Anybody who knows me, knows I'm a very picky eater. Here are a few things I would never even consider eating until some local chefs changed my mind.

I may do a couple of these "foods I used to hate" articles ... I'm that picky about food ... so, for this one, we'll stick with mexican food. There are many dishes I didn't like. Apparently, it wasn't the food ... it was the cook.

Machaca.

  • A fairly simple combination of eggs, dried beef, tomatoes, spices and jalapenos ... along with pretty much anything else you care to toss in.
  • My first experience with it involved runny as hell eggs and tasteless beef which caused me to swear off of it for a long time.
  • Until my brother convinced me to try it at Lucy's Cafe, located on Mesa, adjoining the Kings X. Completely different story there ... and the way they do it at Lucy's is still my favorite of all.

Gringo Style.

  • This is really more of a "side" I guess but it's a tasty side. I like jalapenos and cheese but in certain fashions. The jalapenos can't be simple, fresh jalapenos. They have to be grilled, cooked, mixed into salsa ... anything but plain. Ditto for onions.
  • Cheese, to me, only goes with burgers, tacos, enchiladas or pizza. Grilled cheese sandwiches work too. Simply mixing jalapenos with cheese did nothing for me until I had "Gringo Style" at The Rib Hut.
  • Their mix of jalapenos, cheese and onions is the shizzle and now I get it all the time to go on just about everything I order there. Yep, sometimes, even the ribs.

Posole.

  • All the aunts in my family made this and none of them did it very well. It was greasy and the ingredients a bit "slimy". No thanks. Then, Chef Rulis at Rulis International Kitchen got me to try his.
  • I knew I wasn't going to like it from the beginning but, he's a good friend and truly wanted my opinion so, I gave it a go. O. M. G. Totally different than anything I had ever tried before. Clean, non-greasy and so delicious. It had a nice beefy taste, despite having no beef in it.
  • Rulis' has something up his sleeve here and vegetarians will love it. His posole has the heartiness of beef but, he actually makes it with Lion's Mane mushroom. Seems like beef but it isn't. What it is, is, DELICIOUS.

Some of you are shaking your heads right now wondering how I could go this far in life hating on these items. Others are probably thinking, "not even ... you should try it the way my (insert family member here) makes it.

I will not argue with you there but I will strongly suggest you try these. Preferably with the families best cook. Who knows? They may learn something.

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