...pandebono, thanks to Rayuela! (and a side trip to Las Palmas)

I have a real problem with carbs anymore.

I have never been one of those people who starts eating something carb-y and can't stop.  Sure, as a kid, I couldn't just eat one cookie, nor a small bowl of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (Cheese and Macaroni?), nor a small heaping of mashed potatoes...but I had no sense of portion.

When I started Weight Watchers, I was hard-core - stick to the "Points", don't eat beyond them, exercise, earn "Activity Points", don't use them...

...then I discovered Special K cereals.

Oh geez.  So many varieties.  Blueberry, Fruit & Yogurt, Chocolatey Delight, Oats & Honey, and later, Vanilla Almond were addictions to me.  So much so, that I had to stop buying them, because there were many days that I found myself standing in my kitchen, eating them directly from the box.

I tried to put them in air-tight containers from Ikea so that merely seeing the box wouldn't tempt me - then just seeing the cereal itself through the clear containers was tempting, so I put a dishtowel over them to hide them.  Then they called to me.  No, really.  I could hear them..."Eat me, I'm good for you...I have lots of fiber, and I'm lower in calories than most cereals..."

Psychotic?  A little bit.  Carbs make you crazy.

Just today, I rediscovered a cereal that I hadn't had in YEARS, but I saw at Giant Eagle on my "OMG--it's-going-to-snow-overnight-and-I-need-things!" shopping trip: Cracklin' Oat Bran. 

Let's just say that tomorrow, if I'm snowed in, I won't have much more to eat.  No misnomer there - CRACKlin' Oat Bran is addictive.

When James and I were at the fabulous Latin American fusion restaurant, Rayuela in New York City, we were served a dinner roll - a very dense, hard-on-the-outside-yet chewy-on-the-inside dinner roll, along with garlic-olive butter.  Wow, were we impressed!  We asked our waiter what it was, and he told us that it was "pandebono", a roll that is typical of Colombia and made with queso fresco and yucca flour.

Yucca!  Yucca fries!  Chicken Latino!  So many associations were going on in my head.  I had to do some research.

It wasn't hard to find a recipe for pandebono, but I could only find one.  Good thing it was all that I needed.  View the recipe here.

The hardest part about making it was finding the ingredients.  I found the masarepa and queso fresco in Giant Eagle, but I could not find yucca flour (also known as cassava or tapioca flour) in any aisle.  All of the other ingredients I already had at home: sugar, eggs, and salt.  

Masarepa

 I decided to experiment with regular all-purpose flour.  The rolls turned out a bit drier than we (James and I) remembered them being, most likely as a result of the flour substitute, but they were still pretty good.  I froze most of them to use as dinner rolls as needed.

Pandebono (with all-purpose flour)

 About a week later, on a beautiful, unseasonably mild winter day, James and I were craving - what else? - tacos!  Since we were in his neighborhood, we decided to hit up Las Palmas again for their $2 street tacos.  I saw an interesting meat option, and asked James if he knew what it was - "chicharron", otherwise known as pig skin.

I'll try anything once.  So I did, along with barbacoa:

TOP: Chicharron     BOTTOM: Barbacoa

Post-toppings Station

I don't think that I'll be choosing chicharron again for a few reasons: 1.) I know that there are better meat options available, taste-wise 2.) Chicharron is quite...chewy... 3.) I could hear the fat developing on my waistline any time I swallowed it...no, really...I could...

Carbs make you crazy.  There's carbs in tortillas.

The barbacoa was ok, but I was a bit disappointed...probably because I had high expectations for the meat.  It was definitely much better than the chicharron, and it was not bad - I just thought that the meat would have tasted better.  Regardless, I cannot deny that the tortillas were fantastic, the toppings that I chose were perfect (lots and lots of pico de gallo and cilantro!), and you just can't beat that $2/taco price.  Taco Bell's tacos are cheaper, yes, but in that case, you get what you pay for (gross).  

