City with the best Mexican food?

[maveric]

Poll question: City with the best Mexican food?

I've got to go with San Diego.
Can You say fish tacos?

[Dave Reynolds]

1. Mexico City, Mexico.

Soooooo authentic, it's like being in Mexic...oh...wait...

[maveric]

4. Granted, but I'm looking for American cities.

Tijuana has some great restaurants too.

[radwriter0555]

37. Santa Fe New Mexico. You CANNOT beat the chile reino there...

it just can't be done.

Well, it was beaten by a tiny little dive in Playa del Carmen, but you wanted North American cities!!!

[Richardo]

69. "relleno"

:)

Unless you *were* referring to the kingdom of Chile. :D

[samplegirl]

91. We have one here

in N.E. Ohio called El Torrero which is so so
good. Mexican family owned and opperated. The
food is just wonderful the atmosphere is all
authenic mexican works with handcarved leather
chairs and colorful tables from Mexico. The
menu has everything and the service is great.

[Demonaut]

40. lol

[GOPisEvil]

2. For Tex-Mex, San Antonio.

Two words: LA FOGATA :9

Also, any number of hole in the wall joints.

[GOPisEvil]

8. There's good Mexican food in San Diego, too.

Cali-Mex, I guess they call it.

[maveric]

9. I eat it at least 4 times a week here in SD.

You've got to go to the family type restaurants in Barrio-Logan to find the best.
Stay awayfrom El Toritos and South of the Border. Corporate mexican food is pathetic.

[GOPisEvil]

14. Ugh...corporate Mexican is not a good thing.

My favorite place in San Diego is this little hole in the wall in a strip center near the 15 @ Mira Mesa.

[maveric]

17. "Chuey's in Barrio-Logan is good too.

Antonios Hacienda in El Cajon has some great eats.

[fudge stripe cookays]

23. Mi Tierra, baby!

:9

[fleabert]

41. and La Fogata, and La Fonda, and Cha Cha's, and

Margarita's, and Alamo Cafe, and Henry's Puffy Taco, and Tomatillo's, Pico de Gallo, Las Palapas, Las Brasas, oh my god, the list goes on and on... (including my MIL's house in Hondo)

I have eaten Mexican food all over the county, nothing beats San Antonio.

[GOPisEvil]

47. *slobber*

You're visiting SA, right? I say we start early in the morning with breakfast, and go until late night at Mi Tierra...50,000 calories or bust!!!

:bounce:

[fleabert]

81. Mi Tierra at 3 am, nothing better, except maybe

La Fogata's massive margaritas at 8pm! OMG! Don't know yet what the holiday plans are, but I do hope we get to come home and visit. :-)

[GOPisEvil]

82. OMG!!! La Fogata's 'ritas!!!!

:9

[fleabert]

93. it's the Everclear...

SO YUMMY! and so big!

[Initech]

3. Los Angeles has some damn good ones!

[Sequoia]

68. I second that!

Northern Californa has zip beyond the Bridge as far as I've sampled.

[DBoon]

76. Name them, then!

I dare you!

(so I can try them out)

[Initech]

83. My personal favorite: El Cholo in Santa Monica

There's also one in El Segundo, and one in La Habra.

[DBoon]

85. ...and one in Koreatown-adjacent

and the upscale Sonora Cafe on La Brea, owned by th same folks

[usedtobesick]

5. Sante Fe and or believe it or not....

Chicago IL. Rick Bayles has his restaurants there and they are unbelievable!

[alarcojon]

26. Big second for Chicago

I can't believe Brownsfuckingville is on there but no ChiTown. You've got the high end, like Topolobampo (Bayless) and an endless selection of cheap, awesome places like La Pasadita.

[usedtobesick]

32. I hear ya... I eat out a lot on the company dollar

and I eat a lot of Mexican. I still love Bayless's places first but you are right, the neighborhoods have some great dives and a couple good trucks parked in lots at night.

[SeattleGirl]

6. Ft. Worth, Texas

I lived there for a year, and had the BEST Mexican food ever at various places around town. I must say, though, the only other states in which I have eaten Mexican food are Washington, Oregon, and Las Vegas.

[PDittie]

20. Joe T Garcia's

is awesome.

[PDittie]

21. Houston's got 'em all beat

Ninfa's, Pappasitos, a thousand Mami-y-Papi's...

