Lost in Translation

 At last, a food review that can benefit so many more people than those of us blessed to be in Houston, or even the great state of Texas (yes it is that awesome).  Today’s post is over the most important meal of the day, breakfast, or as they call it in these joints desayuno.  

Now I will come clean that this breakfast was sort of an accidentally awesome kind of experience but then again those usually turn out to be the best ones.  The other day I went to El Hidalguense (which means someone from the Mexican state of Hidalgo), located on Long Point Road in Houston, and every review I read about this place focused on one menu item that I had myself salivating for, cabrito.

Yes, for those of you not familiar with the food or the term, cabrito is baby goat (as delicious as it is cute), succulent little goat that is slow cooked until it is falling off the bone good.  I understand that this is not for everyone and I first was unsure about it myself, until as a bus boy at an On the Border in high school I worked an early Saturday morning shift, and the Mexicans who were working the prep had some cabrito they had cooked up and basically forced me to try.  Of course I loved it; the rich meat wasn’t covered in spices or sauce, just allowed to explode in flavor of its own making.

Unfortunately, cabrito was outside of my morning breakfast budget and it appeared that it was actually a dinner meal (another misconception caused by that first experience), so that review will have to come another day when I am willing to part with $25 and maybe have a brave soul to split it with.

That pain was easily soothed though with the appearance of a free flauta (some of you may know it better as a taquito), some delicious smoky salsa, and a Mexican Coke (yes the recipe is different, much sweeter since it uses cane sugar instead of one of those syrups).  The salsa was thicker and smokier than most, almost an oil compared to a salsa that I am used to at other restaurants, but the chipotle, chile del arbol, garlic, and other flavors made it a good addition to all of the food.

So after pouring over the menu (a three ring binder with pagers slipped in plastic sleeves all written in Spanish) I settled on a familiar friend of mine from past breakfasts at places like Taqueria Arandas or Jarro Café, the delicious plate known as chilaquiles.

  Here is a picture of chilaquiles from Jarro Café, so good it will be getting a write up the next time I make it there.

Somehow this simple order got lost in translation, and I had a plate of scrambled eggs and beef show up in front of me.  I decided to roll with it rather than fighting it and that was definitely a smart move on my part, the flavor was great, especially once I started putting the eggs with beans in tortillas and pouring the salsa over it.

Sure the atmosphere was simple and the restaurant was empty, but the food was definitely good and basic.  These in my experience have always been the best Mexican breakfast joints, ignore the decor and sometimes the levels of cleanliness and find you some good meals whether it be huevos divorciados (two eggs one in green and one in red salsa), migas (eggs scrambled with tortilla strips), anything with chorizo (the “healthy” Mexican sausage that may require extra sopping up of grease with a napkin), or once again my personal favorite chilaquiles (tortilla strips in salsa, usually with eggs, and if you are lucky some fajita beef). 

As a preview of my next post, my meal ticket (mom) and sister went to a Houston landmark this weekend that has been on none other than Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives itself, check out the video here for a heads up of the next posting.