Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Why We Eat: Mole


Chef Claudette Zepeda explains molé, the much adored Mexican sauce with a palette of ingredients. Made from a variety of chiles, seeds, and spices, Claudette examines molé’s basic indigenous components and its variations based on what ingredients may have been available via geography, migration, and trade. While some recipes can include large numbers of diverse ingredients, Claudette explains how this pre-Hispanic sauce originating in Puebla or Oaxaca relies on the cook’s instincts and traditions. 

Visit our website to see more about our menu and locations.


Saturday, March 26, 2022

History of a Restarunt

A public eating establishment similar to a restaurant is mentioned in a 512 BC record from Ancient Egypt. The establishment served only one dish, a plate of cereal, wild fowl, and onions.

A forerunner of the modern restaurant is the thermopolium, an establishment in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome that sold and served ready-to-eat food and beverages. These establishments were somewhat comparable to modern fast food restaurants. They were most often frequented by people who lacked private kitchens. In the Roman Empire they were popular among residents of insulae.

In Pompeii, 158 thermopolia with service counters have been identified throughout the town. They were concentrated along the main axis of the town and the public spaces where they were frequented by the locals.

The Romans also had the popina, a wine bar which in addition to a variety of wines offered a limited selection of simple foods such as olives, bread, cheese, stews, sausage, and porridge. The popinae were known as places for the plebeians of the lower classes of Roman society to socialize. While some were confined to one standing room only, others had tables and stools and a few even had couches.

Another early forerunner of the restaurant was the inn. Throughout the ancient world, inns were set up alongside roads to cater to people traveling between cities, offering lodging and food. Meals were typically served at a common table to guests. However, there were no menus or options to choose from.

The Arthashastra references establishments where prepared food was sold in ancient India. One regulation states that "those who trade in cooked rice, liquor, and flesh" are to live in the south of the city. Another states that superintendents of storehouses may give surpluses of bran and flour to "those who prepare cooked rice, and rice-cakes", while a regulation involving city superintendents references "sellers of cooked flesh and cooked rice."

Early eating establishments recognizable as restaurants in the modern sense emerged in Song dynasty China during the 11th and 12th centuries. In large cities, such as Kaifeng and Hangzhou, food catering establishments catered to merchants who travelled between cities. Probably growing out of tea houses and taverns which catered to travellers, Kaifeng's restaurants blossomed into an industry that catered to locals as well as people from other regions of China. As travelling merchants were not used to local cuisine of other cities, these establishments were set up to serve dishes familiar to merchants from other parts of China. Such establishments were located in the entertainment districts of major cities, alongside hotels, bars, and brothels. The larger and more opulent of these establishments offered a dining experience that was similar to modern restaurant culture. According to a Chinese manuscript from 1126, patrons of one such establishment were greeted with a selection of pre-plated demonstration dishes which represented food options. Customers had their orders taken by a team of waiters who would then sing their orders to the kitchen and distribute the dishes in the exact order in which they had been ordered.

There is a direct correlation between the growth of the restaurant businesses and institutions of theatrical stage drama, gambling and prostitution which served the burgeoning merchant middle class during the Song dynasty. Restaurants catered to different styles of cuisine, price brackets, and religious requirements. Even within a single restaurant choices were available, and people ordered the entrée from written menus. An account from 1275 writes of Hangzhou, the capital city for the last half of the dynasty:

The people of Hangzhou are very difficult to please. Hundreds of orders are given on all sides: this person wants something hot, another something cold, a third something tepid, a fourth something chilled. one wants cooked food, another raw, another chooses roast, another grill.

The restaurants in Hangzhou also catered to many northern Chinese who had fled south from Kaifeng during the Jurchen invasion of the 1120s, while it is also known that many restaurants were run by families formerly from Kaifeng.

In Japan, a restaurant culture emerged in the 16th century out of local tea houses. Tea house owner Sen no Rikyū created the kaiseki multi-course meal tradition, and his grandsons expanded the tradition to include speciality dishes and cutlery which matched the aesthetic of the food.

In Europe, inns which offered food and lodgings and taverns where food was served alongside alcoholic beverages continued to be the main places to buy a prepared meal into the Middle Ages and Renaissance. They typically served common fare of the type normally available to peasants. In Spain, such establishments were called bodegas and served tapas. In England, they typically served foods such as sausage and shepherd's pie.

