Congratulations!

[pampal]

Build your own burrito is the Mission district style. But only from the Mexican style options (no turkey and cranberry burritos). You choose the meat, the rice type, the bean type, the salsa heat level, whether you want cheese, lettuce, sour cream, or guac. Super burritos always include sour cream and cheese standard, sometimes guac. Basic burritos are meat, beans, and rice standard, sometimes cheese.

Tortillas covering non-traditional ingredients are WRAPS. Wraps were a food trend a few years back. Such things as Thai chicken with sate sauce in a tortilla.

Please do not do WRAPS. They are the worse kind of food bastardization.

Wraps are most often made with middle eastern lavash bread.

Not really a mexican thing

You would be wrong on that.

Yes, there are Middle Eastern sandwiches made with lavash bread, and they are wonderful.

However, WRAPS, as in the misguided American food trend, are usually made with FLOUR TORTILLAS, MEXICAN FLOUR TORTILLAS:

http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/imag...5a&ei=UTF-8

Sorry Jingthing, but you are off the mark today

quote from wikipedia

"The wheat flour tortilla was an innovation after wheat was brought to the New World from Spain while this region was the colony of New Spain. It is made with an unleavened, water based dough, pressed and cooked like corn tortillas. These tortillas are very similar to the unleavened bread popular in Arab, eastern Mediterranean and southern Asian countries, though thinner and smaller in diameter."

Before this time, tortillas were made solely using maize(corn).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tortilla

The lavash bread is much older than the flour tortilla.

As are the sanwiches(wraps) that are made with it.

Hearty Sandwiches & Lavash Wraps

www.frescocafe.us/menu.htm

Lavash wrap

[pampal]

I myself have noticed that Thais tend to avoid beans, although it seemed to me to be related to the potential for gas afterward. I would suggest offering tacos and burritos with and without beans to allow for Thais to avoid them if they prefer. Beans and rice are such a classic diet combination that I too wonder if beans are less digestible to Thais. We already know that dairy is, due to widespread lactose intolerance. Sour cream plus beans plus cheese does not equal ambrosia to the average Thai!

I agree that Thais in general avoid beans and bean-like foods, but I doubt the reason is gas. Most Thais I know find farting in private amongst friends and family a source of endless amusement. Perhaps it is ignorance of the gas-producing qualities of beans that has kept Thais away? If that is the case you might play that up and then you might have to beat them off with a stick once the fact becomes well known.

If the Thai only knew how much gas can be had from those refried beans,

they would line up endlessly

[Jingthing]

Pampal, I am only talking about the American food trend, called WRAPS, which are made with flour tortillas (the exact same ones used for MEXICAN burritos). These WRAPS cover non-Mexican ingredients. Otherwise, they would be burritos. You can call an Arab sandwich a wrap if you like. Not a big deal.

[tutsiwarrior]

arab sammiches are made wid slightly leavened arabic bread (delish!)...israelis on street corners in west LA offer the same but they use pitta...dem semitic types don't realise all de similarities an' get ta fightin' alla time...tahina an' hoummous everywhere, etc...'gimme sum ob dat falafel'...de best falafel I ever saw was in Abu Dhabi, sold onna street to break the Ramadan fast, but dem west LA israelis do a mean falafel sammich...

in de name ob exquisite international cuisine PEACE, MY BROTHERS!!!

(who's gonna nominate tutsi for this year's Nobel peace prize?...would be a nice accompanyment to the expected Nobel for literature...)

Edited January 29, 2007 by tutsiwarrior

[Jingthing]

I agree, call em whatever you want! Arabs, Jews, and Mexicans should all have threesomes and call the kids names like Juanita Mohammex Goldzalez ... Now, that's a wrap.

In other words, mai bpen f-in rai (on rye)

Wraps, schmaps, lets get some good Mexicano grub to Thailand!

Edited January 29, 2007 by Jingthing

[Clipped]

so when does this place open?

[dantilley]

so when does this place open?

Very good question.

And any plans for a branch in the Silom area?

[PeaceBlondie]

Howdy, y'all. Like Heng (way up there at post #52), I claim to be from Texas. I cannot believe that Heng was the first poster to mention the place which is probably the birthplace of chili con carne, soft tacos, and fajitas. Tex-Mex food goes back to when Texas was in Mexico.

So, one problem with saying Mexican food is that you get arguments from Californicators, Neu Mejicanos, Tejanos, people from Boston, and the republica itself has about 32 states. Jalapeno (and jalopy) probably derive from the state of Jalapa, where Veracruzano food is a category unto itself. Moles from Zacatecas are so hot that some Thais would cry in pain.

