Casa De Doritos, June 1964
Both of today's photos were under-exposed, resulting in very dark images, even after some considerable Photoshoppin'. I could always lighten them more, but then the darks got gray and grainy, so I had to stop at a certain point. Still, they are worth a look.
Casa de Fritos... the House of Fritos! Like the House of Tudor or the House of Windsor. The building looks great, with blooming bougainvillea adding some brilliant color, and plenty of antlers (from Antlers 'R Us), always a classy touch. It looks like the flag of Texas is flying overhead, a detail that has probably always been there but I just forgot. Two CMs (sorry Huck, I like the brevity of "CM") are passing each other. "Done for the day, Rhonda?". "Yep, see you tomorrow, Jim".
There is an urban legend that you may have heard: Somebody in the kitchen of the Casa de Fritos decided to cut up some surplus corn tortillas into wedges and deep-fry them - thus Doritos were born. So nobody had ever thought to fry tortillas into chips before that? Besides, a fried tortilla isn't a Dorito, you need a flavorful powdery coating, such as "Nacho Cheese" or "Cool Ranch", or "Original Taco". But it's all over the Internet, so it must be true.
Our photographer panned to the left (just go with it) so that we can see the colorful seating outside the Casa, with each brightly painted table shaded with an equally colorful thatched umbrella thingy. And hey! There's Rainbow Ridge. Take a ride on the Mine Train during the day, and again at dusk, and again at night. You won't be sorry. I'd love to see a night photo with the strings of colored bulbs lit up, I'll bet that looked warm and inviting.
20 comments:
Mmmmmm! A Costco size bag Nacho Cheese Doritos! Mmmmmm! Gooood!
Antlers and bougainvillea. My favorite combo! Thanks, Major.
I don't remember ever seeing that square wagon-y thing (second pic) before. It looks like there might be three microphone stands on it. I wonder who was performing on it in 1964? The Gonzalez Trio, perhaps?
If it makes you feel any better, Major, I'd never noticed the flag of Texas flying over Casa de Fritos, either.
Note the blankets in the foreground of the second picture, probably from the el Zocalo market although possibly floating in mid-air.
Sue, I'm compromising today and wearing a tie in my family tartan. Feel free to wear your kilt.
Will do, Chuck (Twinkie)...and good luck on your new job! Let us know how it goes. Try not to let your new boss see you on GDB all day.
Sue
Of course, Frito literally translates "fried" in Spanish. I guess we can take some comfort in the fact that they didn't go the "KFC" rout to remove the dietarily offensive word, or we would be eating bags of "F," which seems wrong on several levels. Fritos were first marketed in San Antonio, Texas, although they were being sold as street food in Mexico years before. By the way, if you can't get to Mexico, San Antonio is pretty darn authentic in the "street food" area (much more so than Fritos). As far as Disney Mexican street food goes, I vote for churros. Warm, please.
For the life of me, I can't remember much at all of Casa de Fritos except the Frito Kid vending machine. it really must have made an impression on me 'cause I can just see that bag of Fritos sliding down the chute, and the voice of the Frito Kid saying something "send down another bag of Fritos", or something like that. I watched the Youtube video of it in action, and what he says isn't quite a match for what I remember. Such is memory.
Chuck, best of luck on the new job. Always a little apprehensive in my case, but Esmeralda says the odds are in your favor!
Thanks Major.
I can honestly say that the first enchilada I ever ate was at the Casa De Fritos. Before that it was always tacos and burritos, dad convinced me to try new things.
BTW, you can't find the original Doritos any more, that I know of. The originals were only salted, not coated in strange powdered concoctions that make you crave Margaritas.
Wow, a picture with Rainbow Ridge complete with Mine Train. Love it. Does anyone remember Wampum corn chips? They were really good as well. MRaymond, when it comes to craving a Margarita, Doritos are the perfect pairing. When it comes to antlers, you can't take two steps in Montana without tripping over a pair. We put em on everything. Thanks to Major for lightening up these great snaps.
Well, we here in Texas prefer El Fenix (or homemade) corn chips and hot sauce with our Margaritas! By the way, the frozen margarita was invented right here in Dallas, Tx. You're welcome!
K. Martinez, the nacho cheese Doritos are my favorites! I wish I had some right now. I do have salt & vinegar potato chips, though!
TokyoMagic!, I forgot to point out that thing, it looks like a temporary stage that could be moved around if necessary. Like you, I would assume the Gonzalez Trio performed on it, but maybe other musicians did too.
Chuck, the flag of Texas above the Casa de Fritos is one of those details that I probably knew and then forgot, like almost everything else in my life. I think (but am far from certain) that what appears to be a blanket might be somebody’s sweater? Hard to tell, but I don’t think that the El Zocalo market was quite that close to the restaurant.
Lou and Sue, I think Chuck should let his boss see him on GDB! It will demonstrate Chuck’s good taste and obvious intelligence.
Stu29573, I don’t know where that story about Doritos being invented at Disneyland came from… it seems like it popped up maybe five years ago (maybe longer), and suddenly it was repeated all over Facebook and other places. As for Fritos, they are made of ground corn, presumably extruded into hot oil, so kind of a different process from a good old tortilla chip. I used to LOVE Fritos, but they just seem so darn greasy to me. I could use a warm churro right about now - it’s been a while!
