Las Tortugas Deli Mexicana

Las Tortugas Deli Mexicana
1215 S Germantown Rd
(901) 751-1200

I had a dry spell and didn't get out to Las Tortugas for over a year. To make up for it, I've been several times in the past few months. I have no idea how I survived so long without going to what is hands down the best, freshest, most exciting Mexican restaurant in town. Likewise, I don't understand how I have not one, but two, reviews here, and neither contain photos. What?

Let's make the third time the charm.

A few weeks ago, I took the monkeys and met up with my mom and niece for dinner on a Wednesday night. I really prefer going at lunch so I can see Senor Dreamy, but seeing his dad, Pepe, is *almost* just as nice.

I had been for lunch just the week before and Senor Dreamy let me try all sorts of new dishes, so I knew immediately what I wanted to get--the chicken tacos with mole verde. (The mole verde is made with pumpkin seeds and is to die for.)



Unfortunately, that had been a special and it wasn't on the menu that day. No worries, I knew what I wanted next--the Newman Farms berkshire pork tacos. Dreamy had served them to me with the meat still on the bone and it was beyond delicious.



It's a mainstay on the menu, but it comes in already pulled from the bone and in taco form, as we soon discovered. No worries, it is still fantastic.



I love that Dreamy & Pepe are using locally sourced meats now. I ordered the pork tacos for Satchel, and the Neola Farms brisket ones for myself. Oh. my. yum.



Jiro just wanted corn (elote) and fried cheese. Unfortunately, Pepe said he was out of cheese and that if we wanted fried cheese we had to come early. I thought I might convince Jiro to eat a few tacos, but he was happy just eating corn.



You can find elote several places now, but none of it compares to Las Tortugas. It's perfection.



Satchel and I polished off all of the tacos and the accompanying chips and dips and he still wanted more food. I didn't think there was anyway he could possibly eat another order of ($13) tacos, but he was insistent. This time I asked Pepe to leave off the spicy sauce, which he was happy to do. (He doesn't like changing ingredients or adding, but leaving off is fine.)



Again, I tried to interest Jiro in a taco or two, but he just wanted an orange Juarito and some spicy prepackaged Mexican chips. My mom treated him since it was clear we were going to be there a bit longer while Satchel stuffed his face.



"There's no way you can finish," I said.

"Yes, I can. Wanna bet?"

"Ok."

"If I finish, I don't have to take a bath."

"Deal."

Well it took a long time--Jiro and my niece were released to play outside on the sidewalk--but he did it. He ate every bite. The tacos are just so good! I don't even want to tell you what we spent on dinner, but it was worth every penny. I think the casual atmosphere makes people forget just how fancy, fresh, and complex the food is. I don't mind paying for perfection.

I've been back again, without the kids, for lunch, and tried the filet mignon tacos. They basically melt in your mouth. It's crazy.



And I love, love the black bean tostadas.



If there is any tamale of any kind on the menu, just order it. Trust me.



And even though it does bring the price up even more, no meal is complete without an agua fresca. I love the lime and the mango. But also--the tea--oh my god, the tea. Don't leave without drinking some iced tea. (And I also highly recommend getting one to go and adding a little splash of bourbon!)

Finally, if Pepe is there, always ask if there are any popsicles or special treats for dessert. The last time I asked, I got a huge hunk of frozen watermelon on a stick.

The Pizza Shack

The Pizza Shack
4523 Summer Avenue
(901) 680-7900

In March, I did a story on eating challenges for the Flyer. My research led me to the Pizza Shack, which is tucked away in the Lowe's parking lot on Perkins & Summer. (It really is a bizarre location and I feel like they are cheating to say they are on Summer Avenue!)

I'd tried eating there when they first opened, but the night we went it was super crowded, so we left. (It's pretty small inside.) However, when I interviewed the owner for the story, I got a couple of pizzas to go and really liked them. The hot wing pizza was really good, and their crust totally reminds me of my old college favorite, Pierotti's. (Oh, Pierotti's, I miss you!)

