|
"Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!"
- 26 Friends
- 130 Reviews
- 8 Review Updates
- 38 Firsts
- 5 Fans
- 18 Local Photos
- 4 Lists
-
Rating Distribution
Loading...
- View more graphs »
Review votes:
208 Useful, 208 Funny, and 139 Cool
Compliments
Like Your Profile
(1)
You're Funny
(15)
Thank You
(16)
Good Writer
(5)
Just a Note
(19)
Hot Stuff
(4)
You're Cool
(12)
Write More
(3)
Location
Palo Cedro, CA
Yelping SinceSeptember 2008
Things I LoveDrive-By Truckers, The Gourds, Wilco, Old 97s, Son Volt, James McMurtry, Steve Earle, Supersuckers, Robbie Fulkes, Robert Earl Keen, Waco Brothers, Hank Williams III, Bottle Rockets, Uncle Tupelo, other alt.country.
Find Me InCognito.
My HometownAn odorous college town surrounded by feed lots on the east side of the Rockies.
When I'm Not Yelping......I stare at geographic abstractions (maps) and dream.
Why You Should Read My ReviewsI can't post the performance-art versions here.
My Second Favorite Website The Last Great Book I Read"Spooner" -- Pete Dexter
My First ConcertNeil Young and Crazy Horse -- "Rust Never Sleeps" Tour
My Favorite Movie"The Delicious" (...because the scissors are part of it.)
My Last Meal On EarthGrilled lamb chops on a bed of peppery water cress, with a big zin.
Don't Tell Anyone Else But......I wish I was a single-handicap golfer.
Most Recent DiscoveryThe yips.
Current CrushTeacher Lady
Date
2 Previous Reviews: Hide »
-
3/5/2009
:::heavy sigh:::
My Messikin-Murican buddy swore the other afternoon that La Cabaña is the most authentic Mexican restaurant in town. In the same breath he made fun of several other Mexican joints around Redding, and we're simpatico about those places (think: Mexican restaurant in Disneyland), so I decided to give La Cabaña another try.
La Cabaña had earlier failed my normal litmus test -- chile verde. I sometimes use chile rellenos as the backup litmus test, but when chile rellenos are bad, they're really bad, and I wasn't in the mood. I played it safe and ordered two shredded chicken tacos.
Identical, weirdly symmetrical hard-shell tortillas from the big bag at Costco? Really?
REALLY? -
1/28/2009
La Cabaña, I walked in wanting to give you four stars. I walked out thinking, "How do I give you three?"
For me, the test of any lunchtime Mexican restaurant in Redding's crowded market is this: How good is the chile verde? When I'm eating Mexican food a lot, chile verde is my staple. If you can't do chile verde, you're not going to be on my trap-line of regular lunch stops.
The chile verde at La Cabaña consisted of carnitas that had been -- exposed to? in the neighborhood of? briefly acquainted with? -- a verde sauce that was just barely visible on some of the surfaces of the pork, and tasted as such. I mean, it was pork, and pork tastes guuuuuuud, but it wasn't the stew of carnitas, chiles, onions, and verde sauce that I think of as chile verde.
On top of that, I noticed when I was settling up that the 10-oz fountain drink that was 95% crushed ice was $2.00. Is that what most places charge for crushed ice these days? I don't normally pay a lot of attention to my tab, but that jumped out at me as.....well.....a freakin' rip-off.
It's not the worst liquor store in the world.
It's not even the worst liquor store in Redding.
But it's one of those liquor stores where the emphasis is on huge bottles of cheap, hard liquor and 24-can cases of cheap, warm beer. The spirits section is a good three times larger than the wine section. At 7:00 in the evening, the other customers were already shitty-drunk and there to reload, except for the guy in the Turkey Trot sweatshirt who was there to purchase a pack of Camel 99s.
I was there to grab a couple of bottles of vino, and as for the wine selection.......let's put it this way: There was a decent bottle of Argentinean malbec shelved just two bottles to the left of the Boone's Farm Fuzzy Navel (which looks like fortified Gatorade).
On the plus side, the wines carried by my local supermarket were a good couple of dollars cheaper at Liquor King, but that's not going to make me forget that they're also a couple of dollars cheaper at Trader Joe's, where the selection is better.
