Sikil Pak (Pumpkin Seed Dip) Recipe • 20 min
Sikil pak is often referred to as Mayan hummus due to its creamy texture. Sikil pak is traditionally made by crushing pepitas in a molcajete, so it has more of a coarse mouthfeel. A food processor mimics the texture most closely, but a blender will work too. If you prefer your salsas on the mild side, start with half a habanero. Citrus plays a central role in Mayan cuisine: here it lends brightness and boosts the fruity notes of the chiles. This is a bold salsa that’s best enjoyed slathered on a...
This One-Skillet Mexican Chicken Dinner Is Smoky, Cheesy, and Built for Weeknights
Communal dishes are my favorite way of sharing a meal with family and friends—whether it's a flurry of hands tearing into a giant dosa or coordinating toppings for hot pot. In Mexican cuisine, an alambre is a popular shared dish in which diners use tortillas as a glove to grab a fistful of melted cheese along with meat and vegetables. The name alambre translates to "wire," a nod to earlier versions of the dish that were cooked on skewers rather than in a skillet. This large, shareable meal invit...
I Grew Up Eating This Comforting Mexican Potato Dish—It’s Still One of My Favorites
You're unlikely to find papas guisadas—stewed potatoes—on a restaurant menu. It's a dish you'll find in Mexican and Mexican-American home kitchens, especially on nights when the fridge is running low, and a bag of potatoes is still sitting on the counter. It's simple, filling, and made with ingredients most people already have on hand. It's also a dish my abuela would insist I eat when I had a runny nose, whether I was hungry or not.
At its most basic, papas guisadas are chunks of potato simme...
At its most basic, papas guisadas are chunks of potato simme...
This 30-Minute Mexican Mac and Cheese Is Gooey, Crunchy, and Bright From Salsa Verde
I have a strange relationship with macaroni and cheese. It's a dish I associate with Thanksgiving—something rich, comforting, and worth going back for seconds. But it was also a college survival meal, food I ate so often out of a microwave that I eventually swore it off entirely.
While my student loan payments still loom, my aversion to mac and cheese does not. Somewhere along the way, I came back to it—this time with a better kitchen, a little more know-how, and higher expectations. My versio...
While my student loan payments still loom, my aversion to mac and cheese does not. Somewhere along the way, I came back to it—this time with a better kitchen, a little more know-how, and higher expectations. My versio...
Prik Nam Pla Snap Peas
Salmon Tostadas With Citrus Salsa Recipe • 30 min
Poached salmon is the perfect canvas for a spicy and tangy salsa. Cilantro stems, onion and garlic flavor the fish during its brief simmer. Habaneros and citrus juice synergize to produce an intensely fruity and bright sauce. It’s a popular flavor combination in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. You can cut back to a single habanero but avoid swapping for a milder chile since it won’t have the same fruity flavor. The chiles are charred along with onion and garlic to add a hint of smokiness, but feel f...
A New San José Restaurant Offers the Largest Variety of Burritos in the Bay
If burrito eating were a professional sport, I would probably be one of the highest-ranked players in the league. I’ve eaten hundreds of burritos across the Bay Area, usually sitting in my car with salsas spread across the dash. But even a pro eater might be intimidated by the staggering selection at Cuco’s Burritos, which offers more than 14 different specialty styles — the most I’ve ever encountered in the Bay.
On my first visit to the restaurant’s brand new location in San José, I couldn’t de...
On my first visit to the restaurant’s brand new location in San José, I couldn’t de...
Why Bombera Remains a Singular Oakland Restaurant
When Dominica Rice-Cisneros opened Bombera in 2021, she knew that she wanted to continue the tradition of “Mole Mondays” that she had established at Cosecha, her previous restaurant. Today, Bombera offers multiple moles each day served in various preparations alongside meats and vegetables.
“Enjoying and eating moles is something I’ve done my whole life,” says Rice-Cisneros. Moles are often categorized by color or place of origin in Mexico, but within those classifications exists a wide variety...
“Enjoying and eating moles is something I’ve done my whole life,” says Rice-Cisneros. Moles are often categorized by color or place of origin in Mexico, but within those classifications exists a wide variety...
