Christmas Tree 2009

Our trip to San Antonio for Mexican food, tin ornaments and a molinillo didn't turn out as we expected. The day was foggy and cold and then gave way to a colder mistiness the closer we got to San Antonio. It finally began to rain and never got out of the 40's. We passed on the market square and Mi Tierra, instead it felt better to hang with my brother at his house, get all cozy and watch some funny films. We did get our Mexican food at one of the restaurants in his neighborhood.

We ended up at Cha-Cha's and had a great dinner. Their menu doesn't include all the regular Tex-Mex foods. Their Caldo Azteca is not a tortilla soup nor a caldo de pollo but a unique recipe that is muy sabrozo. I also ordered the nopalito plate. I love cactus but never had it cooked in a ranchero sauce and topped with chihuahua cheese. It was served with refried beans and rice. This was the closest to my Grandmother's food I had ever tasted. I think the key was everything was so fresh. They told me they made the caldo Azteca more than once a day, more than twice a day sometimes. We weren't too sorry we passed on Mi Tierra. Maybe next time.

Cha-Cha's was decorated for Christmas with straw decorations from Michoacan. I had never seen straw wreaths, bells and garland quite that large and ornate.

We drove to Del Rio on Saturday and it was there that I acquired all the Mexican tin ornaments I needed to complete my tree. My mother had a bag of close to 30 of them waiting for me. These were the ornaments I had grown up with. The tree still needed a few more so I visited Milagro's Del Rio and completed the hunt. This cute store was decked out for the holidays and is fairly new in the town. It's now a must-stop destination because Lisa Craig has the absolute best Mexican imports this side of the border.

I was not successful in hunting down a molinillo in San Antonio. I was told the only place that would have them would be found in the market area. I used to see these at grocery stores growing up but haven't spotted one in years. Milagro's Del Rio had them in stock but sold out. But they had them!!! Mine should arrive soon.

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