So a few weeks ago, the monkeys and I went with my mom and niece for dinner on a Wednesday night.



I don't know if you ever went into the pizza place that was there before the Pizza Shack, but I promise you, the interior is now 1000x better. They really made it look nice and it feels like a real restaurant now rather than someone's shed.

When we went in, there were just a few people there, so we grabbed a table and perused the menu. Everyone was super hungry and a little cranky, so deciding fast was of the utmost importance. (I'd thought of ordering ahead, but we weren't familiar enough with the menu.) I really wanted the hot wing pizza again, but it's way too spicy for this crowd. Jiro knew for sure he wanted pepperoni pizza, so that was a go since my mom and I didn't really care. My niece is really into BBQ pizza, but I thought two pizzas would be a bit much for us since they are rather large. Satchel also liked the idea of BBQ, so I convinced them to share a BBQ chicken sub. I also wanted to try an oven toasted salad, just because I'd never heard of such a thing.

Once we were all set on what we wanted, I noticed that there really weren't any waitresses or anything. The owner's wife (and co-owner, I presume) was sitting by the register, so I got her attention and asked if I should order at the counter. She nodded, and off I went. They have daily specials-usually announced on their Facebook page. On the day we were there, it was a one topping large for $9.99. (An almost $5 savings.) Coupled with Satch & Sutton sharing a sub, and my insisting everyone drink water, our total bill came to $24, which is pretty awesome for 5 people.

Once the order was in and I told them we were dining in, they brought waters over to the table. I let the kids play their iPods and DSes to ward off the cranky. I had no idea how long it might take to get the food out.



My mom and I chatted while the kids played, and in no time at all, our food arrived. The pizza was big & beautiful. (Not as big & beautiful as the Trolley Stop, but it wasn't bad for an East Memphis gal.)



Jiro loved it.



Oh and I'll say that I was glad to see they had cute, reusable plates instead of styrofoam. And real silverware. If they nixed the styro cups they'd be on the right road to meet Project Green Fork requirements.

The BBQ chicken sub looked very tasty too. (I ordered Satchel's half without onions.)



Once we figured out a way for Satchel to pick it up, he ate it right up.



My mom and I each had a couple of slices of the pizza, and I tried getting her to help me with the salad, but she was too full. It wasn't as exciting as I'd imagined, but it was good. How can you go wring with bacon and melted cheese?



In the end, we had 2 slices of pizza and half of a salad to take home to Warren, so the $24 stretched to six people.

While we ate, the owner came over and checked on us and we chatted a bit about their pizza challenges. I definitely don't think eating an entire large Shack Attack with 6lbs. of meat and toppings is in my future, but I am curious to try A BITE OR TWO of the en fuego. It's not big, it's just crazy hot. I can't imagine it would be a good idea to eat too much of it though.

Spicy pizza might lure Warren in, but he isn't a big fan of the crust. I imagine a day will come that we are in Lowe's, and we are hungry, and I convince everyone to eat a hot wing pizza. So yes, we'll be back.

Jiro and I checked out the restroom on our way out--perfectly clean, just small. Changing a diaper would be tricky.

Rancho Grande

Rancho Grande
5359 Winchester Road
547-7885



We're pretty versed in the Mexican fare available in Midtown and along Summer Avenue and Macon Road. After noticing the ads for Rancho Grande in the Flyer, we decided to head over to Winchester and check it out. (I have a feeling there are all sorts of treasures over there.)

It's been open about 8 months, but clearly getting a real sign is not high on the "to do" list. Judging from the picture it looks like there used to be a Mexican restaurant there before, but I'm not for sure. (I'm also not sure, but I think this might have been a Pizza Hut way back when I grew up in Fox Meadows.)

From what I can tell, there are one or two other Rancho Grandes in Mississippi--Southaven and Olive Branch.



