"Authentic" Mexican Food?!

[Karen]

Re: "Authentic" Mexican Food?!

Check out El Burrito on Piikoi and El Charro on Sand Island. Links to recent reviews below:

http://www.hawaiidiner.com/reviews/review.php?review=11

http://www.hawaiidiner.com/reviews/review.php?review=24

Thank you! links and all....sigh, I can tell it's dinner time.

[Karen]

Re: "Authentic" Mexican Food?!

Congrats to you on your discipline and incredible weight loss. You know, eating the local food in Hawaii is almost as bad as eating tamales! When you have white rice and mac salad on the same plate, Dr. Atkins (if he was still alive) would have another heart attack

Hey gal!

thanks, and you have an excellent point. Reason I like "Panda Express" so much is that their fried foods are not at all greasey, man they are good and dry in a good way. They fry tofu and put with veggies, and I just am astounded at how it doesn't seem fried, ya know?

Tell ya what fascinates me is that so many of the cooks at some local places, mom and pop places, they are so skinny while they are busy making FRIED rice and dishes that you can tell have the fat in them. Hmm..what's up with that? (G)

[Albert]

Re: "Authentic" Mexican Food?!

"Tell ya what fascinates me is that so many of the cooks at some local places, mom and pop places, they are so skinny"

Sort of a counterpoint to me wondering why so many homeless people in this town are so fat.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: "Authentic" Mexican Food?!

Albert, it's obvious you don't cook a whole lot. When you're cooking and smelling the food all day long you kinda lose your appetite. I barbecue so much that I really don't get to enjoy my cooking, I'm just not that hungry after all that bbqing.

As for homeless people, they tend to eat a lot of high sodium foods (ie canned processed stuff) that really bloats you up. That's why when I donate to the Hawaii Food Bank I try not to give too much canned foods. Nutrition bars and canned Ensure are great subs to donate. They have a long shelf life, don't require refrigeration and their nutritious.

[Miulang]

Re: "Authentic" Mexican Food?!

Albert, it's obvious you don't cook a whole lot. When you're cooking and smelling the food all day long you kinda lose your appetite. I barbecue so much that I really don't get to enjoy my cooking, I'm just not that hungry after all that bbqing.

As for homeless people, they tend to eat a lot of high sodium foods (ie canned processed stuff) that really bloats you up. That's why when I donate to the Hawaii Food Bank I try not to give too much canned foods. Nutrition bars and canned Ensure are great subs to donate. They have a long shelf life, don't require refrigeration and their nutritious.

Every Christmas, we do a Costco food run for the hungry. You can't call most of these people homeless though. At least not up here. We have a lot of working poor people, people who are employed (mostly in service jobs) whose rent is so high they have to choose between paying for their lights v. putting a meal on the table! To the local foodbank, we give cases of dried fruit (individual single serving sizes), boxes of pasta, tomato sauce, canned tuna, canned veggies and canned fruit. To the homeless people who live outside in tents all year round, we give cans of coffee, paper goods, granola bars, batteries, first aid kits (the small ones), knitted caps and mittens, bars of soap, deodorant. To the women in domestic violence shelters, we give toiletry gift sets. And we also "adopt" 6 kids from homeless shelters and get them Christmas presents. It's just a little we can do because we really have so much, and there but for the grace of God, we could be in their shoes.

Miulang

[Karen]

Re: "Authentic" Mexican Food?!

HI Craig,

that was my fault, not Albert's, as he was just quoting me, in my wondering about skinny people that are cooking and serving high fat, loca foods. No, I don't cook a lot, I eat all I can in salads, raw foods, tristcuits with ham and cheese, and things like that. After having been a porked-out 300lbs, the last thing I desire is being a good cook. My hubby was a bachelor till he was 27, I think it was, and he had learned the art of cooking, so again, I am relieved of the desire or even need to be a good cook, and/or cook a lot. Oh I cook, but it's the side dishes, and he does the meats and heavy stuff.

