I scored a $20 gift certificate to this place from eReach Big Deals for only $10, so Mr. FvF and I treated ourselves to dinner Friday night after haircuts.

I've never had sub-par food or service at either of the Las Piramides locations (there's also one in Centerville), and this visit was no different. I talked to mister into venturing out and getting something different than a burrito. Here's the thing, eaters - when you go out for Mexican, don't go vanilla with your order and ask for a burrito or tacos. Unless you're getting real barbacoa (face meat!) in them, there's not much the kitchen can do to make those things fancy or different than you could have almost any place. Luckily, Las Piramides marks their chef's specialties with a little sombrero, so you know what the best bets are. So, the Mister went for the Chorizo Pollo - a seasoned, grilled chicken breast covered in crumbled chorizo and queso blanco.

I opted for the Enchiladas Rancheras - three corn tortillas stuffed with blended white cheese, covered in carnitas (shredded pork) and grilled peppers and onions, alongside guacamole salad and rice.

We were actually both a bit floored at how great the food was. Mr. FvF is a former Texan and is super picky about two things: barbecue and Mexican food. Even though we've had some great Mexican food at other local spots, he said this was by far the best he's had since living in San Antonio. Everything was perfectly seasoned, nothing overcooked, and the portions were somewhere between above average and big-fat-fatty. The service was tops, too. Not much of a language barrier, and the servers didn't mind answering questions about the menu, and came back to check on us often.

Also, they make a mean mojito, and had a mariachi playing some slow jamz for all of the lovers in the house. This kind of thing sometimes annoys me, but he was actually really good, and not all in your face when you're trying to eat. Mr. FvF thinks that guy gets more ass than David Lee Roth.

In a dinner pinch earlier this week, and wanting to avoid the grocery at all costs, we grabbed the Hot Head Burrito coupons that come in Reach Magazine and bellied up there for our evening meal after some shopping.

Sorry to say, there are no pictures. Frankly, I was feeling lazy and it's kind of hard to make a burrito look good. It's either all wrapped up or half-eaten. Mr. FvF opted for a spicy steak burrito with black beans, Hot Head sauce and other fixins, and I had two hard pork tacos with black beans, pico and guacamole (kid's meal - so I also got a small beverage a cookie). I've had their pork before and it's surprisingly good for a fast food joint, so I was perfectly pleased with my meal. Everything was pretty fresh, and all of the flavors were bold enough without being overpowering.

The Mister had never had a "fast food" style burrito, like the kind that Hot Head, and more notably, Chipotle serve up. So, he was a bit put off by the amount of rice that was in it. But, that's pretty much how it goes. All of that rice helps hold the burrito together and makes it the gigantic meal that it is. When I first asked him how he liked it, he said he wasn't crazy about the sauce and thought it was bitter - but later admitted he may have just gotten a bad bite and the sauce tasted better to him after a few more bites.

Big ups for having 4+ diet drink options, because Diet Pepsi is vial. I had the diet peach green tea, which was tops - but they also had Diet Mt. Dew and Diet Dr. Pepper. The staff was also super friendly and chatted us up while we were ordering, but not to the point that you wished they would shut up and just take your money, already. With the coupons, it was only about $9 for both of us to eat and be full, which somehow makes the food taste a little better. It wasn't the best fast-Mexican I've ever had, but I've certainly had much worse - at a higher price with poor service. I've never been impressed with Chipotle or Qdoba (or anything else of that ilk), so I'd just as soon go to Hot Head any day.

Last night we had Tim (of YouIndie) and his lovely wife Amie over for dinner. Since I was working all day I didn't want to spend 5-8pm spazzing out in the kitchen, so I needed something that would practically make itself. Solution? Carnitas!

This obviously isn't the traditional Mexican method, but it's just as tasty. I picked up a pork shoulder from Dot's - the ONLY cut of pork you should use for carnitas. It's well marbled, but the fat just melts right off and helps flavor the meat. Last night I switched my method up a bit, and didn't like it as well as the first time, so I'll post the original recipe.

2-3 lbs pork shoulder
1 cup salsa
1/2 cup water
taco seasoning*
1 tsp Liquid Smoke


*I make my own, but you could just as easily use store bought. Try 2 parts chili powder, and one part of all the following: salt, cumin, onion powder & garlic powder, and maybe a dash of cayenne.

Rub the meat with the seasonings, place it on the crock pot and surround it with the salsa and water (it's easiest to mix these together first), cook on low for about 6-8 hours.
Transfer the pork and about half of it's juices to a baking dish and cook in a 300 degree oven for about an hour, allowing the edges to crisp up and the juices to soak into the meat. You don't *have* to do this step, but trust me, it's worth the extra time.

I love making tacos with it - black beans, Monterrey Jack and guacamole - and warming the filled shells for about 5 minutes in the oven to let everything meld together. However, we've also used it on nachos, in burritos, and last night, as tostadas by accident. I usually buy the Ortega Whole Grain shells, but Dot's doesn't carry them, so I had to get regular ones. Unfortunately, by the time I was 7 shells through the box of 12, the rest were broken in half. At Chez Vizz, we don't cry over broken corn shells - we make them into something else!



The photo didn't come out as well as I'd hoped. I'd had a few cocktails by this point, and apparently the camera was sharing my Sasquatch-spotting vision.