La comida es muy fina.

[GOPisEvil]

22. Ninfa's?

Mexican food for white people. ;)

Kidding - it's not bad; just a little corporate.

[Bridget Burke]

50. Several chains grew from the late Mama Ninfa's original concept.

You can get decent food at some of them.

But Ninfa's on Navigation--the first Ninfa's--is still going strong.

[SeattleGirl]

39. Never had the chance to try those places.

Drove through Houston on the way to Galveston, but didn't stop. I miss really good Mexican food!

[PDittie]

49. You could have stopped

at any place along the Interstate. Nearly every exit. You could have had some overpriced, exotic-yet-scrumptious camarones el Diablo, or you could have had enchiladas cooked on a flat grill by someone's abuelita for less than five bucks.

Salsa made that morning (tasting about a thousand times better than Pace), thick, gooey con queso, guacamole fresh and cool, tamales two inches thick, crumbling under the touch of your fork, full of puerco ...

Shall I go on? ;)

[BikeWriter]

78. You probably drove right past one on Broadway.

It's a little place on the right hand side. I can't recall the name.

[Bridget Burke]

56. Not to mention....

Pico's Mex Mex--Original Home of the Topshelf Margarita, Jalapeno's & La Mexicana. Places similar to fine restaurants in Mexico: Tila's & Hugo's. Quick but classy places: Taco Milagro & Berryhill Tamales. Traditional Tex Mex: Felix.

And about a thousand places opened by recent immigrants--Jalisco style, Yucatan style, Norteno style, Seafood, etc.

From the list, I'd pick San Antonio. There's good stuff in LA--but my sister lives there & insists on LOTS of Mexican food when she returns to Houston. Other Southestern states offer fine variations on the theme.

[BikeWriter]

74. Y Taqueria Arandas, por favor.

[HEyHEY]

7. Iqaluit, Nunavut!

Just screams fiesta!

[rockymountaindem]

16. You don't suppose there's a Second Cup there, do ya?

That place would be pretty busy, eh? I mean, once we all warm up from the -40 temps.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

25. Why not? Mexican restaurants carpet the world

I've read about Mexican restaurants in Berlin, in Moscow, in Paris, in Rome, complete with Mariachis. I've seen one and eaten in it in Nice, France.

[XNASA]

10. Why was Chicago slighted in this poll?

There are just as many citizens of Mexican descent in Chicago as in Houston, and more than in San Antonio. :shrug:

[maveric]

12. Probably because I've never been to Chicago and was ignorant of that fact.

Are there good Mexican restaurants there?

[GOPisEvil]

15. Yes, Virginia, there is good Mexican food in Chicago.

:thumbsup:

[grace0418]

31. Amen to that! Chicago may not be the perfect city, but we know

our food. And Mexican is one cuisine we know well.

[AngryAmish]

53. Best mexican restuarant in US in Chicago

Topolobampo (and Frontera Grill next door).

There are many others that I like from fancy (Adobo, Ixcapapulco) to not so fancy (El Cid, Tanqueria Moran to about 300 burrito stands).

[XNASA]

55. I'm a Rick Bayless fan. I admit.

His show makes my mouth water every time I watch it.

For basic grub, I like Arturo's...at Armitage & Western.

[AngryAmish]

58. I go there all the time

I used to live in the neighborhood and still work there.

[XNASA]

59. Arturo's?

[AngryAmish]

60. yup

on edit, I have been going to Tanqueria Moran at California and the EL more than Arturo's lately. But Arturo's is still the late night spot.

[StellaBlue]

11. Weird, I know, but... outside Mexico...

Hot Springs, Arkansas has this excellent place called 'La Hacienda' which serves real Mexican food and it my favorite restaurant in the entire world (and I have done a fair amount of travelling and Mexican-restaurant-sampling!).

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[LaurenG]

13. El Paso

I was just thinking about this as I made burritos with ingredients that aren't from any where near there. I was missing the border mexican food... big time

[hickman1937]

18. In the 60's and 70's Detroit.

Everyone came to Detroit, and established neighborhoods.

[puerco-bellies]

19. Los Angeles- El Tepeyac on Evergreen St.

It is the only place in East Los Angeles you will find West-side and Valley anglos lined up outside in the heart of East Los Angeles at night. When my grand parents wooed, they ate there. My parents ate there when they dated in high school, and I occasionally will drive back to the east-side with a date for a bite.. The beef enchiladas rancheras are the best anywhere in the known universe.

