I give up! Food question....
Dusty Rhodes
news:3B007D38...@ix.netcom.com...
> "Chris B." wrote:
> >
> > Ok, it's my burning desire to know the answer to this. Can anyone help:
> >
> > What is the difference between a Tostada and a Chalupa? Every place
that
> > has mexican food that I go to has either one or the other, and they
appear
> > to me to be exactly the same thing. ??
> >
> > Chris
>
> OK, if you want to get technical, a tostada is a corn tortilla
> pressed thin, and fried in oil until it is crunchy. Most of the
> chips that you eat your salsa with (the 3 cornered ones) are
> tostadas. These are tortillas that have been cut up into slices. A
> full tortilla fried until crispy is also a tostada. A chalupa is
> not found in Mexico, but in the US, it is usually beans, lettuce,
> tomato and cheese on a tostada! Ha!
That's a Tex-Mex chalupa. There most certainly are chalupas in Mexico, and
they are not the same as tostadas. It's a soft corn base, not crispy like a
tostada The foundation is usually thicker and smaller in diameter than a
regular corn tortilla.
Reminds me of a joke I tell in Mexico. A gringo couple in a Mexican
restaurant asks the waiter, "What's a taco?"
The waiter says, "A taco is a tortilla, usually with meat and cheese and
sauce, served with rice and beans."
"OK," say the gringos, "What's a burrito?"
"Oh, a burrito is a tortilla, usually with meat and cheese and sauce, with
beans and rice."
"Oh," say the gringos, "What's a tostada?"
"Well, a tostada is a tortilla...
Apparently it's hilarious in Spanish 'cause I have friends who for days
afterward will giggle and say, "Es una tortilla..."
BTW, I've added austin.food, where this discussion belongs. Please trim
austin.general from further responses.
Cheers,
Dusty
D. Cook
> That's a Tex-Mex chalupa. There most certainly are chalupas in Mexico, and
> they are not the same as tostadas. It's a soft corn base, not crispy like a
> tostada The foundation is usually thicker and smaller in diameter than a
> regular corn tortilla.
Isn't that a gordita?
For those of you playing along at home, pay no attention to what Taco
Bell calls things. It will only serve to confuse.
Steve Wertz
> Reminds me of a joke I tell in Mexico. A gringo couple in a Mexican
> restaurant asks the waiter, "What's a taco?"
> The waiter says, "A taco is a tortilla, usually with meat and cheese and
> sauce, served with rice and beans."
> "OK," say the gringos, "What's a burrito?"
> "Oh, a burrito is a tortilla, usually with meat and cheese and sauce, with
> beans and rice."
> "Oh," say the gringos, "What's a tostada?"
> "Well, a tostada is a tortilla...
I think those Mexicans are laughing *at* you, rather than *with* you.
But keep on telling that 'joke' and and I'm sure they'll be impressed.
<ahem>. I don't wanna tackle mexican-gringo cuisine, not now at least.
-sw
Dusty Rhodes
news:3B00F2BC...@austin.rr.com...
Gee, maybe you're right. Maybe at 43, over-educated and well traveled I've
never figured out the difference. Ya think?
Yeah, that must be it. You must be the smartest son-of-a-bitch to ever walk
the earth. <yawn>
Get over yourself and it will be that much easier for others. Or, I fart in
your general direction. It's all good.
Cheers,
Dusty
Tom Spillman
Cooking", p. 41:
"No. They are not flat and fried; those are tostadas. And no, they did
not originate in California. Chalupas, oval-shaped masa snacks, are named
for the small canoes, chalupas, that have been used since pre-Columbian
times in the waterways between the chinampas, the floating gardens of
Xochimilco.
"Chalupas are regional antojitos, found only in and around Mexico City,
as far away as Puebla."
She then gives complete directions on preparing them. As mentioned, the
Tex-Mex chalupas are different (a large tostada with lettuce, tomato, cheese
and other toppings).
I have found in my travels that few ethnic foods remain the same when
transported to other countries. Chinese found is a particularly good
example (there are many others, including Italian and Indian). The Chinese
adapt what they fix to the local tastes, e.g., in the Netherlands, Chinese
restaurants are almost always paired with Indonesian food. Chinese food in
the UK is generally unlike any other I've had.
The same is true of Mexican food. The original ethnic cuisine has been
modified to meet local tastes...
Just my $.02.
YMMV...
Tom
"Dusty Rhodes" <te...@CANSPAMtexas.net> wrote in message
news:hN%L6.86244$sP6.4...@news3.aus1.giganews.com...
Robert Allison
> > pressed thin, and fried in oil until it is crunchy. Most of the
> > chips that you eat your salsa with (the 3 cornered ones) are
> > tostadas. These are tortillas that have been cut up into slices. A
> > full tortilla fried until crispy is also a tostada. A chalupa is
> > not found in Mexico, but in the US, it is usually beans, lettuce,
> > tomato and cheese on a tostada! Ha!
