Great Places to Eat

[Ian Greenwood]

Mexa bistro may just give Teocintle a run for their money….dinner this week was really enjoyable …. Modern Mexican cooking, a wide range of choices… Price is similar to Teocintle ( upper range ) ,service was good ,With a reasonably priced wine list . I had a duck Carnitas taco , and a braised brisket with roasted onions ,potatoes and a light mole sauce….both really good ( no bits and pieces of miserable chicken here ..Andy p ). Also nice to see fish other than salmon being served… Grouper was the daily special.

[rafterbr]

After the good reviews for Letra CH we tried to try it today.  We decided to walk from the Chapala melacon to it, a lot further than I thought.  Upon arriving we found they were closed from 19 July to 28 July.  I had looked at the restaurant reviews  and they said they were open. We next decided to try La Pacena, another mistake.  After we arrived around 2:30 the band started playing, making it difficult to talk.  Three of the four dinners were good, as usual mine was the only bad one.  I had fish and chips, which use to be good there but not anymore.   I'm trying fish and chips at all the restaurants we eat at and surprisingly so far the best has been at Abulita's. 

[gringohombre]

I am a fish and chips aficionado, having spent some time in England. My go to place here for many years is Lake Taco, next to the car wash just behind the gas station on the libremento just up from the Laguna Mall. I always go for the Mahi Mahi and ask for "extra crispy" chips. The outside coating of the fish is also very crispy and the fish is cooked to perfection and a little juicy inside. Not quite the "real thing", being North Atlantic cod, but almost there.    

[lakeside7]

1 minute ago, gringohombre said:

I am a fish and chips aficionado, having spent some time in England. My go to place here for many years is Lake Taco, next to the car wash just behind the gas station on the libremento just up from the Laguna Mall. I always go for the Mahi Mahi and ask for "extra crispy" chips. The outside coating of the fish is also very crispy and the fish is cooked to perfection and a little juicy inside. Not quite the "real thing", being North Atlantic cod, but almost there.    

The texture of the 2 fish's are totally different,  the only thing they have in common is they swim 

[gringohombre]

1 hour ago, lakeside7 said:

The texture of the 2 fish's are totally different,  the only thing they have in common is they swim 

Did I say the texture is the same??? YOU tell me where you can get something closer to the real thing here!!!

[rafterbr]

12 hours ago, gringohombre said:

I am a fish and chips aficionado, having spent some time in England. My go to place here for many years is Lake Taco, next to the car wash just behind the gas station on the libremento just up from the Laguna Mall. I always go for the Mahi Mahi and ask for "extra crispy" chips. The outside coating of the fish is also very crispy and the fish is cooked to perfection and a little juicy inside. Not quite the "real thing", being North Atlantic cod, but almost there.    

Thanks, I spent 3 years in Australia and 3 years in England where I enjoyed hundreds of fish and chips at dozens of restaurants and I don't remember a bad one, although some were better than others. At one restaurant in Australia you had your choice of 5 different fish.  I usually got the whiting. Of course, cod is the universal choice.  I am surprised here Lake side with the abundance of seafood there is not better fish and chips available.  It starts with the chips and we are somewhat limited by the small potatoes here. Chips should be large, long and juicy with a lot of salt.  Next the batter, for the fish, there are a few ways to make it, but I enjoy a beer batter with some malt vinegar in it.  The fish is very important and so far, I have only been served a cheap fish which is crumbly instead of flaky like it should be.  Gracias for the suggestion, I will try  Lake Taco.

[AndyPanda]

Fish and chips is about as natural to Mexican chefs as poutine.

[happyjillin]

1 hour ago, AndyPanda said:

Fish and chips is about as natural to Mexican chefs as poutine.

I have given up. Delivered really sucks.By the way Halibut is better than Cod. Magana was the only half decent place here and he's long gone.

[Bisbee Gal]

57 minutes ago, happyjillin said:

I have given up. Delivered really sucks.

Many foods don't carry well.  Nice and crispy when put into the take-away container....soggy after they steam in it for more than a few minutes.  

Have heard and read very positive reviews of Baja Norte's fish and chips, but have not tried.  The battered fried oysters in their tacos are to-die-for, same for their battered shrimp.

Baja Norte on carretera in Ajijic, mountain side on the lateral just west of Dona's.  

 

[rafterbr]

3 hours ago, AndyPanda said:

Fish and chips is about as natural to Mexican chefs as poutine.

 

[rafterbr]

46 minutes ago, rafterbr said:

 

In Oklahoma we cover the French fries with chili and cheese.  Guaranteed not to prolong your life!

[CHILLIN]

My friend, who has recently purchased a vintage VW Combi, to convert to a mobile fish and chips truck for car shows, says the best fish and chips locally is Brewhouse.

[Ian Greenwood]

The brew house was using basa when I tried their fish and chips ( only once ) I forgot to ask .

[Carnivore]

THE TOPIC IS GREAT PLACES TO EAT.   Last night we once again ordered delivery from Min Wah (Please don't respond telling us where you come from and what restaurant there did, or didn't do well......it's not a response that's of interest.  The original post by "rafterbr" that resulted in this thread asked for recommendations for great places for food here at Lakeside.

Our food was requested for delivery at 7:00p.m.  The driver was at our door at 7:02p.m.  We ordered: 1 order of egg rolls (2), 1 order of Lo Mein Shrimp and 1 order of Carne de Res Curry.  We had sufficient of the two main courses for lunch today or tomorrow.  Oh yes, if anyone is really interested, the shrimp were large. properly cleaned, translucent and not overcooked!