This struck me as slightly surreal: The Pakistani-looking gent behind the counter complimented me on the wise choice of the malbec. "That's a good bottle."
It's not even the worst liquor store in Redding.
But it's one of those liquor stores where the emphasis is on huge bottles of cheap, hard liquor and 24-can cases of cheap, warm beer. The spirits section is a good three times larger than the wine section. At 7:00 in the evening, the other customers were already shitty-drunk and there to reload, except for the guy in the Turkey Trot sweatshirt who was there to purchase a pack of Camel 99s.
I was there to grab a couple of bottles of vino, and as for the wine selection.......let's put it this way: There was a decent bottle of Argentinean malbec shelved just two bottles to the left of the Boone's Farm Fuzzy Navel (which looks like fortified Gatorade).
On the plus side, the wines carried by my local supermarket were a good couple of dollars cheaper at Liquor King, but that's not going to make me forget that they're also a couple of dollars cheaper at Trader Joe's, where the selection is better.
This struck me as slightly surreal: The Pakistani-looking gent behind the counter complimented me on the wise choice of the malbec. "That's a good bottle."
Disclosure: I was on the committee that reviewed different concepts for the bridge design. I had lunch with Francisco Calatrava -- sat next to the world-famous architect while eating deli turkey sandwiches and sipping Coke from cans while the committee looked over his four models: One high-profile cantilever spar cable-stayed suspension bridge and three versions of low-profile truss bridges that Calatrava suggested -- in his quiet, unassuming way -- would perhaps be more suited to the setting.
I favored one of the low-profile truss bridges -- something that wouldn't overwhelm the natural surroundings. I think the "voting" was slightly weighted, however -- your opinion counted for more if you were writing the check to build the thing. The McConnell Foundation was writing the check, and they clearly wanted the suspension bridge.
Damned if the McConnell Foundation wasn't right. The Sundial Bridge put Redding on the map -- or at least got visitors thinking that there's more to Redding than 120-degree heat at the service stations on Cypress Avenue just off Interstate 5. It's been a great addition to the superb Sacramento River Trail system. The bridge is spectacular in daylight, and even more spectacular at night. It ties the Turtle Bay Museum and McConnell Arboretum complex together (opposite sides of the river).
Yeah, the mast sticks up above the tree canopy, which is a bit weird from a distance. But I'm over it. I happen to love bridges, and it's a world-class pedestrian bridge right here in Shasta County.
I favored one of the low-profile truss bridges -- something that wouldn't overwhelm the natural surroundings. I think the "voting" was slightly weighted, however -- your opinion counted for more if you were writing the check to build the thing. The McConnell Foundation was writing the check, and they clearly wanted the suspension bridge.
Damned if the McConnell Foundation wasn't right. The Sundial Bridge put Redding on the map -- or at least got visitors thinking that there's more to Redding than 120-degree heat at the service stations on Cypress Avenue just off Interstate 5. It's been a great addition to the superb Sacramento River Trail system. The bridge is spectacular in daylight, and even more spectacular at night. It ties the Turtle Bay Museum and McConnell Arboretum complex together (opposite sides of the river).
Yeah, the mast sticks up above the tree canopy, which is a bit weird from a distance. But I'm over it. I happen to love bridges, and it's a world-class pedestrian bridge right here in Shasta County.
Yuet Bistro makes my triad of Redding's best Chinese restaurants -- I'm a fan of the mango dishes at Szechuan on Hilltop, and Chu's at the airport is also right there. The hot and sour soup at Yuet Bistro can't be beat -- skip the appetizers and order the soup. I didn't particularly like the beef with orange sauce -- even though the sauce was very good -- because the beef turned out to be fried. But our other two main dishes were great -- especially the special eggplant/pork pot, which was hot, savory, and delicious on a cold night.
