Food Hunting

Donde estan los grocerias?

In celebration of the American Idol finale (yes, I am a nerd, and no, I don't vote), Josh and I had a few friends over for dinner to watch the results (boo, Carrie). We thought fajitas would be fun - lots of little bowls, everyone gets to make their own dish - very fun.
We marinated some chicken and beef with a recipe from an old friend in Texas, chopped veggies, made rice - the whole nine yards - but I just wasn't satisfied with the shredded cheese typically served with Mexican food. I wanted something much more authentic, like chihuahua or oaxaca .
Of course Kroger and Marsh don't have those, and even my Trader Joe's didn't have any. So we set out on a journey to find a Mexican grocery store - It proved harder than we had imagined.
We heard stories of the "booming" Hispanic population in Castleton, so that is where we went. We had no immediate luck, so we stopped in Don Victor's, a small strip mall Mexican restaurant, and they sent us down to La Frontera II, behind Steak & Shake on 86th St.
The little store smelled funny, which we soon found out was because of the "kitchen" in the back where they made sandwiches and other tasty treats. They sell just about everything, including those tacky Mother Mary candles.
Nonetheless, we found our cheese. In the back, near the "kitchen," there was a small reach-in cooler full of different Mexican cheeses. We eventually settled on a Mexican Farmer's cheese, and we couldn't have loved it more.
It was mild in flavor, with a consistency similar to curd, but it crumbled perfectly. It was exactly what we remember having in some of our favorite Mexican restaurants in Houston. For only $4.99 for an entire wheel (approx. 14 oz.), it was a steal, and we have La Frontera to thank for that.

posted by Cassandra Vires at 9:33 AM