I still contest that Las Palmas tacos are the best deal in town.

After devouring our tacos, James and I went in search of groceries inside Las Palmas.  He wanted an avocado salad, and the produce there is SUPER cheap: avocados? 4/$2.00 (2/$6.00 at Giant Eagle!); jalapeno pepper? $1.19/lb. ($3.99/lb. at Giant Eagle!)...I could go on forever.  We stocked up as best we could without going overboard and wasting money on food that would spoil before we could eat it.

I swear, James and I had the same thought at the same time.  Super weird.  Just as I was about to look down the next aisle for yucca flour, he said, "Hey, we should look for that flour..." and I cut him off, knowing exactly what he meant.  We asked a clerk if he knew where it would be (in Spanish, of course), and he wasn't sure, but he tried to help us find it.  I was the victor in this quest, as I found the Goya-brand bag that read "Yuca Harina" & "Tapioca Starch", knowing that had to be it.  

Yay!  Now I could make real pandebono!

On my second attempt, I found the dough to be a lot harder to knead and get "smooth", as the recipe reads.  I had to add a lot more water, as the dough was drier, but in the end, the rolls turned out MUCH better than they were with all-purpose flour - softer, chewier, and tastier.  It's hard to tell from the picture, as the rolls LOOK the same, though:

Pandebono, with yucca flour

These rolls are a nice change from your typical, every day dinner roll (or Pillsbury Crescent Roll, or Brown 'N Serve Roll), so making them ahead of time and freezing them for future use isn't a bad idea - I have done it with both versions, and with a little reheating, they are just as good as they were fresh from the oven.  Also, if you're serving something that is traditionally Latino for dinner, this is the perfect way to make your meal even more "authentic"!

I think I'll experiment with Tres Leches Cupcakes now...

Las Palmas Taqueria, Carniceria, y Supermercado

700 Brookline Blvd.

Pittsburgh, PA 15226 (Brookline)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Las-Palmas-Carniceria-y-Supermercado/199039860122197

...'Burgh Bits & Bites Food Tour - Brookline

 I like to share my awesome food experiences with friends and family.

This blog, unintentionally, has allowed me to do so.  I started this blog for my students, to get them excited about the authentic Hispanic/Latino restaurants right in their own vicinity, but it seems as if my family, friends, colleagues, and complete strangers are more fascinated with where I go and what I eat than they are. 

Am I wrong?

I wanted to share another one of those experiences through a 'Burgh Bits & Bites Food Tour.  I had so much fun on the Dormont Food Blogger Tour that I wanted to plan a private one for a small group of my own family and friends.  I had some family coming in for Thanksgiving, and we had a half day the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, so I figured, "Why not?"  I worked it out with Sylvia, the owner and operator of 'Burgh Bits & Bites, and seven of us embarked on a food tour of Brookline the day before Thanksgiving.

I had only been to Brookline once, when James and I experienced the taco stand and store at Las Palmas, but I wanted to see what the rest of the retailers had to offer in this area.  We were debating between Bloomfield and Brookline, but ultimately, due to the holiday, Bloomfield was unable to accommodate a tour on this date.

Oh, well.  Something else to look forward to!

Pitaland, land of many, many pitas

 Our meeting place was Pitaland, so myself and 4 of my family members were the first to arrive.  Teacher Friend (TF), from my first Strip District post and Mallorca post, was next to arrive, and James arrived not long after.  While we waited, we checked out some items in the store, such as the barrels of beans, but we were most fascinated by the pita machine that was mass-producing pitas right before our eyes.  In the midst of this, Sylvia arrived, and informed us that we would be going back to the production area for an up-close look and for our tasting.

Pitas being produced, as seen through the glass

AWESOME!

Dough biscuits (not yet flattened)

Pitas baking in 3 seconds (and blowing up!)

