Restaurants
A Winning Bet
By Margaret Fleming
Oct 1, 2002, 01:00

A Winning Bet

by Margaret Fleming

Some of my favorite businesses are restaurants, and so I was happy to revisit one I hadn't eaten in for some time. It was the Chinese restaurant inside the Hotel Seņorial. There's been a restaurant there for quite a while, but I heard that there is now a new cook and a new menu. John and I went there for lunch one day and were well satisfied, not to mention sated, by the time we left.

The restaurant has an attractive ambience and excellent service. We were struck with its multicultural aspect.We were at one table and at another was a Chinese family. At two others were Mexican businessmen and a Mexican family. As if to underline this pluralism, the condiments at each table included soy sauce for the Chinese, several salsas for the Mexicans, and ketchup and mustard for the Americans.

We had one of the specials for two, although it could easily have served four. It began with shark's fin soup, followed by pieces of crispy chicken and Chinese spareribs. Then we were served two packets of what used to be called paper-wrapped chicken, but is now wrapped in foil and steamed. After that we had fried rice and stir fried beef with elotitos (miniature ears of corn). Just as we were wondering whether we could finish it all, our efficient server, Patricia, brought two more platters of stir-fry, one made with beef, and one with chicken. The latter was hot and spicy with flecks of dried red chilis--a wonderful marriage of Chinese and Mexican flavors.

There are five major regional varieties of Chinese cuisine. Cantonese style is the most familiar abroad, since it was the merchants and traders from Canton who colonized other parts of the world. We don't usually think of Chinese food as hot because Cantonese dishes aren't, but I understand Fukien style cuisine is often very spicy and hot. Anyway John and I both loved that combination. We couldn't eat all of our dinners, so we took them home and had enough for a another meal the next day.

Chinese cooks say that anyone who can cook Chinese food can cook anything else. Chinese cooking adapts itself to its milieu; it's the principle that's important. A stir-fry dish, for example, can be made with any ingredients available, like elotitos, which are traditionally Mexican; we don't see them much in the U.S. In Mexico not only was there hot salsa on the table, but the server brought a little bowl of cut-up limes, the ubiquitous accompaniment to Mexican food. In the U.S. Chinese restaurants often serve hot green tea, sometimes hot black tea. In Puerto Peņasco we were served sweetened iced tea. As far as I know this is neither authentically Chinese nor Mexican; it was probably a concession to American taste.

An added attraction within the hotel (for those who gamble) is its Off Track Betting service. After eating, I went into the room next door to take a look at it, since I had never seen this particular form of entertainment before. A large room was encircled by a frieze of TV monitors. On each one was either a picture of some sport--horse racing, football, baseball, etc.--or a screen showing odds and bets placed. A number of men (I didn't notice any women) were sitting looking intently at the screens. They barely moved. At a counter at the far end of the room, a man was taking bets. Entertainment?--well, it takes all kinds.

Whether you enjoy gambling or not, you can bet on getting an excellent meal at the Seņorial.