TexMex or Mexican?

If I were going to San Antonio Texas, this would be my first stop for Texmex or Mexican food. The author mentions carne asada which is so good and so very easy to make. By the way I tried to post a link but for some reason it would not work. But the article is from the "MY San Antonio LIFE". Some of these food items would do well at events.

To the casual observer -- and even to some locals, for that matter -- it must often seem that there's a Mexican restaurant on every street corner in San Antonio. Such is far from the case, of course, despite the prevalence of taquerias from the state of Jalisco.

But even on the once taco-free Northside, the spread of the Tex-Mex juggernaut seems both inevitable and natural. Most Mexican-based cuisine in San Antonio emanates from the border states; it's what residents grew up eating; and it has retained a degree of authenticity in the face of increasing, chain-style homogenization. Mexican restaurants in San Antonio remain, for the most part, family-run operations blissfully unaffected by corporate mandates. Let's hear it for Jalisco -- and Chihuahua, Nuevo Leon, Nayarit, Tamaulipas...

For many reasons -- longevity not the least of them -- the Cortez family has got to be recognized as the First Family of Mexican cuisine in San Antonio. Their two restaurants on Produce Row (and a third nearby) have long served as anchors to both the city's near Westside and to our collective idea of Mexican food. Mi Tierra, especially, manages to bridge the gap between fulfilling tourist expectations and satisfying local demands; its bakery is a cultural experience in its own right; and the strolling mariachis -- silver-belted and belting out gold standards -- conjure up images of Old Mexico available nowhere else.

The breakfast experience at Mi Tierra is especially rewarding (frequent lines for seating will testify to that) with offerings such as the traditional menudo with all the trimmings, machacado (shredded beef jerky) in an omelette with onions, tomatoes and chiles, the chilaquiles "famosas" (corn tortilla strips scrambled with eggs and topped with ranchero sauce) and, of course, the ranch-style breakfasts with beef or pork tips and eggs.

Lunch and dinner specialties begin with the likes of the chile relleno stuffed with spicy, ground beef, the carnitas de puerco (pork marinated in orange juice and spices), and the Monterrey Special of cabrito (baked kid goat).

Don't ignore the atmospheric bar, either; the tequila selection is exceptional, and the artifacts that adorn the walls will take you straight back to the border and the era of swaggering vaqueros and smiling señoritas.

Sibling La Margarita is the city's citadel of fajitas, but more than that, it also exhibits the seafood side of Mexican cuisine with appetizers such as the Campechana cocktail, a voluptuous creation of Gulf oysters and shrimp melded with a spicy cocktail sauce and pico de gallo. A ceviche of fresh fish marinated in lime juice and served with pico and avocado is another possibility, and so are oysters on the half shell, either fresh or baked with a typical, spicy sauce, topped with Monterey Jack and served with the ubiquitous pico de gallo.

Fried seafood is a dinner favorite as well, as are camarones al mojo de ajo, swimming in a sauce brimming with garlic. But grilled and griddled meats are also part of the restaurant's claim to fame. Try the charbroiled carne asada (an 8-oz. ribeye), the marinated and chargrilled pollo al carbon or the combination Parrillada Estilo La Margarita with its heaps of pollo, fajitas, baked ribs and country sausage and sides of queso flameado and papas fritas. A margarita would taste just fine right about now.

Jack

Know where to find a complete Tex Mex concession trailer. They have done well over the seasons. Have talked to them a couple of times. Tex Mex, Cal Mex are big time in some areas. the busiest restaurants here are Mexican and Asian next.
Love the article.
Now if I can only kick up my tamale production.

  I love good authentic Mexican Food and have lived in the southwestern U.S. for a very long time. For me, the best Texican restaurant is the Mill Restaurant in Pueblo, Colorado,  The best of the best. Wonderful rellenos, fresh tortilla chips and spicy cilantro laden salsa made fresh every day. Sopallias made to order served with honey and cinnamon sugar will be served piping hot after every meal with no charge! You can also order them to sop up your chile verde or rojo. This is tixican at it's finest IMHO!!!

David O.

If you really want to up your tamale production look into the Tamale King:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaB4YgHzZI0

I eat  in Mexico a few times a year, mostly street cart food from Goat tacos to  Shrimp ceviche, and fish tacos. The thing I see in texmex would be using better cuts of meat than they use in Mexico. many of the recipes used in Mexico are using the lesser cuts of beef, or using pork and goat. These ways of cooking came from the Ranch owner throwing the organ meat and lesser cuts of meat to the farm hands to cook...Texmex mixing the old and the new, in a good way..............Bill

I'm not sure this is pertinent or not but I have spent the last 5 weeks exiled to Plymouth in the southwest of England and whilst touring the quaint seaside town of Looe, I came across Pepe's Tex Mex restaurant (photos availabale on request since I can't figure out how to attach a jpg.) Unfortunately or fortunately (for me) it was not open that day. I was unfortunate to try the Mexican cuisine at Arriba's in Plymouth's city "centre". They would not know a refried bean if it bit them. Having said all that.. when I received my reprieve and came home I made a beeline for Dos Salsas in Georgetown and almost kissed the ground in front of the dorrway dontcha know.

I can't find  anything about Mexican food here. My sister--born in Socorro, NM, and whose mother was Hispanic--maintains that there is a huge difference between Tex-Mex, New Mexican, and true Mexican food items.

I would like to know more.

Does she now if fajitas go back to Mexico time-wise or were they "invented" in Texas for Americans?

Here is some basic information...
 
 http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodmexican.html

I have read that piece but I wonder if it is correct..a Mexican restaurant owner told me recently fajitas go way back in Mexican history..maybe he was referring to something similar that might go by a different name in Mexico?

Or maybe he was just bull****ting me?

I think Fajitas and more of a TexMex item. in Mexico they eat the meat in a tort, with raw toppings. serving with Radishes and great hot sauces...........

sorry duplicate post

Any time there is a claim about the where it all began or who was the first to serve this or food or that drink there is usually another claim that it was done shortly or even long before that original claim. When tracing back in a historical sense...it depends on the source and the research.
 
Sometimes it is not BS per se because these people might have been told by their relatives that many relatives or people in any given area before them were preparing these dishes. It  can  be hearsay charming fokelore or actual fact without any documetation as far as evidence.

Fortunately for me living in Dallas, we have both, wonderful Tex-Mex and real Mexican restaurants.

brisketboy


I'm not sure this is pertinent or not but I have spent the last 5 weeks exiled to Plymouth in the southwest of England and whilst touring the quaint seaside town of Looe, I came across Pepe's Tex Mex restaurant (photos availabale on request since I can't figure out how to attach a jpg.) Unfortunately or fortunately (for me) it was not open that day. I was unfortunate to try the Mexican cuisine at Arriba's in Plymouth's city "centre". They would not know a refried bean if it bit them. Having said all that.. when I received my reprieve and came home I made a beeline for Dos Salsas in Georgetown and almost kissed the ground in front of the dorrway dontcha know.

Twinwillow


Fortunately for me living in Dallas, we have both, wonderful Tex-Mex and real Mexican restaurants.

How do you tell one from another?