I’ve had plenty of tex-mex here in the California Bay Area.
A bit further from home, I patronized this restaurant in Alajuela, Costa Rica, though I think the owners were Brooklyn ex-pats.
New Mexican food is its own thing. I’ve never had Tex-Mex in Texas. I always thought it was a kind of made up cuisine they used outside of Texas to describe places that had both enchiladas and chili. I am in Texas right now and there are no Tex-Mex places around here that I am aware of.
Put me down for another vote that “Tex-Mex” is basically “America’s version of Mexican food”. I’ve had actual Mexican food in Mexico, and it’s really not as good.
Maybe not in Houston, but further inland, unless the place specializes in seafood, you can expect your fish choices to be limited to shrimp, catfish, and tilapia.
We’ve got a few Tex Mex franchises over here in Paris, yes, but they’re not ultra-popular. You’ll find 25 sushi bars and 99 kebab places for a tex-mex joint :).
They’re generally stereotypical, too - burritos, tacos, chili rice-and-beans, tortilla chips and guacamole. That’s about it for the Mex part. The Tex half is generally American-style beef cuts (we don’t cut our steaks the same way, and we cut along the ribs rather than across them) drowned in BBQ sauce, and homemade burgers.
Which is not to say they’re bad places to eat - some are decent, and a few are downright excellent. It’s just that the menu is seldom very original or extensive.
Robb Walsh, food writer at the Houston Press, has written a book or two about Tex-Mex. The first was (mostly) previewed in the Press. Here’s the first part.
He knows a lot about Tex-Mex & writes well.
It’s not a “pure” cuisine. Many “Mexican” restaurants here in Houston would probably be considered Tex-Mex; some of them revel in the name. A couple of places offer that Interior Mexican Food mentioned above; Diana Kennedy didn’t even like the meat-heavy food of Northern Mexico, which is heavily influential here. We also have many places run by & for recent immigrants–but they’ll gladly serve anybody!
New Mexico, Arizona & California have their own versions of Mexican-style food. But Californian burritos & fish tacos have caught on here.
I’m no expert, but I live in Texas and eat at a lot of Mexican restaurants, preferably the ones which are run by an authentic Mexican family. If a restaurant puts shredded orange or orange and white cheese on its beans by default, if it sells fajitas, if it has a combo platter consisting of a cheese enchilada, taco, and rice and beans, if the default beans are pinto, then it’s probably Tex Mex. One of the primary indicators of whether the food is Tex Mex is whether or not a lot of the foods have cheese as an ingredient, especially American or Cheddar cheese. True Mexican food doesn’t have as much cheese, if any at all, and Mexican cheese tends to be white.
If at all possible, I’ll go to a Mexican restaurant where many of the customers speak Spanish, whether or not they can speak English. I will avoid chain restaurants (Mexican and non Mexican alike).
I used to go to Albuquerque frequently on business, but no more. Is ther any good New Mexico style Mexican in the Boston area? mmm…green chile, pozole, spaipillas…I’m hungry!
Wow - 27 posts until we get actual menu items to define what Tex-Mex is.
Uh, hello? Post #10?
You defined it by what it isn’t (queso is not shredded cheese), not by what it is. And even so - are you saying that ANY restaurant that serves non-shredded cheese queso is Tex-Mex?
In my experience, yes.
Chili con queso= Tex-mex restaurant (or, at least, a restaurant that serves Tex-mex).
A side of cheese= Mexican restaurant (or some other type of restaurant, but they usually won’t know what “queso” means unless you’ve got a Mexican waiter).
Atlanta is blanketed with Tex-Mex restaurants
I can get “queso” at TGIFriday’s and nearly every single bar and grill in Indianapolis. I think the presence of queso is an inadequate determinate of being a Tex-Mex restaurant.
Don’t know about anybody else, but Tex-Mex is what I’ll eat. Mexican…not so much.
A real Tex-Mex restaurant will have chimichangas on the menu.
Tex-Mex wont have Huitlacoche on the menu.
Ever.
It’s all good to me, although 9 times out of 10, I’ll choose regional Mexican (particularly Yucatecan and Oaxacan) over Tex-Mex. I find Tex-Mex to be a little too beef-centric and not as varied as other Mexican cuisines, overall.
Okay - if this is true, then every mexican restaurant in the midwest is Tex-Mex. I’m not disputing this - because it’s impossible to find something near-authentic around here. Everything is chimichangas, burritos, and bad chili rellenos (which are never ordered, because midwesterners are afraid of them).
That’s the one. They changed their name.
The presence of tilapia on the menu is, in all likelihood, economic necessity to satisfy fish lovers. Tilapia’s cheap, thoguh it sounds fancy.
An important factor is, I think, the quality of the tortillas. Lone Star, for instance, makes their tortillas on site and serves them fresh and piping hot.
I like both Tex Mex and Mexican cuisines. Depends what I’m in the mood for.