No tacos at a Mexican restaurant?
Randy Cordova
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 28, 2008
Mexican dining guide.


For more than 30 years, Rito's has offered a basic menu and some
to-die-for food.



It's gotten even more basic: The Mexican eatery has quietly dropped
basic tacos and tostadas from the menu.







"We just decided to simplify the menu," says Charlotte Hansen, daughter
of Rito's founder Rosemary Salinas. "Sometimes you have to focus on
things other than business."



That's not a surprise coming from the Salinas clan. The restaurant has
built up a devoted following, even though there has never been a sign
posted outside the little restaurant at 907 N. 14th St., Phoenix.



For instance, the shop used to be open on Saturdays, but that was
dropped in the '90s. Later, the hours were cut back, with the restaurant
closing at 4 p.m. weekdays.



"It's not a happy family if you don't have time to be with your family,"
Hansen says. "My mom has always taken pride in what we serve, but we've
also taken time to be a family."



Hansen says her mom has been slowing down in recent months, which is one
reason for cutting out tacos. Another reason: The overwhelming
popularity of burros at the restaurant. Rito's green chili burro, served
enchilada style, is simply mouth-watering and is one reason the place
has developed such a loyal following.



"Yesterday, we went through 80 dozen tortillas," Hansen says. "That's a
lot of burros!"



And when you have limited kitchen space and so much food to prepare,
sometimes certain things have to be let go. Still, customers long for
the tacos.



"People miss them," she says. "They want to know if they're coming back,
but right now, we're respecting my mother's wishes."



Don't give up hope, though. Hansen says they're considering returning
the Mexican restaurant staple to the menu.



"We're a Mexican restaurant: People expect tacos," she said. "Six or
seven years ago, we stopped selling tacos, and they called us the taco
Nazis. Hopefully, they won't be gone forever."



That's for sure.

On Mar 29, 8:25*pm, Sonoran Dude > wrote:
> No tacos at a Mexican restaurant?

Dude, if it's made with a tortilla and you eat it with your hands,
it's a taco, whether it's folded or rolled. They still serve cheesy
burritos at that restaurant, because Americans think that there isn't
anything to Mexican food beyond snack foods.

Slathering a sauce on a "wet burrito" doesn't make it into anything
other than a taco, even though it's now too messy to hold in your
hands.

"Sonoran Dude" > wrote in message
. ..
> No tacos at a Mexican restaurant?
> Randy Cordova
> The Arizona Republic
> Mar. 28, 2008
> Mexican dining guide.
>
>
> For more than 30 years, Rito's has offered a basic menu and some
> to-die-for food.
>
>
>
> It's gotten even more basic: The Mexican eatery has quietly dropped basic
> tacos and tostadas from the menu.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> "We just decided to simplify the menu," says Charlotte Hansen, daughter of
> Rito's founder Rosemary Salinas. "Sometimes you have to focus on things
> other than business."
>
>
>
> That's not a surprise coming from the Salinas clan. The restaurant has
> built up a devoted following, even though there has never been a sign
> posted outside the little restaurant at 907 N. 14th St., Phoenix.
>
>
>
> For instance, the shop used to be open on Saturdays, but that was dropped
> in the '90s. Later, the hours were cut back, with the restaurant closing
> at 4 p.m. weekdays.
>
>
>
> "It's not a happy family if you don't have time to be with your family,"
> Hansen says. "My mom has always taken pride in what we serve, but we've
> also taken time to be a family."
>
>
>
> Hansen says her mom has been slowing down in recent months, which is one
> reason for cutting out tacos. Another reason: The overwhelming popularity
> of burros at the restaurant. Rito's green chili burro, served enchilada
> style, is simply mouth-watering and is one reason the place has developed
> such a loyal following.
>
>
>
> "Yesterday, we went through 80 dozen tortillas," Hansen says. "That's a
> lot of burros!"
>
>
>
> And when you have limited kitchen space and so much food to prepare,
> sometimes certain things have to be let go. Still, customers long for the
> tacos.
>
>
>
> "People miss them," she says. "They want to know if they're coming back,
> but right now, we're respecting my mother's wishes."
>
>
>
> Don't give up hope, though. Hansen says they're considering returning the
> Mexican restaurant staple to the menu.
>
>
>
> "We're a Mexican restaurant: People expect tacos," she said. "Six or seven
> years ago, we stopped selling tacos, and they called us the taco Nazis.
> Hopefully, they won't be gone forever."
>
>
>
> That's for sure.

