Okay, so today I wanted to try something totally different, you know? Get out of my comfort zone and all that. I decided to give this “Cal Mex cuisine” thing a shot. I’ve always been a fan of Mexican food, the usual tacos and burritos, but I heard this Cal Mex thing was a bit different, kinda like a fusion, and I was curious.
So, I started by doing some digging online, just to get an idea of what I was getting myself into. Turns out, Cal Mex is basically Mexican food with a California twist. Lots of fresh ingredients, avocados, and seafood, which sounds pretty good, right? I stumbled upon this website, TasteAtlas, they had this “Best Food” ranking, and it got me even more hyped to try these dishes.
I found a few recipes that looked interesting, a fish taco recipe, a California burrito, and something called a “Mission-style” burrito. I’m not gonna lie, I didn’t even know what a Mission-style burrito was, but it looked huge and delicious. Anyway, I made a list of all the ingredients I needed and headed to the grocery store.
The shopping part was a bit of an adventure. I mean, finding good avocados in the middle of winter isn’t always easy, but I managed. I also picked up some fresh fish, tortillas, and all the other stuff I needed. When I got home it is time to cook!
I started with the fish tacos, ’cause they seemed like the easiest. I marinated the fish in some lime juice, spices, and then grilled it. While the fish was cooking, I chopped up some tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and made a quick slaw with some cabbage and a creamy dressing. Assembling the tacos was the fun part. I warmed up the tortillas, added the fish, the slaw, the salsa, and of course, a big slice of avocado.
Next up was the California burrito. This one was a bit more involved, but still pretty straightforward. It’s basically a regular burrito, but with french fries inside. Yeah, you heard that right, french fries! I cooked up some steak, made some rice and beans, and then got to work on the fries. Once everything was ready, I laid out a giant tortilla, piled on the steak, rice, beans, cheese, guacamole, sour cream, and of course, the fries. Rolling it up was a bit of a challenge, but I managed to get it all in there.
Finally, I tackled the Mission-style burrito. This thing was a monster! It’s even bigger than the California burrito, and it’s packed with all sorts of stuff. I followed the recipe I found, which included rice, beans, meat, cheese, salsa, guacamole, sour cream, and lettuce. The key to this one, I think, is to make sure everything is evenly distributed, so you get a little bit of everything in each bite. It was a beast to roll up this burrito.
After all that cooking, it was time to eat!
- The fish tacos were amazing. The fish was flaky and flavorful, and the slaw added a nice crunch. The avocado, of course, was the perfect finishing touch.
- The California burrito was also really good. The fries added a surprising, but delicious, texture. It was definitely a hearty meal.
- The Mission-style burrito was a true experience. It was huge, messy, and absolutely delicious. I could barely finish half of it, but it was worth every bite.
Overall, I’d say my Cal Mex cooking experiment was a success. It was fun to try something new, and I discovered some new favorite dishes. I’m definitely going to be making these again, maybe next time I’ll even try to come up with my own Cal Mex creations. Who knows, maybe I’ll even become a Cal Mex expert, haha! Anyway, if you’re looking for some good food to try, I definitely recommend giving Cal Mex a shot. You won’t regret it!