Our waitress was one of those Asian women whom I immediately like or dislike, depending on whether I'm in the mood to take a little guff from my server, or not. Maybe you know the type -- kind of pushy and opinionated. Like, when I finish placing our order: "Oh, you order too much food for two people!" Subtext: "...you fat, two-sandwich-eating, XXL, two-chinned, belt-loosening, fat, just-ate-lunch-three-hours-ago, gaseous, fork-shoveling, bedtime-snacking, fat, eats-enough-for-a-whole-family, block-of-cheddar-cheese-munching, fat American husky-boy fat bastard." They were busy last night, so by the time our food arrived I was done with my first beer and ordered another. Our waitress, disapprovingly and reluctantly: "Okay.....you can have one more beer."
I was in a good mood. It was funny.
Our waitress was one of those Asian women whom I immediately like or dislike, depending on whether I'm in the mood to take a little guff from my server, or not. Maybe you know the type -- kind of pushy and opinionated. Like, when I finish placing our order: "Oh, you order too much food for two people!" Subtext: "...you fat, two-sandwich-eating, XXL, two-chinned, belt-loosening, fat, just-ate-lunch-three-hours-ago, gaseous, fork-shoveling, bedtime-snacking, fat, eats-enough-for-a-whole-family, block-of-cheddar-cheese-munching, fat American husky-boy fat bastard." They were busy last night, so by the time our food arrived I was done with my first beer and ordered another. Our waitress, disapprovingly and reluctantly: "Okay.....you can have one more beer."
I was in a good mood. It was funny.
I'm writing this review from my room. I booked a room with a queen bed, and it turns out all the rooms are suites with French doors dividing the living room from the bedroom. Sweet suite. :::cough::::
Plush accommodations for a BW, and conveniently located on B Street between UC Davis and the downtown scene. The adjoining restaurant is Cafe Bernardo, a Randy Paragary joint, which means that the food is pretty darned good, though not transcendent. (We ate elsewhere.)
Cafe Bernardo's bar was okay, but will forever be known in my mind as having served me the worst whiskey sour ever made. The bartender warned me: Our sour mix is the worst ever -- way too sweet. Do you want me to put some lime juice in it?
Sure. Put some lime juice in that.
Sweet Jesus H. Christ in a tub of simple syrup......it was like pineapple juice with six lumps of sugar. My pancreas squirted out all the insulin it had and then leapt from my body, sprinted over to the cafe side of Cafe Bernardo, and volunteered for sweetbreads duty. The bartender asked if it was still too sweet, but the only response I could muster were these weird little hummingbird cheeps.
Plush accommodations for a BW, and conveniently located on B Street between UC Davis and the downtown scene. The adjoining restaurant is Cafe Bernardo, a Randy Paragary joint, which means that the food is pretty darned good, though not transcendent. (We ate elsewhere.)
Cafe Bernardo's bar was okay, but will forever be known in my mind as having served me the worst whiskey sour ever made. The bartender warned me: Our sour mix is the worst ever -- way too sweet. Do you want me to put some lime juice in it?
Sure. Put some lime juice in that.
Sweet Jesus H. Christ in a tub of simple syrup......it was like pineapple juice with six lumps of sugar. My pancreas squirted out all the insulin it had and then leapt from my body, sprinted over to the cafe side of Cafe Bernardo, and volunteered for sweetbreads duty. The bartender asked if it was still too sweet, but the only response I could muster were these weird little hummingbird cheeps.
536 N Market St, , CA
Redding, CA 96003
(530) 244-2512
Redding, CA 96003
(530) 244-2512
Carlitos Mexican
Categories: Ethnic Food, Mexican
Four stars? I'm not so sure. I'll explain later.
This was pretty standard Mexican lunch fare. Good chips and salsa, but very ordinary sides of refried beans, spanish rice, and shredded iceberg lettuce with a bit of tomato. TL had an interesting looking burrito, I had the chile verde. I didn't get a taste of the burrito, but my chile verde was decent. Lots of tender chunks of pork, though the verde sauce was either the strangest hue of bright green you'll ever see in a tomatillo, or I was hallucinating like a mind-tripping character in a freaky Michael Gondry movie (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind; The Science of Sleep). Service: A+
I was thinking 3 stars as I started to write this review, but to be fair, on the day we ate at Carlitos I was still recovering from a nasty bug I'd had over the weekend. I spent the end of the meal staring at my food like it was potentially still the enemy. TL seemed to like Carlitos a lot more than I did. Thus, 4 stars.
