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Mexican style food, etc.....


Widder, SASS #59054

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Ya know, I've eaten and enjoy ALL kinds of foods from Steaks, Pasta, Pizza, Burgers, Hot Dogs, Asian, etc.....

 

And I really enjoy Mexican.   Tonight, while eating some Mexican dish, I realized that I have NEVER had a

Mexican dish that I didn't really enjoy.   I can't say that about all the other foods.

 

Tonight, my 'steak' Fajita is great.   Locally, they extra sautee and fry my onions, green peppers and tomatoes.

Along with either Steak, Shrimp, or Chicken.

 

I like the tomatoes much better than red peppers.

 

Now you know the secret to my success in life......... :lol:

 

..........Widder

 

 

 

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Fajitas aren’t really Mexican food, or so I’m told by a lot of Mexicans. They say they’re Tex-Mex, there’s a difference I guess. Out here you can’t even order fajitas in many Mexican restaurants. In Escondido alone there are nearly 100 Mexican restaurants and only a handful know how to make chili rellenos, many don’t even offer them on their menu. Widder have you had their dishes with tripe in them? Yuck.

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Tripe at that bad with right seasoning served hot, just a little chewy     GW

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Do NOT think I would care to try the canned Tripe available at Walmart though   GW

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Fajitas come from Texas, Houston if I remember correctly.

 

I really enjoy authentic Mexican food. 

 

Unfortunately,  it's hard to find the real deal in the state with the lowest Latino population in the country.  I find it in the little markets and it's usually literally a hole in the wall with a counter to order through and a few tables and chairs.  I'm normally the only Anglo in the place.

 

The good news is that most of the places also serve regional favorites from back home like campecheno, deshebrada and machaca along with the standard fare.  One place is ran by folks from Baja and has an amazing selection of seafood dishes while another is owned by folks from southern Mexico and  those dishes are completely different from the northern Mexico  or Tex-Mex fare.

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Yul, I have eaten menudo twice.  The 1st time it was dirty dishwater with gelatinous cubes.  Had to add diced onions & Tapatio sauce to eat it.   It was 20 years later at a drive-in restaurant in Linden CA I ordered it.  It had red pepper & tomato added to the broth.  One Mexican dish I haven't found in norther CA or northern NV is molcajetes.  when I was watching a PBS cooking show with a Chicago based Mexican restaurant owner/chef that it is has an  Aztec origin.  I discovered it 12-13 years ago when in Rosarito beach to purchase folk art to decorate my back yard.  It was on the menu of one of the Mexican chain restaurants. 

P.S.   Another not Mexican dish is nachos.  Nachos are also tex-mex even though the origin was a restaurant on the Mexican side of the border frequented by texicans.

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Speaking of Tripe, here is a true story:

 

The Bunkhouse Boss always likes to try new and different foods at various restaurants.

We were at one of our favorite Mex places and she ask the one of the waiters for a recommendation,

as she always liked something new.

 

Waiter sez:   Try our Tripe soup.  Of course, he used a spanish name for it, which I don't remember.

 

When he delivered that bowl of soup,  it smelled AWEFUL.    I mean, the word YUCK don't even do 

it justice.    

 

She said:   What is this smelly stuff?

I said:   Cow stomach.

 

I thought she was gonna gag and throw up.   

 

Needless to say..... she didn't eat the soup..... :lol:

 

..........Widder

 

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Yul, I have eaten menudo twice.  The 1st time it was dirty dishwater with gelatinous cubes.  Had to add diced onions & Tapatio sauce to eat it.   It was 20 years later at a drive-in restaurant in Linden CA I ordered it.  It had red pepper & tomato added to the broth.  One Mexican dish I haven't found in norther CA or northern NV is molcajetes.  when I was watching a PBS cooking show with a Chicago based Mexican restaurant owner/chef that it is has an  Aztec origin.  I discovered it 12-13 years ago when in Rosarito beach to purchase folk art to decorate my back yard.  It was on the menu of one of the Mexican chain restaurants. 

P.S.   Another not Mexican dish is nachos.  Nachos are also tex-mex even though the origin was a restaurant on the Mexican side of the border frequented by texicans.

I've had molcajete- or at least something that they called molcajete..

 

Flank steak (beef fajita meat), chicken, chorizo and shrimp served in a stone mortar (hence it's name) with a piece of grilled cactus.  Throw in some beans rice and tortillas and go to town.

 

I don't do tripe or organ meat but well prepared (undercooked, it has a mushy feel and overcooked is like bits of plastic) tongue is pretty good.

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Come out west and shoot EOT or Winter Range.  You can eat a variety of Mexican food while shooting either match.  Ask the locals for recommendations.  You will enjoy the dining as much as the matches.

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:FlagAm:One of my experiences.  Back in the early to mid 1980's, I spent considerable time on the Hopi reservation.  One day the son of one of the elder chiefs invited me to dinner up on the third Mesa.  I was given a seat of honor at one end of the table, the chief at the other end and family around with the son sitting to my left.  Dinner was some of the finest tasting chili I had ever had to date.  Halfway through my second serving, I mentioned how good the chili was and inquired what was in it.  The old man never looked up, but replied "neighbor dog" and continued to eat.  I looked at his son who stated dad was tired of hearing the dog bark.

