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contest VOTE! Combo de Mayo Throwdown

What makes the best regional Mexican combo plate?

  • frydad4 - [url="http://thehotpepper.com/topic/39036-begin-combo-de-mayo-throwdown/page__st__20#

    Votes: 1 2.8%

  • keybrdkid - [url="http://thehotpepper.com/topic/39036-begin-combo-de-mayo-throwdown/page__st__4

    Votes: 1 2.8%

  • SumOfMyBits - [url="http://thehotpepper.com/topic/39036-begin-combo-de-mayo-throwdown/page__st_

    Votes: 12 33.3%

  • booma - [url="http://thehotpepper.com/topic/39036-begin-combo-de-mayo-throwdown/page__st__80#en

    Votes: 8 22.2%

  • salsalady - [url="http://thehotpepper.com/topic/39036-begin-combo-de-mayo-throwdown/page__st__1

    Votes: 2 5.6%

  • JayT - [url="http://thehotpepper.com/topic/39036-begin-combo-de-mayo-throwdown/page__st__120#en

    Votes: 12 33.3%
  • Total voters
    36
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The Hot Pepper

The Hot Pepper

Founder
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Muchos épico combinación platos!

Members, please vote for your favorite combo plate.

Which plate best represents the region and works as a whole?
Which plate would you be most likely to order?

Each entrant combined one popular dish and one lesser known dish from a particular region of Mexico to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. How did they do? The originality of the drink can be factored into your vote if you choose, but beer or tequila is just as celebratory.

VOTE!
 
WOW, I think this is the first time it's been sooooo hard to choose. I let it ruminate a bit... and now it's obvious.

salsalady!!!

Why? Because tacos al pastor ROCK and she fanangled a way to do it on her que. At first I thought her other component was more a side (like maduros) but then I was like, oh hell no, I friggin' love tamales and have had them MANY times in my own combo meals. I even get tamales as a meal with rice and beans, so this IS a combo. Don't be fooled!

Also the textural difference, and the contrast of sweet and savory. A bite of taco, a bite of a a sweet crunchy tamale. That did it.

Thanks for introducing me to the tamales. I JayTeed a bit, and yeah, in Mexico City they are called tamales dorados. Your version kicks ass.

Another big reason is BOTH DISHES HAD SAUCE! The sweet sauce for the tamales looked awesome, and salsa verde on the taco, hell yeah. No matter how juicy the meat is you always need salsa.

I liked booma's a lot but no sauce/salsa for the taco part. But that combo looked awesome.
I liked JayT's sandwich, it almost swayed me, but I don't want carnitas twice, I want to see what else Jalisco has... and soup, I would eat before, not in a combo.
I liked Sum's but I could not see the pork in the chalipa. I kept looking at it and all I could see was the greens. That was a nice combo I wish I could have seen the pork.
And the rest to me were very honorable mentions, well done!

SL, AWESOME! I want that plate, now that I look back it is so obvious to me, that is the winner!
 
I'd eat it as she plated it. I might even pop two on top of the taco! ;)
 
geeme said:
Interesting take. I don't see SL's as a true combo plate, but an entree and desert.
Click to expand...

That's kinda how I see it too, and it's two well-known dishes, between tacos and tamales.
SL rocked the house with the al pastor, though. That's the part of this TD I most want to re-create! That stuff looks awesome and perfectly executed.
The combo plate thing is what throws me.
Hell, it kind of throws me on my own dish a little bit (but I could argue that too...)

I'm between Sum (3 sauces, 2 preparations of tortillas, whole fish), booma (excellent ingredients, presentation, and variety of flavors), and JT (research is named after him, and it shows why. Well executed soup and sandwich, kind of a lunch combo with saucy gooeyness).

But holy crap, they were all so damn good I feel bad critiquing ANY of them.
 
FD I looked at yours and wanted to put that chicken on top of the veggie tostada thingies so I saw it as one deconstructed meal, so we all see them differently.

One thing that stuck out for sure was keybrdkid's was a meal with a side of salsa/slaw. Though the main portion looked good.
 
Sorry I could not pick a winner. They all look amazing! Congrats to all of you. Do you deliver? Now I am really hungry.Thanks a lot.
 
frydad4 said:
But holy crap, they were all so damn good I feel bad critiquing ANY of them.
Click to expand...

Yup! It's just important that people vote! The true winner will reveal itself.
 
Hehe, I actually saw that and figured it would be slammin'. I love peanut chicken.
 
The Hot Pepper said:
I liked JayT's sandwich, it almost swayed me, but I don't want carnitas twice, I want to see what else Jalisco has... and soup, I would eat before, not in a combo.
Click to expand...


Just to clarify, I didn't just take the carnitas and throw them in the soup. They were removed from the braising liquid early, and set aside, then cooked in the soup with different sauce. The rest of the pork was then fried in lard making them carnitas. Though I do see what you mean about two applications of pork. To me, they are different, but I could have used chicken in the posole I guess.
 
That was my top vote (seriously) but I couldn't get past that... but I really want the Mexican French Dip thingeroo!

Man, these were all so good. Combo meal is hard, both sides of the plate have to be perfect. You guys did good.
 
Oh poo poo, you have never voted for me. I think it would upset the entire space time continuum or something like that, right Scovie?
 
I stand by my vote, I like sweet and savory together, and textural differences. And I had never seen a deep fried tamale, and SL took that and made a kickass version (better than the ones I JayTeed). So popular/unique to me.

So :P
 
I wasn't saying SL was not worthy of your vote. I would totally smash about two dozen of those tamale fritter looking things!
 
it wa a toss between,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,whatever yall dont give a fuct!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11 blah blah blah blah.
 
Personally I had a 3-way draw going but ultimately it was about the ingredients and total presentation. We don't have dishes like this in my area (or even close) and I think I'm missing out on something great.
Well done Booma !

OhioHeat, Ed G.
 
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