Best Mexican food in your town

[EastTennesseeDem]

Nashville: I am torn. Today I had lunch at Tacos y Mariscos Lopez, which is the best taco stand I've been to east of the Grand Canyon (but of course, I haven't been to every one of them). But I gotta give the slight edge to Rosario's out at Villa Pl. I'll admit that it sacrifices a tiny bit of authenticity, but all in the name of quality.

You?

[taterguy]

1. Bad Bean Tacqueria

Well, it would be if I lived in Corolla NC

Nothing like soft-shelled crab tacos, that could have been caught in the adjoining sound a day before

[bigwillq]

2. Fresh Taco

In New Haven, CT is really good!

[Kali]

3. the closest town has three stop lights and three Mexican places

plus all the others have Mexican on their menus, but I'd say it was a toss-up and would depend on what you wanted to have. Ruiz's or the 86 Cafe.

[InternalDialogue]

4. Taqueria Patzcuaro or El Taco de Mexico.

I'll go at the drop of a hat to either one.

[mulsh]

5. El Hurache Azteca on Internationa (E14th)

it features Mexico City style food, it's out standing. across the street and down a block is Marisco's which is sort of like a bricks & mortar taco truck. excellent seafood and tripe for your hangover.
The best advice for finding a good Mexican restaurant comes from my late little brother and John Madden also uses this method." first follow the smell and if you end up at a store with a restaurant in the back you've found the best Mexican place in town."

If people have to think about Oakland,CA the mostly think about the crime and violence but we're actually fairly civilized and we have lots of excellent restaurants.

[Binka]

28. Viva Oakland! City Of My Birth. Love Love Love The Oaktown!

Live in sterile Sonoma Co now but El Hurache rocks!

[Zomby Woof]

6. Manuel's in East L.A.

In the South Bay:

Las Palmas, Arturo's, Burnt Tortilla, and Taco Sinaloa #3, just to name a few.

[soleiri]

38. I haven't been there in years

ooh the chips and guacamole yummm.
I don't remember how the food tastes, I'll have to make a trip back one of these days.

[Zomby Woof]

53. I think you're due

Go on, give your taste buds a memory kick. :-)

[theNotoriousP.I.G.]

7. I live in Germany

It's in my own fucking kitchen! Went to a "Mexican" restaurant and ordered "Nachos." Got a plate of cold chips with melted Swiss cheese. Ah what? No thanks.

[Kali]

47. you can't really get nachos in Mexico either

:rofl:

maybe in the "resort" towns, but I've never seen them, getting crispy tacos is not real common either

[Roon]

8. Taco Jalisco on 38th and Tennyson

Their shredded beef, smothered buritto is to die for and it's only something like 5-6 bucks to go! Oh!!! I am ordering next time I get my check!!!

[InternalDialogue]

15. Mmm. Gonna have to try that.

[Roon]

44. Oh, it's good

The Cab drivers and the Cops all know that this is the best mexican food on this side of town.

[LostInAnomie]

9. Los Aztecas

Best sauces I've had locally.

[arbusto_baboso]

10. I'm in SoCal, so I'm within 10 minutes of a half-dozen top-notch Mexican eateries.

All of which would blow away most of the stuff available in the rest of the country (and I include Texas and New Mexico in that statement).

[Tektonik]

11. baja food >>> tex-mex

[Zomby Woof]

12. Word

:thumbsup:

[EastTennesseeDem]

13. You guys are at a huge advantage here.

I've been to Cali, and I agree, it's just not the same elsewhere.

[arbusto_baboso]

16. There are reasons why we tolerate the earthquakes and crumbling economy.

The Mexican food and the weather are pretty much why.

[Zomby Woof]

17. Every region has its strengths and weaknesses

For example, good pizza is hard to find in L.A. Took a lot of searching, but Niccolo's in San Pedro is outstanding. Just as well - like I need to eat pizza every day, lol. :-)

[hellbound-liberal]

22. I used to love going to The Baja Cantina in Venice

I used to get Forty Miles of Bad Road and an ice cold beer. Good times!

[martymar64]

23. You should try Paco's in Culver City

Washington and Centinela. It rocks.