 It's really amazing how this machine works.  It heats up to about 1200 degrees and bakes a pita in about 3 seconds.  As it passes through the heat, it goes from a flattened dough biscuit into a pita - it blows up like a balloon, and then flattens again as it cools.  The owner came across this machine while in Lebanon, and within 6 months, had it here in Brookline.

And lucky for us, they pulled pitas right off of the cooling belt for us to sample - as a result, this was the first item on my list to come back and purchase when the tour was over!

Our tasting table - pitas, dip, olives, feta, spinach and feta pastry

 We also sampled a spinach and feta pastry, which I liked mostly because I love the combination of spinach and feta.  I'm not a fan of olives, so I did not have that, but I tried my pita with some of the olive oil dip, which was mixed with a blend of herbs:

One of the brands available at Pitaland (mix with olive oil to make the dip that we had)

I wasn't too much of a fan of the dip, simply because it was a bit sour for my taste - probably the combination of herbs.  It wasn't terrible, but not something that I would make myself to eat with pitas.

Give me a good hummus or tzatziki any day!

Kribels's Bakery

 We moved on to Kribel's Bakery a few doors down.  They are known for their buttercream icing, and their thumbprints are made with that fact in mind - simple cookie, lots of icing. 

We sampled an apple turnover-type pastry first - perfect for those of us who consume apple pie regularly on Thanksgiving.  This definitely reminded me of apple pie in a simpler, smaller form.  Flaky, buttery pastry with a gooey apple filling, and unlike apple pie, sweet icing...ahhhh...

Apple pastry

We then sampled their pumpkin log (sorry, no picture - it went too quickly!)  I do love all things pumpkin, and cream cheese icing only makes it better.  

And then we were each handed a bag with one of their famous thumbprint cookies (the ones with all of the icing on them).  Oh boy.  Definitely taking that home and having it later - something to REALLY look forward to!

Lots of icing on those turkeys!  Thumbprints are to the left, HUGE ladylocks to the right!

Is there cake under there?!

Donuts.  Yum!

Holy cookies!

 My mom is a huge fan of Kribel's , so I was sure to ask her at the end of the tour if she wanted anything - so I stopped back afterwards to get some thumbprint cookies and a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving!

 As a historical tidbit, we took a look at the fire station on the corner.  It is the oldest fire station in Pittsburgh and was designed for horses, not trucks (of course, since this fire station was built before fire trucks existed!)  It has been renovated to accommodate trucks now, obviously.  Fun fact - the tower that exists was not a watch tower - it was used for the firemen to hang their hoses on to dry out before being rolled back up to be used again later.  Interesting, huh?

We then moved on to Las Palmas to check out what they had to sell.  James and I did this when we visited on our own (you can read about it here), so I won't repeat myself, but Sylvia pointed out a lot of items for sale in the store that we found fascinating as well - including the gorilla booger gel.

Since it was Wednesday and not a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, no tacos were being made on the sidewalk.  Bummer.

Saddest sight in Brookline.  No tacos today :-(

We then stopped in to Sal's Barber Shop (not to eat, though!) an old-fashioned shop still owned by Sal (but operated by his son).  I felt weird taking pictures of guys getting their hair cut and shaved, so I refrained, but the inside was beautiful.  I did get a shot of their cash register, which was awesome, and the classic products on display in their window.

 Our next stop was Vinnie's Pretzel Shoppe, where we were greeted by the owner, Mike (AKA "Vinnie").  This shop opened in 2010 and has undergone several menu changes since, but the neighborhood seems to have taken to it nicely.  With their Philly-style pretzels, it is the perfect meal or snack, especially for kids coming home from school.  Mike runs an after-school special, and he gets a lot of traffic from that.  In addition, he does fundraisers and other activities for the community - in fact, he mentioned that recently he had a girl scout troop come in to learn how to make soft pretzels, which was a great activity for that age group.  

That's what small business is all about.

We were each given a soft pretzel to sample - I tried a piece and saved the rest for later, as I knew there was a lot more food to try!  The pretzel was just as it should be - solid and round on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside. 

