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Cheese Enchiladas


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That table with the advertisements on it reminds me of my childhood.  

First Mexican food I remember is my grandmother taking me to Monterey house in Corpus and feeding me cheese enchiladas.  They would hide pralines in the basket of chips like some sort of kids Easter egg hunt.

I don’t remember it being particularly good food but it got me started and I’ll never change.

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2 minutes ago, CoTex said:

That table with the advertisements on it reminds me of my childhood.  

First Mexican food I remember is my grandmother taking me to Monterey house in Corpus and feeding me cheese enchiladas.  They would hide pralines in the basket of chips like some sort of kids Easter egg hunt.

I don’t remember it being particularly good food but it got me started and I’ll never change.


trust me, that place slaps. Handmade tortillas too. My ‘steak’ plate, damn spicy. Love it 

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That table with the advertisements on it reminds me of my childhood.  
First Mexican food I remember is my grandmother taking me to Monterey house in Corpus and feeding me cheese enchiladas.  They would hide pralines in the basket of chips like some sort of kids Easter egg hunt.
I don’t remember it being particularly good food but it got me started and I’ll never change.

As a kid, most TexMex joints would load the table with chips, “hot sauce” in a pitcher, ice water, then bring a bowl of jalapeños, onions, and carrots en escabeche, butter pats, and hot corn tortillas. Most had a killer punch that I later learned was basically sweet tea, pineapple juice, and red food color. With the big dinners you’d get pineapple sherbet or peppermint ice cream, and often a bigass praline.

I know of no joint still doing a huge setup like that anymore. But the flavor profile back then of these places I am still in search of. It’s probably a combination of lard, masa, and the chile powder available then, and the soul of the abuelita in back running the kitchen.
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6 minutes ago, Texzilla58 said:


As a kid, most TexMex joints would load the table with chips, “hot sauce” in a pitcher, ice water, then bring a bowl of jalapeños, onions, and carrots en escabeche, butter pats, and hot corn tortillas. Most had a killer punch that I later learned was basically sweet tea, pineapple juice, and red food color. With the big dinners you’d get pineapple sherbet or peppermint ice cream, and often a bigass praline.

I know of no joint still doing a huge setup like that anymore. But the flavor profile back then of these places I am still in search of. It’s probably a combination of lard, masa, and the chile powder available then, and the soul of the abuelita in back running the kitchen.


 

where’d you grow up Richie Rich ?

 

richie rich 80's cartoons GIF by MANGOTEETH

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28 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:


 

where’d you grow up Richie Rich ?

 

richie rich 80's cartoons GIF by MANGOTEETH

I have experienced the sherbert treatment but I remember it as orange or lime.  It was a pinche scoop but nobody cared because we were full of cheese enchiladas.

I'm tempted to go into an on the border and fire the waitstaff around to see if I can recreate Texzilla's experience.  "I'm going to need a pitcher of salsa, butter, 6 corn tortillas, ice water, sweet tea, some pineapple juice, some red food coloring, jalapenos, onions, carrots, and don't forget the chips.  Please bring that out while I peruse the menu."

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50 minutes ago, Texzilla58 said:


As a kid, most TexMex joints would load the table with chips, “hot sauce” in a pitcher, ice water, then bring a bowl of jalapeños, onions, and carrots en escabeche, butter pats, and hot corn tortillas. Most had a killer punch that I later learned was basically sweet tea, pineapple juice, and red food color. With the big dinners you’d get pineapple sherbet or peppermint ice cream, and often a bigass praline.

 

43 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

where’d you grow up Richie Rich ?

Shit man, that was the standard at least in Dallas at places like the OG downtown El Fenix or even the Lakewood El Chico where a bunch of Cuellar family members worked in the 70s-80's. 

Edited by Bozo_Casanova
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19 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

 

Shit man, that was the standard at least in Dallas at places like the OG downtown El Fenix or even the Lakewood El Chico where a bunch of Cuellar family members worked in the 70s-80's. 

I figured as much.  Dallas may sound like "Alice," but the similarities end there.

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where’d you grow up Richie Rich ?
 
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where’d you grow up Richie Rich ?
 
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This was standard table set up at lots of places, but as noted above it was what you got at El Fenix, El Chico (our usual when the Cuellars owned it), and most mom and pops. Back then the TexMex joints in Arkansas also offered all this, and when I lived in Memphis you got complementary queso (cheese dip back then) too. I forgot but many would put a basket of saltines out there too.

