…My Strip District Visit, 10/15/11, Parte Uno – Foods I Didn’t Make Myself

When I’m busy – I make myself busier.

As if I didn’t have enough to do this month, I quickly realized that the only plans that I had for the weekend of October 14^th, 15^th, and 16^th were to go to the Homecoming game on Friday night and work at the switchboard at Kennywood on Saturday night.

Whoa.  What to do with my spare time?!  Clean my house?  Organize my closet?  Pull flowers out of my garden?  Pfffft, no,…

…visit the Strip District, of course!

I know, it feels like I was just there, and I should probably go visit Squirrel Hill or some other neighborhood that I haven’t visited yet, but I couldn’t resist.  I had tacos on the brain from my visit to Smoke Taqueria on Wednesday, so I just HAD to try the tacos at Reyna’s Taco Shack outside of Reyna Foods (where I buy REAL tortillas – see previous Strip District post and bonus post). 

I have only ever had a bite of a burrito from that stand before, and it was awesome, as I remember, but I wanted to try their tacos to see how they compare.  My mom and I drove down to The Strip, found a parking place RIGHT outside of the Pittsburgh Public Market (score!), and began our shopping adventure around 10:30 AM. 

We perused the market for ingredients for some recipes (more to come on that…), took our wares to the car, and moseyed on up to Penn Ave., quickly realizing that we should probably have more cash than we did to make purchasing items easier. 

The ATM is right next to Reyna’s, so after loading up on cash, we decided to stop for our tacos – especially since I hadn’t eaten breakfast, knowing that I would most likely eat my way through The Strip.

I’m so smart.

After looking over the menu, I knew that I had to be different and go with the most unusual taco – not pork, not chicken, not beef, but…”lengua”.  “Lengua” in some Spanish-speaking countries means “language”; however, it is also the word for an important part of speaking any language…

Lengua Taco from Reyna's Taco Shack

…you got it!  TONGUE!

I ate a tongue taco.

In addition, I couldn’t order a normal beverage to go with a tongue taco, so I opted for hibiscus water.  My mom chose a regular bottle of water to go with her chicken taco.

Cooking the tongue

Warming the tortilla and adding the veggies

The tacos were made in front of us on the griddle of the taco stand.  Once they were finished, we had to find someplace to settle and eat, so we opted for the curb around the corner, across from Chicken Latino.

Mmmm, Chicken Latino…yucca fries…plantains…

My taco was delicious – not quite as delicious as the unique chicken and apple taco from Smoke, but it was a classic – fresh, warm corn tortilla, cheese, cilantro, lettuce, tomato, lime zest, onions…and of course, tongue.  My mom raved about her taco, too, and commented on how she really liked the lime flavor in her taco.

I told her that lime makes everything better – but honestly, I think that only applies to Hispanic foods.

Hibiscus Water

My hibiscus water was definitely different, but good.  It is like an agua fresca, but the flavor is hard to describe – kind of grapey, kind of tropical fruit-ish.  I devoured it quickly, nonetheless.

We ventured down to the Firehouse Farmer’s Market, which is completely outside, and where I was talked into buying horseradish root (I usually buy it jarred and pre-grated).  The winds were crazy, and things were blowing around – and I was pretty cold, so that ended the trip to that venue.  

Horseradish Root

After stopping at a few non-food establishments, we were back at 21^st Street, which meant that it was time for Peruvian deliciousness at Chicken Latino.

There was only one other group there when we arrived (yay!  I’m not a fan of crowds, and the streets were crowded that day).  We were immediately waited on and asked what we would like to drink.  My mom, who has never been to Chicken Latino, followed my lead and ordered Chicha Morada.

Without a doubt, I had to order yucca fries so that my mom could try them (not that I’m addicted to them and the green sauce at all – not at all….), and I wanted to try their fried plantains.

Yucca fries!

My mom liked the Chicha Morada, and she seemed to like the yucca fries with green sauce and mayo just as much as I do.  The plantains were hot (temperature-wise), delicious, and fried to golden perfection.

Fried plantains

 I had already had the ceviche and Peruvian-style chicken before, I needed to try something different, and really, the only thing “authentic” that I haven’t tried is a big-as-your-head quesadilla.  I opted for the vegetarian one, which is made with black beans, rice, and cheese.  

Veggie Quesadilla at Chicken Latino

 I need to learn why my quesadillas at home don’t taste this good.  Maybe I need to add rice to them.

The only piece that I ate there, I swear!