[rucky]

27. I always ended up at Tito's when I was in that part of town.

not the most authentic, but what an operation!

[Duer 157099]

29. I miss El Abajeno in Culver City

That and, of course, Titos, just out of nostalgia.

There's no place like So Cal for Mexican food. Well except probably Mexico.

[martymar64]

36. I hear ya on SoCal Mexican

I even miss the roach coaches with the Carne Asada burritos loaded down with Tapatio.
Here in Austin, the Mexican food is good but it's different. Every place here is into fajitas, and not a lick of carne asada to be found. Plus what they call queso here is mighty gross, Velveeta and salsa. Ugh!

[Tektonik]

14. I like the places that stay open all night here

Cotixan and Roberto's are nearest.

[Moondog]

18. El Ranchito. Hands down.

[Metta]

19. Pittsburgh and surrounding areas - there is none, as far as I know.

Everything's iceberg lettuce and covered in too much cheese.

[XemaSab]

20. Taqueria los Gordos

There are two locations, and both of them are usually half filled with Mexicans and half filled with cops.

Good times. :D

[mvd]

21. Tortugas

Really the only authentic Mexican restaurant in the immediate area, but it's excellent.

[soleiri]

24. too many to mention

And I don't know their names.
little hole in the wall places next to grocery stores.
2 things make for really good Mexican restaurants.
1. They must make their own tortillas, if I can do it, so can they.
2. Use authentic Mexican cheeses. Come on!


If not, I'll make it myself.

[rucky]

25. Small town - Ohio:

Taco truck run by a family that makes great tamales on the weekends. It's the closest I can get to my years in L.A.

Of course, I grew up in New Mexico, and that's an entirely different ballgame. Mary & Tito's in ABQ has the best New Mexican food evah!

[abq e streeter]

37. I used to work for Tito's daughter

Camino Real de Ron y Marsha ( until the divorce , then Ron sin Marsha). So many great places in Albq ; most are technically New Mexican , vs. actual Mexican----but that said; Los Cuates, Richard's,Garcia's ( heading there momentarily), Ortega's,Sadie's( even though its not in the bowling alley anymore), Monroe's...haven't been to Las Mananitas in ages, but DUer Cybergata says its still great , and I trust her taste 100%. Still miss the Mexican Kitchen , L&V, and the M&J Sanitary Tortilla Factory..........and of course, being Albuquerque, there are probably 100 (at least) other places as good or better than the ones I mentioned ; it'd be a lifetime project to check em all out.

[yellowdogintexas]

26. Personal favorite: Mexico Real, just off Interstate 20 on McCart in Fort Worth

home of the best sour cream sauce I ever put in my mouth. Spinach enchiladas w/sour cream sauce are to die for there.

however there are about 8000 places to eat Mexican food around here and I haven't even come close to trying them all!

The most famous one is Joe T Garcia's but there are at least a dozen places I would rather eat than Joe T's. Not that their food is bad, just that the other places are better. It is however, long on ambience and fantastic on margaritas.

I also like Cabo Grande in Sundance Square, La Playa (all 3 locations) and Los Vaqueros on the Northside. Interestingly, Joe T's has a sister restaurant, Esperanza's, which I like much better than Joe T's. Oh yeah, also La Familia is good.

None of these are 'national chains'

[hobbit709]

30. There's about 2 dozen Mexican places within 10 minutes of my house

Ranging from respectable to dives. The little hole in the wall places usually have the tastier food.

[realisticphish]

31. Cazuela's

Columbus, OH

Nice little place in the campus area. Great margaritas, and great food

[tigereye]

32. Taco Loco, and a little hole in the wall place in Oakland near the University

of Pittsburgh. Or so I am told.

[many a good man]

33. Chipotle

Now ask about Peruvian food and that's a whole different story!

[blueamy66]

34. Carolina's

in PHX

Los Dos Molinos is quite good, as well as Rosa's in Mesa.

