# Mexican TV dinners **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 29, 2011, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexican-tv-dinners/587278 "2011-06-29T16:47:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexican-tv-dinners/587278/21 "2011-06-30T01:45:59Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Yes, but I’m looking for cheap TV dinners to eat at work while I pay off my ex, and while $2.00 TV dinners at Kroger pretty much fellate with great allacrity, I actually _liked_ the Patio stuff. 🙂 Those Trader Joe’s black bean & corn enchiladas are only $1.99 (for two), and that’s frequently my lunch at work. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexican-tv-dinners/587278/22 "2011-06-30T03:56:05Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > Those Trader Joe’s black bean & corn enchiladas are only $1.99 (for two), and that’s frequently my lunch at work. I…MUST…have… **MEAT!** However circumspect. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexican-tv-dinners/587278/23 "2011-06-30T04:09:13Z")
The Don Miguel El Charrito dinners are just…amazing. I live in Mexico…I mean, SoCal, just north of the border…anyway, my sweetie got these just for giggles a couple of times, and holy shit…they smell awesome, and taste embarassingly good for cheap, frozen mexican-style food. The sauces are amazing, and the red ones taste like they have a mole base or something. Damn good for cheap stuff! Now we get them on purpose; we just don’t tell his family we’re eating them. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexican-tv-dinners/587278/24 "2011-06-30T04:20:04Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I…MUST…have… **MEAT!** Gotcha. I should have taken your user name more seriously. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexican-tv-dinners/587278/25 "2011-06-30T08:06:49Z")
When I was growing up, my mother considered Jack in the Box and Taco Bell tacos to be exotic (and authentic) Mexican foods. I’m sure that there were Mexican restaurants here in Fort Worth. I’m also sure that my parents would never set foot in a neighborhood that had a Mexican restaurant back then. But things change. Nowadays there are Taco Cabanas in just about every part of the city, and they’re open 24/7. Personally, I don’t LIKE Taco Cabana, but the food in that chain is much more authentic and much tastier than Mexican style TV dinners. So, probably the availability of Mexican restaurants in general has lowered the desire of the average consumer to have a TV dinner of bad Mexican food. It’s been a while since I looked at the TV dinner section of the grocery…I do recall a few dinners that were Mexican style, but a lot of the things that I grew up eating are nowhere to be found. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexican-tv-dinners/587278/26 "2011-06-30T08:14:16Z")
Eating a Patio burrito right now! ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexican-tv-dinners/587278/27 "2011-06-30T11:26:12Z")
> [@CitizenPained](#): > > Eating a Patio burrito right now! I hate you. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![stegon66](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@stegon66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stegon66)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexican-tv-dinners/587278/28 "2011-06-30T11:42:53Z")
Not actually a dinner but Delimex frozen beef tamales are surprisingly good. A good substitute for my grandmother’s tamales, now that she’s not around to make them. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexican-tv-dinners/587278/29 "2011-06-30T16:02:31Z")
Here in Toronto you can get great ethnic food from virtually anywhere on earth, except Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![redtail23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3e96dc/32.png) [@redtail23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/redtail23)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexican-tv-dinners/587278/30 "2011-06-30T16:36:30Z")
Note to self: never move to Toronto. I realized some years back that I can’t live without Mexican food. Yeah, we’ve got Taco Cabana, which is the best Mex-style fast-food I’ve seen outside of California. Except now we’ve even got taco trucks, which rule! And I can get umpteen flavors of Mex at restaurants, ranging from mediocre Tex-Mex to Santa Fe Mex to excellent actual south-of-the-border food. And I make enchiladas and tamales and guisada and such all the time. But sometimes, when it’s late and I’m really tired and just need to eat…a TV dinner is the way to go. We don’t have TJ. I’ll have to check out Amy’s, never tried them. I’ll see how they compare to El Charrito. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexican-tv-dinners/587278/31 "2011-06-30T16:49:47Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > Amy’s cheese enchiladas are quite good, even if they are priced at nearly 2x the cost of similar frozen brands… I had an Amy’s enchilada for lunch. Despite it being veggie and having corn in the rice, it was good. As you posted, it doesn’t meet my criteria for helping to pay of the ex, but thanks! ---