 Ok, so you’re probably thinking that I’m a pig for eating all of this food, but I didn’t eat it all.  I had the taco from Reyna’s, then I had maybe – MAYBE - half of the yucca fries and plantains, but I only ate one piece of the quesadilla there.  See, I had a plan – eat what I could, then take the rest home for my dinner at Kennywood that night, since I was working 5 PM-1 AM.

Like I said before – I’m so smart!

My mom took her leftover chicken quesadilla, the rest of the yucca fries, and the lone leftover plantain home for my brother, who was unable to come with us because he agreed to help out a co-worker by working part of the day for her.  Awwww. 

Chicken Latino never disappoints – even if you can’t make it there, apparently!

There is so much more to say about this trip to The Strip, but the results of some of my other purchases remain to be seen…stay tuned for the next chapter…

Reyna Foods & Reyna’s Taco Shack

2031 Penn Ave.

Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Website: http://www.reynafoods.com

Chicken Latino

155 21^st St.

Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Website: http://www.chickenlatino.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=699253613466&id=47505581&ref=notif&notif_t=feed_comment_reply#!/pages/Chicken-Latino/145153807143

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

The Strip District Website: http://www.neighborsinthestrip.com/

Neighbors in the Strip on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=699253613466&id=47505581&ref=notif&notif_t=feed_comment_reply#!/StripDistrict

Strip District Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/StripDistrict

…Reyna’s tortillas (bonus blog!)

So people ask me – what do you do with the stuff you buy down in The Strip District?

I see the variety of items that are available in The Strip as an opportunity for creativity – so much culture and variety, why not use your imagination and come up with something new (and hopefully, delicious)?

Last night, while taking a break from writing my blog post about The Strip District, I ventured into the kitchen and spotted my bag of 30 of Reyna Foods’ handmade corn tortillas.  They make them right there in the store.  I would have taken pictures of them making them while I was there, but they had just opened, so the process was just beginning.

Next time, I promise!

I thought, “What can I do with these before they go bad?”  Well, they keep for a decent amount of time, and I can always freeze them - but I was looking for an excuse to use them…ok, to eat them.

I took three tortillas out of the bag and spread each side with some canola oil.  I heated them individually in a nonstick skillet, until they were crispy (you can also do this in the oven, if you have the time – I didn’t have the patience to wait for the oven to preheat).  Once they were done, I broke them into pieces and ate them with my “green stuff” and mayonnaise mixture that I love so much from Chicken Latino – although all I have in my house is light mayonnaise (oh well, made it healthier, what a shame!)

Then I wanted dessert.  I remembered that I had bought the buñuelos as a reward for my 3^rd and 8^th period classes, and I kind of wanted something along those lines.  However, I wanted ice cream, too.  The only ice cream in my house right now is Arctic Zero (which is really not ice cream…not at all) and Trader Joe’s Raspberry & Vanilla cream bars…oh, hey, those will do.  

 I heated another tortilla (sprayed with Pam this time – I felt bad about using oil again, with all of those calories), then sprinkled it with a mixture of Splenda (again, calories) and cinnamon.  I turned the tortilla over, and repeated the heating and sprinkling process.  

Once the tortilla was crispy, I transferred it to a plate and topped it with the ice cream bar (they’re not very big, but once it had melted a bit, I spread it out amongst the tortilla).  It still needed something.

Oh wait – I had Very Berry Jam from The Berry Patch at The Pittsburgh Public Market!

I took about a tablespoon of the jam and topped my ice cream concoction with it.  The only thing missing was some fat-free Reddi-Whip, which used to be a staple in my refrigerator, but I found myself using too much of it, so I stopped buying it.

Ugh.  Definitely going to have to get some more on my next shopping trip!

So, that was my creative moment – it was a homemade version of fried ice cream, in a way (fried ice cream really isn’t “fried”, but does contain a fried component – like a tortilla).  Here is what the fried ice cream from Las Velas in Market Square looks like:

Yeah, that looks way more appetizing than what I made – but my creative dessert will do in a pinch.

Oh yeah, the verdict?  Delicious, of course.  You can’t go wrong with a fried up, cinnamon and sugar (or Splenda) coated tortilla, topped with raspberry-vanilla ice cream and berry jam. 

Maybe next time I’ll add chocolate, too…oh, the wheels in my head are turning…

The Strip District

Neighbors in the Strip

1212 Smallman Street

Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Website: http://www.neighborsinthestrip.com

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

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