How often do you eat "Texan" foods? (San Antonio: lease, how much)

[Cathy4017]

I love a good chicken-fried steak and brisket as much as the next person, but each one has to be cooked right!

Ditto fried catfish. I have never, ever had fried catfish at a restaurant that wasn't just nasty! Cooked at home with fresh-caught yellow/bullhead catfish, it doesn't get any better. It's been years since I've had that, and I never order catfish at a restaurant. It's always farm-raised channel cat, which isn't all that great.

I will sometimes order chicken-fried steak at a new place, but it makes me sort of uneasy sometimes, because I've had so much bad CFS on all those HS band trips--gristly and tough as the bottom of a shoe!

Brisket that isn't done right is also nasty.

[AlGreen]

Originally Posted by TexasReb

Out of curiosity, what is the major difference between Tex-Mex and authentic Mexican? Or even between Tex-Mex and that more popular in the far SW states? I mean, I KNOW there are differences, but I am not familiar enough the the "other types" to be able to say exactly what is/are distinguishing characteristics. Anybody know for sure...?

the biggest thing to remember about tex-mex is that it's not "mexican", it's mexican-american, or tejano cuisine. so in a sense, it's american cuisine

tex-mex is essentially americanized mexican cuisine. somewhat of a fusion between traditionally mexican cooking and the traditional culture of southern settlers. it's the most popularized form of mexican food in america. fajitas, chili con queso, chili con carne, and the heavy use of sour cream, butter, refried beans, and yellow cheese all come from tex-mex

most "mexican" restaurants in texas usually have menus that are a mixture of tex-mex and mexican national items. it's not extremely common to find purely authentic mexican food in most of the state. even in san antonio

[love roses]

My husband ordered a couple of cookbooks online...One, cowboy recipes and another Tex-Mex. The great thing about these books is that they are also written as histories about the foods. I'm currently reading the Tex-Mex one and have been just blown away about it's origins. It's pretty cool AlGreen is right, it's sort of Americanized mexican and another poster, one of the ladies a few pages back, was also correct. I was interested in the fact that the term Tex-Mex originated from the Texas-Mexico rail line. It also says that "interior mexican" is actually Europeanized mexican food. I haven't read much past that, so can't elaborate much. The book talks about how the washer women in San Antonio set up tables at night after a workday and would cook up food and serve it to friends, family and passersby and how that eventually evolved into cafes and then the food they originally cooked had to be tamed down for tourists taste buds. It also says that the original enchiladas were acually stacked and not the stuffed rolled ones we see more often today. Our southern Chili (con carne) evolved from Chile sauce and that ranch hands would cook Chile sauce (red and sometimes green) and eventually started adding meat to it, forming modern Chili.

[catman]

Cathy4017: You oughta try the catfish at Massey's in Fort Worth. They have an 'all you can eat' deal on Fridays, and it is great catfish! I can hardly get out of the booth after I eat over there! The place is primarily known for its chicken-fried steak, too, so you can get those arteries clogged any way you like. I agree that some places have hideous catfish, and it can really be 'nasty'.

[buffy888]

-Tex-Mex and/or Mexican - probably once a week (One thing that still cracks me up at many of the restaurants here: you order tacos, enchiladas, or some other plate involving tortillas used in some way... and you still end up with a basket of corn and/or flour tortillas to go with it.)
-BBQ - once or twice a month
-Chicken-fried steak - no, thank you
-Fried Coke - never had it, but would be glad to try it

One little thing I love about Texas is that at many fast food restaurants, on the soda cup lids there is one of those push-down bubbles for "DP." When we were living out of state for several years, it was rare to even be able to get Dr. Pepper at any restaurant - fast food or otherwise - and I thoroughly enjoy the ease and availability of both Dr. Pepper (and Big Red!) when dining out. It's a small thing, I know.

[AlGreen]

Originally Posted by buffy888

-Tex-Mex and/or Mexican - probably once a week (One thing that still cracks me up at many of the restaurants here: you order tacos, enchiladas, or some other plate involving tortillas used in some way... and you still end up with a basket of corn and/or flour tortillas to go with it.)

lol and i never know what to do with the extras, so if i have any extra "red sauce" cups, I just empty them out and have a tasty, but soggy burrito

-Chicken-fried steak - no, thank you

where are you from?!

[car957]

Originally Posted by buffy888

-Tex-Mex and/or Mexican - probably once a week (One thing that still cracks me up at many of the restaurants here: you order tacos, enchiladas, or some other plate involving tortillas used in some way... and you still end up with a basket of corn and/or flour tortillas to go with it.)
-BBQ - once or twice a month
-Chicken-fried steak - no, thank you
-Fried Coke - never had it, but would be glad to try it

One little thing I love about Texas is that at many fast food restaurants, on the soda cup lids there is one of those push-down bubbles for "DP." When we were living out of state for several years, it was rare to even be able to get Dr. Pepper at any restaurant - fast food or otherwise - and I thoroughly enjoy the ease and availability of both Dr. Pepper (and Big Red!) when dining out. It's a small thing, I know.

I have a case of DP in bottles (the glass ones) in my garage I save when I mix them with peanuts. Thanks for making me laugh and recognize our friends in Dublin.

You are right. Their is a lot of lousy CFS in this state. Your statements about the fountain drink lids is correct. And I do love a good Dr. Pepper.

[AlGreen]

Originally Posted by car957

I have a case of DP in bottles (the glass ones) in my garage I save when I mix them with peanuts. Thanks for making me laugh and recognize our friends in Dublin.

You are right. Their is a lot of lousy CFS in this state. Your statements about the fountain drink lids is correct. And I do love a good Dr. Pepper.

how can chicken fried steak be lousy in texas when it was invented here (well, allegedly anyway). the exact names of the places slip my mind, but i know several locations that serve awesome CFS. hell, even IHOP's is good lol

[ladarron]

I eat Chicken Fried Steak as often as I can.

I eat alot of "Black People" food, for example: Collard Greens, Chicken and Dumplins, Sweet Potatoes, Potatoe Salad, Sweet Potatoe Pie, Smothered Chicken, Dressing with Giblet Gravy (some people call it stuffing), Broccoil, Rice and Cheese Cassarole, Baked Chicken, Homemade Macaroni and Chesse and more.

[AlGreen]

Originally Posted by ladarron

I eat Chicken Fried Steak as often as I can.

I eat alot of "Black People" food, for example: Collard Greens, Chicken and Dumplins, Sweet Potatoes, Potatoe Salad, Sweet Potatoe Pie, Smothered Chicken, Dressing with Giblet Gravy (some people call it stuffing), Broccoil, Rice and Cheese Cassarole, Baked Chicken, Homemade Macaroni and Chesse and more.

i only eat my mom's greens. otherwise, i won't barely touch 'em...and my mouth watered the second my eyes ran across "smothered chicken" lol. it's been a long time since i've had anything smothered, and i am feenin' lol