Hoboken, NJ. December, 2010

Mexican Food Week continues with some great tacos from recipes by el mejor chef mexicano Roberto Santibañez (of Fonda and Rosa Mexicano fame.) Roberto consults worldwide, offering his expertise in Mexican food of superior quality. Among the dishes he’s guided establishments in preparing: excellent tacos with an assortment of fillings (carnitas michoacan, chorizo con papas, pollo asado, pescado, camarón and more), all simply prepared from the freshest ingredients and laced with your choice of salsa (mild, medium, hot, very hot.) We recently had these tacos al pastor (adobo-marinated pork with onions, cilantro, pineapple and hot chipotle salsa. Mighty fine.) Roberto’s enviable knack is to take classics you think you may know, and then surprise you by showing how much better they can be when lovingly and skillfully prepared from only the best components. No skimping. No cutting corners. Sublime.

Hoboken, NJ. December, 2010

Even more Mexican food! Here, some great tacos from recipes by el mejor chef mexicano Roberto Santibañez (of Fonda and Rosa Mexicano fame.) Roberto consults worldwide, offering his expertise in Mexican food of superior quality. Among the dishes he’s guided establishments in preparing: excellent tacos with an assortment of fillings (carnitas michoacan, chorizo con papas, pollo asado, pescado, camarón and more), all simply prepared from the freshest ingredients and laced with your choice of salsa (mild, medium, hot, very hot.) We recently had these tacos al pastor (adobo-marinated pork with onions, cilantro, pineapple and hot chipotle salsa. Mighty fine.) Roberto’s enviable knack is to take classics you think you may know, and then surprise you by showing how much better they can be when lovingly and skillfully prepared from only the best components. No skimping. No cutting corners. Sublime.

Madrid. October, 2009

Well, yes, I suppose Dr. Blake could be called “El Brillante.” Sometimes. But this photo is an homage to the wonderful bar/cafe of the same name near Atocha station in Madrid. Home, they claim, to el mejor bocadillo de calamares de Madrid. And who are we to argue. It looks as if our travel plans this coming fall will bring us to Madrid again. And I admit that one of the first things I thought of was the home of Madrid’s best calamari sandwiches. And how many times we’d be able to enjoy them in our two-day stay.

Madrid. October, 2009

Well, yes, I suppose Dr. Blake could be called “El Brillante.” Sometimes. But this photo is an homage to the wonderful bar/cafe of the same name near Atocha station in Madrid. Home, they claim, to el mejor bocadillo de calamares de Madrid. And who are we to argue. It looks as if our travel plans this coming fall will bring us to Madrid again. And I admit that one of the first things I thought of was the home of Madrid’s best calamari sandwiches. And how many times we’d be able to enjoy them in our two-day stay.

El Brillante, Madrid. October, 2009

We had just arrived in the Spanish capital after an overnight flight from Boston and change of planes in Frankfurt. A quick check-in at our Priceline-secured hotel, and the big question that dogs any serious traveler to this magical city: The Prado? Or El Brillante? The home of Velasquez’s Las Meninas? Or the home of “el mejor bocadillo de calamares de Madrid”? How ’bout a little of both, señores? Jay and I paid our quick respects to the Velasquez masterpiece...and then hot-footed it down to #8 Glorietta del Emperador Carlos V (Metro: Atocha) where the lively and always hopping Spanish bar welcomed us with all the charm and good eats we’d remembered from our first visit(s) there 15 years earlier. Two other branches of this storied Madrid institution exist, but the original Atocha location will always be tops with us. Dos calamari baguettes comin’ right up.