Anyone somebody brings up the topic of Mexican restaurants everyone seems to say the “real” or “authentic” or “good” stuff can only be found in places like California and Texas.
Why?
It’s not like other parts of the country don’t have significant Mexican communities or access to particular ingredients. So why doesn’t one of these “authentic” places just repeat it’s design elsewhere?
Or is the supposed authenticity of these places overrated and you actually can find great Mexican food in other cities across the country?
You can.
There was a very good Mexican restaurant in Maryland (The Alamo, in Hyattsville) - at least as good as some of the restaurants out here. The key is avoiding “chains” - they mostly have miserable Mexican food.
Come to Chicago. We’ve got amazing authentic Mexican food. Whether you want Oaxacan tamales or cochinita pibil, carnitas and nopales, ceviche de pulpo, camarones, or pescado, al pastor as good as anything I’ve ever had. Then there’s Sol De Mexico which has an incredible rotating lineup of moles whether you like plain mole with chicken or mole negro, verde or chiles en nogada at Thanksgiving.
Then there’s the mind blowing carne en su jugo at Birreria De La Torre. This specialty soup from Jalisco is one of my most favorite dishes of all time.
OK now I’m hungry:) Think I’ll go for some huevos ranchero.
This is mostly the case. The vast majority of Mexican places in the Southwest are very good, while a majority of Mexican places in the rest of the country may not be very good. But if you search around, you can find good Mexican places almost anywhere. The difference is that in Phoenix, you can assume any given Mexican place is pretty good, while you can’t do that in Fargo.
That said, many Mexican places in the northern Midwest severely restrict their use of spices because the local cuisine doesn’t include much hot food and many of the natives aren’t used to it. You can usually get it spicier if you ask in Spanish, though, so there is a reasonable workaround.
There are a couple of good places in Philly now, which was not the case when I moved back here in '87. Senora’s in West Chester is excellent for simple/cheap, as is Cafe Adobe in Roxborough, which is more upscale. I’m not particularly a fan of Johnny Manana’s in East Falls, though since it’s a five-minute walk from my house I’ve eaten there more than once.
I would dispute that you can even find the “real” or “authentic” or “good” stuff in California or Texas. Cal-Mex and Tex-Mex are not Mexican.
You might as well’ve titled this thread, “Tell me all about, and vigorously defend, the quality of Mexican food outside the Southwest”.
[rant]Why do people conflate “authentic” with “good”? I had some crap Mexican food in Mexico, as well as some sublime stuff. Chinese, even more so. Sorry, chicken feet soup may be “authentic”, but that doesn’t mean it will please my Western palate.[/rant]
Anyhoo…yeah, what **MikeG **said. There’s some hella good Mexican food in Chicago, from little corner taquerías to five star gourmet cuisine. But actually, the BEST Mexican food I’ve ever had was in some small town near French Lick, IN. It kills me that I can’t remember where!
I disagree with the assertion in the title. Of course you can get good Mexican food outside the Southwest…including in Mexico! 
This.
Authentic doesn’t automatically make it good. You can get authentic American cuisine all across the US, but it’s not all good. I’ve had very good Mexican food made by Anglo-Americans and very bad Mexican food in Mexico itself and every other possible combination in between. Not all Mexicans are good cooks, not all Anglo-Americans are bad at making Mexican food.
And FWIW, the best Mexican food I’ve ever eaten has all come from the Southeast. 
Try the southeast! of England. Come to London, Wahaca is great, it even has that manky fungus corn stuff that I can’t spell but love throwing down my neck. And pickled fish and olive nibbles that are weird and wonderful.
I admit though that that may be a little far.
Availability of decent stuff seems to be steadily improving. ~20 years ago my folks moved from California to the NYC area and good Mexican was nowhere to be found. They couldn’t even find corn tortillas in the local supermarkets. By the time they moved back ~5 years ago, all this had changed. The overall American diet seems to be becoming more cosmopolitan in a broad sense, even away from the coasts.
Since the OP is about food, let’s move from IMHO to Cafe Society.
samclem Moderator
I was spoiled in L.A. Up here, it’s difficult to find good Mexican food. My tiny seaside village doesn’t have many restaurants. (Four, I think.) But one of them is a Mexican place. I’ve been jonzin’ for Mexican food, but I don’t go there. The food is… OK, I guess. Not great, but it won’t kill you. It’s expensive, though. There’s a place called Diego’s in Bellingham that I thought was pretty good. It’s a long drive from here though, so it’s been years since I’ve been to it.
Friday I went to Mama’s in Belltown and bought a taco plate. Shredded beef, fried corn tortillas, and… guacamole. Ar? 
OK, I like guacamole. Love it. But it was unexpected. I miss Tito’s Tacos in Culver City. They don’t have the best Mexican food, but it’s cheap and addictive. Better than any taco stand I’ve come across up here.
Somewhere out in the culinary wasteland that is the mid-west, there is a small cafe that sells both excellent Mexican food (outside the southwest) and delectable pizza (outside New York).
Eventually, they will get the idea to add *Mexican pizza * to their menu. Eventually, someone will order that pizza.
On that day, the mass of the Higgs-Boson will be calculated, and the Earth will shrink to the size of a pea. But it will be a very good meal.
Pretty sad that they had to name it phonetically, instead of calling it Oaxaca.
yep, ‘Mexican’ food in actually, you know, Mexico is not hot or spicy. It mostly consists of chicken (if you are lucky) beans and rice, and lots of fresh veggies and fruit.
TexMex is another thing.
I’ve eaten a lot of Mexican food in Texas so I know what the quality of the food is there.
And I’ve eaten a lot of Mexican food in NY’s Hudson Valley region which has a large Mexican community. The Mexican food there is as good as the food in Texas.
But that is a silly point of view, we anglicise many words. Nothing special about that one.
No different to saying a restaurant is Cantonese or Szechuan.
Easier to say for English speakers that’s all.
I’ve always read that Mexican isn’t very widespread outside Mexico and the US. How many Mexican places do you know of in your area?