Inside, the place is huge. There's an enormous dining room and bar when you first come in, and an open kitchen and game room to the right. The decor is awesome. There are all sorts of things adorning the walls from flamenco dancers to Frida Kahlo.

Despite it being a Friday night, and this place clearly having enough space for a crowd, we were among just a handful of diners. (They had beer on the menu, but not margaritas. I've found that when there are no margaritas on the menu, there aren't many gringos in the restaurant.) We grabbed a booth in the main dining area and perused the menu, which was in both English and Spanish.



Among the offerings, we saw Menudo, which we took as a sign of authenticity. Our waitress brought out homemade chips, which were nice and warm, as well as a selection of salsas--both very good signs. I went ahead and ordered cheese dip for the monkeys (Satchel, 8, and Jiro, 6) as well as our drinks.



There were all sorts of things on the menu that I had never heard of and trying to decide on just one was hard. I ultimately went for the Tamales Rancheros (rather than other option--Tamales Gringos) and a shrimp tostada. Warren knew right away that he wanted a whole fish. The kids have become pretty standard taco eaters, and when not eating tacos, Satchel is happy to just eat rice and beans.

There was a bit of a language barrier with the waitress, but we got our order in and patiently waited for the food to arrive. As I mentioned, there were plenty of things on the walls to look at, some people watching, and soccer on a big screen TV.

Satchel and Jiro occupied themselves thumb-wrestling once we grew tired of trying to find a funny Pizza Hut video on YouTube.



Once the food came out, we all dug right in. My tamale was fried, which made it nice and crisp--a totally new texture in terms of all of the other tamales I've eaten. It was burrito sized and buried under a nice heap of shredded lettuce, tomato, avocado, and crumbled cotija cheese. It was quite tasty.



I was also very happy with my shrimp ceviche tostada.



Warren was thrilled with his fish. Whole tilapia is a standard order for him at Mexican restaurants, but he thought this was above average. He liked that the fin was waving at him, and the fries on the side were a nice touch. "Fish and chips!" he exclaimed.



The monkeys' dinners didn't get photographed, so they must not have been too exciting. I know Jiro finished his whole taco and commented on the fact that it has two corn tortillas. "They gave me two taco buns," he said.

Once we were all done with dinner, we couldn't resist getting a dessert (although Warren said he could eat another fish). I described the Nieve frita--Corn Flake coated fried ice cream--and our choice was a no-brainer.



"It's gooder than cereal," declared Jiro. (Satchel still claimed his rice was the best dish of the evening. He doesn't have much of a sweet tooth.)

When we were all done, the monkeys went with me to pay at the counter, because they could see it was lined with candy for sale. Most of it was candy they weren't familiar with, so their interest eventually waned. They attempted to get me to buy them a Hot Wheel off of a wall dispenser, but we finished with Hot Wheels many years ago.

Our total bill was $31.40, which seemed incredibly reasonable. On our way out, I noticed a sign that said kids eat free on Saturdays (off of the kids' menu) and if you bring a church bulletin, you can get 10% off on Sunday.

We made a bathroom run on our way out. They are located in the back of the game room side. Nothing special, but clean--no changing table that I noticed. The location could be potentially dangerous if you have a 6-9 year old who will beg you for quarters.

We'll be back--maybe on a Saturday night. I'd like to try their burritos, which they advertise as the best, and the botanos. And I'm pretty sure the original La Michoacana isn't too far away.

Chava's Mexican Restaurant (St. Louis)

Ed note: One final St. Louis installment from Steph. The next time you go to St. Louis don't tell me you didn't know where to eat!

Chava's Mexican Restaurant
925 Geyer Ave
St. Louis, MO 63104
(314) 241-5503



On our last two trips to St. Louis, we have eaten at Chava's in the Soulard neighborhood, just a couple of miles south of our hotel in the heart of downtown. Last year, we went on a glorious weekend day in early spring. There was a wait for a table, and there were lots of people eating outside on the patio. There was a really great atmosphere, and we couldn't wait to return on this trip. This time we went on a Sunday night. It wasn't as crowded, but everything was as good as we remembered.



