Published on Sunday August 10, 2008 .
Roger and I adore Mexican food. At home we often cook with cumin, chili powder, chiles of all kinds, lime, corn, beans, and cilantro. My husband has become a fiend for chipotle flavored anything. And we both like it hot.
My complaint with most Mexican restaurants is that they glop up everything with cheese. It isn’t always traditional and it tends to make most dishes to heavy.
So, we enjoy visiting Tio Juan’s Margarita’s in Concord (we sometimes pop into the Manchester and Lebanon locations) for three reasons:
- Icy cold Dos Equis Amber served with two wedges of lime in a nice big 20-oz glass
- Their spicy salsa and warm chips. The salt spice balance is just right and the chips the perfect vehicle.
- Fish Tacos
I don’t think I was aware of fish tacos until a few years ago, but how can you go wrong wrapping anything hot and spicy in tortillas.
The Fish Tacos at Margaritas are two white corn tacos filled with flaky, crusted (crushed tortilla dip before cooking) talapia and home-made corn salsa and shredded red cabbage. They come with a side of chipotle mayonnaise.
The challenge is to get both down without the second one falling apart in your hand. Hey, life is filled with challenges. If you fail, drown your sorrows in a second 20-oz Dos Equis. Poor baby.
Okay, so the truth is this: the way to a woman’s heart is through chocolate… or it is poppy seeds?
A few years back, Roger and I were working on a shared project through Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. I was the writer and he was the designer for their employee newsletter. We’d grown fond of each other and become good friends over a period of time.
He was commuting from Hillsboro up to Lebanon a few days per week, and somehow he found time to get to South Main Street in Concord to pick up several slices of Bread & Chocolate to surprise me with. It didn’t take me too long to anticipate and long for this periodic treat.
Each slice is a dense but flaky one inch wide by four inch stretch of pastry filled with a lovely sugary spice mix. The secret I kept for along time — didn’t want to hurt any feelings — was that I actually like the honey and black poppyseed version best. Yes, chocolate rules, bu this flavor is also special. There is also a cinnamon and walnut version of the strudel, so it really requires a taste of each one at each sitting to be sure of one’s favorite.
Baker Franz Andlinger, Austrian born and trained, is responsible for the wonderful flaky strudels and hearty breads. They also sell sandwiches and all manner of cakes and pastries. It’s also a source of the best all-purpose farm loaf at the best price we can find in the region. Hard to go wrong with any of it.
So, the truth? I did fall for the guy. But Bread & Chocolate paved the way.
