Jude 2

Someone mentioned Mexican food outside of California being hit or miss or dismal (something to that effect). The poster mentioned Cleveland specifically. I have heard others mention this but my question is...........





why? There are Mexicans all over this country, lots in the south, and they should be able to prepare Mexican cuisine as well as those that live and work in California. Maybe it's more authentic elsewhere.

I have ate at one eatery here in Nashville that served food prepared from say a different region of Mexico. It was quite different and I did not appreciate it. I think it was Sonoma. The flour chips for dipping were awesome though.

Full Quiver wrote:Someone mentioned Mexican food outside of California being hit or miss or dismal (something to that effect). The poster mentioned Cleveland specifically. I have heard others mention this but my question is...........





why? There are Mexicans all over this country, lots in the south, and they should be able to prepare Mexican cuisine as well as those that live and work in California. Maybe it's more authentic elsewhere.

I have ate at one eatery here in Nashville that served food prepared from say a different region of Mexico. It was quite different and I did not appreciate it. I think it was Sonoma. The flour chips for dipping were awesome though.

I am a Mexican food addict. I have eaten more than a non-Mexican should.

It seems to me that a Mexican restaurant opens up...builds their clientel and once they get a good amount of people coming they begin to cut back on the quality. I've seen this happen several times locally, where One restaurant would be excellent and then decline unto inedible.

The last time this happened I became quite entharlled by the taste of El Rodeo which opened up in an old Sizzler. the food was tasty and they had Chili poblano (some mexican restaurants do not).
After about two years the food became so bad it was like hamburger in chef boyardee.
I refuse to go back.

If a person happens upon one of these declines they would naturally assume that these people don't know how to do Mexican food (if I had tried any of these restaurants in their decline period I would not have come back).

As far as Cleveland...I tried the one in the old Rebel Restaurant on Ocoee and 25th the meal I had was quite good.

Gerald I am also a Mexican food lover. I have eaten at so many different places I cant begin to count. The best ever is a place my wife and I would g to a lot, either the two of us or meeting some friends from the law firm. It was excellent and never changed. They had 4 different ones in Va beach and all were always good.


'Guadalajara" was the name if anyone is in Hampton roads I reccomend it. I love mexican food because it is fast service and usually not a long wait. Great service as well.

Now there were a few ElRodeo's there as well and the food was No where near as good. Not even close.

Another one we ate at a lot was camino real but the food seemed to get a little sloppy and not as good, kinda how you mentioned with El Rodeo.

All I know is I am now craving a "soppilla" (spelling) it has a crunchy shell with honey on top and some places put ice cream on it as well. mmmmmmmm I am now really hungry.

Full Quiver wrote:Someone mentioned Mexican food outside of California being hit or miss or dismal (something to that effect). The poster mentioned Cleveland specifically. I have heard others mention this but my question is...........





why? There are Mexicans all over this country, lots in the south, and they should be able to prepare Mexican cuisine as well as those that live and work in California. Maybe it's more authentic elsewhere.

I have ate at one eatery here in Nashville that served food prepared from say a different region of Mexico. It was quite different and I did not appreciate it. I think it was Sonoma. The flour chips for dipping were awesome though.

I haven't eaten Mexican food in California myself, but I've actually found that Mexican food is a gamble outside of south Texas. I've run into some terrible things up north. I'm gonna go console myself with some fajitas.

Even though I didn't particularly like the style, the most authentic Mexican food I've ever eaten was in the Mexican Pavilion at EPCOT World Showcase. I mean they didn't even have "ground beef" tacos, only the shredded beef kind. Overall, the experience was enjoyable with singing waiters and beautiful scenery.

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Gerald, I totally agree with what you are saying. Several Mexican joints around here have fallen that course. One very near to our home that I have loved for years is all but off our list of places to visit.

Once I stopped by one of those taco bar/concession stands on the side of the road. I just wanted to see for myself. They had the health dept. paper posted with a 97 score. I ordered one taco and it was good, very different though. It consisted of a small flour tortilla, chopped up beef (almost steak like) and onions. My oldest daughter said we don't want to hear anything if you wind up in the hospital. The taco was a buck and that's a buck cheaper than a generic taco I had at a more upscale place yesterday.

We finally have a good Mexican restaurant here in Bham which is a chain from Austin called Iguana Grill. They serve regular salsa and a tasty roasted salsa. Very good. Very pretty decor (a good date restuarant) and good Tex Mex food (love the tamales).

