Award Winning Tamales Just Five Blocks from My House!

While exploring the Five Wounds neighborhood yesterday, my friend and I discovered a tamale factory on S. 28th St.  We went into the lobby and noticed a small window (closed), a menu and a button to ring for service.  It was still pretty early in the morning for tamales so I went back today.  Turns out El Azteca Mexican Foods is celebrating 50 years of being in the tamale business.

It has been a family run business the entire 50 years and I had a nice long chat with Joe, the current family member in charge. They make two things, tamales and chile rellenos and both were the best I ever tasted.  I make my own chile rellenos from scratch and I think they're pretty darn good but El Azteca's have a better flavor and a puffy coating that's not too puffy.  The masa dough of their tamales is flavorful, chewy perfection and the fillings are tasty and ample.  I got the green chile, cheese and chopped olive filling and  brought home beef and pork tamales to the meat eaters in the family.

I served everything with the tasty chile relleno sauce for an extraordinary lunch.

Sonia's Kitchen-Cheesesteaks and Curb Appeal

I spotted Sonia's seven years ago during the first week I lived downtown. I absolutely loved the bright green and yellow paint job and how unexpected it was to see a cheesesteak place on this corner. Even though I don't eat meat, I couldn't resist checking out the place.

There is an interesting looking vegetarian sandwich option on the menu and even though I am notorious for making poor choices (like the time I ordered the seafood platter in a restaurant in Wendover, Neveda which is located in the middle of a desert) I couldn't bring myself to order a veggie sandwich at a cheesesteak place.  So I engaged the services of a carnivorous guest blogger who went to Sonia's, ordered the pepper, swiss cheese and grilled onion cheesesteak and reviewed it for me.  He said it was great.  The swiss cheese gets all melty and becomes a tasty sauce for the steak and the steak was really good.

Someday I'll order the veggie sandwich.  It can't be as bad as the Wendover seafood platter.

An Endless Stream of Ice Cream

Time is running out on posting about this topic so here goes.  Shortly after we moved into this neighborhood, a friend commented to my daughter that she had just missed the ice cream man. My daughter and I found this amusing because in this neighborhood there is no such thing as missing the ice cream man.  They are like subway trains - another one always comes along. We happen to live right between two ice cream truck warehouses which are to ice cream trucks what roundhouses are to trains.  It is where they go for the night.  All of the carts and trucks have your standard fare like fudgsicles and drumsticks and Strawberry shortcake bars but the really good stuff comes from this truck, B&M.  The proprietor has softserve ice cream and just about any kind of treat one can make from it.  On a hot day when I'm out gardening I listen for his bell and when I hear it I run for my money.

Tomato Time in San Jose

Most of the gardeners I know here in San Jose are enjoying bumper crops of tomatoes this year. I certainly am. I planted mostly heirloom tomatoes this year and was worried that I might be plagued with all kinds of tomato diseases but my tomatoes thrived and they couldn't be tastier. My two favorites have been Gold Medal and Japanese Black Trifele. The Japanese Black Trifele has its shortcomings (uneven ripening, tough core) but the flavor is spectacular. With my abundance of tomatoes I give them to anyone who comes near me and I've made 6 quarts of spaghetti sauce and of course Caprese Salad, pictured above.

Mmmmm, Yogurt

I am sort of a late-comer to the whole natural tart yogurt craze but now that I'm here, I am staunchly onboard.  I first tried tart frozen yogurt at Yolicious (on San Fernando between 3rd and 4th).  I had the plain with sprinkles.  I loved it.  I have visited often enough to have a good start on filling up a frequent buyer card and I don't care if frequent buyer cards were mocked on Will and Grace as being pathetic.  Then in the interest of being fair and balanced, I tried Penguin Frozen Yogurt (on Santa Clara between 1st and 2nd) and really they are virtually indistinguishable from one another.  The stores are quite different though.  Yolicious is pink and clean and happy and fun where Penguin appears to be going for an industrial look.  Penguin has more toppings but Yolicious has Satura desserts (great cakes!).  But I have to give the nod to Yolicious because they don't have Fox news with Bill O' Reilly being broadcast from a large screen TV.  Either way you like it, with or without Bill O'Reilly, natural tart frozen yogurt is delicious.

mmmmm...mochi

The Japanese confection that is sold at this bright, clean, cheerful shop is called manju.  Some of these treats are little round mounds filled with a sweet bean filling and some are smooth, soft, chewy blocks flavored with things like raspberry, coconut, strawberry and orange.  I chose a raspberry block. The taste was subtle but pleasant and the texture was fantastic, just a little bit of fun for your mouth.  According to their website Shuei-Do manju was served to the Emperor of Japan on his last visit to the U.S.  I plan to go back Shuei-Do when the weather warms up for their highly praised shaved ice.  Shuei-do is located at 217 Jackson St. and they are closed on Mondays.

Shelter from the Storm

I know House of Bagels is a chain, but this particular shop does not look or feel anything like a chain.  The great coffee, fresh warm bagels and friendly people make this place a magnet for local residents, San Jose State students and all manner of folks on their way to work.  They may not know every customer by name but they know us by our orders.  I gave up buying espresso drinks for about six months and when I returned to House of Bagels after the six month hiatus they remembered my "regular" order!  This morning's post was supposed to be about the Tour de California leaving from San Jose but I missed it by a few minutes.  When I decided to stop by House of Bagels and walked in dripping wet, I was handed some towels to dry off with.  Talk about friendly.  You'll love this place.  Located on E. San Carlos between S. 12th and S. 11th St. They open at 6 A.M.

Tofu Again

I promise this will be my last post about tofu. But really, San Jose Tofu is a San Jose treasure. Located at 175 Jackson Street, this family owned business has been making tofu since 1948. The company does one thing and they do it extremely well. When they had a small fire and had to be shut down for several months, MANY people were left in a tofu lurch. There are no packages of tofu sitting around the tiny store. When you walk in they will simply ask "How many?" meaning how many pounds do you want. Always get at least two. Eat one pound right away with soy sauce, a little sesame oil and green onions and use the other in a stir-fry dish. It has a spongy texture and a slightly fermented taste. To avoid having to take home styrofoam and plastic, bring your own container.

Green Waffles!

Look weird, taste great!  As far as I know, Century Bakery at Story and McLaughlin is the only place to get hot-off-the-waffle-iron green waffles in San Jose.  Two is about the right serving size so at $1.25 each you can have yourself a fabulous breakfast (of dubious nutritional value) for $2.50.  Aren't you glad I did the math for  you?  These waffles are made fresh to order, they are super moist, sweet and chewy on the inside and a little crisp on the outside.  There is no need for syrup or butter. For a real indulgence, you can get them with ice cream.