This was pretty standard Mexican lunch fare. Good chips and salsa, but very ordinary sides of refried beans, spanish rice, and shredded iceberg lettuce with a bit of tomato. TL had an interesting looking burrito, I had the chile verde. I didn't get a taste of the burrito, but my chile verde was decent. Lots of tender chunks of pork, though the verde sauce was either the strangest hue of bright green you'll ever see in a tomatillo, or I was hallucinating like a mind-tripping character in a freaky Michael Gondry movie (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind; The Science of Sleep). Service: A+
I was thinking 3 stars as I started to write this review, but to be fair, on the day we ate at Carlitos I was still recovering from a nasty bug I'd had over the weekend. I spent the end of the meal staring at my food like it was potentially still the enemy. TL seemed to like Carlitos a lot more than I did. Thus, 4 stars.
After meeting a deadline, we went to the racquet club for some much-needed exercise and then in search of a place with beer, bar food, and TVs in the hopes of watching the Phillies extend the World Series.
After trying a couple of other places that were incredibly crowded, we landed at Cool Hand Luke's, which was not. Our first warning.
Our second warning was that the six TVs in the bar were all dim, grainy CRTs instead of the now-standard HD flat screens.
Our third warning was that the draft beer menu featured seven beers, three of which were the typical watery domestic lagers and pilsners, and three of which were fruit-infused Belgian-style wheat beers. Even in the middle of summer, that's inexcusable -- a sure sign that a fucktard is running the bar.
The most LOUD-ASS motherhumper in the history of chain-steakhouse lounges was seated at the table behind us. Swear to God, this guy was like a drunk, hiccup-laughing Glen Beck with a bullhorn, and Would. Not. Shut. The. Hell. Up.
It's not often that you walk out of a restaurant wondering if it might be a good idea to purge in the parking lot. My burger would have gagged a starving hyena. TL's Cobb salad was like a shopping mall food court taco salad, with greasy tough steak instead of greasy ground beef.
On the upside, the service was crap. I say that because if the service had been good, the contrast with everything else might have been disorienting -- the parking-lot purge might have been involuntary and might not have happened in the parking lot.
After trying a couple of other places that were incredibly crowded, we landed at Cool Hand Luke's, which was not. Our first warning.
Our second warning was that the six TVs in the bar were all dim, grainy CRTs instead of the now-standard HD flat screens.
Our third warning was that the draft beer menu featured seven beers, three of which were the typical watery domestic lagers and pilsners, and three of which were fruit-infused Belgian-style wheat beers. Even in the middle of summer, that's inexcusable -- a sure sign that a fucktard is running the bar.
The most LOUD-ASS motherhumper in the history of chain-steakhouse lounges was seated at the table behind us. Swear to God, this guy was like a drunk, hiccup-laughing Glen Beck with a bullhorn, and Would. Not. Shut. The. Hell. Up.
It's not often that you walk out of a restaurant wondering if it might be a good idea to purge in the parking lot. My burger would have gagged a starving hyena. TL's Cobb salad was like a shopping mall food court taco salad, with greasy tough steak instead of greasy ground beef.
On the upside, the service was crap. I say that because if the service had been good, the contrast with everything else might have been disorienting -- the parking-lot purge might have been involuntary and might not have happened in the parking lot.
We were somewhere north of Woodland on I-80, around midnight on Halloween, driving above the speed limit with the moon roof of the Subaru wide open, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember saying something like, "I feel a little lightheaded. Maybe you should drive..." Suddenly, there was a terrible roar all around us, and the sky was full of what looked like huge bats, all swooping and screeching and diving around the car, and a voice was screaming: "Holy Jesus! What are these goddamned animals?"
TL decided it was time to check into a hotel. I protested, "We can't stop here....this is bat country." But then the dim lights of Williams appeared on the horizon, and TL insisted that we pull into the Ramada Inn.
The Ramada Inn is one of those hotels that relies on its extreme beige-ness to envelope the weary, drug-addled traveler in a cocoon of comforting beige. Lacking Thorazine, it was just what I needed. However, it's also the type of place that makes any weirdness stand out in vivid contrast to the prevailing blandness.