I've tried California Mexican and wasn't impressed. I don't like "mole sauce". Tried some in Arizona and liked the shredded beef...but so far real Tex Mex is the best.

Real sopapillias are deep fried until they puff up like a soft pillow and are golden. They are hollow inside. You break them open and pour honey into them. I haven't found a restaurant in Alabama that serves real ones...here they are just fried, crunchy flour tortillas. Real Sopapillias are NOT flat and crunchy. I do have a homemade recipe. I'll find it and share in the recipe section.

RaceRunner wrote:I don't like "mole sauce".

That brings back memories of me and my brother's first exposure to mole. We mistook it for carne guisada. Boy were we surprised! So awful!

Be forewarned; Senor Frog's sucks. We ate at one in Myrtle Beach last year, paid out the wazoo, and were real hungry and disappointed afterward.

I do like On the Border and their build your own chimichanga deal.

Gerald, the same premise usually goes with Oriental eateries; good at first and then they slack off.

You can't say "California Mexican food" and lump all styles into one.

We have about 30% of our population here that are either Mexican immigrants or their parents were.


Of the plethora of Mexican restaurants here in our community, I have had over 10 DIFFERENT styles of Mexican food. It all depends on what part of Mexico the cooks are from - even more so than with Chinese cooks.


ALL of them will tell you that the Mexican food chains (Taco Bell, etc.) do NOT know how to fix real Mexican food.


In fact, here the BEST Mexican food you can find, AT ANY PRICE, is from the roach coaches (as we call them) that are parked along side the roads.


I eat @ them all the time and have never gotten sick. But, we got deathly sick eating tacos @ Jack in the Box back in 1980. In fact, that was the night that I met Doyle (from over @ Accelerates).


So, I try to limit my Mexican food to the roach coaches or to one of the family owned local restaurants. We have 5 of them whose owners are members of our church.

some of the best Mexican food I had was in the Dalls / Ft Worth area.

Taco Bell is not Mexican food; it's American!

dbserv wrote:You can't say "California Mexican food" and lump all styles into one.

We have about 30% of our population here that are either Mexican immigrants or their parents were.


Of the plethora of Mexican restaurants here in our community, I have had over 10 DIFFERENT styles of Mexican food. It all depends on what part of Mexico the cooks are from - even more so than with Chinese cooks.


ALL of them will tell you that the Mexican food chains (Taco Bell, etc.) do NOT know how to fix real Mexican food.


In fact, here the BEST Mexican food you can find, AT ANY PRICE, is from the roach coaches (as we call them) that are parked along side the roads.


I eat @ them all the time and have never gotten sick. But, we got deathly sick eating tacos @ Jack in the Box back in 1980. In fact, that was the night that I met Doyle (from over @ Accelerates).


So, I try to limit my Mexican food to the roach coaches or to one of the family owned local restaurants. We have 5 of them whose owners are members of our church.

I agree, Taco Bell should never be allowed to call themselves Mexican food! I'm not sure what they are, but definitely not mexican.

The mexican food I tried in California was in Ventura. We stopped and asked someone to send us to the best place in town and ended up at a hole in the wall place. However, I'm sure I would never like Mole sauce, so I'm not sure what part of Mexico that's from.

We did pass up a sign on our CA trip that pointed to Yuba City and I told my husband Mike, who happens to know you, that "Dan lives there".

I'm going to San Antonio soon and hope to eat some really good texmex there. A Texas gal could just starve in Alabama

Full Quiver wrote:Someone mentioned Mexican food outside of California being hit or miss or dismal (something to that effect). The poster mentioned Cleveland specifically. I have heard others mention this but my question is...........

why? There are Mexicans all over this country, lots in the south, and they should be able to prepare Mexican cuisine as well as those that live and work in California.

I made the comment. I also mentioned that after seeing what they were serving to the locals we asked the owner if she'd cook up for us whatever they were making for their own dinner and that was quite good. The difference isn't in the Mexicans here and there who are doing the cooking, it's in the expectations of the clientele they're serving. Finding the place in town that the Mexicans themselves go to to eat is the best bet to find better stuff.

dbserv wrote:You can't say "California Mexican food" and lump all styles into one.

True enough. I said (or meant) Mexican food(s) in California.