Chile Chicken

This place has been on my radar for more than a year, so, during my weekend of doing whatever I wanted, I made a point to check it out. 

I order the fried chicken sandwich in "medium," with sweet potato fries and a lemonade. I also ordered sides of comeback sauce (good) and honey mustard (average). 

The sandwich was very good but not quite great.  (With a chicken thigh, it would have been great, but the breast was too thin and dry.) 

The medium spice was good but I wish I had gone up one more level of heat to "hot." (There are still two more levels of heat beyond that, though those days are over for me.) 

I think I was expecting a bit more out of this place, but I can't complain. I got several dollars change back from a twenty, the food was good and the portions were generous. 

If this place were in Santa Fe and they served beer, I would absolutely return. Being out of the way in the ABQ, this will likely be my only visit. 

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Foliage

I was planning to go up to Colorado and enjoy the autumn colors but a funny thing happened: Summer is still here. It's forecast to be 90º in Boulder on Sunday. And I'm sure it's great... but that's not really any different than Santa Fe. (It's 85º in Santa Fe as I type these words on Friday afternoon.) 

I just wasn't feeling the motivation for a road trip. 

But I had already told all my coworkers that I would not be in Friday or Monday. 

So I decided to have a four-day weekend doing whatever I wanted in Northern New Mexico. 

Stay tuned.

I'll Never Get Used To This

Pretzelized Snacks Pretzel Crackers Honey Mustard

Much better than I expected them to be. 

Totino's Faze Clan Orange Chicken Pizza Rolls

Pizza rolls were one of my favorite things in the world when I was a child but I do not believe I have ever eaten them as an adult.* 

Like professional wrestling, skateboarding, Nintendo, trampolines, pornography**, Hypercolor t shirts, Squeezeit, and Press Your Luck, pizza rolls were a huge part of my childhood but something I have not thought about in 30 years. 

But it never occured to me that one day I might find an orange chicken version. A Faze Clan** Orange Chicken version, to be honest. I had to try them. 

They weren't very good. 

I am guessing I will never eat pizza rolls again. 

And I'm okay with that. 

*It's possible that in my early 20s I ate some when drunk.

**This isn't true

***I Googled Faze Clan and still don't know what it is

Porta Brick Oven Sausage & Caramelized Onion Pizza

Roman-style pizza from Canada.

Why not?

The dough was actually decent. There was just too much of it.

And the toppings were good. 

But there was not nearly enough sauce. The whole thing was so dry, like a dense breadstick with a little bit of cheese and a tiny bit of onion.

For a $12 frozen pizza, this was a disappointment.

Feel Good Foods Gluten-Free Chicken Soup Dumplings

These were delicious and I would buy them regularly except for one thing: NINE FUCKING DOLLARS for six tiny dumplings. 

I know GF foods are always more expensive but even Din Tai Fung would be like "Come on, that's a little too expensive for dumplings."

Thanksgiving Cupcakes in... September?

I guess I can't be too surprised... some stores already have Christmas decorations on display. 

But then again, if you buy Christmas decoration now, you can at least use it in December. 

These are cupcakes; they have to be eaten within 2-3 days. 

Who wants a Thanksgiving cupcake in September? 

Valentina Mariscos

Valentina has been my favorite Mexican hot sauce for two decades now, after being introduced to it by a half-Mexican, half-Salvadoran coworker who saw me dousing pizza with Cholula one afternoon.

I just discovered earlier this month that they have a "Mariscos" version designed to complement seafood. That evening, I drizzled it on some beer-battered crab poppers. 

It was spicier than I expected - though that could be because I no longer enjoy spicy food as much as I used to - but I was able to detect a slight citrus-tinge to it.

It was good. Just a little too spicy. 

I don't think I will buy another bottle after this one runs out. 

That being said, I imagine this bottle will last me several years.

It's Been a Long Time Since I've Been This Happy to See Autumn

Art

My parents bought these poles about 35 years ago, when they were roughly the age I am now. They had zero idea that they would end up in Santa Fe.

A Evening of Something Beautiful Before the End of a Season That Passed Too Quickly

 

Another Day at the Office

Trader Joe's Caramelized Onion Goat's Milk Cheese

For two decades now, I have loved TJ's English cheddar with caramelized onions. 

So it was a no-brainer to try their new goat cheese with caramelized onions. 

But I was not prepared for how much I was going to love this. Melt-in-your-mouth good. 

I went back the next day and bought three more packages. 

Panda Express Blazing Bourbon Chicken

Two, maybe three years ago - I can't check because the blog no longer exists - I wrote of a meal at Panda Express and mentioned that, although the restaurant had once been one of my favorites when I was a teenager, it would probably be my last time eating there. 

And I meant it at the time, but should have realized that one day they would likely come out with a new dish that I wanted to try. 

Which they did: Blazing Bourbon Chicken, purporting to be very spicy. 

I was intrigued. So I tried it. 

And liked it. 

It was definitely spicy - spicier than anything I ever would have anticipated Panda releasing. 

But, as you probably could have guessed, it wasn't that spicy. I have had dishes at Chinese restaurants in the SGV that made me flag down a waiter for an entire pitcher of water. 

This wasn't one of them, and I will not be eating it again. 

And, though I certainly have no plans to visit Panda again, I must acknowledge that I may very well eat there again one day if they come out with another dish that sounds intriguing. 

Santa Fe Brewing Company / Fusion Tacos

Back in June, I got tickets for my dad and myself to see the El Paso Chihuahuas against the Salt Lake Bees on Thursday, September 12th. 

It was 98º in El Paso on Thursday; our seats were right behind home plate in the sun. 

It's not safe for any 80 year old to do that, let alone one with health issues, so we didn't go. 

But I had already arranged to take a few days off from work, so I met some friends at the brewery in the afternoon. 

It was a lot of fun, if you couldn't guess from the photos. 

Not Even Close, SoFi

You're off by more than 17 dollars.

Lay's Crispy Taco

Definitely good - though extremely salty. 

It would have been cool if they could have used Messi's picture on a more Argentinean-themed flavor (asado or chimichurri, perhaps?) but, who cares, I guess. 

Shogun Japanese Restaurant

This place is in Nob Hill - the heart of the old Route 66 in Albuquerque. 

It was really good. 

Not great like you might find in the SGV, but better than anything I have had in Santa Fe. 

We annihilated it all.