Mexican Market Eating

San Juan De Dios Market
Mexican Cuisine
Juarez 1, San Juan de Dios
Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
Ph: 01 33 3614 2042

Before coming to Guadalajara, Mexico to visit my friends, I received a lot of tips on where to go and what to do and where to eat. One of those tips were to check out the biggest indoor market in Guadalajara and one of the largest in Mexico called the Mercado de San Juan de Dios. This market sells anything and everything. Fresh produce, shoes, crafts, Mexican dishes, clothing, DVDs, imported goods and knock-offs, electronics, jewelry, candy... name it, they have it. Surely, I made sure to visit this famous market and came armed with a friend who's a local and my unused and unpracticed haggling skills.

The Mercado de San Juan de Dios greeted us with numerous stalls of local fruits and many shoppers hopping from one stall to another having a taste of the vendor's fresh picks of the day. I couldn't resist taking a slice from a vendor selling juicy ripe papayas sprinkled with lime juice and chilli powder. The fruit was indeed fresh and delicious but if you add the tart taste of the lime juice and the kick of the chilli powder, the papaya will tease your tongue with the added extra flavours. There was such a variety of local Mexican delicacies that will definitely spark your interest for a taste but heading to the market's second floor will even make your tummies grumble.

The second floor of Mercado San Juan de Dios was studded with small restaurants and food stalls serving tacos, tortas, quesadillas... I would think they pretty much served all the Mexican dishes known to man. One of the friends that I visited mentioned for me to try the pozole soup made with pork and white corn. I was cruising the second floor and reading the menus of the small restaurants as the servers tried to lure me in, I noticed the pozole soup being served almost everywhere. My friend who accompanied me to the market wasn't exactly excited that I was planning to try the pozole since we all heard horror stories of tourists having to sit on the porcelain throne more often than they wanted after eating in Mexico. Hoping that my Filipino (but actually now Canadian) stomach of steel won't let me down, I sat down at one of the restaurants and ordered the pozole.

The pozole was served in humble dinnerware with tostadas, lime and chillies. I love condiments so I took joy in squeezing the lime wedge and crushing some chillies into my soup and once this was done, I took a spoonful for a taste and it was delicious. The pork meat was tender and tasty, the white corn kernels had a harder texture and had a distinct taste that was different from your regular yellow corn and the soup was flavourful thanks to all the Mexican spices that was tossed into the broth. The tostada was well-suited with the pozole and even gave this dish a nice crunch. I have to say eating the pozole at the San Juan de Dios Market was a nice experience and fortunately, my stomach was able to handle it because there were definitely no regrets there only fond memories of the bustling market and satisfying pozole taste.

Old Mother Hubbard, Went to Ireland

Mother Hubbard's
Brunch
Market Street
Kinsale, Co. Cork, Ireland
ph: (021) 4772440

One thing that the Irish loves is their good ol' traditional breakfast. Made not just to fill you up but to cure bad hangovers as well and since hangover food cures mostly consists of grease and carbs, the Irish brekkie is not shy of grease but don't let that turn you off because it is every bit delicious.

Coming to Ireland, I made sure to enjoy the authentic Irish pubs and although I couldn't keep up the Irish on the drinking part, I downed a few Guiness pints myself (incredible with a dash of black currant syrup), so I woke up with a hangover and craving heavy, greasy food the next day. I was staying with my awesome Irish friend and tour guide in a town of Kinsale in County Cork, she then took me to the very popular Mother Hubbard's where the locals flock for a meal of toasts, eggs and yummy pork products.

Open until 3pm to accomodate late risers and party goers, Mother Hubbard's serves home cooked breakfast that will fill you up for the day. As we walked in the door, I immediately felt as if I was transported to the world of nursery rhyme. Daintily decorated with shabby chic cupboards, pretty teapots and china and blue and white gingham tablecloths, this cozy restaurant will quickly make you feel at home.

We ordered at the counter and picked a table. We had to twiddle our thumbs for a bit for our breakfast to arrive but when it did, a feast of toasts, sausages, black and white pudding, eggs, bacon, ham and a cup of black tea were soon being consumed by me and I have to say, it surely hit the spot. The black and white pudding were very flavourful and the sausages were sizzling and deliciously spiced. I was definitely full and satisfied and although it didn't cure my headache, I still left with a smile on a my face.