Salsa Macha Transforms These Mexican Brothy Beans Into a Memorable Meal
Growing up in a Mexican household, I ate beans at least a few times per week. It was typically frijoles de la olla (beans from the pot) , refried beans, or morisqueta. Beans were essential but never the star of the show; they were a side dish paired with arroz and a stew. For a long time, I didn't think of beans as anything more.
My opinion changed after a visit to Bombera, a Mexican restaurant in Oakland with a Michelin Bib Gourmand designation. The most memorable dish on the menu is charr...
My opinion changed after a visit to Bombera, a Mexican restaurant in Oakland with a Michelin Bib Gourmand designation. The most memorable dish on the menu is charr...
Before Dungeness disappears, bathe it in tomato-chile butter
Salsa Macha Pork Noodles Recipe • 30 min
These noodles are inspired by mazemen, a brothless ramen that is sometimes tossed with a saucy pork mixture. In this case, the sauce is salsa macha (a nutty Mexican chile oil) seasoned with cumin and oregano. Chiles de árbol incorporate heat while guajillos add a sweet fruitiness. The dish is freshened up with cilantro, scallions and a heavy dose of lime juice. You can also top the noodles with a raw egg yolk or a soft-boiled egg. The dish comes together in less than half an hour, making it the...
Okonomi-latkes: A crisp, cabbage-laced mashup built for sweet and savory toppings
Chile Lime Roast Chicken Recipe • 5★ • 1 hr
Chile Lime Roast ChickenBy Octavio PeñaGhazalle Badiozamani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.Media 1 of 1Ready In1 hrRating5(45)CommentsRead commentsCumin, coriander, paprika and oregano lend this roast chicken a warm, herby flavor profile. It’s cooked on a bed of baby potatoes and carrots that soak up the chicken’s drippings. While the chicken and vegetables roast, whip up a butter-based sauce infused with garlic, serranos, lime and cilantro, which provides a punch of bri...
A New Turkish Food Truck Serves Some of the Best Adana Kebab in the Bay Area
I have a rule where anytime I spot a busy food truck, I’ll make a brief detour to check it out, even if it means pulling across three lanes on the highway — much to the dismay of my passengers.
That’s how I first discovered Chefmus, a modest-looking Turkish food trailer wedged between a gas station and tire shop in Mountain View. From the main street, you can’t see the dining tables or the crowd of customers swarming the trailer. But when I peeked inside the window, I saw a full-on pyrotechnics...
That’s how I first discovered Chefmus, a modest-looking Turkish food trailer wedged between a gas station and tire shop in Mountain View. From the main street, you can’t see the dining tables or the crowd of customers swarming the trailer. But when I peeked inside the window, I saw a full-on pyrotechnics...
Stop Throwing Out This One Condiment—It Adds Heat, Acid, and Salt in Seconds
When I was growing up, my family kept a rectangular pickle container in the fridge filled with home-pickled jalapeños and carrots. It had a built-in mechanism for lifting the ingredients out of the vinegar, like a mini elevator. Out of curiosity, I once snuck a sip of the pickling liquid. As a kid, I hated it—it was more sour than I expected, and the heat triggered a coughing fit. (Now I can enjoy a good pickle martini or margarita.)
These days, I’m more likely to reach for a can or jar of sto...
These days, I’m more likely to reach for a can or jar of sto...
Michelin-level chef's killer $10 breakfast sandwiches are hitting the Bay Area
Pretty Good Advice is a reenvisioning of what fast food can be — seasonal, fresh and locally grown. The fast-casual restaurant is fueled by Matt McNamara’s farm in the Santa Cruz Mountains. McNamara is best known for co-founding Sons & Daughters in San Francisco, which received a Michelin star in 2012. He originally started his 83-acre farm in 2013 to grow ingredients for Sons & Daughters but left the restaurant in 2017 to live on the farm with his family.
Pretty Good Advice is a reenvisioning...
Pretty Good Advice is a reenvisioning...
