Best Caldos
Mi Nidito
READERS' PICK: We've eaten at the de rigueur southside Mecca, Mi Nidito, enough times over the past 20 years to have financed the rear room addition. Our perennial favorites are the classic offerings of Mexican soups. These include the hangover jump-start standard, menudo, and the cocido, a vegetable soup that features virtually an entire garden piled in the bowl in a rich broth. Our favorite though, is the casuela, a delicious soup made with carne seca, onion, green chile, tomato and with a few chunks of potato thrown in. These caldos, along with always cheerful service and the unflagging warmth of the Lopez family at Mi Nidito, will take the chill off of the bleakest of winter nights. Remember, albondigas means meatballs!
1813 S. Fourth Ave.READERS' POLL RUNNER-UP AND STAFF PICK: See, we think the Next Big Thing in food circles has just got to be cilantro, that unique herb that at first, to the uninitiated, tastes like a mouthful of aluminum. At least it did to us, long ago. After a few encounters, however, the unusual subtlety of this favor becomes a delightful inducement to the palate. Most of the soups at El Minuto Café--from albondigas to the tortilla concoction--have just the right amount of cilantro. Invest now in the coming boom. El Minuto is at 354 S. Main Ave.
CAT'S MEOW: We included Mariscos Chihuahua in the "caldos" category despite only one soup on the menu. It happens to be a keeper: the Seven Seas, a classic Mexican bouillabaisse loaded with about half the season's allotted catch of shellfish from the Sea of Cortez. The house specialties, however, are the cocteles: glasses of squid, shrimp, abalone, oysters and so on, that are marinated in lime juice, onion, celery and chiles, then served cold. Though these are superb, the Seven Seas is worth the trip. No beer on the menu, but they'll gladly let you bring your own. This unheralded but popular spot, at 1009 N. Grande Ave., is about as friendly a place as you will find.