Burros, burritos are a true North American dish. They are not typical
Mexican fare. But they are a delight! I love a good burrito, flour tortilla,
refried beans, topped with green salsa. We're fortunate here in San Diego to
have Tinas burritos, Beans and cheese, beef, etc... and to top them off
great Victoria Salsa Verde, thickn chunky in all heats... About 35 cents
each burrito and about 30 cents worth of salsa and a spoonful of sour
cream... fabulous mid-day break!

Burritos are not tacos nor enchiladas. They are flour tortilla based bean
goodies invented by the Mexican braseros in the US during WWII who could not
get corn tortillas nor their standard Mexican foods. Flour and beans are
plentiful in the US, so they adapted.

Wayne

"Wayne Lundberg" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Sonoran Dude" > wrote in message
> . ..
>> No tacos at a Mexican restaurant?
>> Randy Cordova
>> The Arizona Republic
>> Mar. 28, 2008
>> Mexican dining guide.
>>
>>
>>snipped
>
> Burros, burritos are a true North American dish. They are not typical
> Mexican fare. But they are a delight! I love a good burrito, flour
> tortilla, refried beans, topped with green salsa. We're fortunate here in
> San Diego to have Tinas burritos, Beans and cheese, beef, etc... and to
> top them off great Victoria Salsa Verde, thickn chunky in all heats...
> About 35 cents each burrito and about 30 cents worth of salsa and a
> spoonful of sour cream... fabulous mid-day break!
>
> Burritos are not tacos nor enchiladas. They are flour tortilla based bean
> goodies invented by the Mexican braseros in the US during WWII who could
> not get corn tortillas nor their standard Mexican foods. Flour and beans
> are plentiful in the US, so they adapted.
>
> Wayne

Hi Wayne
Can you tell me where this Tinas Burritos is?

I didn't come across it in SD when I visited recently.

I did find "makings'' in a supermarket that we frequented - something called
Buy & Save or Buy Lo or something. It was near a Mall that had a large
sports shop in it. But we didn't find a Tinas.

But I'd be interested in the one you mentioned for my next visit.
Hoges in WA

"Hoges in WA" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Wayne Lundberg" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>> "Sonoran Dude" > wrote in message
>> . ..
>>> No tacos at a Mexican restaurant?
>>> Randy Cordova
>>> The Arizona Republic
>>> Mar. 28, 2008
>>> Mexican dining guide.
>>>
>>>
>>>snipped
>>
>> Burros, burritos are a true North American dish. They are not typical
>> Mexican fare. But they are a delight! I love a good burrito, flour
>> tortilla, refried beans, topped with green salsa. We're fortunate here in
>> San Diego to have Tinas burritos, Beans and cheese, beef, etc... and to
>> top them off great Victoria Salsa Verde, thickn chunky in all heats...
>> About 35 cents each burrito and about 30 cents worth of salsa and a
>> spoonful of sour cream... fabulous mid-day break!
>>
>> Burritos are not tacos nor enchiladas. They are flour tortilla based bean
>> goodies invented by the Mexican braseros in the US during WWII who could
>> not get corn tortillas nor their standard Mexican foods. Flour and beans
>> are plentiful in the US, so they adapted.
>>
>> Wayne
>
> Hi Wayne
> Can you tell me where this Tinas Burritos is?
>
> I didn't come across it in SD when I visited recently.
>
> I did find "makings'' in a supermarket that we frequented - something
> called Buy & Save or Buy Lo or something. It was near a Mall that had a
> large sports shop in it. But we didn't find a Tinas.
>
> But I'd be interested in the one you mentioned for my next visit.
> Hoges in WA
They are in the frozen food section at Albertson's. They are made by Camino
Real Foods, Vernon, CA 90058 - and sell for around two to three per dollar
depending on when and what store. There are other frozen burrotos on the
market. I've tried many of them and never found one I did not like.