France in particular has a rich history with the development of various forms of inns and eateries, eventually to form many of the now-ubiquitous elements of the modern restaurant. As far back as the thirteenth century, French inns served a variety of food — bread, cheese, bacon, roasts, soups, and stews - usually eaten at a common table. Parisians could buy what was essentially take-out food from rôtisseurs, who prepared roasted meat dishes, and pastry-cooks, who could prepare meat pies and often more elaborate dishes. Municipal statutes stated that the official prices per item were to be posted at the entrance; this was the first official mention of menus.

Taverns also served food, as did cabarets. A cabaret, however, unlike a tavern, served food at tables with tablecloths, provided drinks with the meal, and charged by the customers' choice of dish, rather than by the pot. Cabarets were reputed to serve better food than taverns and a few, such as the Petit Maure, became well known. A few cabarets had musicians or singing, but most, until the late 19th century, were simply convivial eating places. The first café opened in Paris in 1672 at the Saint-Germain fair. By 1723 there were nearly four hundred cafés in Paris, but their menu was limited to simpler dishes or confectionaries, such as coffee, tea, chocolate (the drink; chocolate in solid state was invented only in the 19th century), ice creams, pastries, and liqueurs.

At the end of the 16th century, the guild of cook-caterers (later known as "traiteurs") was given its own legal status. The traiteurs dominated sophisticated food service, delivering or preparing meals for the wealthy at their residences. Taverns and cabarets were limited to serving little more than roast or grilled meats. Towards the end of the seventeenth century, both inns and then traiteurs began to offer "host's tables" (tables d'hôte), where one paid a set price to sit at a large table with other guests and eat a fixed menu meal.

Read more, here.

Visit our website to see more about our menu and locations.


Wednesday, March 23, 2022

Our History

Favela’s Mexican Grill delivers a fun Mexican dining adventure at a moderate price. We have become Solano County’s favorite Mexican Restaurant by being a place where every guest will enjoy fast friendly service and delicious food…

FAIRFIELD
3334 N. Texas Street, Suite B
Fairfield, CA 94533
707-428-1496/ph
Open:
10am – 8pm Sunday – Thursday
10am – 9pm Friday & Saturday
VACAVILLE
2040 Harbison Drive, Suite F
Vacaville, CA 95688
707-447-1120/ph
Open:
10am – 8pm Sunday – Thursday
10am – 9pm  Friday & Saturday

Sunday, March 20, 2022

Trying Mexican Jarritos


On my mission to eat snacks from every country on Earth, I try Jarritos. Growing up in Ireland and the UK, I never got a chance to try many International foods since moving to America and starting my channel, I've been on a mission to eat food from EVERY country on the planet

What flavors have you tried?

Visit our website to see more about our menu and locations.


Thursday, March 17, 2022

Ever Wonder Where A Menu Came From?

In a restaurant, the menu is a list of food and beverages offered to customers and the prices. A menu may be à la carte – which presents a list of options from which customers choose – or table d'hôte, in which case a pre-established sequence of courses is offered. Menus may be printed on paper sheets provided to the diners, put on a large poster or display board inside the establishment, displayed outside the restaurant, or put on a digital screen. Since the late 1990s, some restaurants have put their menus online.

Menus are also often a feature of very formal meals other than in restaurants, for example at weddings. In the 19th and 20th centuries printed menus were often used for society dinner-parties in homes; indeed this was their original use in Europe.

Read more, here.

Visit our website to see more about our menu and locations.

Monday, March 14, 2022

Menus

We use only the best, highest quality ingredients to bring the freshest Mexican food experience around to you. That is our commitment. All our food and sauces are prepared daily from scratch in our kitchens with top-quality products.

FAIRFIELD
3334 N. Texas Street, Suite B
Fairfield, CA 94533
707-428-1496/ph
Open:
10am – 8pm Sunday – Thursday
10am – 9pm Friday & Saturday

VACAVILLE
2040 Harbison Drive, Suite F
Vacaville, CA 95688
707-447-1120/ph
Open:
10am – 8pm Sunday – Thursday
10am – 9pm  Friday & Saturday

Friday, March 11, 2022

Master Churro Maker Has Made 5 Million Churros! | Taste The Details


Between a 60-year old recipe and a churro maker that's made 5 MILLION of them, the attraction at Churro Buzz goes deeper than the sweets. This hidden gem inside the Del Amo Fashion Center features a unique interpretation of the American Dream that lies within a decades old recipe of the favorite treat.

