a very good time. Instead of beer or a cocktail, we ordered a bottle of Pinot Grigio and another bottle of Riesling (Glen Ellen from California, each $18). Not distinguished swill, but certainly fine with the food.

And at the end of the evening, we were given this attractive dessert of four ice cream balls, each thoughtfully cut into four pieces and all of them decorated with abundant whipped cream (no charge):

If memory serves, the flavors were vanilla, green tea, mango, and strawberry. As well as being a pleasant conclusion to the meal, it was a reminder that the service at Asian Star – once one gets seated at a table – is actually very professional and friendly.

This post only presents about half of the reasons why this new restaurant is so busy. In the future, another post will focus on the other cuisines served at the restaurant – Thai, Japanese, and even one dish prepared "Korean style." So be sure to stay tuned to this spot on the Internet. Don't move that mouse!

Asian Star, 276 W 32nd St, Ste 1, Yuma AZ 85364, (928) 317-9888, open daily 11 AM-9:30 PM.

Tudor’s Beanery in Yuma

June 2, 2011 ed fromyuma What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

While Kirk is preparing to share more of his exotic Anatolian and Aegean adventures and Cathy is getting ready to give us the inside skinny about the SD County Fair (Deep Fried What??), ed (from Yuma) wants to rework the old Monty Python skit into – "beans, beans, beans, beans, and . . . "

Both Tudor's and the grocery store are no more.

We all know about restaurants that went under during the Great Recession. On the other hand, a tasty new addition to the Yuma dining scene is just perfect for economic hard times. Hidden inside Tamarack Grocery Store on 24th across from the main parking lot at the college is Tudor's Beanery:
Open at 11 AM every day, this small food purveyor sells to-go cups, pints, and quarts of different bean soups kept warm in several slow cookers:
When I get home with my savory purchase, I open the Styrofoam quart and I smell the wonderful aromas wafting up from (in this case) a type called Mama's:
As you can see, this mildly flavored soup is full of vegetables, beans, and meatballs:
As I heat it a saucepan, it smells better and better and I spot the bits of bacon that add to the flavor. It's serious good:

Another variety that uses white beans is the ham and potato – another mildly flavored soup:

As with this soup, occasionally you will find bits of char when the soups have not been stirred vigorously enough, but I've never had one where the burned bottom crust was very evident or hurt the taste at all:
In addition to mildly flavored white bean soups, Tudor's offers many soups using pinto beans and bolder border flavors, such as this smokey and spicey Bacon and Chorizo:
Or the picante light red chile flavors of carne Asada:
With chicken, it's Pollo Asado:
Then the greener flavors of Pollo Verde:
And the really tasty Chile Verde with pork:

The varieties change, and there are daily specials. Split Pea is made on Saturdays, for example. Others feature Tamarack Grocery's homemade pork sausages. Every time I'm there, I can choose from among 6 or 7 types.

And I have enjoyed every single soup I have purchased at the store – all are savory and full of umami. They are better than I can make at home. Not to mention the convenience of somebody else cooking. And can't beat the prices. Fresh hot quarts sell for $4.99; cold quarts (leftovers) are $2.99 — when there are leftovers. Cornbread and coleslaw are also available.

Tudor's Beanery may be a one trick pony – but give this pinto pony a ride, cowboys. And don't you dare think about Blazing Saddles.

Tudor's Beanery, 7875 E. 24th St, 11 AM – 7 PM daily.

El Zarape: Chewing on Some of Don Chuy’s Chow in Yuma

April 30, 2011 ed fromyuma Mexican Restaurants, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

Kirk and the missus are off to somewhere, Cathy has been blogging up a storm in their absence, but today ed (from yuma) wants to help them out by telling you and the rest of the world about an NEW/old Mexican restaurant in Yuma that's really good.