Price $450.00MN ($22.67USD) plus $50.00MN gratuity for the driver.  Food:  Well packaged, piping hot and excellent in every category!  As good as we've ever had anywhere in the world where Chinese food was available and had a "solid and long established reputation".   (Vancouver, Seattle, New York, Boston, London, Toronto, Montreal, Mexico City, Edinburgh, Chicago, Detroit)  All three of the items we ordered were exceptional and likely at least 1/3 of the price that they would be in any of the cities I've mentioned.

[gringal]

Aren't they one of the places that uses MSG? 

[Tomas]

On 7/2/2021 at 9:23 PM, rafterbr said:

Want to thank everyone for their great responses.  When we were here a year ago, we ate at all of these restaurants with the exception of Letra CH which we will try and make it too next week.  I know things change in a years time, so we will give all of them a try again.  Since arriving, we have ate at Mediteranian, Panchos, Lety's, Food Container and Scallions. The best was Mediteranian but I didn't like paying 35 pesos for the garlic bread.  Worst was Scallions where I didn't like the spaghetti although the meat balls were large.  Main problem was once we got our order, we never saw a waiter again until we paid out.  Food Container wasn't bad and there was a lot less flies than last year. Lety's fish wasn't up to par and Pancho's was better than last year.  I noticed there was a steady stream of customers going upstairs for the pizza.

 

[Tomas]

The Pizza upstairs is outstanding, fresh made dough, top notch toppings, ultra-clean, dogs welcome on the outside  patio. Absolutely great. Have not tried their many other Italian offerings..Forget the rest and enjoy the BEST.

[Mostlylost]

50 minutes ago, gringal said:

Aren't they one of the places that uses MSG? 

If they do then they can use less salt. 

1. Glutamate is the purest taste of umami, the fifth basic taste. Umami taste receptors have a special affinity for free glutamate.

2. We consume between 10g and 20g of glutamate from our diet, of which glutamate from seasoning (monosodium glutamate) or condiments is less than 10%.

3. What is MSG (monosodium glutamate)? It is the sodium salt of glutamate, an amino acid found abundantly in protein.

4. MSG brings nothing new to the diet. The body treats glutamate in exactly the same way whether comes from the food we eat or is added as seasoning.

5. Glutamate is important for healthy metabolism; however, most of the dietary glutamate we consume is used as fuel by the cells of the digestive system.

6. Increasing the umami taste in food by increasing the level of free glutamate can result in reduced sodium (salt) and fat-reduced recipes which still taste satisfying.

7. In recipes, replacing salt with some MSG will reduce the sodium content, as MSG has two-thirds less sodium than table salt.

8. Only a small amount of added glutamate is required to optimize umami taste; using more won’t do you any harm but, as with salt, the food might not taste as good.

9. The extensive body of research which exists about glutamate has been reviewed by independent scientists and regulatory authorities around the world — all have found MSG to be safe.

10. Numerous well-conducted scientific studies have failed to show a connection between MSG and adverse health effects. In fact, MSG gives the benefit of umami taste.

 

[AndyPanda]

An excellent list. Some people complain of a bit of a head buzz, but I never have felt that.

[gringal]

The list shown re MSG must be the reason so many food labels proudly claim their products don't contain any. 🙃

[gringal]

...From the Mayo Clinic:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/monosodium-glutamate/faq-20058196

Personally, I get "the headache".  Reason enough for me.

 

[AndyPanda]

From that article, quote:

"However, researchers have found no definitive evidence of a link between MSG and these symptoms. Researchers acknowledge, though, that a small percentage of people may have short-term reactions to MSG. Symptoms are usually mild and don't require treatment. The only way to prevent a reaction is to avoid foods containing MSG."

The reason those labels proudly proclaim is simply marketing and playing on the public's unfounded apprehension. Same reason they put the word "organic" on packages, even when they're not. But I would avoid it, too, if I had any symptoms.

[Ian Greenwood]

 I am personally sure that Gringal and many others  have glutamate allergies….so many people  have allergies legitimate and otherwise due to our food additives , chemicals  ,pollution and so many other contributing  factors in modern society. However it is impossible to avoid MSG / glutamates as they occur naturally in almost every food we eat . Foods like Parmesan , anchovies, almonds and cured meats….even various tomato products all have really high concentrations of glutamates …So does Chinese food deserve its bad rap…for the vast majority of people…? don’t even think about it .

[Ferret]

MSG is one of the first things that I discovered I reacted to in an allergic manner. Not only the headache and stiff neck but the face/eyes and nose swell also. Not fun. YMMV. I really try and avoid it but it's getting harder because of the myriad ways of naming it. Basically, you can't eat anything pre-prepared or out of a box or out of a can or bottle. Honestly it sucks. 

[gringal]

9 hours ago, Ferret said:

MSG is one of the first things that I discovered I reacted to in an allergic manner. Not only the headache and stiff neck but the face/eyes and nose swell also. Not fun. YMMV. I really try and avoid it but it's getting harder because of the myriad ways of naming it. Basically, you can't eat anything pre-prepared or out of a box or out of a can or bottle. Honestly it sucks. 

Dont'cha love the way the canned, boxed and bottle stuff frustrates us label readers by having the ingredients in such small print that the shopper has to carry a magnifying glass in order to read them?  I do, but a handy shortcut is to reject anything with more than a few lines.