 

Mike ("Vinnie"), owner of Vinnie's Pretzel Shoppe

Soft pretzels, some filled, some not

I really like the clock here!

We then went to Antonio's Pizzeria to sample two - yes TWO - kinds of pizza - a spinach and feta pizza (one of my favorites!) and plain cheese.  Definitely delicious pizza, especially the spinach and feta - I have had this kind of pizza at other pizza shops, and this was BY FAR the best!  I think it had more garlic in it, or maybe there was a better balance of garlic and herbs - either way, it was awesome!

Spinach and Feta Pizza

Cheese pizza

 We then moved on to Cannon Coffee to try their warm beverages.  James had been here before and enjoyed the atmosphere immensely, which was easy to understand when we set foot in the door.  Couches and chairs to relax in, a musical setup in one corner for small performances, and local artists' wares on display inside the shop gave it a local, comforting feel.  

Ben, one of the owners, passed around two different coffees to smell, an Ethiopian Harrar and a Honduran blend, which smelled like blueberries.  I opted to taste the Honduran, and it was so flavorful that I did not add any sweetener nor cream.  I could definitely see myself frequenting this coffee shop if I lived in the neighborhood.  Ben told us that he and the other owner lived in the neighborhood and opened the shop because there was no coffee shop - and it was by far a brilliant decision!

Part of the cozy seating area

Goodies for sale at the counter

Look up.  That's a gorgeous ceiling (common in a lot of shops that we visited)

 Our last stop on the tour was It's Greek to Me, specializing in Mediterranean foods from Greece, Cyprus, and Lebanon.  From the outside, it doesn't look like much, but the inside reminds me of being in a Greek family's dining room.

Pickled vegetables are for sale

Their motto: "Eat.  Live.  Love"

 We were served a smorgasbord of food - feta, olives, tzatziki, pita bread, and skordelia, a potato-based dip which was delicious.  James impressed us all (including the owner's wife!) by guessing every ingredient in the tzatziki (which I won't post, so as not to give away the recipe!)

Feta, olives, gyro meat

Skordelia

Tzatziki and pita

 I was so incredibly full at the end of this tour - even more so than after the Dormont tour.  We had sampled pastries, pretzels, pitas, pizzas...wait, am I sensing a theme?  

At the end of the tour, I think this sign outside of Cannon Coffee summed up my thoughts about the tour pretty beautifully...although I would add "family" and "food" as well...

Next time - Bloomfield.  These tours are informative, interesting, insightful, and of course, very filling!  Much more information was given to us on the tour - but I don't want to give it all away!  Thanks so much to TF, my family members (Kris, Katie, Tommy, and Christopher), and James, who is the master at asking good questions and guessing ingredients!  I think that everyone had a fantastic time.  

I swear I will do every 'Burgh Bits & Bites Food Tour at least once (at LEAST...!)

Who wants to join me? 

'Burgh Bits & Bites Food Tours

Website: http://www.burghfoodtour.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/burghbitsandbitestour

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/burghfoodtour

...Las Palmas Taqueria, Carniceria y Supermercado (Brookline)

Social media is a powerful tool.

I saw this article by China Millman in the November 6th edition of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which basically relays that fact that restaurants are using social media to generate buzz about their menus, specials, and events - a smart move for any business. 

From @BurghGourmand

When a restaurant tweets a picture of a menu item, or posts it on their Facebook page, I am personally more intrigued.  I take a lot of pictures when I visit a venue, and I tend to post a lot here on my blog - which I know some people may find annoying - but those pictures usually tell more than any of the words that I use.  If it looks appetizing, you'll want to eat it - and isn't that what the restaurant business is all about? 

From @BurghGourmand

Following food bloggers on Twitter and Facebook has also made me more aware of the restaurant scene in Pittsburgh and what local restaurants and even retail stores have to offer.  Seeing their photos and opinions on certain places makes me more adept to what I should try myself - even if the review is bad, I want to try the place, simply because I'm more interested in forming my own opinion.