Sadly, El Zarape is no longer operated by Don Chuy. It is now run by the Duron family who have some excellent asada, but, still, I miss this previous El Zarape

When I moved to Yuma over 10 years ago, I thought the best Mexican restaurant in town was El Zarape, which featured the cooking of Pepe Jimenez. Within a few years, Pepe had gone off to open Los Manjares and El Zarape fell on hard times. Two or three different owners couldn't make the somewhat inconspicuous restaurant on Eighth Street a success. Food quality went downhill. The restaurant finally closed after the Great Recession hit.

Recently, however, it has looked like the restaurant was open again, and finally in March, I stopped by to see what was going on there now:

What I discovered was that one of Pepe's chefs had decided to open his own place here, his daughters (who had been the best servers at Los Manjares) waiting the tables.

I also immediately discovered that El Zarape (officially named, El Zarape de "Don Chuy") is serving some great Mexican food at good prices.

For breakfasts – served all day – El Zarape has such standards as huevos rancheros ($5.50):

This was perfectly prepared. The two eggs over-easy fit on top of the crispy corn tortilla perfectly. The Ranchero sauce had just a hint of sour tang that played off the natural sweetness of the eggs beneath it. The frijoles were good as were the breakfast potatoes.

Don Chuy aims to please, and will do breakfast plates "al gusto" – as you like them ($5.50-$7.25). So one morning, Tina decided to combine carnitas, nopales (cactus pads), and egg. It looked like this:

Similarly, the restaurant will make breakfast burritos containing pretty much whatever you want for $3.50. Since the carnitas, cactus, and egg combination was so tasty, we had it in a burrito as well:
Another treat here are the quesadillas. To be honest, most quesadillas I've eaten in my life have been unimpressive, often greasy or soggy. Not here – the perfectly prepared quesadillas are grilled to perfection, the edges of the flour tortilla crispy and crunchy:
And you can get the quesadillas with meat and cheese fillings. This one has carne asada:

Great Asada, wonderful melty cheese, perfect flour tortilla.

A range of tortas ($4.50) are also available. Among other choices, you can get grilled chicken:

Or al pastor:
When you open them up, along with the meat, you will see guacamole, chopped tomato, chopped lettuce, chopped jalapenos, cilantro, and on the bottom bun, a thin smear of frijoles:
During the week, El Zarape also has daily specials ($5.50 at lunch) such as decent chicken mole:

A textbook example of carne en su jugo:

The beef was tender, the bacon flavorful, the beans beany, and the broth rich and complex.

One day, I had outstanding costillas de puerco en salsa chipotle:

Even better than the version at Pepe's. Big chunks of pork on rib bones in smoky and spicy chipotle sauce.

The regular dinner plates also offer some outstanding dishes. Tina has fallen in love with the carnitas ($8.99 – like all dinners, it includes beans, rice, and tortillas) Here is an order packed to go:

There's more meat underneath the pico de gallo. Zarape's carnitas tends to be rich and tender, more on the roast pork rather than crispy side on the carnitas scale.

El Zarape is also one of the few places in town that regularly has birria de chivo ($9.50). None of my pictures of the dish is worth the electrons it would take to post here, so to give you an idea of the birria, here is what a couple of the chunks of goat meat looked like in a little of the broth:
The chile rellenos ($8.99) are also good, as you can tell from this picture:
The camarones a la diabla ($10.99) is an excellent rendition of this classic dish. As Dave pointed out, the muy picante sauce was nearly pure ground dried red chile, wonderfully spicy and deeply flavorful. Mouth filling hotness that did not overwhelm the taste of the shrimp, but rather emphasized it:
The machaca ($7.99) is the best in town:

I was going to say that the full beefy flavor was in your face – but actually, it was in my mouth. Really good. The beef ranged from tender chewy to slightly charred, its meaty textures complemented by the green pepper, onion, and tomato pieces that were not overcooked.