>

On Apr 2, 12:33*am, "Hoges in WA" > wrote:

> Can you tell me where this Tinas Burritos is?

Hoges, it really wouldn't be worth your effort to track down any taco
stand that members of this group recommend.

You'd be better off looking at Elmer Dills' website for his
recommendations of upscale sit down restaurants which serve regional
specialties from places like Chiapas, Tabasco, Guerrero, or Quintana
Roo.

The typical taco stand in Southern California serves the Sonoran style
poverty cooking of the peasants.

Don't get stuck with the idea that you're going to find anything
special at the average taco stand in the USA, because you won't. The
illegal alien types running the taco stands generallly know very
little about Mexican cooking, they just know what their mother made
for them while they were on welfare and getting free United States
Department of Agriculture flour, corn meal, rice and beans, and my
favorite, "Government Cheese", which comes in a brown cardboard box
marked...
"Government Cheese", which is a processed cheddar.

If you want to sample the tastes of all the greasy tortilla-based
snacks (they're called "antojitos", meaning "little trifles"), just
buy some white corn tortillas,
fry them in pork lard, and fill them with the cheapest fried or boiled
meat you can buy, add some cheese and chile sauce and you have the
basic taco or burrito.

It doesn't matter what kind of meat, as long as it's cheap and you can
cook it until it falls apart. Mexicans eat the cuts of meat that White
Americans don't want.

Mexicans also make tacos internal organs like tripe and heart and
liver and brains and kidneys, they just cook them until they fall
apart.

Flour tortillas are really easy to make, you can use flour and water
and baking powder is optional.

You just make a dough ball and roll it out really thin and fry it on a
flat grill or skillet without grease and when it starts to burn in
places it's done.

Place a ladle full of boiled mutton, some refried beans and cheese and
some extra sauce, fold the tortilla in half one-third of the way from
the end and roll it up and you have a burrito as good as any illegal
alien ever made.

If you can't find any chile powders in Western Australia, order some
from MexGrocer.

You can also easily make your own white corn tortillas from white corn
flour, but I personally prefer flour tortillas because that's what the
Mexican lady across the street used to make for my Mom.

BTW, I just returned from a lovely trip along the California coast and
the beautiful inland valleys I told you about previously.

I've been over there three times since Christmas, and yesterday I
visited the Elephant Seal reserve at Piedras Blancas near San Simeon.
Hundreds of Elephant Seals haul out to breed, give birth, molt, and
wean their pups within 30 feet of the public viewing area.

The inland areas are also beautiful in the spring, with spanish moss
hanging from live oak trees and wild turkeys are foraging in the green
grass.

Morro Rock was also lovely as the sunshine cleared away the marine
fog. I stopped to try and see the Peregrine Falcons that nest high up
on the rock, but the female was sitting on her eggs and the male was
out hunting, according to other birders.

It's up to you, it's your choice whether you want to see the beautiful
part of California, or if you want to waste your time in the growing
Mexican slums south of Los Angeles.

"~" > wrote in news:ebd2388f-c4e9-4561-b4a1-
:

> On Mar 29, 8:25*pm, Sonoran Dude > wrote:
>> No tacos at a Mexican restaurant?
>
> Dude, if it's made with a tortilla and you eat it with your hands,
> it's a taco, whether it's folded or rolled.


Oh yes! Thats for me.