Back then your platter was put under the salamander to melt the cheese sprinkled on top of your enchiladas and tamales, and to put a nice top crust on the refried beans which were 40% bacony lard. When they said “your platter is hot!” it was at least 700 degrees.
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On 11/18/2023 at 5:58 PM, ztejas said:

 

I've put a couple Cabana samplers away from Taco Cabana recently. I think their food has taken a bit of an upturn lately - for the price it's very edible texmex when I'm feeling like a piece of shit (which is always).

I also think Rosa's makes pretty good food. 

I do think that Taco Bueno fucking sucks.

I think the entire point of texmex is to feel a little shame. Nothing wrong with admitting Lupe makes pretty good food or that a crispy beef taco from TC kind of still hits or that I'll clean up some Rosa's tortilla factory after 11 drinks. I mean, that's what we're fucking here for. This isn't the stick-your-finger-in-your-ass-spit-the-wine-out crowd. 

as a Texpat i would love a Taco Cabana option 😒

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as a Texpat i would love a Taco Cabana option

This. Having spent too much of my life as a TexPat the search for TexMex is a futile effort in disappointment. When we lived in SanFran an On the Border opened in the far South Bay. We drove two hours to get Califoricated slop. Worse was our 3 years in Portland. No Mexican food at all back then worth a shit. It was like the PNW was where Mexicans that couldn’t cook worth a shit were all sent there.

Whenever we came back we left DFW and went to el Fenix or el Chico or Taco Cabana or Abuelos or whatever we first came to.
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  • 2 weeks later...
1 hour ago, thunderlounge said:

It’s not a forefront taste, it’s a subtle background note, enhancing the cumin and chili powder. 
 

Try it. Has absolutely nothing to do with yankee anything. 

 

lol it's cool...i actually know what you mean and you're not wrong. i have been known to add a dash of two of cinnamon to a pot of my Texas style chili which nobody can identify but does level it up a notch to people raving and scraping the pot empty...

but my husband is from Cincinnati and loves it and that's where i learned it. it is a yankee thing 😄

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Mexican food has all kinds of legit use of things like cinnamon and chocolate.  There is no reason those ingredients can't make it into other dishes.  If it goes beyond the "accepted" ingredient list for certain dishes (i.e., Texas chili) so be it, go with a different name.  Life is too short to be that anal retentive.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 12/3/2023 at 1:57 PM, jimmyjazz said:

Mexican food has all kinds of legit use of things like cinnamon and chocolate.  There is no reason those ingredients can't make it into other dishes.  If it goes beyond the "accepted" ingredient list for certain dishes (i.e., Texas chili) so be it, go with a different name.  Life is too short to be that anal retentive.

About a year ago wife started making  (Mexican) chorizo. It taste much better than store bought.  1 of the ingredients is cinnamon. I was stunned. 

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About a year ago wife started making  (Mexican) chorizo. It taste much better than store bought.  1 of the ingredients is cinnamon. I was stunned. 

Does she make it like a lot of packaged chorizo with plenty of hog thymus and salivary glands, taint, and lips?

My cousin had a brother-in-law who was a biology professor at UTA. A parasitologist who was an expert in liver flukes. He and wife were great cooks back in the 80’s and would have extravagant dinner parties. In between courses we would play “what is this?” Which was things passed around the table and we’d guess what horrible thing had been found in their food. “You’re all wrong! Thats a pig cornea I found in a hot dog at a Ranger game!”
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2 hours ago, Texzilla58 said:


Does she make it like a lot of packaged chorizo with plenty of hog thymus and salivary glands, taint, and lips?

My cousin had a brother-in-law who was a biology professor at UTA. A parasitologist who was an expert in liver flukes. He and wife were great cooks back in the 80’s and would have extravagant dinner parties. In between courses we would play “what is this?” Which was things passed around the table and we’d guess what horrible thing had been found in their food. “You’re all wrong! Thats a pig cornea I found in a hot dog at a Ranger game!”

So now you're bitching about/conflating cinnamon, which is staple in interior Mexican food, to offal served by Ferris Bueller's best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend who heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going with the girl who saw some meat that something was bad? 

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On 11/21/2023 at 8:41 AM, Texzilla58 said:


This. Having spent too much of my life as a TexPat the search for TexMex is a futile effort in disappointment. When we lived in SanFran an On the Border opened in the far South Bay. We drove two hours to get Califoricated slop. Worse was our 3 years in Portland. No Mexican food at all back then worth a shit. It was like the PNW was where Mexicans that couldn’t cook worth a shit were all sent there.

Whenever we came back we left DFW and went to el Fenix or el Chico or Taco Cabana or Abuelos or whatever we first came to.

WTF are you babbling about? OTB, before and after Brinker, was always 100% Texan.

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