It's funny to hear that corn masa and black beans are so expensive. Among the internally displaced refugee Mayas that I knew, with less than a dollar a day income for the family, that's all they eat, three meals a day, for many centuries! You'd be awakened before dawn by the sound of your neighbors pounding the masa, or grinding the corn.

We are 12 time zones away from Mexico, so don't worry about authenticity (even the experts would argue). Keep the prices down, use real corn meal, and make the tacos crisp and thin. In addition to dressing up some stocky Thai lady to roll the masa, be sure your waitstaff is properly dressed as big-skirted, low-neckline senoritas or slim young men with a colorful waist sash and open-collared shirt. Pretty woman, handsome man! Actually, the little place on lower Silom, near Patpong soi 2 and Sala Daeng BTS, is almost authentic.

Beers: Carta Blanca, Bohemio, or long-neck Corona. Even that place on lower Silom had imported Mexican beer! But do serve it ice cold, with ice optional.

[Jingthing]

PB, corn tortillas are now expensive even in Mexico. There are fears there will be tortilla riots because these of course are the everyday stable of Mexican peasants and a culturally defining foodstuff. The reason given for the sharp price rise is that the corn is now being used to make fuel, so there is a shortage to make tortillas.

[PeaceBlondie]

Indeed, although we're getting off topic. NAFTA has allowed the huge Archer-Midland-Daniels conglomerate to import cheap corn into Mexico, something like hauling coals to Newcastle, and this latest spurt in prices is very political. It shows how urbanized most of Mexico is. My neighbors grew their own.

[wolfmanjack]

Howdy, y'all. Like Heng (way up there at post #52), I claim to be from Texas. I cannot believe that Heng was the first poster to mention the place which is probably the birthplace of chili con carne, soft tacos, and fajitas. Tex-Mex food goes back to when Texas was in Mexico.

So, one problem with saying Mexican food is that you get arguments from Californicators, Neu Mejicanos, Tejanos, people from Boston, and the republica itself has about 32 states. Jalapeno (and jalopy) probably derive from the state of Jalapa, where Veracruzano food is a category unto itself. Moles from Zacatecas are so hot that some Thais would cry in pain.

It's funny to hear that corn masa and black beans are so expensive. Among the internally displaced refugee Mayas that I knew, with less than a dollar a day income for the family, that's all they eat, three meals a day, for many centuries! You'd be awakened before dawn by the sound of your neighbors pounding the masa, or grinding the corn.

We are 12 time zones away from Mexico, so don't worry about authenticity (even the experts would argue). Keep the prices down, use real corn meal, and make the tacos crisp and thin. In addition to dressing up some stocky Thai lady to roll the masa, be sure your waitstaff is properly dressed as big-skirted, low-neckline senoritas or slim young men with a colorful waist sash and open-collared shirt. Pretty woman, handsome man! Actually, the little place on lower Silom, near Patpong soi 2 and Sala Daeng BTS, is almost authentic.

Beers: Carta Blanca, Bohemio, or long-neck Corona. Even that place on lower Silom had imported Mexican beer! But do serve it ice cold, with ice optional.

Got to have dos XX

[wolfmanjack]

Where do they sell jalepenos near chiang mai ?? I want some !!!

[tutsiwarrior]

Howdy, y'all. Like Heng (way up there at post #52), I claim to be from Texas. I cannot believe that Heng was the first poster to mention the place which is probably the birthplace of chili con carne, soft tacos, and fajitas. Tex-Mex food goes back to when Texas was in Mexico.

So, one problem with saying Mexican food is that you get arguments from Californicators, Neu Mejicanos, Tejanos, people from Boston, and the republica itself has about 32 states. Jalapeno (and jalopy) probably derive from the state of Jalapa, where Veracruzano food is a category unto itself. Moles from Zacatecas are so hot that some Thais would cry in pain.

It's funny to hear that corn masa and black beans are so expensive. Among the internally displaced refugee Mayas that I knew, with less than a dollar a day income for the family, that's all they eat, three meals a day, for many centuries! You'd be awakened before dawn by the sound of your neighbors pounding the masa, or grinding the corn.

We are 12 time zones away from Mexico, so don't worry about authenticity (even the experts would argue). Keep the prices down, use real corn meal, and make the tacos crisp and thin. In addition to dressing up some stocky Thai lady to roll the masa, be sure your waitstaff is properly dressed as big-skirted, low-neckline senoritas or slim young men with a colorful waist sash and open-collared shirt. Pretty woman, handsome man! Actually, the little place on lower Silom, near Patpong soi 2 and Sala Daeng BTS, is almost authentic.

Beers: Carta Blanca, Bohemio, or long-neck Corona. Even that place on lower Silom had imported Mexican beer! But do serve it ice cold, with ice optional.

Got to have dos XX

Superior was my brew, in LA at least...can't remember what I useta drink in Mexico City...think it was vodka as we didn't hang in cantinas much, usually stayed inna hotel room havin' lots of sex to work off the high altitude hangover...

the glory of Mexico D.F. is wasted onna dissipated tutsiwarrior...

[Sunbelt Asia]

PB, corn tortillas are now expensive even in Mexico. There are fears there will be tortilla riots because these of course are the everyday stable of Mexican peasants and a culturally defining foodstuff. The reason given for the sharp price rise is that the corn is now being used to make fuel, so there is a shortage to make tortillas.

You hit it on the head.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070201/ap_on_..._tortilla_march

75,000 protest tortilla prices in Mexico By IOAN GRILLO, Associated Press Writer

MEXICO CITY - Some 75,000 unionists, farmers and leftists marched to protest price increases in basic foodstuffs like tortillas, a direct challenge to the new president's market-oriented economic policies blamed by some for widening the gulf between rich and poor.

Since taking office Dec. 1 after a disputed election, President Felipe Calderon has drawn his greatest criticism for failing to control the largest price spike in tortillas in decades. Tortillas are a staple of poor Mexicans' diet.

The national uproar has put him in an uncomfortable position between the poor and some agribusiness industries hoping to profit from the surge in international corn prices, driven mostly by the sudden explosion of the U.S. ethanol industry. A free-market advocate, Calderon has said he does not want to return to direct price controls enforced by many former Mexican presidents.

During Wednesday's march, protesters carried one banner that read "Calderon stole the elections, and now he's stealing the tortillas!" Others waved handfuls of the flat corn disks and chanted "Tortillas si, Pan no!" a play on the initials of Calderon's National Action Party, the PAN, which also means "bread" in Spanish.

In a press statement, Calderon's office said the president shares the protesters' concerns and pledged to "continue taking all necessary actions to maintain price stability for basic goods and services, (and) punish all types of hoarding and speculation in the markets."

But it was also a setback for his archrival, leftist leader Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who protest organizers prevented from speaking at the demonstration in Mexico City's Zocalo plaza. He held his own rally afterward, and most of the crowd stayed to hear him.

"Mexico needs a transformation of the magnitude of the Mexican Revolution," said Lopez Obrador, who demanded wage increases, subsidies and fixed prices for basic foods, and the cancellation of a clause in trade agreements that would lift restrictions on imports of corn and beans starting in 2008.

Marchers had mixed opinions about whether the protest against rising food prices should have any connection to Lopez Obrador, who has declared himself Mexico's "legitimate president" after losing last year's presidential race by less than 1 percentage point.

Some bore placards of Lopez Obrador wearing the presidential badge of office.

"El Peje is the obvious leader of the poor," said housewife Carmen Rosete, 50, calling Lopez Obrador by his nickname, a reference to a combative fish from his home state of Tabasco.

Corn farmer Servando Olivaria saw it another way. "This is a spontaneous people's movement, with no political affiliation," Olivaria said. "Lopez Obrador can participate, but he should not head the march. He should not even speak about it."

The fiery former Mexico City mayor was known for his ability to mobilize millions in support of his allegations that the July 2 election was rigged. But since Calderon has taken office, Lopez Obrador's self-declared alternative government has almost faded from view.

The leftist leader tried to make a major public comeback by offering to lead the tortilla march, but was forced to back down.

"The idea is that we concentrate on the general objectives of the march and not on personalities," Gerardo Sanchez, president of the Permanent Agrarian Council, said on W Radio Tuesday.

The marchers are angry about tortilla prices that have doubled over the last year to roughly 45 cents a pound, causing hardship among the millions of poor Mexicans for whom they are a staple.

There was no official report on crowd size available, but reporters on the scene gave an estimate of 75,000, based on protesters filling about three-quarters of a plaza that holds about 100,000.

On Jan. 18, Calderon signed an accord with business organizations to try to limit tortilla prices to about 35 cents a pound. But many of the independent tortilla sellers have ignored the rate, essentially a gentlemen's agreement with no legal backing.

High tortilla prices put some Mexicans in danger of being malnourished.

The poor eat an average of 14 ounces of tortillas daily, giving them 40 percent of their protein, according to Amanda Galvez, who runs a nutrition research institute at Mexico's National Autonomous University.

With the new prices, workers earning the minimum wage of about $4 a day could spend a third of their earnings on tortillas for their family.

"Some people can switch to more unhealthy alternatives. Others just go without," Galvez said.

[Sunbelt Asia]

Where do they sell jalepenos near chiang mai ?? I want some !!!

