Ever on the lookout for “weird” food I came upon a shop in Indio, California specializing in raspados.  Menu all in Spanish.  No accommodation for gringos whatsoever.  So I had to order one, right?  Raspados, it turns out are nothing more than shaved ice with some sort of syrup on it and, in many cases, are not especially exotic, say a strawberry one topped with strawberries.  But then there are the ones that are muy mexicanos, such as the one I ordered.  Topped with mango, salty tamarind candy and chili it was  sweet, salty from the tamarind candy, and a little spicy from the chili powder.  The flavors careening all over the place: a bite of ice, a chewy salty morsel of the candy, the refreshing mango and the earthy chili.  Would I order it again?  Probably not, the flavor profile just doesn’t do it for me.  But I’m glad I tried it!

Went for dim sum at the Golden Unicorn today and, in following up the durian-banana ice cream I tasted at Morgensterns, I ordered what turned out to be a durianfilled fried pastry.  And now I can definitively say, I don’t like durian.  The texture of the pastries was terrific, a delicate, crispy exterior and a luscious creamy interior but the flavor?  To me it tasted like vanilla custard scented with rotting onions.  And some people apparently like this stuff.