Corn Chili: versatility

Fair warning: in the post with the recipe for this Corn Chili, I spend quite a lot of time talking about the fact that we just adopted a cat; if you're my friend on Facebook, you've already heard it and seen the picture.  So my apologies, if you don't care for discussion of kitties when you're just out to make some vegan chili.

And yes - this is vegan chili, at least if you use vegetable stock, like I did, or water, like the original recipe did.  There wouldn't be anything wrong with using chicken stock if meat is not an issue for you, but I had veggie stock on hand, as I nearly always do since I make a big batch and freeze it, so that's what I used.  But look at it: we've got beans, corn, green peppers, tomatoes, onions, garlic, and seasonings, and aside from the stock and the cooking oil, that's all you'll need!  Obviously if you're me, you're going to serve it with a pile of cheese on top, but that certainly isn't required and it still stays vegetarian even in that case.  I don't really trust the meltiness of vegan cheeses so I wouldn't say to substitute, but presumably vegans know their foodstuffs better than I do and if you've got something that works, go for it.

So not only is this good as nature intended, hot in a bowl with some toppings (including homemade tortilla chips!), but I have also enjoyed the leftovers as part of a burrito filling, drizzled the liquid into a grilled cheese sandwich, and I'm sure it would make a pretty good salsa served cold, because it's essentially black-bean-and-corn salsa.  Which makes the valid point that you could probably heat up any salsa and just eat it with a spoon.  Well, except the fruity kinds.

For today's entertainment, I'd like to introduce you (well, I assume this is an introduction, because you are not Canadians and specifically you are not British Columbians) to Kinnie Starr.  Versatile, you want versatility?  She's folk and hip-hop and rock, in English, French, and Spanish, and she brings in her First Nations heritage too.  Today: This was one of the first songs I heard her play, at Folk Fest (by which I don't mean Newport, which is for snobs - I mean the Vancouver Folk Music Festival, where I spent my teenaged summers volunteering in the kitchen and seeing so many amazing artists for free.  Sure, there were plenty of your to-be-expected folkies, earnest middle-aged ladies with a long grey braid, strumming an acoustic guitar, but it's also the first place I saw Tegan and Sara who are now doing arena tours (weird), a Romani band that started busking between actual stage sets, a pair of Basque brothers whose instruments were sort of crazy wooden xylophones they hit with huge mallets, a Polish band that played English drinking songs, Tanya Tagaq Gillis (whom I guess goes by just Tanya Tagaq now?), Billy Bragg, taiko drummers, Po' Girl... DOA played there one year, before my volunteering time.  Fucking DOA!  Oh Folk Fest, I love you.

So let's bring this back (somehow) to chili.  Ahem.  Like Folk Fest, you expect a certain thing out of it, and that is certainly something that you can get out of it, but it's really got something for everyone, and it's comfort food in the same way that Folk Fest is, or was, my comfort place.  Look, spare everyone my tortured attempts at parallels here, and just go make some Corn Chili, ok?

El Pelon Taqueria Now Offering Kids' Meals Starting at $1.99

El Pelon Taqueria (Brighton Location) is now offering Kids' Meal Combos complete with a drink and TOY! 

2197 Comm Ave., Brighton MA 02135 | P: 617-779-9090
http://www.elpelon.com

Chef Michael Schlow's Barrio Cantina Opens In Boston

BARRIO CANTINA OPENS IN BOSTON

Chef Michael Schlow Brings His Take on Mexican Food to Fenway

Boston, MA; February 6, 2013 – Nationally-acclaimed chef, restaurateur, and author Michael Schlow opens Barrio Cantina. Taking influences from traditional Mexican, Tex-Mex and California Mexican cuisines, Barrio Cantina is Boston’s destination for street tacos, nachos, quesadillas, fajitas, and Mexican-inspired dishes – all set against a backdrop of more than 80 reasonably-priced tequilas, a margarita menu boasting 15 varieties, and a relaxed, yet attentive level of service from General Manager/Partner Thomas Holland, who has helmed Tico for the last two years.

“Over the last fifteen years in Boston, I’ve had the pleasure of exploring some of the most exciting cuisines of the world through my restaurants,” says chef/owner Michael Schlow, whose restaurants include Radius, Via Matta, two Alta Strada locations, and Tico. “The flavors, ingredients, and passion behind Mexican cooking have always intrigued me, and I’m excited to share these with everyone at Barrio.”

To make the space feel wildly different than its predecessor Happy’s, an all-day diner, Michael enlisted his wife Adrienne to overhaul the once graffitti’d walls and cheeky décor. At six months pregnant with their first child, Adrienne redesigned the entire restaurant in less than three weeks, distressing the walls with warm honey-hued and gold-flecked paint and plastering the entire back wall of the dining room with vintage Mexican film posters from the 1950s and 1960s.