The King's Royal Agricultural Projects sells jalapenos

so when does this place open?

April 15th. Hope to see you there.

www.sunbeltasiagroup.com

[PeaceBlondie]

I erred: Jalapa is the capital city of the state of Veracruz, and the port city called Veracruz has great seafood. But for a Mexican restaurant in Bangkok, just keep it simple, with moderate costs; be as authentic as reasonably possible, and make sure the waitstaff dresses in colorful Mexican costumes.

[tutsiwarrior]

they oughta bring in sum thai mariachis for a special touch, or at least a thai Flaco Jimenez wananbe wid an' accordion...

Edited February 1, 2007 by tutsiwarrior

[Jingthing]

I erred: Jalapa is the capital city of the state of Veracruz, and the port city called Veracruz has great seafood. But for a Mexican restaurant in Bangkok, just keep it simple, with moderate costs; be as authentic as reasonably possible, and make sure the waitstaff dresses in colorful Mexican costumes.

I agree. A common sign of a bad restaurant is too much variety on the menu. A smaller number of items done really well can be a winner. Thats also good to keep prices down and volume up.

[Nam Plah]

Since taking office Dec. 1 after a disputed election, President Felipe Calderon has drawn his greatest criticism for failing to control the largest price spike in tortillas in decades. Tortillas are a staple of poor Mexicans' diet.

Strolling onto his lavishly appointed veranda Calderon was surprised at the commotion in the street. He asked his aide, "What is wrong with these people?"

His underling replied, "They have no tortillas to eat."

Calderon thought for a moment and decidedly recommended, "Then let them eat Pan Dulce!"

[jEFFREYk44]

Any updates on the opening?

[Prakanong]

Any updates on the opening?

It says March 1st above - bugger as I had put it in my diary to-do list for Saturday - will have to remove it now.

[wolfmanjack]

Where do they sell jalepenos near chiang mai ?? I want some !!!

The King's Royal Agricultural Projects sells jalapenos

so when does this place open?

March 1st. Hope to see you there.

www.sunbeltasiagroup.com

Sorry to be a pain in the ass but can I have a more exact location? I just tried to google it and there are many royal agr projects here.

[Soju]

Well, March 1 has come and gone. Is this place open yet? And where is the exact location? I wouldn't mind giving it a try on my next trip to BKK if it's open.

[madjbs]

I walked between soi 12 and 14 this evening but couldnt see any mexican places. Has the opening been delayed or am I blind?

Jake

[jEFFREYk44]

Congrats, 6 pages of nothing apparently

[Sunbelt Asia]

I walked between soi 12 and 14 this evening but couldnt see any mexican places. Has the opening been delayed or am I blind?

Hi Guys.

If you walk between Soi 12 and Soi 14, looking at the Price Leader Store, then to the left you will see the Sunrise Tacos restaurant which is 98% complete. You will see the countdown board which today reads:

"34 days to chicken marinated in Mexican spices for hours and then simply grilled”

Why the delay? I want the staff to be dynamite and we won’t open till they are. Even if that means an extra month of high rent, employee’s wages and food cost for comparisons of recipes.

Best to only open even if it’s a soft opening when the staffs are 100% confident we have the best Mexican in Thailand and it is served by the friendliest.

I’m encouraged as we are well on our way. Two of the chefs yesterday made Carnitas which were braised for hours and topped with Mango sauce. I gave a burrito to the Thai neighbor in our compound. After eating a bite she did many double takes looking at it. She couldn't get enough of the burritos! Neither can other Thais when they share it. The word of mouth should spread.

Hope to see you in 34 days!

www.sunbeltasiagroup.com

[ZhangYimou]

that is not a good location to get thais. if youre serious about getting thais then open it in mbk or siam square.

[ZhangYimou]

Hey, is this in the same place where that indian curry place used to be, next to DHL, and very close to your own Sunbelt Office?

If it is, you have one BIG problem, that is the Indian Tailors who stand outside and harrass anyone who walks by. God, atleast 5 different times I started to go into the indian curry place but the moment the tailors surround me, i do a 180 degrees turn and get the hel_l out of there.

[Jingthing]

Not sure about Thais, but I would walk barefoot over hot coals to get to good Mexican food in Thailand.

[dantilley]

Hey, is this in the same place where that indian curry place used to be, next to DHL, and very close to your own Sunbelt Office?

If it is, you have one BIG problem, that is the Indian Tailors who stand outside and harrass anyone who walks by. God, atleast 5 different times I started to go into the indian curry place but the moment the tailors surround me, i do a 180 degrees turn and get the hel_l out of there.

The harassment's not that bad! You want to see real Indian Tailor hassle, try Patong beach, Phuket...