Jalisco... (San Antonio, Allen, Anton: design, title, company)

[getgoing2010]

Thanks RevImmigrant -- great posts.

[jwebtx]

I thought a majority of the Jalisco restaurants here are under common ownership. Is that not the case?

[Americasman]

Seems like Tex Mex to me. What makes it different.

[GEM-Texas]

Jalisco is a state in Mexico. While there may be a regional style, a few years someone did a survey of 'Jalisco' places and found they were standard tex-mex for the most part. It's just a gimmick to sound exotic.

If there is authentic Jalisco food, you won't find in the majority of so-called restaurants.

[TrapperL]

Although the name is from the home State of a lot of the folks here, it refers to the recipes they brought with them which usually means it's cooked over an open flame and only lightly seasoned but tasty. It's fairly rare in San Antonio as the Tex-Mex is about all you'll find.....and that ain't bad. You should try Mexican food in New Mexico. On second thought, maybe you shouldn't try it- it's horrible even on a great day. My girls live in Tennessee and South Carolina and they claim their friends think Patio frozen is the worlds best mexican food. Gotta wonder about folks that think mustard belongs on bar-b-q.

[badalchemist]

Originally Posted by GEM-Texas

Jalisco is a state in Mexico. While there may be a regional style, a few years someone did a survey of 'Jalisco' places and found they were standard tex-mex for the most part. It's just a gimmick to sound exotic.

If there is authentic Jalisco food, you won't find in the majority of so-called restaurants.

Yeah, we must have read the same SA Current article a few years back. Basically, there's dozens of places with "Jalisco" in the name, and out of all of them, there are maybe 2 or 3 that serve authentic dishes from that region.

[chud]

Originally Posted by badalchemist

Yeah, we must have read the same SA Current article a few years back. Basically, there's dozens of places with "Jalisco" in the name, and out of all of them, there are maybe 2 or 3 that serve authentic dishes from that region.

I remember reading that article too, it was quite good.
There are definitely LOTS of tex-mex restaurants here that use Jalisco in the name.
I think it's like all the chain steak house restaurants that use Texas in the name or on the menu.

[Merovee]

Jalisco style is not Tex-Mex. There are a few authentic Tex-Mex restaurants left. Tex-Mex is an American cuisine, developed in the United States, and it uses locally obtained ingredients including sharp cheddar cheese.

Compare a fajita taco bought at a Jalisco style restaurant and what you will get is a yummy taco but not a Tex-Mex style fajita. Jalisco style fajitas are finely chopped squares and oily (Cubed fajitas are not Tex-Mex!). Tex-Mex fajitas are strips and juicy but can also be drier.

Everything else is different too, the tortillas (Tex-Mex are flour and fluffy; Jalisco are greasy and dense), the types of drinks offered (American brands and lemonade vs tropical drinks and lemonadas), service people (English speaking waiters who can also speak Spanish vs mainly Spanish with poor English), and even the type of establishments, how many workers, the approach to making food, other recipes, are all different.

Whatever Jalisco style is, it is not Tex-Mex.

[elnina]

This is what I noticed: Jalisco style food is cooked in big open fire pits. My favorite food from these is birria. Birria is a pit-roasted version of goat or beef. I like the the goat. If served as a soup then is not pit-roasted but cooked in a pot with water, beer, chiles and other spices. Yum!!
or served as a "meat with corn tortillas", beans and salsa.
Oh, and I also should mention torta ahogada - a great sandwich made with sliced pork leg. Hot stuff!!

However, I never got any real Jalisco food here in Houston/San Antonio area. Most food is prepared to american taste. ( and called Tex-Mex )
You can get Pozole ( usually on a weekend menu) - a corn and pork based thick soup ( although I saw also made with chicken ) topped with cabbage, onions, radishes and salsa. So addictive!

To my observation Jalisco means not much of ground meat, flour tortillas or cheese. No lettuce, but cabbage. Mostly goat and pork. More veggies ( love nopales!), more spices, fruit based beverages...

I am not sure if this all is originally Jalisco, but must say that it was popular in that region.
People move around and add new ideas to their dishes, so I am not sure what is the "original, old-fashioned" Jalisco style cuisine.

[jwebtx]

The overwhelming # of places with Jalisco in the name here have nothing to do with Jalisco-style food on the table. The Express did a nice piece in the last year iirc addressing the Jalisco phenomenon here.