Famous for a Reason

The Famous Warehouse
Pub Grub
989 Granville Street
Vancouver, BC, Canada
ph: 604-677-8080

Who would not come in a restaurant when you see a sign that says "$4.95 Menu, Everyday" and the $4.95 worth entree is not just a plate of bite-size food but a good, filling, meal. The owners of the Famous Warehouse did an overhaul on the former El Furniture Warehouse and revamped the dingy Mexican bar theme. Out were the barrels of peanuts and clothesline where women's underwear were proudly displayed, dingy indeed. Famous Warehouse cleaned up but it didn't shy away from its "warehouse" name. Skateboard decks and other "cool" decors, even a sign that says "Free Air Guitar" on the way to the bathroom gave this pub a hip, young feel but the best change was their $4.95 menu.

Yes, everything on the Famous Warehouse menu is $4.95. Pastas, Bugers, Quesadillas -- almost all pub grub known to man with a bonus of brunch is on their menu. It's good, not-that-healthy eating but great if you're on a budget. Pub fare is not really that healthy anyway and you'd always want something greasy to soak up the alcohol when you are downing pints of beer. Be careful though, alcohol and even pop ($2.95 for coke?? Ouch!) is a but pricey at this pub but their marketing strategy is focused on the cost of food, they gotta earn their money somewhere, right?

Located on Granville St., Vancouver's Entertainment District, Famous Warehouse gets easily packed with mostly young people having a few rounds of beer and relishing their inexpensive menu. Game night is even better because the pub gets twice as busy -- if that's the ambiance that you're after. If not, Famous Warehouse plays good music to be entertained with although sometimes way too loud to enjoy a good conversation with your buddies.

The quality of service unfortunately depends on how busy the pub is. If it's packed, good luck chasing after your server and sometimes, seeing them work overtime just to do their job and serve everyone makes you feel so guilty that you find yourself heading to the bar for your next pint of beer. More manpower please!

The works burger, a huge serving of burger, bacon, cheese, and veggies -- basically everything on it is a good deal and it comes with a huge bowl of fries or salad, definitely a better option than McDonald's. 15 cent wing night is also popular at Famous Warehouse, $1.50 for 10 wings gets this pub packed on Wednesdays. I have yet to try the rest of the menu but I just find myself sitting at the Famous Warehouse on wing night happily nibbling on a drumette, afterall, *chicken wings are the beer's bestfriend*.

Holy Smoked Meat

Schwartz's
Deli/Sandwiches
3895 Saint-Laurent Boulevard
Montréal, Québec H2W 1X9 Canada
ph: (514) 842-4813

When I mentioned that I will be going to Montreal for a vacation, people would tell me excitedly: "Must go to Schwartz's and have their smoked meat, it's the best ever!" naturally, that was the first place that I wanted to attack when we landed in Montreal. Staying at a hostel near St. Laurent, we ventured out in search of this ever-famous Delicatessen.

After a few "Do you know where Schwartz's is?" and being told that we have a few more blocks to go was making us impatient and surely enough, when we got there, there was a nice little queue already formed outside the door. Thankfully, the nice sunny weather made the hour long queu more like a chance to soak in all that Montreal sun. I had no complaints getting a good dose of Vitamin D except that my tummy was already making those "feed me" noises which I never failed to satisfy.

Before impatience and hunger won the best of us, we were finally unshered in. The restaurant was fully packed, right from the bar to every seat in the big white room and to take out area which were also filled with people waiting to order. The restaurant is a simple Delicatessen where cafeteria-like tables and chairs occupy the space and the menu is written on a piece of paper, it is simple but it works. You don't really expect a Delicatessen to have fancy adornments since they were serving smoked meat and fries not foie gras and caviar.

We were led to a table big enough for a party of 6. My friend and I were then asked to share our table with 4 people who seemed to be out-of-towners and Schwart's first-timers like us. Ordering was easy for me since I wanted to get some food in my body so I immediately picked the smoked meat sandwich and a side of fries. The service was fast and efficient considering it's very busy state but after all that waiting, my friend didn't order anything since she didn't want to eat any beef, well, bad choice of restaurant for her, as for me, I couldn't wait for the much-talked about smoked meat.

When my sandwich arrived, it was so loaded that chunks of meat would fall off when I picked it up. I took one big bite and made my taste buds take over... it was good but way too hyped up for me. I'm not a smoked meat expert so I can't really tell if that was indeed the best of the best but it was good. I'm also a condiment fanatic and I thought that it needed a bit more mustard. The fries were typical fried potatoes and I thought maybe my meal would have been better if I ordered the more interesting sides such as coleslaw, olives, sour pickles and even peppers but I was already getting full with what I had.

Our "table mates" seemed to have over-ordered and were drowning in smoked meat. I didn't hear any Oh-my-god-this-is-so-good! statements so I guess the hype also killed it for them. All I can say is that if I lined up for an hour, I expect to swoon in deliciousness, unfortunately that didn't happen but I'm still happy that we did head down to Schwart's otherwise our Montreal gastronomic trip would never be complete.