I heard on the news here recently that the food banks, one or two are very low right now. WELL...how can we get this ball rolling, folks?! By "this ball" I mean getting local businesses to leave bins in their stores or parking lots, I guess outside is not a good idea, (horrible people that will steal) and these bins are for YEAR round donating to food banks, instead of just the yearly food drives?!!!

I mean C'MON!! folks like all of us here will welcome the CONVENIENT way to donate year round and be very glad to do so, every week of my life. When we have the annual food drives, I find myself asking those taking my food why we can't donate easily year round, and they tell me what a nice idea I have, but it doesn't go anywhere.

[Tutulady]

Re: "Authentic" Mexican Food?!

There's a great hole in the wall located in Waipahu (across from the Kaiser Punawai Clinic in the same "shopping center" as Highway Inn) that is probably as close to authentic as could possibly be here in Hawai'i. This assessment is based on my past food experience in Mexico, as well as comparisons with other local Mexican (or pseudo Mexicano) Restaurante's like Mama's, Compadre's, etc. The owners/cooks are Mexican and speak to their workers and or ethnic customers in their native tongue. I have been there a few times and have noticed that they are patronized by a lot of their own people which is a great thing in our view. Oh, by the way, the name of this place is called La Familia Mexicano Retaurante and if memory serves me right, they won the 'Ilima Award a couple of years ago for best mexican restaurant. Lyle (Galdera) and Sam (Choy) did a pit top there too. You can read about that here. My husband fell in love with their gorditas. I like most everything on their menu but especially like their fresh chips, salsa and homemade guacamole. The most popular dish (according to the owners) seems to be the carne asada though. They also offer spices, candy and beverages from Mexico as well. Talk about popularity, I work down in Kalaeloa (Campbell Industrial Park), and was pleasantly surprised to see a new lunchwagon amongst those already there. Its sporting the La Familia Banner and I have seen it around a few days a week for the past 2-3 weeks.

[glossyp]

Re: "Authentic" Mexican Food?!

Thanks for the info on La Familia - I've heard about it but could never actually locate it but I think I can now.

[Serenity]

Re: "Authentic" Mexican Food?!

I am not sure if it is "authentic",
this place use to be in Wahiawa,
infact it's in Calif. Ave.
Now they have a really good mexican food.
I am not sure if they are still there or not,
but their food was good. El Charro, now that one
is prettt good to. They are in Sand Isl. Access Rd.
Thumbs up for El Charro.

Thanks gang for those extra links.

Well, it's unanimous.
El Charro seem to have come out ahead!.

So, who's treating?

[kimo55]

Re: "Authentic" Mexican Food?!

When Mama's died in Moanalua Shopping Center I was frustrated, but when the other one on School Street closed I was devastated. The food wasn't super, but it was close to authentic (at least to my formerly Arizonan eyes), and the décor was what I remember from my Arizona/Southern California days.

Wow. Mama's mexican Kitchen.
Dolores, her Mom and Papa...owned and ran it.
Laurrro (roll the R) was a cook and Dolores's husband. he was ruff and she was sweet.
Lauro always was trying to beef wit me, cuz he was jealous; thot Dolores paid me too much attention. She just appreciated decent conversation. he was primal. ha. His brother tried to fight me too. We would go out to the back parking lot and it would end up to be just mutual fanning each other with fists cuz working togeddah, we jez couldn't bring ourselves to really draw blood.
I was a cook there for a while early/mid 70s. Got my brother a job there too. Saw the kala the waiters made, so did that too. A Phillipino guy, a good friend whose name i forgot, worked with me as well as a haole hippie dude, Byron who went on to cater and work as top chef at many five star hotels. (just discovered old super 8mm home movie footage of the place. ho, da memories)
Mama's had a location on Ena Rd. upstairs just makai of that ampm 7-11 shop. I worked with a sweet Hawaiian woman who came to work really sad one day and found out her mahu son, a frail nice kid, but too guileless for his own good; hung around the mauka side Hotel St. too much and too late at night. He was found really beat up behind the Glade that previous nite by da cops. (found by da cops, not beat up by da cops. I hope.)


