KoMex Express

It's not often that I get a few days off in a row, but when I do...well, I don't make much use of them.  This week for example:  I finally have three days off in a row and what have I been doing?  Playing League of Legends, going for daily runs and updating this blog.  What I should be doing is finally unpacking and getting situated into my new place so as not to keep my life and belongings so out in the open.  (Humph... A strange thing for a blogger to be worrying about).  

There are so many things that I have been thinking about as of late and sometimes I just don't know where to begin.  That being said, I was excited to hear that my aunt who lives in town wanted to get together for dinner.  It has been over a month since the last time that we were able to spend some time and this outing was long overdue.  Now I am not always one for huge family outings or get-togethers.  My preference is in the cultivation of the connections that I share with a select few family members.  That isn't to say that I don't value the presence and rapport I have of other family members - I do, but I have a few good souls I can call upon in my need or if I just need a friendly ear or mind to bounce ideas off of and my Aunt D is one of them.

D and I are one-in-the-same:  we enjoy being by ourselves and having our own space, crave and appreciate the companionship's that we come to hold dear to our daily lives (an interesting dichotomy) and love to meet each other for dinner to talk about what is going on in our lives and get the aided boost we need from spending time with a loved one.  We are also similar in the fact that when we go out, it takes us an ungodly amount of time to decide where we are going.  This particular meeting was no different.

From the beginning of the night I knew that I wanted to try something new.  The one thing that I had on my mind was KoMex Express here in Las Vegas.  Though, every time I think about a fusion restaurant I get excited, this place has always made me feel uneasy. Fusion restaurants to me means a new twist on something that I already love, but for those of you who don't know what KoMex is...well, it's a Korean-Mexican Fusion restaurant.  Not being a huge Mexican fan this never sounded good to me, but I LOVE Asian food.  Knowing that I couldn't just say let's go here, I threw out some other ideas that would be less appealing and finally (45 minutes later) it was decided.

We looked up the hours and found that the location on 633 N Decatur Blvd Suite H was closed on Sundays, but we were pleasantly excited to find out that there was a second location that was open so we headed down to Buffalo & Flamingo (4155 S Buffalo Dr. #103,104) to try out their second location.

Pulling into the lot it was a typical after thought addition to the mini complex that it was located in.  Walking into the restaurant it is evident that this place was never intended to be the original occupant of the space they were renting, but they tried hard to make it their home.  It was cozy enough as was evident by the mix of people they had sitting at their tables.  With one waitress on staff she promptly greeted us offered for us to choose a table and quickly get our drink orders.  This is the point that I always order a water so as to give me enough time to browse through the menu to decide what I want to eat as well as what I actually want to drink.

I ended up ordering a Full Size Wonton Soup to share with Aunt D, pork belly on a stick, Bolgogi Fusion Nachos (1/2 size) and my Aunt ordered a single Fusion Chicken Lettuce Wrap for herself and chicken and pork belly on a stick to share.  It wasn't long after they brought the complimentary chips and salsa/guacamole basket they we were staring down at the massive amount of food that we had ordered.

Wonton Soup - Wontons stuffed w/ ground Beef & Pork with Mushroom, Egg and Onions in Mild broth

It almost saddens me to have started with the Wonton Soup as it was clearly the favorite dish by the end of the night, but suffice it to say that is where I began.  Not really expecting much from the soup I ordered it really as something to try prior to our food coming out.  Had it not come out at the same time as the rest of the food I would have kindly asked the waitress to cancel the rest of my order and let me have my fill in this soup alone.  Luckily I didn't finish all of my half and I had enough to bring home to savor another day.  (Note to self:  Though this soup is delicious, do not eat prior to a run.  I did and by mile three I was beginning to burping up the garlic that resides in this soup.  Not fun.)

Left to right:  Chicken on a Stick and Pork Belly on a Stick

Next came the (Insert Meat Option) on a stick portion of our meal.  For Aunt D it was chicken and for me pork belly.  Personally, I think I made the better choice, but as she wouldn't try the pork belly I don't have another persons word to compare the two.  So you will just have to take my word on it - the pork belly was by far superior to the chicken.  Though, the chicken was beautifully marinated before it was cooked and never stood a chance at becoming dry.  It's simplicity lead to the possibility to try the many hot sauces they offered.  My favorite was the KoMex hot sauce.  It delivered some nice heat that brought sweat to my brow but not so much as to test my taste buds in a battle that they were never going to win.  See all hot sauce options below.

Clockwise from Top Right:  Korean Sweet and Spicy, KoMex, Salsa Roja and Salsa Verde

That brings us to my last selection of the Fusion Nachos with Bolgogi beef.  What I liked most about this is that the beef was marinated beautifully and was married to the tortilla chips with a mozzarella cheese that pulled to a glorious strand when lifted off of the plate.  The one complaint that I had about this dish is that the Pico de Gallo was a little too sweet or the Korean Hot Sauce is what was explained to be as the Korean Sweet and Spicy sauce.  Either way, I feel that the KoMex would have been a better choice, but other than that loved every bite.