[begin_within]

35. The best fish tacos in the U.S. are served at a beachside bar in San Diego

South Beach Bar and Grille, in the "hippie" neighborhood of Ocean Beach, in San Diego. Right next to the beach - literally only a few yards from the sand, with long windows you can watch the sunset from. Very crowded and deservedly so especially during the happy hour when the prices drop to about half the regular menu prices. I never liked fish tacos until I went there. The fish is absolutely fresh and high quality, and the tacos are very moist and virtually melt in your mouth. An unlikely location for nationally-recognized food, but there it is.

http://southbeachob.com/inside.shtml?Menu

For Mexican food in general, probably the Old Town Mexican Cafe in the Old Town section of San Diego. They make the tortillas right there and I could just eat the tortillas alone - warm and soft with butter on them, the tortillas practically melt in your mouth. Plus a full, comprehensive menu. The only drawback is that Bob Dole ate there during the 1996 Republican convention. I don't blame him though.

http://www.oldtownmexcafe.com/menu.html

[MajorChode]

41. I always thought "fish tacos" was a euphemism for a sex thing

[begin_within]

50. oh

ok

[timtom]

39. Does anyone remember Casita Jorge's

in Austin in the 70's?

[Paladin]

40. As Far As I'm Concerned, Denver Doesn't Have Any Really Good Mexican Food.

Some of it's all right (once you get thru all the green chile sauce), but it doesn't hold a candle to what was available to me in Texas. Pappasitos, where the hell are you? You'd make a killing up here, just off of homesick Texans like me........

[Brigid]

42. Real Hacienda

For a Mexican restaurant in small-town Indiana, it's pretty good. :)

[MineralMan]

43. Saint Paul, MN....

You'd think it would be a wasteland, but there's a Mexican Grocery Store and restaurant called El Burrito Mercado in Saint Paul, on (what else) Cesar Chavez Blvd. Outstanding stuff, served either cafeteria style or with table service.

Central Mexico style, but with stuff from both coasts if that's your preference. It's all there...it's all authentic...and it really helps if you speak Spanish, although you can still get served if you don't.

Their Tacos al Pastor are wonderful, as are all their guisados, which can be served several ways. Good homemade tamales, too, and you can buy them to take home and steam.

The market's great, too, with authentic stuff from Mexico, Honduras, and even some South American goodies. The butcher section is excellent, too.

There are several other spots on the same street, but El Burrito Mercado is the class of the city.

I was blown away! As an old California guy, it was wonderful to find.

http://www.elburritomercado.com/

[MajorChode]

45. Tex-Mex rules and I'm truly sorry if you live somewhere else

Small places that look like somewhere you'd get killed are the tops. It's hard to nail down any one place as the "best". I had some cabrito soup in Del Rio that I thought was pretty good, but I don't remember the name of the little dive. Camarones Diablo at El Mirador in San Antonio would definitely make my top 10 list. The Fajitas at Joe T. Garcia's in Fort Worth are not to be missed. You really don't have to go far, either. There are a couple of really nice places right in my town that serve great food.

[Brigid]

46. Lisa's in San Antonio, TX

Haven't been there in years. DUers in San Antonio, is it still there?

[leeroysphitz]

48. There hasn't been any real mexican food in Detroit since they closed down all the Chi Chi's...

http://www.abandonedbutnotforgotten.com/Chi-chi%27s%20Restaurant,%20Livonia,MI/1.jpg

[blue_onyx]

51. I drive by an old Chi Chi's all the time

It's a busy location so I'm surprised something hasn't moved in. One place I go for Mexican food is called Carlos. It's a small place in a strip mall. Their tacos are pretty tasty.

[Swede]

49. ee burritos

http://www.canadianimmigrant.ca/immigrantstories/moneybusiness/article/3431

[Hotler]

52. El Tepehuan, Englewood, Colorado

[av8rdave]

54. Baja Grill...no atmosphere, but great food & margaritas

[semillama]

55. Don Patron III in Columbus, OH

Just opened up last fall in our neighborhood, and I have to say it's the tastiest Mexican food I've had north of the border. Very savory, full of flavor, and not greasy at all. Their queso is really good too.

[MilesColtrane]

56. Dallas

Herrera's
Ojeda's
Mia's

And probably 10-15 small, family joints that I've never even heard of.