I finished what was left on my plate.

Chas:blink:

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Fajitas come from Texas, Houston if I remember correctly.

 

I really enjoy authentic Mexican food. 

 

Unfortunately,  it's hard to find the real deal in the state with the lowest Latino population in the country.  I find it in the little markets and it's usually literally a hole in the wall with a counter to order through and a few tables and chairs.  I'm normally the only Anglo in the place.

 

The good news is that most of the places also serve regional favorites from back home like campecheno, deshebrada and machaca along with the standard fare.  One place is ran by folks from Baja and has an amazing selection of seafood dishes while another is owned by folks from southern Mexico and  those dishes are completely different from the northern Mexico  or Tex-Mex fare.

I spent some time in Dallas back in 1984 and there was a Mexican joint called Benevidez that says they invented fajitas. That was my first and best ever fajitas and to this day I don’t know if they invented them but they were absolutely delicious. We’d hit  that place at least once a week for lunch or dinner.

 

Now for authentic Mexican food every Friday for lunch we’d cross the Trinity River and eat at one of my two way radio installers mothers home. Man did she put on a feed. Tamales, Lingua and Cabeza tacos and on and on. She got a kick out of us gringos wondering what we were eating, it didn’t matter, it was all good.

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The only Mexican food I haven’t enjoyed was food that was advertised as Mexican but really wasn’t. 

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Worst Mexican food is on the East Coast. In NC the Mexican restaurants bragged about having authentic Mexican cooks. The food was bland and crappy. I soon realized why. They hadn’t spent any time in the Southwestern United States where real Mexican food comes from! HahaHahaha :lol:

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Fajitas aren’t really Mexican food, or so I’m told by a lot of Mexicans. They say they’re Tex-Mex, there’s a difference I guess. Out here you can’t even order fajitas in many Mexican restaurants. In Escondido alone there are nearly 100 Mexican restaurants and only a handful know how to make chili rellenos, many don’t even offer them on their menu. Widder have you had their dishes with tripe in them? Yuck.

 

Chili rellenos are very popular in 'deep Mexico'; I've had great ones in both Oaxaca and Chiapas.

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My friend, very Anglo, grew up in So Cal through her early twenties. She recommended a local Mexican restaurant. We went there for lunch. She asked what I thought of it and I said it reminded me of a restaurant off the interstate in Ft Worth, the floor was greasy and I would never return. In Ft Worth I left before the waitress arrived.

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Worst Mexican food is on the East Coast. In NC

We have plenty of Mexicans in NC.  And Mexican food comes from SW USA?  You're not right.  We tend to go where the margaritas are good and the owners/staff are welcoming.

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Worst Mexican food is on the East Coast. In NC the Mexican restaurants bragged about having authentic Mexican cooks. The food was bland and crappy. I soon realized why. They hadn’t spent any time in the Southwestern United States where real Mexican food comes from! HahaHahaha :lol:

The problem isn't with them, it's with their clientele. To stay in business, they have to cater to folks that think Taco Smell is Mexican food.  Why do you think so many places have lettuce,  tomato  and sour cream with their tacos?

 

I see a lot of places that start out authentic and turn bland and tastless when they start getting popular.

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The problem isn't with them, it's with their clientele. To stay in business, they have to cater to folks that think Taco Smell is Mexican food.  Why do you think so many places have lettuce,  tomato  and sour cream with their tacos?

 

I see a lot of places that start out authentic and turn bland and tastless when they start getting popular.

I do believe you are correct, Sir.

As soon as I read your post I remembered a waiter at a Mexican restaurant in Charlotte saying the same thing.
I also remember a Chinese restaurant opening in Concord that made some of the best (American) Chinese food I have ever eaten and then one day their food was all blah and bland.  We stopped going there because the owner Cow-towed to a bunch of whiney Southerners with overly sensitive taste buds. A few months later we hit a call from them telling us they were back to making their food their way. We had food from there at least once a week after that. 
 

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We have plenty of Mexicans in NC.  And Mexican food comes from SW USA?  You're not right.  We tend to go where the margaritas are good and the owners/staff are welcoming.

There are plenty of Mexicans in NY and Miami too. But....

The absolute best Mexican food in the US is in New Mexico and Arizona. Absolutely!

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There are plenty of Mexicans in NY and Miami too. But....

The absolute best Mexican food in the US is in New Mexico and Arizona. Absolutely!

I'll have to say that the Mexican food I had in Mesa, AZ a couple of years ago was awesome.  

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The absolute best Mexican food in the US is in New Mexico and Arizona. Absolutely!

Utah Bob hit the nail on the head IMO.:)

 

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I've eaten "Mexican food" all over Mexico, Baja, Belize and the southwest US. The flavor and type of dishes served vary considerably. Here in sw Colorado it is different from Arizona, which is different from SoCal....well you get the idea. Different spices and types of chilis are used regionally. I particularly like their style of cooking seafood in Baja. For me, I really like tacos and prefer shredded beef then fried in a tortilla. Hard to beat a greasy, crispy tortilla filled with shredded beef, tomatoes, lettace, cheese and avocado with hot sauce ( I prefer non-Mexican Tobasco), now that's eatin! (and probably artery clogging too LOL).

