The Mexican

I am, by no means, an expert on anything. In the words of the old jazz standard, "I know a little bit about a lot of things, but..."

Dig the bubbly guitar...

In all reality, I think I know just enough about many things to hurt myself, though you'd think I'd have learned enough about enough not to hurt myself. I'd like to think I've been leaning that way more often, but I'm such a glutton for metaphysical punishment, that I think on some sort of subconscious level I actually seek out the pain to feel more alive. It's kind of twisted, I know, but I've been more mentally healthy with that pain. It means I'm alive, as opposed to a period where I felt nothing...which isn't a good thing, because that inevitably leads to more self-abuse.

OK...I know this isn't a therapy session, but I'm trying a stream of consciousness thing in my writing, for better or worse.

So back the concept of expertise:

As I've been the first to readily admit, I'm no expert on Mexican food, despite being Mexican all of my life. Actually, if you want to get down to it, I'm not really an expert on being Mexican. My Spanish is a few steps above "tourist quality". I don't make annual pilgrimages down to the Motherland to visit la familia. I listen to, and play, black music. My favorite cuisine is Asian. I do what I can, however, and leave the rest to the "experts". With my parents being in Arizona, the responsibility of expert on all things Mexican has fallen to my friend and co-worker Ariana.

Ariana is a real Mexican. Hailing from Jalisco, Guadalajara to be specific, she is a wealth of knowledge on the all things Mexican. To be honest, I get a little nervous when I go to work the morning after I post some writing about an eating experience about Mexican food, out of fear that I have somehow gotten something horribly wrong. Fortunately, I have not completely embarrassed myself with my writing. In fact, she has been supportive of my writing in the sense that she appreciates me getting in touch with my Mexicanness through my writing about the food. For a while now, she'd been wanting to accompany me on a jaunt out to the hood to go eat some Mexican food. Since she lives in Davis, she's not really familiar with the restaurants that inhabit the Franklin Boulevard corridor and had been wanting to sample some of the food down there to see if it passes her test of authenticity. I was kind of nervous at the prospect of having her come along for fear that she would be disappointed in my choice of eatery. I felt as though I was on the spot and had to really deliver.

After some thought, I knew where we'd be going. It was a place I'd been before, and really liked, but not written about as my initial visit to the place was pre-blog. Deep down Franklin, outside of the city limits, past Fruitridge and across the street from the Campbell Soup factory was where we were headed...to Carniceria Lopez #2.

Hm...Now where can I go and have a taco while I wait for my taxes to get done?

There's the Campbell Soup factory, a reoccurring landmark in this blog

It certainly looks innocent enough

It was an early Wednesday evening when we walked in. The place was empty except for two men speaking in Spanish as they watched banda videos on a large flat screen television. Now for those who aren't familiar with it, banda is a type of Mexican music that typically hails from the northern border states and has strong polka influences as a result of the many Germans who settled in Texas and Northern Mexico, bringing their music and their instruments with them. Rather than try to explain it, feel the banda for yourselves:

Their outfits are kind of awesome!

I had to rib Ariana a bit, because banda is not her favorite kind of music. Being from Guadalajara, her musical blood flows with the sounds of mariachi music, which originated in her home state of Jalisco. We did, however, have a fun time sitting in awe of the huge belt buckles and loudly colored, gaudy outfits worn by the musicians in the videos. Some of the music was so bad it was good in the way that bad casino lounge bands are sometimes so bad they're good.

Random cheesetastic art on the wall

After getting settled in and being washed over by the banda, the very friendly waitress came by with menus, chips, and salsa. I deferred to Ariana to do all the talking as the default language being used here was Spanish, and I get enough of a hard time from her at work about my bad accent. I sat nervously as I could tell she was sizing the place up. I had actually talked this place up a bit before we came and felt like my credibility was somewhat on the line. I was relieved when Ariana opened up the menu and began to sing the praises of what she saw, ticking off the origins of this dish or that dish, impressed by the mere presence of certain menu items. With so many choices, I thought she would pick something obscure, but she took the route of simplicity, opting for a simple plate of flautas with rice and beans with agua de jamaica (hibiscus flavored drink).