Fusion Nachos with Bolgogi Beef - Meat, Mozzarella Cheese, Pico de Gallo, Jalapeno & Korean Hot Sauce

At the end of the meal you are presented with a fortune cookie and a half of an orange slice up and served with little spears to share.  It brings the meal to the most amazing end as the oranges are so refreshing and cold that there is no way that you could not enjoy your meal here.  The thing that I like about this place so much is that there is a great amount of ability to customize any meal to different meats and non meats alike.  It is virtually friendly for all types of eaters.  Maybe not 100% vegan friendly, but can totally be customized to vegetarians and meat lovers alike.

Hands down I will be back for the Wonton Soup alone and may venture further into their menu, but can now say that a Korean-Mexican Fusion Restaurant is no longer the beginning of my culinary nightmares.  Try it for yourself.  I think you will also be pleasantly surprised.

KoMex
633 N Decatur Blvd
Las Vegas, NV 89107
(702) 646-1612

Mon-Sat 11am - 8pm
CLOSED SUNDAYS


KoMex Express
Buffalo & Flamingo 
4155 S Buffalo Dr. #103,104 
(702) 778-5566

Tue-Sat 11am - 9pm
Sun 11am - 8pm
CLOSED MONDAYS


Hope you guys and gals enjoy this as much as I did.  Remember to Comment, Share and Visit some of the sponsoring sites.

And, until next time....
Happy Snacking!

Luke

Vegetarian Chili

It began on a rainy day. The sun was ... not out. The air was ... filled with fog. You could see ... well, about five feet in front of you. Needless to say, this was going to be a blah and lazy day. I woke up to an incredible headache that I couldn't make heads or tails of why I had it. But I knew that I had to get out of my apartment, so I put on my rain boots, dug out my umbrella and headed out to The Growling Rabbit - my local coffee shop and café. A 12oz coffee and one salted caramel cupcake later and I was feeling better, but the momentary relief of my headache was just that...momentary. I knew that only comfort food was going to make me feel better. What better comfort food to make on a cold and rainy winters day than a hearty chili?

A simple search for Vegetarian Chili lead me to FoodNetwork.com featuring Emeril Lagasse's Vegetarian Chili recipe. Let's just get to it, shall we?

The Recipe


Vegetarian Chili
Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2003
Prep Time: 25 min

Cook Time: 30 min 

Level: Easy 

Serves: 6 to 8 servings


 Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons canola oil 
• 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions 
• 1 cup chopped red bell peppers 
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic 
• 2 to 3 serrano peppers, stemmed, seeded, and minced, depending upon taste 
• 1 medium zucchini, stem ends trimmed and cut into small dice 
• 2 cups fresh corn kernels (about 3 ears) 
• 1 1/2 pounds portobello mushrooms (about 5 large), stemmed, wiped clean and cubed 
• 2 tablespoons chili powder 
• 1 tablespooon ground cumin 
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt 
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne 
• 4 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped 
• 3 cups cooked black beans, or canned beans, rinsed and drained 
• 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce 
• 1 cup vegetable stock, or water 

• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves 
• Cooked brown rice, accompaniment 
• Sour cream or strained plain yogurt, garnish 
• Diced avocado, garnish 
• Essence, recipe follows, garnish 
• Chopped green onions, garnish 

Directions

1. In a large, heavy pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions, bell peppers, garlic, and serrano peppers, and cook, stirring, until soft, about 3 minutes. 
2. Add the zucchini, corn, and mushrooms, and cook, stirring, until soft and the vegetables give off their liquid and start to brown around the edges, about 6 minutes. 
3. Add the chili powder, cumin, salt and cayenne, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. 
4. Add the tomatoes and stir well. Add the beans, tomato sauce, and vegetable stock, stir well, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes.
5. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro. Adjust the seasoning, to taste.

To serve, place 1/4 cup of brown rice in the bottom of each bowl. Ladle the chili into the bowls over the rice. Top each serving with a dollop of sour cream and spoonful of avocado. Sprinkle with Essence and green onions and serve.

Emeril's ESSENCE Creole Seasoning (also referred to as Bayou Blast):

• 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika 
• 2 tablespoons salt 
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder 
• 1 tablespoon black pepper 
• 1 tablespoon onion powder 
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper 
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano 
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme 

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.

Yield: 2/3 cup

Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch can be found here.
Published by William and Morrow, 1993.


This recipe is so simple and so delicious! The way that I prepared it was just slightly different. Instead of serving it over a bed of rice, I wanted to do it served with cornbread. However, trying to keep the budget low I didn't want to buy cornbread mix. In my refrigerator I had a package of quick biscuits, so I used those instead and it tastes wonderful!

I am also a huge fan of cilantro, so instead of mixing the cilantro into the big pot I was chopping it up for each individual bowl. Add a dollop of sour cream - or in my case Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream - and the Essence seasoning and "Whallah!" Dinner is served.

For this recipe I paid a whopping $11.07 including tax. Eleven dollars to feed a family of four AND have leftovers? You can't go wrong here!

Until next time...
Happy Snacking!