Mama's was BYOB, so many brought coolers of beer. some brought wine. (yes wine. with mexican food. I couldn't do it...) and we saved the decorative bottles and placed them all around the room for decor.
We celebrated a mama's birthday Company party at their Moanalua shopping center location.

Another fave mexican restaurant of ours back when was la paloma's on Kapiolani.
We went to Jose's some too. back in the 60's and 70's Oahu was home to so many cool local individual mom and pop restaurants and bars. Corporate america has killed off much of this and now, Oahu begins to resemble a part of the L.A. basin.
so sad.

[kimo55]

Re: "Authentic" Mexican Food?!

Don't forget Azteca round da corner from the post office in kaimuki. quite a few notches above Jose's in quality. Nice family own and run it and the view is great; a verry cute waitress was there when i went last to tend to our culinary needs


One nite watching a hawaii 5-0 episode, they were walking along king st. to sneak into the termite palace to watch a baseball game. One of the last shops before the park was a surf shop. (early 70's) In its place now, I noticed a taco shop. Have not tried it yet.


oh yea.
and torito's is pretty good. If you are very hungry and very thirsty if you ever find yerself in Waikiki, here's the format:
get taco, enchilada plate. s/c, guac, and their special HOT sauce.
You haveta stand there and 'splain everything slowly in detail and confirm it WHEN they hand it to ya. cuz they get things wrong soo much of the time.
But they are nice, so I go there alot.
Then next door, get an oi lcan of Fosters to wash it all down with while you "peoplewatch" and snikker at da tourons and the way they talk and dress.
ho da t'rills, yea!?

the best things in life are nineteen ninety five.

[kimo55]

Re: "Authentic" Mexican Food?!

Then next door, get an oi lcan of Fosters to wash it all down with

i meant "an oil can of Fosters." (it's Canadian for beer, eh!)
you know da beeg kine.
blalah size.

ya gotta do this wikiwiki, cuz da place goin be all buss up soon.
get this;
For 3 years. Innnashnull mahket place. all hammajang li dat. THEN! 3 MORE years of construction.
(ok. sounds like a new thread; Old Waikiki/new Waikiki)

[kimo55]

Re: "Authentic" Mexican Food?!

ooookay, gotta rant about a new find..... for us anyway.

Old skool kine.
BYOB.
funky cool decor. Like da ol days mama's mexican ktichen.

nex time you steh Kaneohe side, try

Mexico Lindo
46-132 Kahuhipa Street Suite A
Kaneohe, HI 96744-3800

Amazingly fast and friendly service. the dude serving us was a really nice guy. Sweet in fact, if a guy can say that.
It's now one of our faves.
Soon to be yours too.
chance um!

[damontucker]

Re: "Authentic" Mexican Food?!

As alot of readers know... I came from the Northwest...

We used to have choke Mexican restaurants because of the population of "immigrant apple pickers." (Not to offend... but that is what a lot of the mexican families did in washington...

Therefore, I will say I love my Mexican food and think I know something about it.

I have lived on Oahu for about 9 years now... I still have yet to find a Mexican restaraunt as good as Reubens in Hilo on the Big Island. (Geez, does it still exist?)

[Miulang]

Re: "Authentic" Mexican Food?!

As alot of readers know... I came from the Northwest...

We used to have choke Mexican restaurants because of the population of "immigrant apple pickers." (Not to offend... but that is what a lot of the mexican families did in washington...

Therefore, I will say I love my Mexican food and think I know something about it.

I have lived on Oahu for about 9 years now... I still have yet to find a Mexican restaraunt as good as Reubens in Hilo on the Big Island. (Geez, does it still exist?)

No worry...pretty soon going get ucka pila "authentic" Mexican restaurants (and Brazilian and Puerto Rican restaurants too) because get plenty Hispanic people "discovering" Hawai'i and moving there. Usually one of the easiest things for new immigrants to do is open up their own business, which invariably will have something to do with their cuisine. And the new immigrants take the jobs that no one else wants to do, so they do provide a valuable service. They are the new wave of immigrants to Hawai'i.

Miulang