The 25 Best South Bay Area Restaurants
The South Bay’s diverse food scene shouldn’t be overlooked. The region is home to cuisines across the globe, including the Bay Area’s only Somali restaurant, the only Dominican food truck, and Vietnamese establishments dedicated solely to specific street food snacks. From Eastside San Jose’s rich selection of taco trucks to the upscale dining options in Los Gatos, Santa Clara County has something for everyone.
The South Bay’s diverse food scene shouldn’t be overlooked. The region is home to cui...
The South Bay’s diverse food scene shouldn’t be overlooked. The region is home to cui...
For Richer, More Flavorful Salsa, I Never Skip This 2-Minute Step
Frying salsa is one of the first kitchen spectacles I remember. As a child, I'd watch from a safe distance as my mom poured a blender full of salsa into shimmering hot oil. A plume of steam would rise. The skillet would erupt in a furious sizzle. Everything about it seemed to defy common kitchen logic—adding liquid to smoking-hot fat is usually a mistake—but in Mexican cooking, it's a foundational technique.
In just a few minutes, that loose, raw salsa would thicken, darken slightly, and take...
In just a few minutes, that loose, raw salsa would thicken, darken slightly, and take...
These Crispy, Bean-Stuffed Tortillas With Chicken Are My Go-To for Saucy, Weeknight Comfort
Panuchos are a masa-based specialty from Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula: crisped tortillas stuffed with refried beans and topped with rich, tangy toppings. At their core, they're deceptively simple—just masa, beans, and fat—but assembling them is a multi-step process.
If you're familiar with the broader family of masa shapes, you might wonder how panuchos differ from gorditas. While both involve thickened tortillas, gorditas are typically fried until deeply crunchy throughout. Panuchos, by contras...
If you're familiar with the broader family of masa shapes, you might wonder how panuchos differ from gorditas. While both involve thickened tortillas, gorditas are typically fried until deeply crunchy throughout. Panuchos, by contras...
This San José Food Truck Is One of the Only Dominican Food Spots in the Bay | KQED
A half-mile stretch on the outskirts of south downtown San José has become a hotbed for food trucks from across Latin America. In the past two years, new trucks have launched specializing in corn cachapas from Venezuela, tender nacatamales from Nicaragua, and, as of last May, the slow-cooked stews and savory mashed plantains of the Dominican Republic.
Wrapped in the characteristic blue, red and white of the Dominican flag, the El Fogon d’Geny truck shares a small, picnic table–lined lot with a f...
Wrapped in the characteristic blue, red and white of the Dominican flag, the El Fogon d’Geny truck shares a small, picnic table–lined lot with a f...
This Slow-Cooked Beef Recipe Delivers Crisp Tacos and Deeply Savory Consomé
Tacos de lengua (beef tongue) may not be as popular as other options on the taco truck menu—it's hard to compete with smoky carne asada and zingy al pastor—but they're among my favorites. Lengua is prized for both its mild, beefy flavor and its meltingly tender texture when properly cooked. My favorite versions are served with a side of hot consomé—something to sip between bites or dip tortillas into—which is exactly what this recipe delivers.
This is a two-part dish by design. The tongue is s...
This is a two-part dish by design. The tongue is s...
Caldo de Pollo Recipe
Caldo de pollo is a chicken soup with variations across Latin America. This is a classic Mexican version, featuring a combination of potatoes, carrots and zucchini cooked until creamy and tender. Rice, corn and chayote are other popular additions. Here, the soup is made with bone-in chicken thighs, cooked slowly so the meat stays juicy and slips off the bone. Rather than simmer the skin and let it get soggy, it’s chopped into pieces and crisped to serve as a kind of crouton (see Tip). The render...
This Steak-and-Fries Dinner Turns Carne Asada Fries Into a Weeknight Meal
I recently spent a few days in San Diego, where I maintained a nearly all-taco diet. As I hopped from taqueria to taqueria, I was tempted by carne asada fries, which were on nearly every menu. The dish is believed to have originated in San Diego in the 1990s, when taquerias began loading french fries with the taco fillings they already had on hand—grilled carne asada, cheese, guacamole, crema, and salsa.
I finally gave in on the last day of my trip, ordering asada fries from Tacos El Gordo, a...
I finally gave in on the last day of my trip, ordering asada fries from Tacos El Gordo, a...
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