[kwassa]

54. They are supposed to make the world's largest burritos

[puerco-bellies]

79. They make some of the best, if not the largest.

I only know one guy who ate one (It's free if you can finish it yourself) in one sitting, but he barfed it up before the check came.. The waitress staff remains pissed after many years, and still makes fun of him when he comes in.

Order the Hollenback or Manual's Special. Think Burrito-zilla.

[Whoa_Nelly]

24. Teresa's Mosaic Cafe and Teresa's Mosaic Cafe Dos in Tucson

Mole to die for, tortillas handmade on site, fresh salsa, and more.

Listed in Frommer's. Read here:
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/tucson/D51821.html

[donheld]

27. Denver does quite well

:9

[usedtobesick]

34. ever eat at Blue Bonnet Cafe on Broadway?

Great place.

[donheld]

44. Oh sure

then there's Toch's Hacienda, Las Margaritas, El Noa Noa plus many others.

[chaska]

28. Hell, I've lived in San Antonio and now in Los Angeles...

I must not be doing something right. I have yet to find even decent Mexi-food here. San Antonio was a daily treat. San Antonio was awesome for mexi-food.

[radwriter0555]

38. There is little truly great mexican food in Los Angeles.. For Taquitos you

have to go to Benitos at the corner of Fairfax and Beverly... There is a passable nachos at Loteria in the actual Farmer's Market. The roach coach that parks on Bronson just south of Pico makes and excellent beef steak taco.

Decent yucatacan puerco pibil can be had El Chollo.

Merricks in West Hollywood is probably the best Tex Mex restaurant in LA... But it's not authentic mexican, but is very, very good.

[kwassa]

52. Lucy's Drive-In, Pico & LaBrea, best Chile Verde burritos ever

and they will make fresh carrots juice from a bunch of carrots right in front of you.

A restaurant writer once said that there were 29,000 restaurants in LA, and half of them were Mexican.

There is a good Mexican seafood place down on Lincoln Boulevard, but I can't recall the name. Another unrelated Lucys in Santa Monica has great soups, and garlic shrimp.

El Mercado over in East LA for the giant Mexican food experience. There is a shop down the street that makes amazing homemade popsicles. I've been away so long I forgot the name for them!

Here on the East coast we only get corporate Mexican, and it mostly sucks.

[BikeWriter]

80. I made five gallons of Chile Verde last week. ARRIBA!

[DBoon]

77. Pueblo Viejo on Melrose by Gower

La Parilla on Wilshire and Witmer (near downtown)

la Serenata de Garibaldi in East LA

For fresh made tortillas, try either La Cabana in Venice or Tijuana on Olympic near Barrington

[ErisFiveFingers]

29. Tuscon? TUSCON?

*Tucson* has amazing Sonoran-style mexican food, just ask Big Dog... Mi Nidito is one thing I really miss about living there.

http://tucson.citysearch.com/profile/1746199/?

[rucky]

42. best blubo ever is at Mi Nidito. But my vote's for Albuquerque.

Carne Adovada at Mary & Tito's is unbeatable.

[XemaSab]

30. Brownsville

I've eaten mexican in most of these towns and Brownsville's where it's at.

Actually, Mission.

I went in a Mexican place in Mission last January, and there was a BIG sign on the wall that said

"THE PRESIDENT'S CHOICE FOR MEXICAN FOOD"

And underneath the sign was a BIG picture of the owners of the place with

WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON

Flanked by pictures of the owners with Al Gore and various state senators. And the picture with Al Gore was from 2002.

It was the best.

Right up the road from Bentsen State Park, which was Lloyd Bentsen's parents' ranch (trivia!).

[fudge stripe cookays]

45. Remember the name?

My grandma used to live in Weslaco. I haven't been down in years, but if I had something to look forward to....

fsc

[XemaSab]

86. I don't

it was on the main street though...

[Celeborn Skywalker]

33. I would say

Southwest New Mexico and El Paso. California's is pretty good, too.

[begin_within]

35. The food in small, family-owned Mexican restaurants in San Diego blow away

any Mexican food served in the most expensive restaurants on the East Coast of the U.S.