DrGoat, the Frito Kid machine would have definitely made an impression on me, I wish I’d seen it. I hope somebody saved it and that it didn’t wind up in a landfill. Maybe Walter Frito the 3rd has it in his mansion. You can easily find the audio from the Casa de Fritos, with Klondike and the Frito Kid. All they talked about was crispy golden Fritos!
MRaymond, I don’t remember Mexican food being as omnipresent back then - now it’s everywhere. I’m not complaining! It’s delicious. My grandma and grandpa lived near a restaurant called El Torito, it was the first one of that chain, and it overlooked a pretty pond right in the middle of Encino. We’d feed our leftover tortilla chips to the ducks, which probably wasn’t very good for them, but it was fun! I didn’t know that Doritos were ever just salted - I thought the originals were “taco flavored”.
Jonathan, Wampum corn chips… that’s new to me! I just looked them up on Google, they were made by Laura Scudder. I like the advertising mascot, even though it is not PC. I’m not much of a drinker, but there is something about either a cold beer or a nice blended Margarita with chips and salsa that is so satisfying. Save me some of those antlers!
Stu29573, I don’t know if I have a preferred brand of corn chips (do you mean tortilla chips, or something more like Fritos?). What I do know is they are better when they are in a basket, and are nice and hot/warm. Darn it, now it’s only 10 in the morning and I want chips and salsa. Thank you Dallas, TX for Margaritas!
@ JC Shannon-
Oh yes - I remember Wampun Corn Chips quite well: "Me wantum Wampum! Injun Corn Chips from Laura Scudder" - so much political correctness-! And ate them on more than one occasion - although Fritos were always preferred. However, seems to me at the time, Laura Scudder Potato Chips were about the best in the area.
Thanks, Major.
I do remember getting a bag of Fritos from the Frito Kid vending machine. Funny, I remember that I didn't really want a bag of Fritos, I just wanted to see the machine animate!
First time I've noticed a wheel on the table in pic 2. Great idea for quick and easy moving.
I found this area to be so charming...the bougainvillea always seemed in bloom and the flag of Texas was above. The evening colors from the lights made the area festive. Yet, without music, it was always quiet. I remember when Mexican food popped up everywhere seemingly in the 70s. El Torito, Red Onion,Don Jose's to name a few. Seemed like good food for a pretty cheap price. I'd get a margarita pitcher for $5 at Red Onion, or $2 doubles at Don Jose's during happy hour. KS
For those who haven't seen it, here's a nice run-down of the Frito Kid:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwBWhG1xKDU
And, for what it's worth, Wikipedia also claims that Doritos started in Disneyland:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doritos
Major, after zooming in, I think you're right about that being a sweater. And if the Zocalo market wasn't that close to the restaurant, that further supports my secondary theory that it's floating in mid-air. Anything is possible at Disneyland.
And thanks, everybody, on the well wishes today. Fortunately, I've worked with this team before and I really like and respect them, so this was the least-stressful first day ever. It was still great knowing everybody had my back.
Yes, Doritos were invented at Disneyland. Fritos were from San Antonio.
Chuck, "Anything is possible at Disneyland." Were you giving Julie Reihm a little pinch as you were typing that?
In the mid 1990s, there was a standard for CD-ROMs called El Torito supposedly named for the restaurant where they developed it
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Torito_(CD-ROM_standard)
Nanook, I don’t even know if the Laura Scudder brand still exists; if I had to wager, I’d bet that it was bought out by some larger company. You know how it goes! I haven’t met too many potato chips that I haven’t liked, though I’m not a fan of the thicker variety (“kettle chips”). That’s just me!
Sunday Night, I’m sure that a TON of the bags of Fritos that were bought from that machine were purchased just to watch hear the spiel and see the bag of chips slide down the chute. So simple, yet so satisfying! Good eye on the table wheel.
KS, all of Disneyland takes on a special feeling at night, but I’ve always especially loved Frontierland at night. The sound of crickets (or maybe spring peepers?), maybe the sound of banjo music playing in the distance, the Mark Twain splashing by… so wonderful. The “Acapulco”/“El Torito” (etc) type of Mexican food might not be authentic, but it is still very tasty. I look forward to going back to “El Cholo” when all this pandemic stuff blows over and having some blue corn chicken enchiladas!
Anon, maybe I’m wrong, I am always so skeptical about many of the legends about Disneyland. Thanks for the YouTube link about the Frito Kid!
Chuck, floating sweaters were all the rage in the late 1950s and into the 1960s. Floating pants never really caught on though. I’m glad your first day at the new gig was so pleasant!
stu29573, I’m wondering what the seasonings were that they put on the fried tortillas at Disneyland. Would they be anything that we’d recognize as a Dorito if we could taste one today? I still think it’s rather incredible that nobody came up with the concept of seasoning tortilla chips before the Disneyland story.
TokyoMagic!, my friend Mr. X thinks that Walt is acting like a dirty old man on that program. I think he’s overreacting, but then again I don’t remember Walt giving Julie a little pinch!
Dean Finder, that is a very interesting and weird bit of trivia!! I’d sure never heard that one before!
Major...I forgot El Cholo..in particular in La Habra. I proposed to my wife there. It was always great. Oh those blue chips. KS
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