Craving some dessert? Come see us.

FAIRFIELD
3334 N. Texas Street, Suite B
Fairfield, CA 94533
707-428-1496/ph
Open:
10am – 8pm Sunday – Thursday
10am – 9pm Friday & Saturday

VACAVILLE
2040 Harbison Drive, Suite F
Vacaville, CA 95688
707-447-1120/ph
Open:
10am – 8pm Sunday – Thursday
10am – 9pm  Friday & Saturday

Tuesday, March 8, 2022

What is a Churro and How is it Made?

A churro (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈtʃuro], Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈʃuʁu]) is a type of fried dough from Spanish and Portuguese cuisine. They are also found in Latin American cuisine and the cuisine of the Philippines and in other areas that have received immigration from Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries, especially in the Southwestern United States and France.

In Spain, churros can either be thin (and sometimes knotted) or long and thick, where they are known as porras [es] or jeringos in some regions. They are normally eaten for breakfast dipped in champurrado, hot chocolate, dulce de leche or café con leche. Cinnamon sugar is often sprinkled on top.

There are also two slightly different snacks in Portugal, called porra and fartura, which are filled with jelly instead of the doce de leite, traditional to Brazilian churros.

Churros are fried until they become crunchy, and may be sprinkled with sugar. The surface of a churro is ridged due to having been piped from a churrera, a syringe-like tool with a star-shaped nozzle. Churros are generally prisms in shape, and may be straight, curled or spirally twisted.

Like pretzels, churros are sold by street vendors, who may fry them freshly on the street stand and sell them hot. In Spain and much of Latin America, churros are available in cafes for breakfast, although they may be eaten throughout the day as a snack. Specialized churrerías, in the form of a shop or a trailer, can be found during the holiday period. In addition, countries like Colombia, Peru, Spain, and Venezuela have churrerías throughout their streets. In Portugal, they are commonly eaten at carnivals, fairs and other celebrations, where they are made freshly at street stands.

The dough is a mixture of flour, water and salt. Some versions are made of potato dough. Depending on the recipe, it may not be vegan, they can contain butter, milk or eggs.

Read more, here.

Churro or Flan .. what is your 'go to' dessert? 

FAIRFIELD
3334 N. Texas Street, Suite B
Fairfield, CA 94533
707-428-1496/ph
Open:
10am – 8pm Sunday – Thursday
10am – 9pm Friday & Saturday

VACAVILLE
2040 Harbison Drive, Suite F
Vacaville, CA 95688
707-447-1120/ph
Open:
10am – 8pm Sunday – Thursday
10am – 9pm  Friday & Saturday

Saturday, March 5, 2022

Desserts & Drinks


Postres | Dessert

CHURROS WITH ICE CREAM     $6.00
Warm French vanilla custard filled Churros served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

A LA CARTE WARM HOMEMADE CHURRO     $4.00

FRESH HOME-STYLE FLAN     $6.00


Beverages

FOUNTAIN DRINKS     $2.95
Coca Cola, Diet Coke, Sprite, Root Beer, Iced Tea (re-fill included)

JARITOS     $2.95

SNAPPLE     $2.95

FRESH FRUIT     $3.25
Daily flavor (call in)

BEER
Domestic      $5.25
Imported      $5.95

WINE
Chardonnay     $6.00 (glass)   $18.00 (bottle)


Vist our website to see our full menu.

Wednesday, March 2, 2022

How to wrap a perfect burrito


Learn how to perfectly wrap a burrito in less than 2 mins. 
Few points to remember:
-Always heat the tortilla just a little so its warm and comfortable to handle, not too hot that it crack. This makes it easier to handle and roll and also tastes better
-It is also a good idea to place all the filling in the first half of the tortilla closest to your hand and not the center.
-You will be using every finger of both your hands. The pinky pleat comes with practice specially if you are right dominant like me, your left pinky will be super lazy! Worry not just practice a few times and you will ace it!

Come see us at Favela's!