Tex-Mex vs. "original" Mexican food

There was an Article about this in last months Texas Monthly Magazine. It's a pretty good read.

 

I tend to eat tex-mex I guess... it seems the more authentic type mexican foods I've tried I didnt like as much..... I guess because I've gotten used to tex mex....


I got jumped all over the other day though for insulting the "tex mex" here in nashville.. being from texas doesn't give me the right to know what good tex mex is say the northerners

 

This travels away from Mexican vs. Tex-Mex to Tex-Mex vs. Crap.

I've been telling hicks here that the 'Mexican' food (which is unsanitary and disgusting) is not real (No offense, really). I know there's a great difference from real Mexican to Tex-Mex, but Tex-Mex sells.

The **** here sells a lot too. And it's just that. It's ****.

But yeah, enjoy the City.

 

If the "northerners" feel insulted, then they should actually come up with some good Tex-Mex for a change. If they have, I sure don't know where it is. For this reason alone, I don't think I'll ever live in Tennessee again.

Not sure if I've ever had "Mex" Mex, though some places are less Texanized than others. It sounds like it would be good (assuming you find a clean place to eat it). On the other hand, Tex-Mex has its own special place in the world. You've got to like cheddar cheese enchiladas with chili on top. (vegetarians - ummm, imagine veggie chili)

Then there are those other variations, such as Cali-Mex, its close relative Arizona-Mex, and my personal favorite, New-Mex. When they ask you, "Red or green?", you're in the right place.

 

I absolutely love the "mexican" food as it is served in Houston. The Casa on 1960 @ Kyukendahl is my all time favorite.

I lived in New Mexico for 4 years and I must say that New Mexican- Mexican is completlely different than Tex-Mex. At first it was a complete shock that I could not get a cheese echilada with damn cheese or chili poured on top of it. Whenever I had to make a trip into Lubbock or Amarillo, stopping at a Mexican place was alway a priority.

Ya see, in New Mexican-Mexican, everything is covered in Green Chili's. It is fire hot Green Chili. Burn your mouth Green Chili. Or you could get "red sauce", which tasted like tooth paste to me.

So the whole time I lived there, I always had fajitas.

 

isabel.... I should clarify the "northerners" as being actual students from new york etc not necessarily tennesseans... so I guess those new yorkers wouldn't know what good tex mex is...I dont know what part you lived in but there are a few places in nashville who actually have texas city names in their titles and I don't think any texan would make such a food lol.... May 2006 done with Vanderbilt and back to texas.... And I like you shall never return to this state!

 

Best mexican food I've eaten is made by my grandma. Nobody can make them tamales and tortillas like her!

 

It's not even close, and it never has been.

Tex Mex rocks. Mexican food is greasy, greasy, greasy, lacking the crispness of Tex Mex. Mexican food is kind of blah compared to Tex Mex.

Ninfa's and Pappasitos are two of the best.

In Austin, you have to go to Chuy's and El Rancho.

And while you're on it, Houston is the best place to get seafood, too. Forget Louisiana, hard to beat Pappadeuxs and Goode Company.

 

I'm from the Memphis area - we usually considered Nashville our rival city. In terms of Tex-Mex, I didn't grow up with it so I didn't miss it then, but I sure would now. At the present time, I'm pretty sure there is not a decent place to get Tex-Mex in the whole Memphis area. (Other than that, there are great things to eat there, especially catfish and pulled pork BBQ.)

Talking about "northerners" - I'm not surprised. When I visited Vanderbilt, only a small fraction of students were in-state. The campus visit was pretty funny - I'd only applied there because the guidance counselors always tell you to apply to six schools, and somehow I got picked for this scholarship. So they brought us down there and had the previous years' scholarship winners impress us by starting food fights in a restaurant, pressuring us to play drinking games at their apartment, and getting pulled over for speeding after they had alcohol in their systems. Another thing I noticed about this group was: if they weren't drinking, they didn't know how to have any fun. None of them were really my type, except for one girl who said that "every time I meet someone at this visitation weekend, they end up going to Rice instead." And I was thinking, "guess what, that's about to happen again." Which is how I got to Texas. I didn't want to stay that close to home anyway.

 

I couldn't believe it, but Los Angels has the worst Mexion food.

Even their salsa is on the charts.

 

Tex Mex is SOOOOO much better, it's not even close.

 

I have to agree with you. Mexican Food in Los Angeles is covered in melted Monterrey Jack cheese and avocados. The one "Tex-Mex" place in the area, Marix (on the beach) makes wonderful margaritas but has absolutely disgusting food.

 

I prefer Tex-Mex. Authentic Mexican meat scares me...

 

They're vastly different, but equally good. You also have to understand that there's no such thing as authentic "Mexican" food. Each region has it's own unique culinary influences & styles.

Just got back from a weekend in the Valley, had dinner in Mexico 3 times. I'd highly recommend Arturo's in Nuevo Progresso if anyone's ever in the area.

The seafood in Mexico is absolutely amazing.

SJC...you ate at an airport restaurant & were dissapointed in the food? No ****! That's like b****ing about a Stop & Go hotdog, whaddya expect? Mexico City is one of the best restaurant towns I've ever been in.

 

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Amen.

 

well ever since i got a mexican girlfriend i've started liking authentic stuff more...but i still like tex mex the best.

 

SJC - you thought it was an innocent question.

Here is Robb Walsh's SIX-PART series on Tex-Mex:

http://www.houstonpress.com/special/texmex.html

There will be a quiz when you finish reading ....