# What is "real" Mexican food? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 11, 2002, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-real-mexican-food/103049 "2002-04-11T16:47:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2002, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-real-mexican-food/103049/41 "2002-04-12T03:01:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by El Mariachi Loco \* > \*\*. > > - Barbacoa, roast goat (or dog if you’re in Tampico 😉 ) slow cooked in a deep pit. Consomé de barbacoa is the resultant fatty broth, with rice and garbanzo beans. > > \*\* Hmm…Acording to my Mexican friends(at least a couple of them Mexican nationals), Barbacoa is the head of a cow roasted in a pit. Thats what you get in the less americanized reseraunts and grocery stores around here too when you ask for Barbacoa(I have had the folk at the resturant try and talk me out of it before, because they didnt think I knew what it was). I wonder if its a regional thing…Course I am in Texas, but they’re from Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![Orual](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/779978/32.png) [@Orual](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orual)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2002, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-real-mexican-food/103049/42 "2002-04-12T03:11:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ShibbOleth \* > \*\*I did a quick Google, if Boston’s not too far away for you give this place a shot: > > [Taqueria LA Mexicana](http://boston.citysearch.com/profile/4751063/) > > I haven’t been to this place, so can’t give it a reco, but it sounds like a good start in your quest. Let us know what you think. \*\* _Looks outside. Observes Charles River across the street, Fenway Park down the block._ Nah. Boston’s not to far away. That place sounds ideally priced for the penniless college student! I’ll definitely try it the next time I’m out and about! ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2002, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-real-mexican-food/103049/43 "2002-04-12T03:47:45Z")
I’ve never had real luck with the “follow the Mexicans” method of choosing a Mexican restaurant; it may be because I’m semivegetarian. A lot of the Mexican restaurants I really like seem to be much more Mexicali: emphasis on avocados, fresh vegetables and the like. Ceviche, or raw fish marinated in lime juice, is absolutely fantastic, though. And some Mexican restaurants I’ve eaten at delight in using fruit in unusual ways (grilled fish burrito with rice and banana, for example). IS there any region of Mexico that emphasizes fruit in savory dishes, or do I just eat at restaurants with strange senses of humor? Daniel ---
**Author:** ![No\_Me\_Ayudes\_Compadre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/no_me_ayudes_compadre/32/5224_2.png) [@No\_Me\_Ayudes\_Compadre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Me_Ayudes_Compadre)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2002, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-real-mexican-food/103049/44 "2002-04-12T13:40:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bdgr \* > > Hmm…Acording to my Mexican friends(at least a couple of them Mexican nationals), Barbacoa is the head of a cow roasted in a pit. In Mexico City anyway, barbacoa is in the goat-sheep family. Cow head would be served as _tacos de cabeza_. When the taquero starts the day, you can definitely see it’s the side or belly of a smaller animal. ---
**Author:** ![No\_Me\_Ayudes\_Compadre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/no_me_ayudes_compadre/32/5224_2.png) [@No\_Me\_Ayudes\_Compadre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Me_Ayudes_Compadre)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2002, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-real-mexican-food/103049/45 "2002-04-12T13:45:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DanielWithrow \* > IS there any region of Mexico that emphasizes fruit in savory dishes, or do I just eat at restaurants with strange senses of humor? Plantains (or macho bananas, if you want to be literal) are often used in rice dishes… garlic-sauteed octopus and shrimp served over red rice with panfried plantain strips is an excellent combination. Plantains are also used to condiment lentil soup, for example. ---
**Author:** ![CBEscapee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@CBEscapee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBEscapee)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2002, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-real-mexican-food/103049/46 "2002-04-12T15:56:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by El Mariachi Loco \* > \*\* > > In Mexico City anyway, barbacoa is in the goat-sheep family. Cow head would be served as _tacos de cabeza_. When the taquero starts the day, you can definitely see it’s the side or belly of a smaller animal. \*\* I agree with Loco, _cabrito_ (kid), which is very common in Monterrey and other northern areas, is the traditional meat used in _barbacoa_. Here in Jalisco it is sometimes made with beef. Just as _birria_, a traditional goat dish from Jalisco is sometimes made using other types of meat but both use goat in the traditional versions. And almost all cow heads in most parts of the country are used for steamed _tacos de cabeza_. _Tacos de sesos_ (brain),_lengua_ (tongue),_carnaza_ (meat from the cheeks and other parts of the head) and even _ojo_ (eye)! > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by DanielWithrow_ > > **IS there any region of Mexico that emphasizes fruit in savory dishes,** There are dishes like _manchamanteles_ from Puebla, made with chicken or pork, plantains,pineapple,pear and apple. _Cochinita pibil_ from the Yucatan, is shredded pork with a sauce of _achiote_ and orange juice. _Platano macho_ often accompanies _mole_. ---
**Author:** ![shelbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@shelbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shelbo)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2002, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-real-mexican-food/103049/47 "2002-04-12T17:15:13Z")
OK, I think the question has been answered. Can we please close this thread before my growling stomach starts to bother my neighbor? (The drool is starting to be an issue as well.) 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2002, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-real-mexican-food/103049/48 "2002-04-12T17:53:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by arisu \* > \*\*Wow. > > Thanks for all the info guys! > > Now comes problem #2; where to find these tasty-sounding dishes in freaking Massachusetts… \*\* Oh! Oh! I know. Head straight down to Anna’s Taqueria. It made Boston’s Zagat Guide #1 best value in Boston last year. The food is very authentic and muy excellente. Even though they are a fairly cheap take-out place, their food score beat out most of the top restaurants. There is one on Harvard avenue on the Allston/Brookline line and another on Beacon street in Brookline. There may be more of them now. They have some of the best mexican food I have ever eaten, bar none and it should only cost you $5 - $7 to stuff yourself silly. Go there now my good friend. Anna calls. ---
**Author:** ![xicanorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/a88e57/32.png) [@xicanorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xicanorex)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2002, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-real-mexican-food/103049/49 "2002-04-12T18:23:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DanielWithrow \* > **I’ve never had real luck with the “follow the Mexicans” method of choosing a Mexican restaurant; it may be because I’m semivegetarian…IS there any region of Mexico that emphasizes fruit in savory dishes, or do I just eat at restaurants with strange senses of humor?** 1. For veggie, you have to eat where there is mostly Mexicanos Indigenas. Their dishes are high on the veggie side. 2. Mostly on the coastal regions such as in Yucatan, Veracruz, and Guerrero. BTW, Nobody has mentioned another Mexican deligh, CABRITO! XicanoreX ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2002, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-real-mexican-food/103049/50 "2002-04-12T19:11:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by arisu \* > \*\*Now comes problem #2; where to find these tasty-sounding dishes in freaking Massachusetts… \*\* I never managed to find it at all. There wasn’t even really good tex-mex there, just bad tex-mex and one place that served gourmet meals with a menu in spanish where an occasional spice might have waved over the dishes during cooking. But I couldn’t find decent (much less good) mexican food. Hopefully things have changed for the better. ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2002, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-real-mexican-food/103049/51 "2002-04-12T19:16:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by El Mariachi Loco \* > \*\* > > In Mexico City anyway, barbacoa is in the goat-sheep family. Cow head would be served as _tacos de cabeza_. When the taquero starts the day, you can definitely see it’s the side or belly of a smaller animal. \*\* I guess its a regional thing…According to my friends when they make it, they throw a cows head whole in a pit. I’m rather addicted to the stuff. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2002, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-real-mexican-food/103049/52 "2002-04-12T20:43:58Z")
Okay, Ike, I just ordered my copy of Rick Bayless’s Mexican Kitchen. I’m getting in the mood to make a batch of pork tamales. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-real-mexican-food/103049.md?page=2)