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Re: "Authentic" Mexican Food?!
I'd like to mention a little story here about Cholo's.
In December of 2000, during one of my trips over to Oahu for the marathon, I decided one morning to get out of the city and get a long training run in along that little bike path that runs intermittantly along the North Shore, from appx. Pupukea to Sunset Beach.
I drove my mom's car out to one of the beaches just northeast of Haleiwa. I don't know what beach it was, but it was one with a small parking space for maybe ten cars, and it was right on the bike path..I parked there cause it appeared to be the perfect place to start and end my training run..a very convienient place to park the car.
I went out, and got in a good solid run, out and back, from where I parked, (in the vicinity of Pupukea) to Turtle Bay. When I returned back into the Pupukea area, I noticed that I couldn't find my mom's car..it wasn't where I thought it was..or maybe it was, but I simply didn't make the proper mental note of where I actually parked the it. I thought to myself that I must have passed it on the return back towards Pupukea..so I made a big mistake, and headed back (running still) towards Sunset Beach in search of it. I ended back in Sunset Beach having not located the car. Again, I headed back towards Pupukea again, this time stopping again in Pupukea where I was absolutely certain I had parked the car. Once again, no car.
Okay, so now I was in panic mode...I couldn't find the car for anything..so I once again, still running, I returned towards Sunset Beach, hoping that somewhere I'd find the car in a place it was but I thought it couldn't have been. Again..I ended back in Sunset Beach, with the car not to be found.
Frustrated, I went into a 76 station in Sunset Beach owned by a Mrs. Park, hoping someone in there might have an idea where my car was, if I gave them some clues to what I recalled about the place where I had parked it. I explained to Mrs. Park (who was in-shop during my panic attack) of the predicament I was in. She tried her best to help me, asking me questions about what the area I had parked the car looked like, i.e., were there any notable lankmarks I could recall, etc.
While Mrs. Park and I tried to figure out where I might have parked the car, a woman buying gas at the station overheard our conversation, and offered to help me out. She would drive me along the highway where I thought my car was until we found it.
It turns out this woman was the owner of Cholo's in Haleiwa...who, during our conversation while searching for the car, mentioned that she was once a Rhode Islander from Narragansett..she was floored when I mentioned that I was an ex-island boy now residing across the bay from her old town, in Bristol, Rhode Island. Small world, yeah?
We did find the car eventully...it was less than a tenth of mile from where I was ending my searches in the Pupukea area..I was simply disoriented where I was, and if I had just kept going a little further...well..hindsight is 20/20. My planned training run of 16 miles must have, after all of the running between Pupukea and Sunset Beach got factored in, turned into a run of around 22 miles.
She ( I never got her name!) invited me over to Cholo's for dinner sometime during my stay on Oahu, but I never got around to taking her up on the offer.
I've never been to Cholo's in Haleiwa...I wonder if it's still owned by this woman?
I'd like to mention a little story here about Cholo's.
In December of 2000, during one of my trips over to Oahu for the marathon, I decided one morning to get out of the city and get a long training run in along that little bike path that runs intermittantly along the North Shore, from appx. Pupukea to Sunset Beach.
I drove my mom's car out to one of the beaches just northeast of Haleiwa. I don't know what beach it was, but it was one with a small parking space for maybe ten cars, and it was right on the bike path..I parked there cause it appeared to be the perfect place to start and end my training run..a very convienient place to park the car.
I went out, and got in a good solid run, out and back, from where I parked, (in the vicinity of Pupukea) to Turtle Bay. When I returned back into the Pupukea area, I noticed that I couldn't find my mom's car..it wasn't where I thought it was..or maybe it was, but I simply didn't make the proper mental note of where I actually parked the it. I thought to myself that I must have passed it on the return back towards Pupukea..so I made a big mistake, and headed back (running still) towards Sunset Beach in search of it. I ended back in Sunset Beach having not located the car. Again, I headed back towards Pupukea again, this time stopping again in Pupukea where I was absolutely certain I had parked the car. Once again, no car.
Okay, so now I was in panic mode...I couldn't find the car for anything..so I once again, still running, I returned towards Sunset Beach, hoping that somewhere I'd find the car in a place it was but I thought it couldn't have been. Again..I ended back in Sunset Beach, with the car not to be found.
Frustrated, I went into a 76 station in Sunset Beach owned by a Mrs. Park, hoping someone in there might have an idea where my car was, if I gave them some clues to what I recalled about the place where I had parked it. I explained to Mrs. Park (who was in-shop during my panic attack) of the predicament I was in. She tried her best to help me, asking me questions about what the area I had parked the car looked like, i.e., were there any notable lankmarks I could recall, etc.
While Mrs. Park and I tried to figure out where I might have parked the car, a woman buying gas at the station overheard our conversation, and offered to help me out. She would drive me along the highway where I thought my car was until we found it.
It turns out this woman was the owner of Cholo's in Haleiwa...who, during our conversation while searching for the car, mentioned that she was once a Rhode Islander from Narragansett..she was floored when I mentioned that I was an ex-island boy now residing across the bay from her old town, in Bristol, Rhode Island. Small world, yeah?
We did find the car eventully...it was less than a tenth of mile from where I was ending my searches in the Pupukea area..I was simply disoriented where I was, and if I had just kept going a little further...well..hindsight is 20/20. My planned training run of 16 miles must have, after all of the running between Pupukea and Sunset Beach got factored in, turned into a run of around 22 miles.
She ( I never got her name!) invited me over to Cholo's for dinner sometime during my stay on Oahu, but I never got around to taking her up on the offer.
I've never been to Cholo's in Haleiwa...I wonder if it's still owned by this woman?
We keep teasing my daughter asking, "Eh, wot kine Korean girl you?" She'll eat a chip with salsa and go for her milk saying she's only thirsty. Yeah right. <LOL> I actually do like spicy food, but only when I'm in the mood for it. I guess I just don't like my chile verde spicy. Green chiles have a nice flavor and I like to taste it when I eat it. I kinda judge Mexican restaurants on their chile verde. 
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