As you can tell by all the photos I've taken, I like this place. While it does not have a menu quite as extensive as Mi Rancho or Los Manjares, there are plenty of choices for everyone. With the exception of the watery house salsa, I have enjoyed everything I have been served, and the prices are as good or better than anywhere else. On top of the constant great value, some items have been truly outstanding – the best in Yuma.

I also like the family aspect of the place. The family cares about the restaurant, the food, and the customers. On Sundays, when Don Chuy's granddaughter helps out, they even have the youngest assistant waitress in town (and she's good):

El Zarape de "Don Chuy," 1905 W. 8th St., Yuma, AZ 85364, (928) 782-7279. Open daily 6:30 AM to 9:00 PM.

Jersey’s: Home of the 3 lb Burger in Yuma Foothills

February 9, 2011 ed fromyuma Burgers, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

Everybody eats burgers. Kirk eats burgers, Cathy eats burgers, vegetarians eat veggieburgers, and even ed (from Yuma) eats burgers. Today, he's posting about some that are yoso delicious.

Jersey's is gone but not forgotten.

Some things happen in threes. Right after my post on the Fortuna foodcourt in Foothills, Yuma, appeared here at mmm-yoso, three things converged. First, Cathy and Foodhoe wanted to know about the 3 pound burger at Jersey's; second, my gourmandizing friend Chip insisted we had to go there and try the burgers ASAP; and third, Kirk sent me an e-mail reminding me that Burger Week was approaching at the blog. That was a triple whammy, but I hardly needed three prompts to go to Jersey's:

In fact, the very next day, a bunch of us carnivores, Chip, Betsy, Light, Deb W, Tina, and I, gathered together to eat some serious meat.

After ordering sandwiches, we walked over to the refrigerator and selected some soft drinks:

While we were deciding between root beers and colas ($1.50), it was impossible to ignore that wonderful smell of beef being charred over coals on an open grill. Cue the saliva.

The tables contained a limited number of condiments and a whimsical paper towel dispenser:

The smaller burgers and Betsy's cheesesteak arrived first. I had ordered the most basic burger on the menu ($5.50) , which came with some iceberg lettuce and abundant mayo sauce:

The sesame seed bun held a handmade patty that had to weigh at least a half pound. One bite and I was in protein paradise. I cannot recall a more intense burger in my life. The whole thing screamed BEEF as loud as it could! The char from the grill and the sauce (mayo with hint of ketchup, I think), just made the flavor of the patty that much better and more intense.

By default, all the burgers come with french fries:

These were obviously homemade and full of potato flavor. While not greasy, they were also not especially crunchy. Not bad, certainly, but really just okay. Next time, I will follow Chip's lead and order mine extra crispy.

Tina opted for a blue cheese burger, which came with mayo sauce, red onions, hand cut tomato slice, pepper bacon, lettuce, and hand formed perfectly grilled burger patty:

In general, I am hesitant to order blue cheese burgers because many that I've had over the years have tasted more like blue cheese than like burger. Not the case here. The intensity of the beef flavor stood up to and was enhanced by the cheese. There was so much going on (in a good way) that the bacon seemed like an afterthought. Let me say that any time slices of bacon are not the most flavorful things on a sandwich, that sandwich has got to have full tilt taste. The only disadvantage of Tina's burger was that the bun disintegrated before the whole burger was consumed.

"Totally scrumptious," Tina termed it. It was so good that I think it's worth another picture:

Unlike my french fries, the onion rings Tina ordered were just about perfect. Clearly homemade, each crunchy ring had a sweet onion center.

