{"id":37692,"date":"2015-12-12T18:34:38","date_gmt":"2015-12-13T02:34:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/endoedibles.ifm.yji.mybluehost.me\/?p=37692"},"modified":"2015-12-15T04:56:59","modified_gmt":"2015-12-15T12:56:59","slug":"cardenas-market-las-vegas-nv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/endoedibles.com\/?p=37692","title":{"rendered":"Cardenas Market, Las Vegas NV"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Cardenas Market<\/p>\n

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Tamal de Puerco<\/p>\n

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Tamal Jalapeno Con Queso Crema<\/p>\n

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Tamal de Fresa<\/p>\n

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Tamal de Pollo En Salsa Verde (Hand Made by Me!)<\/p>\n

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Taco El Pastor, Taco Tripa, Taco Chicharr\u00f3n<\/p>\n

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Apple Turnover<\/p>\n

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Pumpkin Empanada<\/p>\n

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Strawberry Stick<\/p>\n

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Bread Pudding<\/p>\n

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Caramel Flan<\/p>\n

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Carrot Cake<\/p>\n

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Tres Leches<\/p>\n

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French for breakfast, Italian for lunch, and without plans or pals for dinner it was largely as a result of location that led me tthrough the doors of Cardenas Market \u2013 the results of a whim finding a lively group of patrons busying the aisles as a free tamale-making session took place adjacent the food court, two spots left for the next twenty-minute class compelling me to join in.<\/p>\n

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One of a few local locations, this one on Meadows Lane in the Loma Vista Shopping Center, Cardenas is widely considered to be THE local place for traditional Mexican ingredients, but with most signage bilingual along with the staff the environment is entirely welcoming while products range from supermarket standards to off-cuts of meat and chiles ranging far and wide.<\/p>\n

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Enjoying the class, though in reality the pre-cooked meats and cornmeal made the lesson one of folding and assembly, it was with amusement that I stood side-by-side with 23 Hispanic women and one young man and watching the woman at center with a microphone offer tips the process actually proved quite easy, the results of my effort virtually indistinguishable from four more tamales made fresh by the staff of the store.<\/p>\n

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At this point deciding it would be appropriate to make a meal out of my Cardenas visit, the food court consistently with a line and the food appearing fresh with tacos made to order, it was with only $11.13 exchanged for three-tacos and a quartet of tamales that dinner was served \u2013 the \u201cgreen chicken\u201d from my creation identical in flavor to that from their steamer with a light bit of heat permeating the juicy grilled bird.<\/p>\n

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At one station watching fowl roast over flame while spicy pork was sliced from a rotating spit to the rear, additional bites of tamales featured creamy cheese tinged in jalapenos followed by juicy bits of pork amidst the smoothly textured cornmeal, the bright pink strawberry version more interesting than it was delicious, my naivety exhibited in that I didn’t know such a thing to exist.<\/p>\n

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Offering far more than typical \u201cAmerican\u201d tacos, eclectic meats such as tongue, tripe, head, and skin all served with cilantro and tomatoes atop tortillas being churned out warm by a machine less than thirty feet away, a plate of three showed the al pastor to be a bit too heated for my mild Midwestern palate while the intestine was velvety soft and full of flavor, the Chicharr\u00f3n in green sauce texturally quite complex.<\/p>\n

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Happy to watch the bakers at work, a team of at least ten seen mixing, rolling, layering, and slicing even towards the end of the day, it was with four baked goods and three cake slices taken to-go that I checked out at the register, another $8.96 exchanged for a gluttonous amount of food.<\/p>\n

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Sitting down at home to watch some hockey, the items all laid out and visually quite well made, first bites of bread pudding were improved substantially by a quick pan warming and with rich cinnamon notes the texture was firm but yielding, both compliments unfortunately inappropriate to caramel flan that was gelatinous with a flavor that was quite bland.<\/p>\n

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Happily snapping into a cream cheese baton with strawberries before making a mess of the table as a shower of pastry fell from the airy apple pastry, it was with less enthusiasm that a pocket of pumpkin was found to be largely devoid of spice or sweetness, neither an issue when speaking of springy carrot cake beneath a forgivingly light layer of icing and the later dialed up \u201cto eleven\u201d in the case of Tres Leches that was sopping wet while still maintaining structural integrity, the aeration of the crumb spectacular with each \u201clast bite\u201d compelling \u201cjust one more.\u201d<\/p>\n

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THREE AND A HALF STARS: Purporting no expertise in Hispanic grocers, but aware of product quality and typical ingredient costs. Cardenas offers a great variety of goods with prices comparable to Smith’s or Albertsons, while the food court is interesting albeit uneven, the friendliness of staff and patrons definitely a plus.<\/p>\n

RECOMMENDED: Tres Leches, Strawberry Stick, Green Chicken Tamale, Chicharr\u00f3n Taco<\/p>\n

AVOID: Caramel Flan, Pumpkin Empanada, Taco Al Pastor.<\/p>\n

TIP: 7am to 10pm Seven Days a Week.<\/p>\n

WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor.<\/p>\n

Home<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n