If you follow Burgh Gourmand (AKA James), you know what I mean.

From @BurghGourmand

Ugh, some of the things that he tweets makes me wish that iPhones were scratch 'n sniff (or scratch 'n taste)!  One of the places that he frequents is Las Palmas in Brookline, which has a taco stand set up on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.  Tortillas are cooked right before your eyes, with a variety of meat options (usually cooked in the store, due to space limitations), and a self-serve toppings bar, including pico de gallo, avocado cream, cilantro, salsas of different heat levels, tomatoes, and more.  It is similar to the taco stand at Reyna Foods in the Strip District.

But better.

First, each taco is $2 - you can't beat that, especially since you can pile on as many toppings as you want, and the quality is 4,302,530 times better than Taco Bell (just an estimate).  Second, the tortillas are doubled-up, giving you more bang for your buck; moreover, this ensures that your taco will not fall apart, even with a piling of veggies and sauces (although you may need a fork to eat some, otherwise your taco will be more of a tostada).  Finally, the ingredients are simple, yet flavorful and authentic.  Not that I don't like the tacos at Smoke Taqueria, and I am intrigued by the uniqueness of the menu at Yo Rita (which I have yet to try), but I have learned through this process that sometimes the simplest ingredients make the most savory meals.

James took me to Las Palmas to experience the taco stand and to explore the supermercado itself.  

 The tacos did not disappoint.  Just as expected, they were delicious.  I generously piled on pico de gallo, avocado cream (ok, not too generous with that - too many calories), salsa, and of course, cilantro.  

The taco stand itself. Toppings bar to the left.

I got a fork.  I indulged.  I grinned from ear to ear while I ate, and frowned down to my feet after they were devoured.  I will definitely have to experience these tacos again.

Las Palmas tacos - carne asada & chorizo - best $4 you can spend in Brookline!

To drink, we got Coca-Cola, Mexican-style - served in glass bottles, and made with real cane sugar.  Definitely better than the American version.  It reminded me of being in Mexico, where you are charged more if you leave the venue with the beverage (because they take the bottle back to be recycled, which saves money).

Coca-Cola, served in a glass bottle, made with real cane sugar

James and I then explored the store:

Yuca is even cheaper here - $.99/lb.!

 Quite the variety of peppers, like Reyna's, but theirs aren't stored in metal garbage cans...

 Mmm, TONGUE!  I know what's on the menu for the next fiesta...

 Bought these, because I thought they were cute.  I'm thinking of making a Thanksgiving-type macaroni salad out of them...

 Laugh if you wish, but I'll bet this is awesome soap...

 Ok, some of these seem a bit outlandish.  I'm especially intrigued by the tomato soap...

 Nothing like gorilla boogers to get your hair looking its best...

 I love how the lid models what this product can do to your hair...

 Interesting product placement (James's observation, not mine!)

 I know that this character is supposed to be tamarind - but James thinks it looks like Mr. Hanky, the Christmas Poo.  I can't disagree...

By the way, this is what tamarind looks like, for real.  Kinda like those things that fall off of trees...

 Any girl can be charmed with a chili pepper-flavored mango lollipop, while roasting a whole chicken on a stick...

 James and I both tried this - pop made with molasses and (non-fermented!) hops.  Verdict?  Gross...

 Inca Kola was much better.  It tasted like bubble gum at first, then more like cream soda.  They serve this at a lot of Peruvian restaurants, including Chicken Latino...

On a personal note, I have to say that exploring new stores and restaurants with James has been an enlightening experience, to say the least.  His knowledge of the Pittsburgh restaurant scene and food has helped me beyond words, and it is always an outstanding adventure.  

I look forward to many, many more adventures.

Las Palmas Taqueria, Carniceria, y Supermercado

700 Brookline Blvd.

Pittsburgh, PA 15226 (Brookline)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Las-Palmas-Carniceria-y-Supermercado/199039860122197