Lush velvet curtains in varying shades of crimson break up the once-cavernous space into an intimate dining room, a spirited lounge with sofas and armchairs in funky, clashing fabrics, and additional spaces for private parties and busy Red Sox game days. Large white candles in hurricane lamps dot the room, lending a warm flickering light. Scattered throughout the restaurant is original artwork and photography by both Michael and Adrienne. Additional design elements include brightly-colored Mexican blankets adorning the walls and a traditional, hand-painted Mexican-tiled chalkboard to highlight Barrio’s cocktails and tequila offerings.

For Barrio, Chef Michael Schlow collaborated with his longtime corporate chef Luis Morales on a menu divided into five sections – shared appetizers, street tacos, quesadillas, fajitas, and entrees. For sharing, there are familiar dishes (Loaded Nachos, Guacamole, Tuna Ceviche Tostados) as well as several dishes with unique Mexican influences (Baby Kale Caesar with Chipotle Croutons, Crispy Calamari with Ancho Dipping Sauce, and Steamed Mussels with Habanero Tomato Broth). There are six types of quesadillas (including a unique Philly Cheesesteak version), and seven street tacos served two to an order (Shredded Confit Chicken, Tongue ‘n Cheek). For entrees, there is the monster of all burritos, the Complete Burrito, with chicken, beef, pulled pork, chorizo, salsa, avocado, hot peppers, rice, and beans. Other highlights include Mexican Spiced Fried Chicken with Chipotle Fries, the Barrio Burger topped with jack cheese, avocado & jalapenos, and the Old Fashioned Cheeseburger with Chipotle Fries.

At the long, polished wood bar that runs the length of the dining room, more than 80 tequilas line the bright tomato-red shelves. Served on their own or in one of Barrio’s 15 signature margaritas, the tequilas include blanco, reposado, anejo, and extra anejo varieties. Barrio’s cocktail program specializes in these tequilas, as well as house infusions like ghost chili-infused tequila for the Hot ‘n Skinny Margarita, hibiscus-infused tequila for the Tico-tini and pineapple-infused vodka for the Tito’s Chi Chi. Frozen margaritas are also offered in flavors like strawberry, pomegranate, watermelon, raspberry, and kalamansi. The cocktails are rounded out by more domestic and imported wine and beers, including more than 20 by the bottle and 13 on draft (a mix of local and Mexican/Carribbean).

Barrio Cantina serves dinner nightly starting at 5:00 PM with lunch, weekend brunch, and outdoor patio dining to follow in the coming months.

Barrio Cantina
1363 Boylston Street
Boston, MA 02215
(857) 753-4100

www.barrioboston.com

Twitter: @BarrioBoston
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BarrioCantinaBoston

iOlecito! Restores The Faith by Kristofer Jenson

When it comes to lunch spots in Inman Square, less is more. It's true of Punjabi Dhaba, one of my favorite Indian restaurants in the Boston area, and it's true of Olecito, tucked away on a residential street just outside of Inman Square. Both places may appear to be mere holes in the wall to the average passerby, which is part of what makes them so special. They let the food do the talking.

Burrito Beginnings with Kristofer Jenson

The burrito just may be the world's most perfect food. Not the best, not the only, but most perfect. The economy, the presentation, the content, the appropriation of already familiar ingredients into something magical; it's pretty much The Godfather Part II of cuisine.

Boston, with its English/Irish/Italian heritage, may seem like an unlikely place to find decent Mexican food, but we're fortunate enough to have both quality variety in almost every neighborhood. We have classy restaurants, neighborhood fixtures, college joints and greasy-yet-satisfying holes in the wall. I'm on a weekly mission to find the best, worst, most interesting and most exciting burritos this city has to offer. Join me, won't you?

This week was my first excursion to El Pelon, a place I'd long admired for its terrific ads that both play on and feed this generations burrito addiction. In the picture you'll see the Carne Asada Burrito, the Carnitas Taco and the Chicken Quesadilla. The first thing that struck me was the taco; this is no ordinary ground-beef-and-cheese-fuck-you deal, this is the product of some serious taco ingenuity. The combination of spices, vegetables, salsa and meat was so tasty that I'll never be able to host my own taco night without hanging my head in shame.

The burrito was substantial and packed to the...er, gills?...with goodies. It's one of the most substantial I've ever eaten, and for less than $5 it's an absolute steal. I topped it all off with the quesadilla for desert, which dutifully mopped up the various rice and bean bits that had fallen on my plate, then cheesily reined in all the competing forces in my stomach. I then went into a full-on food coma and awoke to find this column fully written. Spooky, yet delicious.

This enormous meal, with soda, was only $15.85. Do your stomach, and your wallet, a favor, check out one of their two locations around town. http://www.elpelon.com  - Kristofer Jenson