Betsy's cheesesteak ($?) was also pretty darn good. She loved it. The beef was full of flavor, like good carne asada steak, the roll well grilled, and the cheese, onions, and peppers added tastes and textures:

And then it arrived, the 3 pound burger ($21 — free if you can eat it all in 20 minutes):
The genormous burger was loaded with lettuce, tomato, cheese, grilled red onions, pickle relish, and two 1 1/2 lb patties. For some strange reason, Chip had asked the mayo sauce be replaced with mustard. This close-up shows the wonderful grill marks that marked each patty with flavor:

We cut the giant burger into four wedges, letting us all see a cross-section of this flavorful concoction:

A quarter section of this giant burger was still a handful — actually two hands full:

It is rare for a restaurant, whether it be a posh fine dining establishment or a taco stand, to exceed my wildest expectations. After all, when it comes to food, I have some very wild expectations. Jersey's is everything it promises and more.

However, it should come with two important warnings.

After lunch, I had work to do. All afternoon I struggled to keep my eyes open and my mind on what I was reading. When I got together with Tina that evening, I was complaining about nodding off, and she looked at me and said, "you think you had problems. I lay down for a second – and woke up three hours later."

First warning: May Cause Drowsiness!

Second warning: Could Be Habit Forming!

Consider yourselves warned.

Jersey's, on the access road parallel to Fortuna between Walgreens and the Fry's Shopping Center, Yuma Foothills, (928) 920-6476.

The Fortuna Foodcourt in Foothills, Yuma: La Botana, Tacos Durango, and El Cositas

January 18, 2011 ed fromyuma Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

Kirk travels the world and SoCal looking for interesting food and blogs about it here. Cathy knows San Diego better than the cops and blogs about eateries from SD to Michigan. But today, ed (from Yuma) is posting about a collection of trucks and carts in a strange and unexpected part of Yuma: The Foothills

As I wrote last May in a post about Kodiak seafood, The Foothills, a neighborhood about a dozen miles east of the main part of Yuma, is not usually where someone would go looking for good and interesting restaurants. Populated this time of the year mostly by retired winter visitors, it hardly seems like it would be the home to some of the best taco trucks/shacks in Yuma. But it is.

Over the last few years, a group of culinary entrepreneurs have established a clump of small eateries just off of an access road that runs parallel to Fortuna Blvd south of I-8. Back in 2005, Kirk dubbed a similar congregation of taco trucks on 8th St a foodcourt. This newer aggregation is more numerous and varied. Little places popping up like mushrooms after a rainstorm.

This picture from the parking lot of the neighboring Walgreens shows only a small number of the them:
There is a place serving date shakes and another serving Mexican hot dogs:
Another spot that never seems to have customers serves barbecue:
Jersey's is the home of the 3 pound hamburger — and all sorts of other burgers as well:

This post, however, is just a brief introduction to the three taco trucks located in the area.

La Botana is the fanciest with a semi-enclosed dining room as well as an outdoor deck:
Each table has a squeeze bottle of spicy homemade salsa, a bottle of lightly flavored guacamole sauce, and another rather unusual condiment:

I ordered four different tacos off the extensive menu and asked that they come with "everything." The pork adobada taco was pretty good. The tortilla was warm and fresh, the pork mildly seasoned, and the toppings (chopped onions, scallions, cabbage, and cilantro) appropriate:
The lengua may have been the best of them all — the meat tender, rich, and deeply flavored:
The chicken (covered with shredded lettuce and diced tomato) was also good to start with, and even better squirted with some hot sauce and guacamole sauce:

Notice the nice char on some of the pieces of chicken. Love that.

The only disappointing taco — and it was only a minor disappointment — was the fish taco:

Although the fish was perfectly fresh and the toppings decent, my preference in fish tacos is a crunchier crust.

A couple of days later, I went to the second Mexican stand, Tacos Durango:

I had good memories of a visit there last winter when I didn't have my camera with me. It is still a pretty humble little taco truck connected to a covered enclosure:
Here the condiments and salsas are located in a small weatherbeaten little box with a plastic cover:
While the price of the shrimp taco ($2) seemed a bit steep when I ordered, I had no complaints when the taco arrived:

This was a huge taco. The four shrimp, totally greaseless and completely covered in crunchy coating, tasted exactly like fresh shrimp. Outstanding. To my mind, the best in the county.

