Sunday, May 23, 2010

Get a Rope!

(Part II of the Parkway Jaunt)

I love the way the universe works, with it's irony and the unexpected it's always giving us. One of my favorite historical quotations is from Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India:

Life is like a game of cards. The hand you are dealt is determinism; the way you play it is free will.

I realize this notion has been articulated by many over the centuries, but this particular version appeals to the sick, degenerate (though not so much without all of the free radicals flowing through my veins) poker player in me. This was one of those days where, in poker parlance, the hand just played itself...a no-brainer. It was as if I was dealt pocket aces and the flop came A-A-K, with my opponent holding pocket kings. Perfection and serendipity (god I love that word and what it means). I mean, how awesome is it that what starts out as a trip to shop for all things Stacy Adams becomes an all out Mariscos Fest? The Clothing Broker was my pocket aces and La Soga was my dream A-A-K flop.

Two things before I continue:
1- Mariscos- This is Spanish for seafood; specifically, seafood of the invertebrate kind- shrimp, squid, crab, etc.
2- Soga- This is Spanish for rope (this will make sense later).

You may recall my happiness at the diversity on display at the corner of Florin Road and East Parkway, with a pimp clothing store, Asian grocery store and a taqueria standing side by side- really summing up what South Sac is really all about. Having grown up there, I can attest to the diversity of the place and I think you'll find that generally people who grow up there, or neighborhoods like it, just expect diversity, tolerance, and cross-cultural experiences as a matter of fact. I love the fact that I grew up there and I love the fact that this is there:


Don't let the unassuming 70s era exterior fool you.


Note the western style furniture...
(I need to learn how to take better pics)



Note how La Soga is written in ropey cursive
Soga=Rope


I was hungry after getting my shop on. It really takes a lot out of you to shop for the real pimp gear. And, well, I hadn't eaten yet. When Roni and I walked in, I had honestly planned on only getting a couple of street tacos...maybe some cabeza, a little lengua with some Sidral to wash it down. In and out. Simple and quick, Right? Wrong. How could I settle for simple street tacos when I am smacked in the face with this?


Fresh shrimp!



I know it's hard to tell with the ice, but yes, fresh squid



Ceviche!



Fresh, ripe avocados, limes, carrots and oranges
(more on the carrots & oranges in a bit)


There was no way, in good conscience, I could just order tacos with all of this freshness staring me right in the eye. Even Roni was amazed at what he saw. Who would have ever thought that there would be an icy fresh Mexican seafood joint? I certainly didn't...and I grew up a couple of miles away in Valley Hi. With Fortuna smiling down upon me, I reassessed my game plan and went for nothing but seafood. I went with a shrimp cocktail, tostada de ceviche, and to cap it all off jugo de zanahoria y naranja.

The two girls behind the counter sensed my being so stoked as I took pics of all the freshness on display and began talking about my dad's shrimp cocktail. They put it together right in front of me- ketchup, lime juice, shrimp, cilantro, minced jalapeƱos. A few minutes later, here's what arrived at my table:

[WARNING: FOOD PORN ALERT!!!]






Massive Shrimp Cocktail!

When this came to our table, Roni and I just sat in awe of it. Seriously, we just sat and admired it. And yes, it smelled as fresh as it looks. It smelled like the beach and tasted like growing up.

When I was growing up, my dad would make shrimp cocktail. It would usually be on a weekend afternoon, usually to nom on while we watched soccer on tv. It was a huge treat. We'd go to the deli counter at Raley's or Corti Brothers and my dad would buy at least a pound of shrimp that would become cocktail. The only difference between this and my dad's was that my dad used the baby shrimp, not the behemoths you see before you. Great as this shrimp cocktail was, it wasn't my dad's, which is not to say it was bad, because it wasn't...just different and great in its own way. I added some Tapatio...

nom...nom...nom...hm...not quite right...so close to dad's...what does it need...I can taste it...

oh...duh!


Fresh, minced, jalapeƱos

Not that they didn't put any in to begin with. I just needed more, which is funny because I remember when my dad made shrimp cocktail, he made the kid batch for my siblings and I, and he made the adult batch for him and my mom. As I grew up I began to appreciate the adult version and must have some burn. Not so bad that you can't taste everything, but enough that it enhances the flavor. Besides, I've found that, to my palate at least, spicy and briny seafood flavor just go well together. It's like that with Italian food and it's certainly like that with Asian food. As if it couldn't get better, next arrived this beautiful corn disc of fishy hawtness:


Tostada de Ceviche

[Sidebar: Ceviche is seafood that is marinated and essentially chemically cooked in citrus, generally lime. The seafood is usually, at least in Mexico, minced shrimp, octopus, squid, and tuna...or a combination, as is most often the case. The fish is mixed with cilantro, chiles, tomato, lime and onions...topped with avocado as you see here.]

Again, the ceviche smelled and tasted like the beach. The smell and look of it took Roni and I down memory lane as he recounted stories of his younger days in Santa Barbara where he would get ocean fresh ceviche...which led to stories from further back...head cheese, pistachio liverwurst, prosciutto, lardo, blood sausage, Anthony Bourdain, Daniel Boulud. It was like a Proust journey of food free-association that took us back to early childhood memories of the foods our families ate and back to the present. Food can be so very powerful. My only regret was that Roni had eaten earlier and could not share the amazing food.

Speaking of memories...or maybe I'm losing my mind...Deep in the recesses of what's left of my brain, are memories of my mom making carrot juice with oranges in the blender (Hey Mother...if you're reading this, would you either confirm this or tell my I'm nuts, because it's entirely possible that I'm nuts...actually I am nuts...at this point it's just a matter of degree of nuts). It was healthy. It was refreshing. It was good. Even if it wasn't my mom who made this for me, I do remember having this somewhere in my youth. Otherwise I wouldn't have gone nuts when I saw this on the menu and ordered it instead of Sidral Mundet for the purposes of washing down my epic seafood extravaganza.


Freshly blended carrot/orange juice

Slightly cool, but not cold...just pulpy enough and not too sweet. A perfect mixture- ice, carrots, oranges...blend. That's it. Elegant in its simplicity and effective in muting the spice of the food.

I think what I loved most about this whole eating experience was that I ate nothing that was cooked. It was all fresh- slightly spiced and citrused up. Sometimes the best cooking is when you don't do any cooking at all.

The Zen of La Soga?

As you can see below...I wrecked this meal. Killed it. Owned it.

Roni with a look of awe and amusement.
What you can't see is me, just rubbing my belly, telling my stomach what a champion it is.


What a day! Stacy Adams. Ascots. Mariscos. Good conversation. Cute and friendly girls behind the counter. I was dealt a winning hand this day. Unbeatable. The hand really did play itself.

Again...Thanks Roni for turning me on to Clothing Brokers, which turned me on to Taqueria La Soga.

Serendipity.

Taqueria La Soga is located at
7233 East Parkway (at the corner of Florin Road & East Parkway)
(916) 427-6327
Open 7 Days a week from 9am to 10pm




3 comments:

  1. OK so I just have to say last weekend I was craving a shrimp cocktail but couldn't remember how to make one like my mom did. Um...it wasn't anything like this! This looks amazing! - Renee

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  2. I will be checking this place out for sure! Have you been to Lalo's yet?

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  3. I've been to Lalo's pre-blog, but would like to go back to blog about it. Send me a message on the facebook if you'd like to go there. We can do a special "cross over" episode ala Mork & Mindy/Happy Days or Flinstones/Jetsons. I'm sure we could get Macias to come along and do a foodie gush about it.

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