I decided to get a little more adventurous. I've had their tacos. I've had tacos at a lot of places. In fact, a lot of people have had a lot of tacos at a lot of different places....and many of those same people have written about said tacos, many of them much better than me. So I'll say this, their tacos are good...seriously good, but who wants to read another description of a taco? There are only so many adjectives in my little brain to describe tacos. I mean, I will probably write about tacos again, but with so many choices on the menu, I opted to take the route less traveled...and you'll have to keep reading to get there...

Yes, I ordered both a Coke and a Sidral

Ariana kind of looked at me like I was crazy when I ordered both a Coke and a Sidral. Alas, there was a method behind my madness. See, the salsa here is addictively painful, but in a good way.

It looks innocuous enough, but it will cut you

Heated with glorious little jalapeño seeds, this salsa is a gift that keeps on giving if you like spicy like I do. I went through a whole basket of chips and two of these mini bowls of salsa (I hadn't eaten all day and I was effing hungry). The reason for the two drinks was simple. The Coke was to wash down the salsa. The Sidral was to wash down the...nope, not going to tell you yet...

So, out came the food:

Flautas topped with crema fresca and rice &beans

The earlier nervousness that had subsided about Ariana's take on the menu quickly returned. It was the moment of truth. What would I do if the Mexican didn't like the Mexican food I had been singing the praises of? Would she revoke my Mexican Card? Would she cut me? There was this odd moment of silence as we both understood what was on the line here.

nom nom nom...

"This is actually really good..."

That sound you're not hearing is the sigh of relief I let out when she actually liked the food. She was impressed that the flautas came with crema fresca (literally, sweet cream) instead of the usual sour cream that tops many a Mexican meal. Even more importantly, she liked the rice and beans. It may seem to be a no-brainer to many, but much like haiku, rice and beans are easy to do, but also very easy to make bad or mediocre. There is a lot more bad haiku written than great haiku.

After Ariana's food arrived, mine soon followed:

Taco al pastor...served on a Chinese plate??? Huh???

OK...so I know I went on earlier about how I wasn't going to eat tacos and that I was going to take the road less travelled, but the tacos here are really good and it's al pastor. How could I pass up the opportunity to have one? A little lime juice and I'm in a state of mini-bliss. Besides, I needed to stretch me stomach a little bit to accomodate the real meal...

Still wondering?

I'll bet you want to know what is so damn out of the ordinary that I haven't mentioned it yet...

Well...prepare yourself...

Parental Discretion is Advised...

BOOM!

Yes...that is a whole fish (side one)

I couldn't resist. It looked so good pictured on the menu and it looked even better in person. Behold...whole deep fried tilapia!

[A little side note here...maybe it's just me, but I think it's kind of awesome that all of the plates are mismatched. If you look at all of the food, it all comes served on different styles of plates (including the previously noted Chinese plate). It's like going to your abuelita's house...a little funky, but with a lot of soul.]

...and the b-side

So, let me begin by saying this: Yes, it is as good as it looks.

Now I know most people are used to "nice" fish. I mean this in the sense that it's prepared as a nice filet, presented nice and white and clean looking. Not to say that this is dirty, but you won't find this at a high end restaurant...at least the ones I've been to.

The preparation was simple and amazing. The scales were removed from the edible parts of the fish and the whole thing seemed to be lightly sprinkled with what I would guess is a simple dusting of flour, salt and pepper. After that, it's just a matter of frying.

I loved this fish. Though simple in it's preparation, there was more going on here than the sight of it would let on. What struck me most was the texures involved. The skin was left on and absorbed the salt and pepper flavor, getting crispy in the fryer. This provided a nice contrast to the light and surprisingly not-too-greasy meat of the fish. Even better, the meat still had that fishy taste to it, which some may not like, but I think is awesome. I love tasting the ocean. As good as the whole thing was, the best part was the meat from the head of the fish. A bit more greasy than the rest, it had a bit stronger taste of salty and peppery and just melted on my tongue. This was truly some epic seafood, even more so when you consider where it was served. Most people woudn't think to go down to Franklin Boulevard for a great fish plate.

Remains of the day...

Mr. Fish saying goodbye!!!

All and all, this mission was a resounding success. We got out of there with all of that food and drink for under $30, leaving stuffed and satisfied. More importantly, the place got the Mexican's seal of approval and my Mexican food credibility remains intact...at least for now. If you do decide to go here, seriously, try the tilapia. So good!

Carniceria Lopez #2 is located at
6201 Franklin Blvd
Sacramento, CA 95824
(916) 393-5957