After I ate one of the shrimp, which reduced the contents of the taco to something that I could fold over, I squirted lemon on them and decorated the remaining shrimp with crema and choices from the salsa bar:
The fish tacos, made with fresh battered pieces of real whitefish were almost as good as the shrimp ones:

The al pastor, on the other hand, was a bit dried out and over cooked:

The spicy coating on it was excellant, however, and I suspect that the pastor here is usually better than this.

The lengua was tasty if not quite as muy rico as the version at La Botana:

A few days later I returned to the food court again, this time going to Tacos El Cositas:
I was pleased to see asada (skirt steak?) cooking on an outside grill:
Here the condiments are in a covered cooled section of a large aluminum stand:
I received four tacos — one fish, one shrimp, and one carne asada on the large plate, and something called a chipilones on the smaller plate on the left:
All of these tacos were huge in size. Both the fish and the shrimp tacos were crunchy, and the fish taco might have been even better than the one at Durango. I believe the owner/chef double fries them if one requests crunchy. Here is a close up of the shrimp taco as decorated:

The best taco, however, was the chipilones. At first the name puzzled me (I just ordered it without knowing for sure what I was going to get) but as soon as I saw the taco, I realized that it was El Cositas's version of the eponymous taco from the famous and gigantic taco emporium in San Luis, Sonora. In fact, the chef/owner told me that El Chipilon is owned by his brother.

with proper toppings the way I like, the taco looked like this:

Heaven on a tortilla de maiz. The asada meat was tender, moist, and deeply flavorful. The cheese and roasted green chile added a perfect Sonoran complement to the wonderful beef.

El Cositas has a more extensive menu at dinner and even serves Vampiras, the elusive vampire taco. Out in The Foothills. Whodda thunk that?

A couple notes. The only restroom available is in Walgreens. Each restaurant keeps its own hours, and most of them are seasonal. But if you go around lunch or dinner between October and April, you will find something (probably many things) tasty and inviting. I sure did and I will be back.

Jector’s Breakfast Burritos in Yuma

December 27, 2010 ed fromyuma Breakfast/Brunch, Mexican Restaurants, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

Today Kirk and Cathy are busy and eating. Sometimes ed (from Yuma) needs a quick breakfast, and maybe the next time you're in Yuma you'll need one too.

I think breakfast burritos are one of the most important contributions of Southwestern cuisine to everyday American eating. A complete breakfast (minus fruit juice of course) rolled inside a warm flour tortilla.

A new restaurant in Yuma, Jector's Breakfast Burritos, specializes in this culinary classic:
Whether you get them to go or to eat at one of the eight or nine small tables on the premises, your burrito will come tightly wrapped with a napkin in paper:
The burritos are $3.50. This one is ham and egg, and I asked for the optional pico de gallo (chopped fresh tomatoes, jalapenos, and onions) to be added:

All the burritos come with a picante salsa that has a pronounced sour tang. Its flavor plays off nicely against the sweetness of the egg.

I've liked every burrito that I have purchased from this place. Their chorizo is spicy but not greasy:

Machaca and egg is a classic taste combination and very meaty:
The sausage, potato, and egg is one of Tina's favorites:
The asada and egg here is made with real skirt steak:
And the asada can also be ordered as a regular — that is no egg – burrito:

The beef flavor is excellent, but I like more guacamole with my asada burritos.

My overall favorite is probably what they call the supreme:

I love the perfectly cooked thick sliced bacon that lends a nice smokiness to the eggs, potatoes, beans, and melty cheese.

The people here are friendly, they take phone orders competently, and they have your burritos ready on time — though as they have gotten busier, orders sometimes take longer than they used to. The restaurant is open daily from 6 am at least through lunch.

Jector's Burritos, 1473 S. 4th Ave, Yuma AZ, (928) 329-0035.