>
> That's a Tex-Mex chalupa. There most certainly are chalupas in Mexico, and
> they are not the same as tostadas. It's a soft corn base, not crispy like a
> tostada The foundation is usually thicker and smaller in diameter than a
> regular corn tortilla.
>
> BTW, I've added austin.food, where this discussion belongs. Please trim
> austin.general from further responses.
>
> Cheers,
> Dusty
Perhaps there are chalupas in Mexico, now. But for the 17 years
that I lived in Brownsville, TX and traveled into Mexico, I had
never seen or heard of one. The first one that I saw was in Dallas,
TX. I had never seen crispy tacos either until I left the valley.
The first one of those that I got at a restaurant I sent back,
thinking something was VERY wrong with it. The waitress educated me
when I wanted to send back the next batch.
All of my knowledge of mexican food was learned from mexicans in and
around Mexico, but what do they know, huh?
Where did you find your chalupa in Mexico?
--
Robert Allison
Georgetown, TX
Victor M. Martinez
>> That's a Tex-Mex chalupa. There most certainly are chalupas in Mexico, and
>> they are not the same as tostadas. It's a soft corn base, not crispy like a
>> tostada The foundation is usually thicker and smaller in diameter than a
>> regular corn tortilla.
>
>Isn't that a gordita?
Nope. Gorditas are round and fat and are stuffed. Chalupas are oval shaped
and topped. Gorditas are common throughout the country, chalupas are common
in Central Mexico. Gorditas are usually stuffed with various "guisos" made
with beef, pork, chicharron, chicken, whatever. Chalupas are usually simpler,
beans, salsa and cheese, but you can add meat if you want.
Cheers.
ps-> to add to the confusion, there's also sopes, garnachas, panuchos, picadas,
salbutes, tlacoyos, molotes, pambazos, etc. all made with masa. :)
--
Victor M. Martinez, Jr. | The University of Texas at Austin
mar...@che.utexas.edu | Department of Chemical Engineering
http://www.che.utexas.edu/~martiv | Austin, TX 78712
If we knew what we were doing it would not be called research, would it?
Dusty Rhodes
Yo, Mr. I Lived In Brownsville, chalupas have been around for hundreds of
years and are available throughout Mexico, but are ubiquitous in central
Mexico. Just how far did you make if past la frontera? But don't take my
word for it. Look it up.
Cheers,
Dusty
Robert Allison
Maybe I didn't see them because I was always ordering mexican food.
You know, frog legs, salads, venison, y todas las otras cosas que
ellos tienen para comer. I just don't remember any chalupas or
burritos or enchiritos. I could be wrong. I haven't been all over
Mexico, mostly Tamaulipas and a little south of there. Once went
down to near Veracruz. That may have been the farthest south that I
have gone. But that was 1960 and I was only 6. I was in jail in
Matamoros for three days, and we got something to eat that could
have been a chalupa. You are probably right.
jim andrews
says...
> Maybe I didn't see them because I was always ordering mexican food.
> You know, frog legs, salads, venison, y todas las otras cosas que
> ellos tienen para comer. I just don't remember any chalupas or
> burritos or enchiritos. I could be wrong. I haven't been all over
> Mexico, mostly Tamaulipas and a little south of there. Once went
> down to near Veracruz. That may have been the farthest south that I
> have gone. But that was 1960 and I was only 6. I was in jail in
> Matamoros for three days, and we got something to eat that could
> have been a chalupa. You are probably right.
Hey Robert . . . send me a bid!
jim andrews (I leave it up to the reader to determine "for what")
hope munro smith
"Tom Spillman" <tspi...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
> Chinese found is a particularly good
> example (there are many others, including Italian and Indian). The Chinese
> adapt what they fix to the local tastes, e.g., in the Netherlands, Chinese
> restaurants are almost always paired with Indonesian food. Chinese food in
> the UK is generally unlike any other I've had.
Too true. It's also called by different names. When I go to a
Chinese restaurant in a foreign city, I have to ask a local
friend what the heck everything is!!
until soon, Hope
Hope Munro Smith, IC chips 'n' salsa
http://wwwvms.utexas.edu/~hopems
Willie
hope munro smith <hop...@mail.utexas.edu> wrote in message
news:hopems-1605...@cs9339-78.austin.rr.com...
> In article <fRaM6.24387$t12.1...@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net>,
> "Tom Spillman" <tspi...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>
> > Chinese found is a particularly good
> > example (there are many others, including Italian and Indian). The
Chinese
> > adapt what they fix to the local tastes, e.g., in the Netherlands,
Chinese
> > restaurants are almost always paired with Indonesian food. Chinese food
in
> > the UK is generally unlike any other I've had.
>
> Too true. It's also called by different names. When I go to a
> Chinese restaurant in a foreign city, I have to ask a local
> friend what the heck everything is!!
> until soon, Hope
>
It's all better over in China. Especially the number 37. Ummm, good. ;-)