Examples:
1. The flamboyantly gay counter dude who seemed wildly out of place in Williams, stoned out of his mind, giggling nervously -- almost fearfully -- into his cell phone the entire time he was checking me in, like he had just accidentally asphyxiated his sex partner in the back room and was talking to Mr. Wolf from "Pulp Fiction" about what to do with the body.
2. The scantily clad voyeur-woman in the back parking lot in the cold early morning air at 6:30 AM, rocking back and forth on feet that were clad only in socks, blowing on a styrofoam cup of steaming hot coffee while staring directly into various first-floor hotel rooms from right outside the windows.
3. The morning TV news show in the breakfast area, featuring an apparently regular segment where an ancient drag queen flips through tabloid magazines while standing at a Pac "N" Save magazine rack, bantering awkwardly with the show's hosts back in the studio regarding the latest celebrity gossip, the old dame holding up the tabloids and pointing out photos of said celebs.
4. The "Chester the Molester" cargo van with this message painted on the sides in huge block letters: "666 is the Number of the Pope."
5. The nearby billboard with this message: "Produce the Birth Certificate."
Yelp won't let me review this as a Ramada Inn, because it has the location listed as a Holiday Inn Express. Probably a recent change of ownership.......but maybe a warping of the space-time continuum?
One weird Halloween night.
TL decided it was time to check into a hotel. I protested, "We can't stop here....this is bat country." But then the dim lights of Williams appeared on the horizon, and TL insisted that we pull into the Ramada Inn.
The Ramada Inn is one of those hotels that relies on its extreme beige-ness to envelope the weary, drug-addled traveler in a cocoon of comforting beige. Lacking Thorazine, it was just what I needed. However, it's also the type of place that makes any weirdness stand out in vivid contrast to the prevailing blandness.
Examples:
1. The flamboyantly gay counter dude who seemed wildly out of place in Williams, stoned out of his mind, giggling nervously -- almost fearfully -- into his cell phone the entire time he was checking me in, like he had just accidentally asphyxiated his sex partner in the back room and was talking to Mr. Wolf from "Pulp Fiction" about what to do with the body.
2. The scantily clad voyeur-woman in the back parking lot in the cold early morning air at 6:30 AM, rocking back and forth on feet that were clad only in socks, blowing on a styrofoam cup of steaming hot coffee while staring directly into various first-floor hotel rooms from right outside the windows.
3. The morning TV news show in the breakfast area, featuring an apparently regular segment where an ancient drag queen flips through tabloid magazines while standing at a Pac "N" Save magazine rack, bantering awkwardly with the show's hosts back in the studio regarding the latest celebrity gossip, the old dame holding up the tabloids and pointing out photos of said celebs.
4. The "Chester the Molester" cargo van with this message painted on the sides in huge block letters: "666 is the Number of the Pope."
5. The nearby billboard with this message: "Produce the Birth Certificate."
Yelp won't let me review this as a Ramada Inn, because it has the location listed as a Holiday Inn Express. Probably a recent change of ownership.......but maybe a warping of the space-time continuum?
One weird Halloween night.
I stayed home today to get a kitchen electrical problem fixed, but the contractor who was supposed to get on it was a big fat no-show. Didn't even get a call from him telling me he was hung up with something. Totally blew me off.
Thanks, man. Thanks a lot.
So I call the guy who owns A-1 and describe the problem to him, and he says it's obviously a breaker problem. "Yep," I say, "That's what I figured, but I went out and reset the breakers in the main panel and all of the mini circuit breakers in the kitchen, and it's still dead. Any poking around beyond that, and I'll end up shocking myself stiff with 110 V current, which as I'm sure you know isn't as fun as it sounds."
Mr. A-1 replies, "Yeah, but it's still going to be a breaker, and I don't want to charge you for a service call if I can walk you through this."
So, back out to the panel box with the phone and an assortment of tools (massive skull, hammer, monkey wrench, corkscrew, bow-saw, and garden hose), and 10 minutes later the problem is fixed thanks to A-1's nifty tech support hotline.
