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According to some of the ladies in my Tai Chi class Tonali's Restaurant in Durham is the place to go for organic Mexican food. It is supposedly a hole in the wall place where most of the staff don't speak English but the food is delicious.
According to some of the ladies in my Tai Chi class Tonali's Restaurant in Durham is the place to go for organic Mexican food. It is supposedly a hole in the wall place where most of the staff don't speak English but the food is delicious.
Tonali's staff-- at least the waitress and Chef Andres-- speak English wonderfully. Chef Andres used to be the sous chef at Four Square. Also, while Tonali is modest it is hardly a hole-in-the-wall, at least compared to all the other tacquerias. The service can be a little spotty at times but the staff is warm and friendly and th food is top notch. You can tell that these people care about the product they are putting in front of their customers.
Durham has a fair number of authentic taquerias.
I'll give another plug for Chubby's on 9th as a more gringo-friendly place to get real Mexican food. And yes, the fish tacos are fantastic.
Actually it is "La Fiesta Grille" and the food is as stated above, on par with La Fiesta Grille,actually it is a toss up depending on your preference, is La Cocina in Mebane, my personal favorite. I've spent years south of the border in C & S America, in Mexico City, La Cocina would be a very good restaurante. Because I speak spanish I have a number of hispanic friends, most of whom do not speak much english. From time to time, they will come over to the house and take my wife and I out for dinner at "the best mexican restaurante in this part of N. Carolina", invariably they take me to La Cocina, when we walk in the Waiters (mozos) start mouthing off at me in spanish, not being the shy type, I mouth back- it's a friendly game, the people treating us to dinner, at this point catch on and invaribly ask "you've been here before, yes?" and the mozos break out laughing. If you get there early enough, you will probably be the only gringos in the house. The chipotles are delicious as are their quesadillas, arroz con camarones, y arroz con pollo , they list a large burrito with a selection of fillings, forget the menu, tell them you want it filled with "carnitas, con salsa verde" , large portions and much better than you would expect- haven't seen any fish tacos on their menu, but, then again, I haven't asked and I haven't made it to the back of the menu yet, and have been eating there for years. Oh yeah, one other thing,..... the Flan is superb!
Last edited by Dusty Rhodes; 02-09-2009 at 06:16 PM..
My DH & I had heard about a place in Carrboro...which is quite a drive for us, but we had to try it. The place is called Fiesta Grill...its on 54 west of Carrboro (I think). Its pretty far out. But we made a day of it...did some shopping and then headed there for lunch. Hallelujah!!! Its the real thing folks!! We talked to someone who I think is the owner...he is from So Cal, and said he had the same problem when he moved here...no good Mex food! The beans, the rice were so good...they even had my much sought after Chili Verde!!! The chips are thick, homeade and crispy crunchy...some of the best I've ever had. Yummy salsa too. My husband said his taco, which had shredded beef (not ground) and a fresh crunchy shell was excellent. If you like CA Mex...this is it. It is NOT Tex Mex. I saw a plate of fajitas come out that smelled outstanding. I am so full I can hardly move, but don't care!!! I've been waiting for this meal for almost 4 yrs!!! By the way...the place is extremely small...only seats about 14 people total. We did a late lunch and had to wait about 15 minutes. But I'm not complaining
Just curious...Since both CA and TX border Mexico, what makes CA style Mexican food more REAL?
Just curious...Since both CA and TX border Mexico, what makes CA style Mexican food more REAL?
I asked the same question over a week ago and nobody answered me. I tried to find info on the web and only found that Cali-Mex used less peppers than Tex-Mex. Someone also suggested that Cali-Mex uses more fresh avocados. Perhaps this thread should be titled "I found it - REAL SoCali-Mex food!!!!!"
I asked the same question over a week ago and nobody answered me. I tried to find info on the web and only found that Cali-Mex used less peppers than Tex-Mex. Someone also suggested that Cali-Mex uses more fresh avocados. Perhaps this thread should be titled "I found it - REAL SoCali-Mex food!!!!!"
Ok, the title is offically changed! You are right, I am from So Cal, so So Cal mex food is what I was looking for....not tex mex. I would definitely not say this is mex from Mexico, which has many different dishes...and many things I would not eat (pigs ears, tripe...yuk). If you have eaten mex food in TX and mex food in CA, you know what I am talking about.
If you have eaten mex food in TX and mex food in CA, you know what I am talking about.
But I haven't, so please enlighten me. I've been to southern California on a few occasions, but don't recall what I ate. Is it just the spice/pepper thing, or is there more to it?
If I think of cheap Tex-Mex, I think of ground beef with taco seasoning mix, corn chips/fried corn tortillas, canned Chili-con-carne, and Velveeta-style cheese sauce. But that is CHEAP Tex-Mex like you'd find at any of the fast food places (Taco Bell, Taco Bueno) or some of the semi-fast food places (Don Pablos, Panchos). Ugh
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Chef Andres used to be the sous chef at Four Square. Also, while Tonali is modest it is hardly a hole-in-the-wall, at least compared to all the other tacquerias. The service can be a little spotty at times but the staff is warm and friendly and th food is top notch. You can tell that these people care about the product they are putting in front of their customers.
I tried to find info on the web and only found that Cali-Mex used less peppers than Tex-Mex. Someone also suggested that Cali-Mex uses more fresh avocados. Perhaps this thread should be titled "I found it - REAL SoCali-Mex food!!!!!" 
I've been to southern California on a few occasions, but don't recall what I ate. Is it just the spice/pepper thing, or is there more to it?
