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News from el Restaurante Mexicano
The monthly online newsletter from el Restaurante Mexicano magazine
June 2009
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Dear (Contact First Name),
el Restaurante Mexicano will be available in a digital version beginning with the July/August 2009 edition. The new version of the bimonthly magazine will let readers read the magazine from cover to cover online. Readers can subscribe to the digital version only, the print version, or both.
To subscribe: elrestaurantemexicano.com
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Industry News: Culinary Institute offers free online module
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The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) is offering a free online learning module entitled "The Professional Chef Discovers Canola Oil." This digital cooking hub is a one-stop shop with recipes and videos by chef instructors showing delicious ways of incorporating canola oil into everyday meals. The e-learning site is geared toward professional chefs. Recipes include Brick-Pressed Cuban Sandwiches With Sun-Dried Canola Mayonnaise.
More: Culinary Institute website
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Trend Report: Foodies flock to Twitter-savvy food trucks
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Twitter recently became the communique of choice for the almost cultishly popular Kogi BBQ trucks, roving Korean-style taco vendors in Los Angeles that use the 140-character, cell phone-friendly missives to alert customers to their whereabouts and menu items...And this month, DonChowTacos.com was launched (complete with Twitter feeds) for a truck that sells Chinese-Mexican fusion such as "chimales," Chinese-Mexican tamales stuffed with kung pao chicken or Chinese barbecue pork.
More: Kogi website | Kogi on Twitter | Don Chow website | Don Chow on Twittter
Associated Press article (via Yahoo!)
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Independent Restaurant Watch: Happy Mexican expands in East Memphis
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The Happy Mexican Restaurante & Cantina is opening a second location in East Memphis, Tenn. The company plans to occupy the former Cockeyed Camel and Grady's Goodtimes space.
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Chain News: Barbecue Chicken is back at El Pollo Loco
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El Pollo Loco's Barbecue Chicken combines the chain's juicy citrus-marinated, flame-grilled chicken with a smoky sauce with a hint of chipotle. El Pollo Loco expands its tribute to barbecue with the debut of its BBQ Chicken Slider (pictured).
More: El Pollo Loco website
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Retail/C-store Report: Wal-Mart unveils Hispanic concept store
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 Wal-Mart is readying a new concept store aimed squarely at the needs of Hispanic consumers. Supermercado de Walmart will offer specialty foods as well as an in-store cocina where families can dine. The Supermercado de Walmart is an evolution of the retailer's efforts to be more relevant to Hispanic customers.
More: Brandweek | Wal-Mart website
Universal Supermarket opens in Bonita Springs, Fla.; old store is torn down
El Mariachi, a 2,500-square-foot mamey brown-colored building was bulldozed to make way for the new Universal Supermarket store's 26-space parking lot.
More: Fort Myers (Fla.) News-Press
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From the Archives: Marketing ideas for summer drink menus
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 Capitalize on the coffee craze.Try Iced Mexican Latte with a double shot of espresso and homemade whipped cream.
Recreate a Mexican street scene. Want to sell more aguas frescas, horchata, tamarindo and Mexican sodas? Set up a colorful cart on your patio and sell the drinks the way they do south of the border. This idea would also work at neighborhood street fairs, especially since many children attend those events. For a real attention-getter, serve the beverages from ribbon-tied glass jars.
Sponsor a "Create a Drink" or "Name a Drink" contest. Ask customers to come up with a recipe and name for a Mexican, southwestern or Latin-themed drink--with or without alcohol. You could also ask them to suggest names for new drinks you've created. The contest (and the winners) could be publicized in your restaurant, and possibly in your local newspaper (either in a small ad, or by sending a press release to the appropriate editor). Winners could get a free drink on their next visit, a free dinner, a photo or themselves with their drink displayed in your eatery, etc.
More: Dynamic Drinks from the May/June 2004 issue of el Restaurante Mexicano
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Recipe: Pescado en Verde: Fish with Greens and Herbs
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From contributing writer Karen Hursh Graber
Makes 6 servings
3 lbs. fish steaks, from firm-fleshed fish
4 oz. watercress leaves
4 oz. spinach leaves
1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 purple onion, thinly sliced
5 cloves garlic, chopped
2 T. corn oil
Water and masa harina as necessary
Salt and pepper to taste
Wash fish steaks and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper, set aside.
Blanch the watercress and spinach leaves and puree them in a blender with about one fourth of the bell pepper slices and one fourth of the onion slices.
In a large skillet, sauté the remaining slices of bell pepper and onion, along with the garlic, in the oil. Add the puree, stir, and add the fish steaks. Simmer, uncovered, over low heat, adding water as necessary to make a thin sauce.
When the fish is cooked through, remove and keep it warm. Thicken the sauce with masa harina, using prepared masa or mixing masa flour with water. The sauce should be thick enough to coat a wooden spoon.
Serve the fish steaks topped with the sauce.
See Karen Hursh Graber's story about Tabascan fare and more of her recipes from Tabasco
in the May/June 2009 issue of el Restaurante Mexicano. To subscribe: elrestaurantemexicano.com
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Trade Show Watch
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Expo Comida Latina Chicago, co-located with All Things Organic.
June 16 - 18, McCormick Place, Chicago. Visit expo-comida-latina.com. Visit el Restaurante Mexicano at Booth #2700.
Hispanic Retail 360 Summit. Aug. 9 - 11, Venetian Resort & Hotel, Las Vegas, Nev. Visit hispanicretail360.com or call 646.654.5883. Pick up a copy of the July/August el Restaurante Mexicano at the Summit.
Expo Comida Latina San Diego, co-located with the Western Foodservice & Hospitality Expo. Aug. 30 - Sept. 1, San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, Calif. Visit expo-comida-latina.com. Visit el Restaurante Mexicano at Booth #402.
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