A-1 isn't usually going to be free, of course, but I got a big whiff of integrity that went a long ways toward masking the stench of the puke electrician who stood me up.
Thanks, man. Thanks a lot.
So I call the guy who owns A-1 and describe the problem to him, and he says it's obviously a breaker problem. "Yep," I say, "That's what I figured, but I went out and reset the breakers in the main panel and all of the mini circuit breakers in the kitchen, and it's still dead. Any poking around beyond that, and I'll end up shocking myself stiff with 110 V current, which as I'm sure you know isn't as fun as it sounds."
Mr. A-1 replies, "Yeah, but it's still going to be a breaker, and I don't want to charge you for a service call if I can walk you through this."
So, back out to the panel box with the phone and an assortment of tools (massive skull, hammer, monkey wrench, corkscrew, bow-saw, and garden hose), and 10 minutes later the problem is fixed thanks to A-1's nifty tech support hotline.
A-1 isn't usually going to be free, of course, but I got a big whiff of integrity that went a long ways toward masking the stench of the puke electrician who stood me up.
Good call, Ruben.
I live in Palo Cedro, but the meal I had here several years ago when it first opened as a Mexican joint was so awful that I'd not been back until we dropped in for lunch today. I assume it's under new ownership, because everything is different. Everything is better.
My chili verde was excellent. TL's cheese enchiladas were very good. Our waitress was friendly and competent. The norteño music was cool....
Y que diablos me importa que tu ya no me quieras
ya tengo listas otras formadas en la hilera
seguro que pensaste que yo en la borrachera
terminaria llorando vaciando las botellas.
:::raises bottle of Negra Modelo:::
I'll be back for some of the more adventurous items on the menu, including the delicious-sounding breakfasts and maybe even the goat tacos.
Make the drive from Redding, Reddingites. Fifteen minutes. It'll be worth it.
I live in Palo Cedro, but the meal I had here several years ago when it first opened as a Mexican joint was so awful that I'd not been back until we dropped in for lunch today. I assume it's under new ownership, because everything is different. Everything is better.
My chili verde was excellent. TL's cheese enchiladas were very good. Our waitress was friendly and competent. The norteño music was cool....
Y que diablos me importa que tu ya no me quieras
ya tengo listas otras formadas en la hilera
seguro que pensaste que yo en la borrachera
terminaria llorando vaciando las botellas.
:::raises bottle of Negra Modelo:::
I'll be back for some of the more adventurous items on the menu, including the delicious-sounding breakfasts and maybe even the goat tacos.
Make the drive from Redding, Reddingites. Fifteen minutes. It'll be worth it.
4 Lists
1. Yelp
I'm kinda pissed off a…
2. Hot Springs Spa of Redding
So the owner of Hot…
3. The Cheesecake Factory
See Full List »
Tigard must be where all…
1. Uncorked Wine Bar
Uncorked is a new place…
2. The Downtown Eatery and…
Bob Dylan, when he's not…
3. Old Mill House Restaurant
See Full List »
If this were Austin, Old…
"Mexican-Americans don't like to just get into gang fights,
they like flowers, and music, and white girls named Debbie too.
Mexican-Americans are named Chata, and Chella, and Chemma,
and have a son-in-law named Jeff.
Mexican-Americans don't like to get up early in the morning,
but they have to, so they do it real slow.
Mexican-Americans love education, so they go to night school,
and take Spanish, and get a B."
Sorry, man. Sometimes after a really good Mexican food lunch, I start wishing I was Mexican and start channeling Cheech Marin. Mexico, mi hombre, has a cuisine. No, Mexico has about a dozen cuisines. What does los Estados Unidos de América have for a cuisine? Steak and potatoes?
Katie T. featured pictures of homemade chili rellenos on her blog yesterday, and as soon as I saw them I knew what I was having for lunch.
I've slammed La Cabaña a couple of times in a row, but I decided to give their chili rellenos a chance -- did I mention my friend Luis swears by this place? -- and the chile rellenos were really good. Redeemingly good. Anaheim chilis battered just the right amount, filled with cheese, and smothered in a really delicious sauce.
If you need me, I'll be taking a nap on the couch.