 

Also love a great chili relleno as mention in another thread.

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Mexican food, Chinese, etc have all been Gringo neutered. Most of whats on the menu isn't authentic anything. I worked for an Architect who came here from China during WW2. He took us all out for diner for Christmas in China Town Los Angeles. Everything he ordered was delicious and not on the usual American menu. A co-worker asked if they were going to serve sweet and sour chicken. He looked at her and said thats not Chinese food! He did however ordered some for her as a good host might.

Also if you can branch out to other Central and South American foods. Not all food south of us is Mexican.

 

We always look for the mom and pop family restaurants. Thats where you find real food and freshly prepared.

Ike

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There are literally hundreds of Mexican restaurants in the Tucson area.

My favorite Mexican restaurant here is Goyita's.  Goyita's is more spicy than most restaurants but soooo good!

I get the large combo.  Two chicken tacos, two red sauce cheese enchiladas, chili relleno, beans & rice.  I ask for one sunny-side-egg on top of my enchiladas.  Th chips and salsas are great too!!

 

https://www.goyitasnmcuisine.com/

 

If you are in the Tucson area, try Goyita's.  If you like Mexican, you'll love their food!!!

 

 

^_^

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Mexican food, Chinese, etc have all been Gringo neutered. Most of whats on the menu isn't authentic anything. I worked for an Architect who came here from China during WW2. He took us all out for diner for Christmas in China Town Los Angeles. Everything he ordered was delicious and not on the usual American menu. A co-worker asked if they were going to serve sweet and sour chicken. He looked at her and said thats not Chinese food! He did however ordered some for her as a good host might.

Also if you can branch out to other Central and South American foods. Not all food south of us is Mexican.

 

We always look for the mom and pop family restaurants. Thats where you find real food and freshly prepared.

Ike

The best Chinese food I've ever had was at a neighbor's son's wedding banquet.  (His bride was mail-ordered from Hong Kong.) This was in the '70s; so, I don't remember all of the dishes. However, there were so many courses (some of them still had their eyes), I lost count. Also, every table had a fifth of Whiskey on it. BTW, we first met the neighbor one day when he just walked into our house. Of course ;), he had a bottle of Whiskey in his coat and offered us some.

 

Back to Mexican food. The only dish I make on a regular basis is fajitas. I use Costco chicken, green bell pepper, sweet red pepper, red onion, Teriyaki sauce, and lime. Whatever "floats your boat" sez I. :)

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We have plenty of Mexicans in NC.  And Mexican food comes from SW USA?  You're not right.  We tend to go where the margaritas are good and the owners/staff are welcoming.

The best Mexican food comes from SW USA, period! It’s not really “Mexican” food so much as it is Tex-Mex with some flair. 
 

And Mexicans in NC does not mean you have good Mexican food. I know. I lived there. I tried every Mexican restaurant in the Charlotte, Concord, Kannapolis area. 

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I tried every Mexican restaurant in the Charlotte, Concord, Kannapolis area.

We have one in Salisbury that treats us real good.  And I've been to the SW.   The Tex-Mex is excellent.  So's the Colorado green chili.  And I first ate gyro in Phoenix - go figure.

And y'all talking about Chinese?  irish ike nailed it.   We'd preferred Vietnamese or Thai before going to China.  In country, there is no bad food.  I ate snow frog.  And meat on a stick.  Drew the line only at scorpion on a stick.

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Mexican food, Chinese, etc have all been Gringo neutered. Most of whats on the menu isn't authentic anything. I worked for an Architect who came here from China during WW2. He took us all out for diner for Christmas in China Town Los Angeles. Everything he ordered was delicious and not on the usual American menu. A co-worker asked if they were going to serve sweet and sour chicken. He looked at her and said thats not Chinese food! He did however ordered some for her as a good host might.

Also if you can branch out to other Central and South American foods. Not all food south of us is Mexican.

 

We always look for the mom and pop family restaurants. Thats where you find real food and freshly prepared.

Ike

Mex food has been neutered by the commercial chains.

But in the small local family run joints in the Southwest it's genuine non-aduterated Mexican most of the time. And it's awesome! One reason is the ingredients are grown in this climate and can be had fresh.

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Hey, Widder when you’re eating your Mexican food there in Tennessee do they serve flan for dessert?

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Hey, Widder when you’re eating your Mexican food there in Tennessee do they serve flan for dessert?

Around here I just order sopapillas and honey. :wub:

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The only Mexican food I haven’t enjoyed was food that was advertised as Mexican but really wasn’t. 

Worst I ever ate was in Jackson Hole WY in 1982.  Don't know what it really was but it wasn't (A) Mexican, (B) beef, (C) or edible.  I refused to pay for it and the owner called the police.  I went before a JP and ended up paying court costs and $25.00, but I was assured by the bailiff that none of it went back to the cafe.

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