Hot Dish Review

The storms had passed, the sun was out….put me in the mood for a shot of tequila and some Mexican food!

LC and I met at Uncle Julio’s for a late lunch. We started with shots of Herradura Silver, shaken, with lime and salt. It’s my standard. Two margaritas to chase, plus chips, salsa, and guacamole….the ingredients for a fun Summer afternoon!

Uncle Julio’s chips are my favorite. They are extremely thin, so thin in fact, that they break when you are dipping them into anything. Whatever, I still think they are the best.

Salsa at Uncle Julio’s is very smoky with a little heat. I like it. Their guacamole is like mine, but with less cilantro and no jalapeno. We had a hankerin’ for heat so we got an order of grilled jalapenos on the side. Although I love cheese dip I never order it at Uncle Julio’s. It is orange….just too gringo for my taste.

More margaritas, on the rocks with salt. LC didn’t think they were strong enough so he got another shot to add to our drinks. By then, we were feelin’ alright.

Uncle Julio’s space is enormous. There is a whole upstairs that I’ve yet to explore. Coral, turquoise, and blue dominate, with a minimal amount of kitsch. With 16 locations nationally, mostly in Dallas and Washington DC, it is a chain, which probably explains much of the following flavorful yet somewhat generic “Mexican for the masses”.

We ordered the Guadalajara platter to share, with three bacon wrapped shrimp and a combo of chicken and beef fajitas. LC had his eye on those shrimp so he snatched one off the platter right away. They came with a garlicky sauce that neither of us cared for. Although they seemed to be soaked in butter, the huge shrimp (that’s an oxymoron!) were perfectly cooked but suffered from the wrapping of undercooked bacon. That seems to be a common issue with things wrapped in bacon….filet mignon, shrimp, scallops….the bacon is rarely cooked enough to render the fat, leaving it limp and practically inedible. It’s always a shame to waste bacon.

Our fajitas arrived without the necessary tortillas or the cheese and sour cream we requested. Sorta hard to make a fajita without a tortilla. After some time had passed LC told the bar manager, who in turn told the manager. We didn’t mean to get our server in trouble, but seriously, you gotta bring out all the shit required for fajitas when they are hot, right? The manager came out and kindly replaced the whole set-up, including the sides of beans and rice, then comp’d it. She was very professional and I felt that was a great way to handle the minor snafu. Not to mention, a good way to make sure we stayed and continued to drink! And we did.

Another round of margaritas please. LC and I dug into the fajitas. Some strips of the beef were tough, others tender. That’s what you get when it’s flank steak, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was cooked medium rather than well-done. We piled meat, grilled onions, cheese, guacamole, sour cream, and more of the grilled jalapenos onto their exceptionally good flour tortillas. Both chicken and beef were well seasoned with a smoky grilled flavor but lacked sufficient kick.

The point is, we like spicy food, especially when it’s Mexican. However, many restaurants are hesitant to make their food too hot. Most folks can’t take the heat and they’re ruining it for the rest of us! Pussies.

1140 Hammond Drive 678-736-8260

On this first day of Fall, I’m already missing Summer. There are few things I enjoy more than sitting outside on a hot, sunny day drinking margaritas with friends!

Last weekend the weather was perfect for the patio at Pure. P and L joined me and LC there for a pre-concert tequila toast and tacos. A round of Herradura shots with salted limes got the party started, followed by margaritas, both classic and frozen.

We ordered the usual chips, salsa, queso, and guacamole, but the chips were anything but usual. Rather than the extra-thick ones Pure usually serves, the baskets of chips were wonderfully thin…..loved ‘em! Strangely, the guacamole came with a platter of the old thick variety of chips. Their gringo style queso dip is some of the best in town topped with pureed jalapenos.

I try to order a different entree each time I visit Pure so this time I had the beef sopes con carne asada, two housemade corn-masa cakes piled high with refried beans, seared flank steak, lettuce, chopped tomato, queso fresco and sour cream. I could only eat one (what what?)…..the second one making a great dinner the next day.

L ordered a salad, perhaps with the fish? And the boys got tacos. LC had a combo of some sort….fish, shrimp, pork. Everyone enjoyed their food, the weather and the company.

Another round of tequila shots, more margaritas, and we were ready to head to The Variety Playhouse to see one of P’s favorites, Big Head Todd and the Monsters….a fun show!

Arriving at Capella Pedregal around 1pm last Thursday, B and I quickly made our way to the swim-up bar in front of one of the resort’s restaurants, Don Manuel’s.

I say quickly, but first we had to assess our 3 bedroom, 3 1/2 bath villa, stocked with groceries I had ordered the day before. Our mayordomo was to make guacamole for us, but alas we did not get a personal assistant. Most impressively, however, the ingredients were placed in our refrigerator…..the exact ingredients I use for my kickass guacamole! Of course, I got the recipe from a Mexican cleaning lady twenty years ago. More on this later…..

The first order of business was a Corona Light with lime. Then we slipped on our bikinis and dipped our toes in one of our 2 balcony infinity pools (yeah, I’m serious).

Finally down at one of the infinity pools, we chose 2 deck chairs near the bar, overlooking the white surf and the turquoise waters of the Pacific. Handsome Latino servers happily decked out our comfy padded loungers with fresh white towels as we gazed momentarily at the blue blue sky.

Now it was time for tequila! And a snack, too. B and I ordered two shots of Herradura with salt and limes plus two margaritas. Chips, salsa, and guacamole started us off. The chips were very thick. I was hoping this was not typical to Cabo San Lucas but as the days wore on, it became evident that it was the standard. As were white corn tortillas that were wrapped around our shrimp tacos rather than the coarse, intensely corn-flavored yellow ones.

The shrimp were plump and fresh, as I would expect sitting ten feet from the ocean, and their guacamole was authentic and chunky. Pico de gallo and a habenero salsa provided some kick.

As did our unexpected second shot of tequila. That kick put me to sleep on the chaise lounge to the sound of the crashing waves and the Latin acoustic guitarist that played poolside as the sun set.

A good start.