No pan dulce for you
I’ve shared one meal with Andrea Harris, and no, we didn’t go out for something Mexican:
I don’t see what the big deal is about Mexican food. Just about everyone I know is obsessed with the stuff. “What’ll we eat tonight?” “Let’s go out for Mexican!” Said with the gleaming eyes of fanatics. And then we end up [at] some Fake-Mex place like Chili’s. But like I said, I’ve eaten the more authentic cuisine (when I lived in Miami there was the little place in Little Havana, of all neighborhoods, which was owned and run by Mexicans from Mexico, stocked with Mexican sodas and all kinds of things, where the food was the real stuff; and it was good too — all at a little hole-in-the-wall place). But I don’t see what’s so special about it. It’s basically the same heavy peasant fare that people eat the world over — meat, rice, beans — tarted up with hot chilis. I think that’s the draw, the hot chilis: apparently capsaicin is addictive, you build up a resistance to it like to any drug and you need more and more to fulfill your cravings. Also it increases endorphins, just like heroin. But it tastes better than sprinkling heroin on your food.
This is why God in His wisdom gives us ulcers: to get us to lay off the jalapeños, fercrissake.
In this part of the country, anyway, you’re either going to encounter some form of Tex-Mex in a comparatively-sanitary form or something closer to the Real Enchilada in a shadier configuration.
And then there’s Taco Bell, which, says Andrea, is “about as Mexican as apple pie.” Not that you’d care at 1:50 am.
hatless in hattiesburg »
26 November 2008 · 11:26 am
DFW has a pretty good range of Mexican food, from the blandly inauthentic to the “you want flies with that?” taqueria trailers. I usually keep towards the middle of that bell curve. And while I know that Tacos of Bell, Bueno, and Villa, aren’t “authentic”, at least their (refillable!) beverages are potable, unlike the festering jars of swill sold on the streets of Juarez.
McGehee »
26 November 2008 · 12:17 pm
There are enough genuine Mexican places in Coweta County that if we want to go to Chili’s or Taco Mac it’s not for “Mexican.”
Depending on what exactly we want, how long since we’ve been to which, and whether we have a valid coupon, our favorites are all more or less local mini-chains, usually based one or two counties over from us and with owners at least as Mexican as the servers.
Jeffro »
26 November 2008 · 2:44 pm
That looks like something other than Ted’s to try next time I’m in town. Not that anything is wrong with Ted’s – just different.
Flack »
26 November 2008 · 2:54 pm
I used to think that the sign of a good Mexican restaurant was that it had Mexican people working there; now, I look to see if Mexican people are EATING there. That seems to be a pretty safe litmus test.
Anyone who thinks Chili’s is real Mexican food also probably thinks their buffalo wings come from buffalo. If you’re in OKC skip the Bell/Bueno/Mayo stuff and head on over to San Marcos (4024 N. May), Cocina De Mino (4 locations, http://www.cocinademino.com), Los Vaqueros (Mustang or Moore), Alfredo’s Mexican Cafe (Yukon/Moore/Weatherford/etc), Poquito de Mexico (Main Street, Yukon), Nino’s, Chelino’s, Abuelo’s, or good-if-you-can-stand-the-wait Ted’s Escondido.
If you get really brave, take I-44 to SW 29th, exit, and go east. A word of caution, as the food gets more authentic the less English you’ll see on the store signs …
CGHill »
26 November 2008 · 3:07 pm
I like Ted’s, but its colossal reputation has been hard to justify of late.
Flack »
26 November 2008 · 10:15 pm
Ted’s is a lot like Outback Steakhouse for me — it’s good, and maybe slightly better than the competition, but not “better enough” to justify the wait. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some Outback steak, but when I hear “45 minute wait” I immediately begin doing the math — I could leave here, go to Kona (or any of the Meridian steak houses), order a steak and be eating in less than 45 minutes. Ted’s is the same — again, their food is wonderful, but when push comes to shove, free cheese is free cheese.
Flack »
26 November 2008 · 10:16 pm
PS: If you’ve not been to any of the others I suggested, I’ll gladly put my pesos where my mouth (and gut) are — just say the word and dinner’s on me. (And most likely, it will be — damned if I don’t go home wearing cheese almost every time …)
Jeffro »
26 November 2008 · 10:19 pm
Heh – at least at Ted’s you get to see the tortillas made while you wait. That right there is pure entertainment. ;>)