[begin_within]

36. Old Town Mexican Cafe, in San Diego, has homemade tortillas that melt in

your mouth - plus outstanding menu of Mexican food.

[leftofthedial]

43. New Mexico has twenty cities with better Mexican food

than any other city on your list.

Okay, so New Mexico technically doesn't have any cities, but . . .

[phusion]

61. eh?

Yea, just a 1 million+ major metropolitan area...

:)

[leftofthedial]

94. where's that?

Albuquerque is half a million

It could grow to ten million and it would still be a giant suburb looking for a city.

(I'm a proud UNM grad BTW)

[Terran]

46. It's LA, and you don't have to go to East LA

The food at almost any hole-in-the-wall taqueria in LA County will kick ass over what you find in most places. I highly recommend a place called La Puebla on Lake Ave. in Pasadena. Absolutely awesome food.

[LincolnMcGrath]

48. Sterling Illinois

[AngryAmish]

51. I used to have a girlfriend in Sterling.

[LincolnMcGrath]

62. Who was she?

[AngryAmish]

64. Not telling

[Ravenseye]

57. Arlington, MA just outside of Boston

A little authentic Oaxacan place called Ole'. All the ingredients straight from Mexico. Make their own chipolte and salsa.

Too DIE for level of food.

Very small place, frequently packed. Get there early.

[Zuni]

63. Crofton MD

There is an excellent mexican resturaunt there that makes the best salsa known to man

[Magrittes Pipe]

72. Cempazuchi

Milwaukee, WI

[noonwitch]

65. East Lansing, Michigan-El Aztaco

Blue corn enchiladas-mmm.

There's this place in Atlanta (or maybe in Decatur), GA I went to about 10 years ago-Sundown Inn, or something like that. It was very, very good, also.

[peekaloo]

66. Houston.

:9

[no name no slogan]

67. Believe it or not, but St. Paul, MN has good Mexican

we've had a vibrant Mexican-American community on the west side of town since the 1950s, and there are several very good Mexican eateries in town.

I happen to live a couple blocks away from our oldest Mexican restaurant-- think I'll go there for supper tonight!

[SoCalDem]

70. Belen, New Mexico

a little crumbling adobe restaurant right next to the railyard.. Lines down the street, and the best sopapillas on the planet..

Pete's Cafe 105 N 1
Belen, NM 87002 - 4301
[phone]

[DS1]

71. Tijuana

Well, at that point you could've sold me a turd wrapped in fajita bread and I'd have loved it :D

[rene moon]

73. That would be my hometown of Tucson, AZ

We have so many great, great, great Mexicans restaurants, little-holes in the walls, etc.

But really my Mom's house in Tucson is the best place.

[Parrcrow]

75. The best Mexican food I ever had was in...

Amsterdam. Then again my appetite may have been whetted by the aromas of Amsterdam itself:evilgrin: :hippie:

[maveric]

84. "Julio's" University Ave in San Diego.

The place has been there for years, serves great traditional cusine with HUGE portions.

[Scout1071]

87. Whatever city I am in at 2 am. n/t

[yellowdogintexas]

88. I have eaten great Mexican food in many places

Tucson is different from Santa fe which is different from Fort Worth which is different from San Antonio ..

I have favorite places in all those cities.

I have never had great Mexican food in Oklahoma City, for example, but I had some pretty good Mexican food in Clarksville, Tennessee


I love the mom & pop place around the corner from my house, and I love Caro's on the Circle near TCU, (home of the puffy Tostada)

Ft Worth is packed with Ernesto's Taquerias, 8253 of them, I believe, and Tortillanda shops, and lots of home grown restaurants.

Joe T's is good but I don't think it is the best...ambience is awesome though.

I loved this place I found in Tucson, I went to the "branch office" but the original restaurant is about 60 years old or something. Yummy

[unsavedtrash]

89. taco. taco cabana. Not really the best but I love it when I'm in Austin.

[Syncronaut Seven]

90. El Dorado Arkansas

where I was served a relleno I simply can not duplicate. Hints of summer savory and a sweet white melty cheese I can't seem to find anywhere.

2,000 miles is a long way to travel for a relleno, :9

[trackfan]

92. It is Los Angeles

which is really the capital of Mexico

[Maestro]

95. Ironically I had great Mexican food

in Madrid, Spain. :shrug: