Fry Bread, Native American "Taco"

The past summer took Wandering Chopsticks and I to Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado. Near the heart of one of the earliest Native American major civilization, what type of food should we seek? Why, frybread of course.

If you don't already know it, frybread is flat leavened dough that is deep fried in oil (or even, occasionally, lard).

We were staying in a tiny town called Mancos and our motel owner directed us to a little place called Ted's Taco by the highway (Don't let the "taco" in the name throw you off, it's just that they call frybread "Indian Taco"). Apparently this place doesn't even have a real address
This being our breakfast before heading into the park, I eyed the egg-y item. I ordered the Camp Bread which was an "open-faced taco" of sorts, topped with eggs, cheddar, sausage, tomatoes, and onions, served with a side of salsa.
WC ordered the breakfast taco which was a similar item but not open-faced and had potatoes instead of tomatoes.

These are undeniably heavy breakfast items that spelled heart attack but were comfort food that hit the spot nonetheless. Given how much walking we were going to do later that day, these gave us plenty of much needed energy!

Ted's Taco
south of Hwy 160 next to Log Cabin Liquor (41900 Highway 160)
Mancos, CO 81328
(970) 759-5764
Daily 6am-9pm

Makeover for East Colorado?

The part of Colorado Blvd east of Lake is considerably boring compared to the Old Town area west of it, but relatively recently a new neighborhood favorite has popped up.

Daisy Mint is a small, cute Thai restaurant that may seem out of place among the neighboring mattress stores, etc. The inside of the restaurant is decorated somewhat eclectically. A dark (but gorgeous) painting of sumo wrestlers, mirrors, and empty picture frames and bird cages - which some thought to be rather creepy, but cute and quaint nonetheless.Compared to its typical Thai restaurant counterparts, Daisy Mint's menu is relatively limited. It only fills up one sheet of paper, front and back, but includes salads, soups, noodles, curries, and a small variety of other dishes. However, they also lean on the healthier side and use better quality ingredients.

Daisy Mint also offers selection of teas - some more uncommon than others. On my first visit I ordered the roasted nuts tea.

I'm not really sure what it is exactly, but it looks and tastes like almond+sesame milk to me ... plus perhaps other types of nuts. It tastes pretty bland, actually.

I've been there twice and on both visits forgot my regular camera :( since I usually just run off there from school while starving. So you'll have to bear with my phone camera instead.

I got the green curry the first time. The taste was not as 'bold' than your typical curry dish, but very comforting. I love the eggplants.

The next time around I ordered the 'Daisy Noodles'. The only thing missing from this dish (for me) is some meat ...
It is glass noddles in red curry sauce served with lettuce (salad lettuce), bean sprouts, and peanuts. It is an interesting combination and I like the slightly spicy curry sauce.

Thought I have yet to find a dish that blows my mind here, I like the quaintness of the place and thought that the food was good and rather creative. I'm sure I will be back many many times (walking tiredly from school)!

Daisy Mint
1218 E Colorado Blvd
Pasadena, CA
(626) 792-2999‎