**Author:** ![emmaliminal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexican-tv-dinners/587278/32 "2011-06-30T17:09:29Z")
> [@redtail23](#): > > … I’ll have to check out Amy’s, never tried them. I’ll see how they compare to El Charrito. FYI, Amy’s is definitely hippie food above all else. Some of their things are really really good – their [veggie pot pies](http://www.amys.com/products/product-detail/pot-pies/000020) and [pockets](http://www.amys.com/products/product-detail/pocket-sandwiches/000095) (the regular ones, not the [vegan](http://www.amys.com/products/product-detail/pot-pies/000026) ones) are honestly delicious and worth seeking out, as are the [cheese enchiladas](http://www.amys.com/products/product-detail/whole-meals/000057) I mentioned above, and I prefer their [pasta](http://www.amys.com/products/product-detail/bowls/000176) [bowls](http://www.amys.com/products/product-detail/bowls/000165) to any other brand I’ve tried – and others are, um, probably really good for you. Their [Indian](http://www.amys.com/products/product-categories/indian-meals) things are just OK. If you can find their [apple pies](http://www.amys.com/products/product-detail/desserts/000031), they’re GREAT – generally speaking, their regular (not vegan) whole-wheat crust is just weirdly tasty for a healthy or frozen food. ---
**Author:** ![Robertttt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f14d63/32.png) [@Robertttt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robertttt)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexican-tv-dinners/587278/33 "2014-04-13T23:30:47Z")
My all-time favorite was Cafe Mexico’s El Presidente t.v. dinner. Does anyone remember these yummy, large dinners, from the early eighties? I’d love to have a picture of the box… ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexican-tv-dinners/587278/34 "2014-04-13T23:59:14Z")
It’s not a full meal, but the Herdez beef barbacoa was pretty good, tasty enough that I purchased it on a subsequent trip to the grocery store. I tried another Herdez offering as well, but it wasn’t memorable enough to warrant repeating. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexican-tv-dinners/587278/35 "2014-04-14T00:59:40Z")
Ummm, _zombie_ dinners!😃 ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexican-tv-dinners/587278/36 "2014-04-14T02:24:39Z")
Stouffer’s Chicken enchiladas are great. Unfortunately, if you like spicy food (like me) you have to add habaneros or jalapenos to it to make it even better. And sour cream ---
**Author:** ![jimbuff314](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c57346/32.png) [@jimbuff314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimbuff314)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexican-tv-dinners/587278/37 "2014-04-14T02:28:20Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > Stouffer’s Chicken enchiladas are great. Unfortunately, if you like spicy food (like me) you have to add habaneros or jalapenos to it to make it even better. And sour cream I dunno if it’s just me, it seems as though everything I’ve ever gotten by Stouffers was very bland. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexican-tv-dinners/587278/38 "2014-04-14T03:41:11Z")
As long as the thread has been revived: I was shopping in Walmart a couple of days ago. I remember they used to have a selection of Don Miguel Mexican TV dinners. You could pick between about five different varieties. But now they only have one variety. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexican-tv-dinners/587278/39 "2014-04-14T08:07:42Z")
In my experience, Mexican TV dinners as a rule are edible, but they’re far too bland, as if designed for the palate of a Wisconsonite Lutheran who thinks yellow mustard is “spicy”. That being said, I’ll occasionally buy a Hungry Man Mexican dinner if I don’t feel like cooking or stopping at Memo’s (best Mexican food in the PNW) on my way home from work. ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexican-tv-dinners/587278/40 "2014-04-14T16:18:20Z")
> [@emmaliminal](#): > > FYI, Amy’s is definitely hippie food above all else. Some of their things are really really good – their [veggie pot pies](http://www.amys.com/products/product-detail/pot-pies/000020) and [pockets](http://www.amys.com/products/product-detail/pocket-sandwiches/000095) (the regular ones, not the [vegan](http://www.amys.com/products/product-detail/pot-pies/000026) ones) are honestly delicious and worth seeking out, as are the [cheese enchiladas](http://www.amys.com/products/product-detail/whole-meals/000057) I mentioned above, and I prefer their [pasta](http://www.amys.com/products/product-detail/bowls/000176) [bowls](http://www.amys.com/products/product-detail/bowls/000165) to any other brand I’ve tried – and others are, um, probably really good for you. Their [Indian](http://www.amys.com/products/product-categories/indian-meals) things are just OK. If you can find their [apple pies](http://www.amys.com/products/product-detail/desserts/000031), they’re GREAT – generally speaking, their regular (not vegan) whole-wheat crust is just weirdly tasty for a healthy or frozen food. I’m partial to Amy’s tamales, with a few dashes of hot sauce. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexican-tv-dinners/587278.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexican-tv-dinners/587278.md?page=3)