The menu has what you would expect from a Mexican restaurant- build-a-burrito, enchiladas, tostadas, tacos, tortas, etc. However, the food is anything but run-of-the-mill Tex Mex. The flavors are wonderful and the portions are huge, and at no time did we think that they were just taking the same three ingredients and putting them in different combinations on different plates. (**cough**ElPorton**cough**)



The chips were hot and the salsa fresh and spicy. We all dug in happily as we checked out the menu. Connor, who refuses to even eat cheese quesadillas these days, noticed no kids menu and vowed to just eat cheese dip. Fine with me- I had an apple back at the hotel to give him after the meal. The cheese dip was fairly standard, but good.



Surprisingly, Chloe just wanted their plain cheese nachos from the appetizer menu. There is really no way to mess up that particular item, so I'm happy to report that her meal was great too. I ordered the tortilla soup combo, with a bowl of chicken tortilla soup for me and a beef taco for Chloe. The soup was excellent, although it was really more like a hearty enchilada soup than a brothy tortilla soup. Chloe's taco was good- the beef was very well-seasoned.



Chip ordered a grilled chicken salad, which was about the biggest salad I've ever seen. It was topped with tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, cheese, and jalapeno bacon. Anything with creative bacon is good to me! He and I both had a margarita (well, I wasn't driving, so I might have had two), which was excellent- definitely some fresh lime juice in there rather than an overly-sweet margarita mix. I noticed that their frozen/flavored margaritas were hand-blended with real fruit, but I wasn't in the mode for something that heavy. I think next time I'll have to try one (or two), especially considering there are choices like cherry, mango, and raspberry.



I can't remember how much we spent, but I do remember it was in line with all the other meals-with-a-drink we had while we were in St. Louis- somewhere around $50. I imagine Chava's will remain a constant on our family trips to St. Louis- interesting neighborhood, great atmosphere, good food, and family-friendly. I recommend it highly, especially if you are staying downtown and looking for something nearby.

Ted Drewes (St. Louis)

Ted Drewes Frozen Custard
4224 S Grand Blvd
St Louis, MO 63111
(314) 352-7376

I was told that if we went to St. Louis without visiting Ted Drewes then we had wasted 5 hours in the car. After our dinner at Schlafly Bottleworks, we headed over for dessert.



I wasn't sure what to expect, but it soon became clear that it was a stand-in-line-outside-and-get-your-custard-to-go situation. (I could tell by the huge line of people!) It was way bigger than say Jerry's Sno Cones, and from the street I would have guessed you could go in, but there is no seating anywhere. Getting it to go wasn't a problem since it was already a little late and were ready to head back to the hotel.



Despite having only one flavor of custard, there is quite an extensive menu. I was at a loss as to what to order. The kids pointed to pictures on taped to the window and said, "I want that!" The very nice and patient gal at the window gave me the whole spiel and even gave us a sample taste.

Since I waited so long to write this up, I don't remember what exactly the boys got. Jiro's was like a sundae and Satchel's was like a strawberry shortcake. They were bothe very happy with their order.



I got a concrete--aka a milkshake--to share with Warren. Our total bill was about $12. We were in and out in about ten minutes, despite the crowd and not knowing what to get, which was impressive.

I thought the custard was good, but I don't know that Ted Drewes has to be a regular stop for us. Maybe I'll sing a different tune when it's hotter? My first job ever was working at Old Tyme Frozen Custard on Mt. Moriah. We made custard in several flavors and did some pretty amazing things with it. Not sure Ted Drewes was more exciting than the concoctions I used to come up with when I got bored on the job! But really, I might still be inclined to seek out a gelato or a froyo instead. (I didn't actually see any froyo places in St. Louis though. Maybe Ted Drewes is keeping that trend at bay in St. Louis?) However, I'm certainly glad we visited and know what all the fuss is about.