Being a wab of Zacatecan ancestry puts me in the unique position of admiring borderlands cuisine from an outsider and insider perspective. Southern California standards like wet burritos, crispy tacos, pork in green chile, and flautas always fascinate me for their exotic-yet-familiar origins. But I usually don't eat this type of "Mexican" cuisine as it is the gut bomb of so much infamy (more on this tomorrow) and really isn't that good. Especially flautas, which I so often find a greasy, crumbli
Last month, I wrote about the surprisingly good flautas offered by La Casa Garcia in Anaheim. It's not the county's best Mexican-American joint (though does belongs among the top 10), but owner Frank Garcia is a true Mexi-mensch; his annual We Give Thanks Thanksgiving dinners is the stuff of legend, and guarantees him a spot in heaven. You can read about Garcia's story in a new book, We Give Thanks: A Book About Frank Garcia and His Legacy: Restauranteur and Philanthropist. More than mere vanity
