Cucumber

[slumdog]

We had lunch at the Cucumber, on the plaza in Chapala, for the second time in a week today: we returned because we enjoyed the first visit so much. Both times I had a clam chowder, which was delicious. More potatoes the second time, and the clams are obviously canned, but the flavor was just delightful. My club sandwich the first visit was perfect.

This time, we had a chicken Caesar salad and the surimi salad. Both we huge portions; in fact, I had to take half the surimi home. The chicken in the Caesar was cooked to perfection, and very flavorul. Note that the lettuce was shredded, and they used both romaine and blood lettuces, but that added a little zip to the overall dish. The surimi mix was light and tasty, although a little bland, as fake crab can be. A little salt fixed that.

Drinks were beer and huge limonadas. The leisurely lunch came to $172 pesos for the two of us. Oh, yes: the homemade croutons on the Caesar were chewy and garlicky and yummy, and bite-sized.

[newinajijic]

I can't imagine a Mexican restaurant making Clam chowder. Was the Clam chowder canned?

[RVGRINGO]

Folks have been cooking in Mexico since long before the Vikings even set foot in northern New England; and certainly before the English arrived. That, of course, is way, way before the Italians began to arrive to compete with the Irish.

Surprise, surprise! There have always been clams in the waters of Mexico. Sopa de mariscos is also a traditional dish here, and quite delicious.

[osuespirit]

There is no reason for anyone to be using fake crab. I get very good crab from my fish monger.

[slumdog]

The only good reason is price, and lots of restaurants here that serve this kind of thing use surimi. I agree that it's preposterous. Heck, back home I get quite irate when a restaurant offers "crab salad" and don't specifically point out that it's not real crab. It's happened to me on numerous occasions. I don't particularly dig surimi, but it does make a light salad.

[newinajijic]

RVGRINGO - If there really are clams in the Mexican waters, why don't we see them here at Fish stores or in the markets like Walmart and Costco?

Why isn't clam chowder on restaurant menus here? Or are they too lazy to make it?

We really miss clams, being from the Boston area and will have a feast when we return this summer.

[slumdog]

As I said, I'm sure the clams were canned, but the chowder definitely was not. "Why isn't clam chowder on restaurant menus here? Or are they too lazy to make it?" You're kidding, right? That's equivalent to saying "Why isn't broccoli salad on menus here? Are they too lazy to make it?"

Listen to this: "In suitable environments, clams inhabit coastal waters from Florida to the Gulf of St. Lawrence and along the Gulf of Mexico to the Yucatan Peninsula." And: "Mexican Chocolate Clam, Megapitaria squalida: The Mexican Chocolate Clam has a uniformly colored brown shell. It is the largest West Coast bivalve, reaching about 5 to 6 inches across. In Mexico the Chocolate Clam is found in all coastal lagoons from Magdalena Bay south along the Pacific side of Baja, throughout the Sea of Cortez, and along the coast of the mainland to Guatemala."

Maybe they just ain't popular in this culture, like escargots, or popcorn without ketchup.

[slumdog]

Gringal, you'll like this: I post a nice review and the big responses crap on clams and surimi. Wow. Wonder what will happen when I post a negative review?

[Doolittle]

If you go to any of the beach restaurants by Club Santiago just north of Manzanillo they all have clams and oysters on their menus. Caught fresh daily in Santiago Bay.

[ChrisB]

Mexicans seem to love oysters on the half shell. We've been to a restaurant at the beach were that was the only thing served. You can get them at the fish market in Guadalajara. I don't remember seeing clams. The new fish market by Super Lake has New Zealand mussels (fozen) ,but, delish.