Jdvn1
Hanging in there. Better than the alternative.
Huh, that's interesting. Would you say that TC is better than the average sit-down "real" (not fast food) restaurant? Both in and out of San Antonio?
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Huh, that's interesting. Would you say that TC is better than the average sit-down "real" (not fast food) restaurant? Both in and out of San Antonio?
Nah- I place TCs at the top of fast food Mexican, but not up there with restaurants. I've had some OK dishes at Bell & Bueno, but I'll pass them up for TCs every time if given the option.
Most locations have decent flour tortillas, and their pico de gallo is relatively tasty, but any real restaurant will blow their guacamole out of the water. And the only cheese in the place is (as I recall) shredded cheddar. Their salsa is slightly to medium hot.
Their fajita meat (chicken or beef) is tasty and nicely seasoned but not as good & juicy as you'd get in a standard tex-mex place, and unless you get the platter, you won't get onions and peppers...or at least, not enough for you to notice.
Most locations have decent flour tortillas, and their pico de gallo is relatively tasty, but any real restaurant will blow their guacamole out of the water. And the only cheese in the place is (as I recall) shredded cheddar. Their salsa is slightly to medium hot.
Their fajita meat (chicken or beef) is tasty and nicely seasoned but not as good & juicy as you'd get in a standard tex-mex place, and unless you get the platter, you won't get onions and peppers...or at least, not enough for you to notice.
Jdvn1
Hanging in there. Better than the alternative.
Every place I went to seemed to have good tortillas (Naked Iguana less so), and their salsa was a good level of spice. Austin tex-mex is a bit too hot, but San Antonio tex-mex is similar to Houston tex-mex in spiciness, which is perfect for me (not that I hold excessive spiciness against a place, necessarily).
None featured particularly good guacamole, though not bad necessarily, and I didn't order the tableside guac at Pericos, which is always better than the normal stuff you get in my experience. Mi Tierra didn't have good beans, but they had a really good cheese on them (some kind of queso blanco, at least that's what I'd call it). The cheese seemed pretty normal everywhere, otherwise.
The meat, everywhere I went, was consistently bad. Too fatty and overspiced. I couldn't bite through some of the meat due to the fat, and I tend to be pretty forgiving about a little bit of fat. At Pericos, they seemed to try to cover their fatty meat in onions and peppers--I like onions and peppers, but the meat is more important. And the meat wasn't even sliced properly. There were tiny bits, as if it was a vegetable dish with meat sprinkled in.
TC sounds like a much better option.
None featured particularly good guacamole, though not bad necessarily, and I didn't order the tableside guac at Pericos, which is always better than the normal stuff you get in my experience. Mi Tierra didn't have good beans, but they had a really good cheese on them (some kind of queso blanco, at least that's what I'd call it). The cheese seemed pretty normal everywhere, otherwise.
The meat, everywhere I went, was consistently bad. Too fatty and overspiced. I couldn't bite through some of the meat due to the fat, and I tend to be pretty forgiving about a little bit of fat. At Pericos, they seemed to try to cover their fatty meat in onions and peppers--I like onions and peppers, but the meat is more important. And the meat wasn't even sliced properly. There were tiny bits, as if it was a vegetable dish with meat sprinkled in.
TC sounds like a much better option.
Hmm...to my recollection, San Antonio's restaurants did tend towards fattier meats in general, so if that's your main issue, I'm not surprised. Austin and D/FW were a bit leaner by preference.
And the thing is, I don't think that's a "Mexican" or "Southern Texas" thing, because I recall El Paso having a leaner style as well.
And yeah- they did like it hot down there! I wasn't bothered by that too much- I'm a Creole by birth, so spicy food is a way of life for me- but I can see how that could be an issue. I'm surprised that the Houston scene isn't spicier, though.
TCs meat was middle of the road- not to fatty, but not dry as a chip, either. And the meat is usually cut into strips about the size of a pinky or ring finger.
And the thing is, I don't think that's a "Mexican" or "Southern Texas" thing, because I recall El Paso having a leaner style as well.
And yeah- they did like it hot down there! I wasn't bothered by that too much- I'm a Creole by birth, so spicy food is a way of life for me- but I can see how that could be an issue. I'm surprised that the Houston scene isn't spicier, though.
TCs meat was middle of the road- not to fatty, but not dry as a chip, either. And the meat is usually cut into strips about the size of a pinky or ring finger.
DUH!
I just remembered another factor that elevates TCs above the rest of the fast-food mexican restaurants: BOOZE!
Most locations serve a variety of beers and margaritas. NOW do you understand why TCs did so well just off of a college campus?
I just remembered another factor that elevates TCs above the rest of the fast-food mexican restaurants: BOOZE!
Most locations serve a variety of beers and margaritas. NOW do you understand why TCs did so well just off of a college campus?
Relique du Madde
Adventurer
DUH!
I just remembered another factor that elevates TCs above the rest of the fast-food mexican restaurants: BOOZE!
Most locations serve a variety of beers and margaritas. NOW do you understand why TCs did so well just off of a college campus?
The other restaurants don't have booze?
Sorry- Taco Bell, Taco Bueno, and most of the other fast-food mexican restaurants simply don't have booze...at least, not in Texas.
Jdvn1
Hanging in there. Better than the alternative.
Hah, the TC love makes sense now!
I'd like to clarify, when I say that San Antonio tex-mex is fatty, I don't mean it's more moist necessarily. There are large, unchewable pieces of fat in the meat, or it's a lower quality meat. For example, there's at least one restaurant in Houston that advertises sirloin steak fajitas. Quality meat is a big selling factor.
Houston has some places with more spice--the average around Houston might be spicier than San Antonio--but the median place I would say is not significantly more spicy than San Antonio.
I'd like to clarify, when I say that San Antonio tex-mex is fatty, I don't mean it's more moist necessarily. There are large, unchewable pieces of fat in the meat, or it's a lower quality meat. For example, there's at least one restaurant in Houston that advertises sirloin steak fajitas. Quality meat is a big selling factor.
Houston has some places with more spice--the average around Houston might be spicier than San Antonio--but the median place I would say is not significantly more spicy than San Antonio.
No, I got you the first time.
I suspect part of it is that San Antonio, despite being one of the top 10 biggest cities in the USA (behind Texas' own Huston and Dallas), it is a poor city. In some ways, San Antonio is a scaled up New Orleans.
So while Austin, Dallas and Houston will have an abundance of higher-end restaurants- befitting the higher costs & standards of living- San Antonio restaurants will, generally speaking, cater to the lower end of the spectrum. Even the higher-end eateries will suffer in comparison to their counterparts in the richer cities.
(I'm speaking in generalities, of course...some are fantastic. I'm trying to find the card of this place that hosted my Continuing Legal Education meeting a few years ago- some of the best damn cabrito I've ever had!)
While my home city of New Orleans is reknown for its cuisine, a lot of it is fatty. Now, that tends to be largely in the form of butter and other dairy, but just like Chef Ramsay so often suggests, they also use some cheaper meats, artfully prepared.
I suspect part of it is that San Antonio, despite being one of the top 10 biggest cities in the USA (behind Texas' own Huston and Dallas), it is a poor city. In some ways, San Antonio is a scaled up New Orleans.
So while Austin, Dallas and Houston will have an abundance of higher-end restaurants- befitting the higher costs & standards of living- San Antonio restaurants will, generally speaking, cater to the lower end of the spectrum. Even the higher-end eateries will suffer in comparison to their counterparts in the richer cities.
(I'm speaking in generalities, of course...some are fantastic. I'm trying to find the card of this place that hosted my Continuing Legal Education meeting a few years ago- some of the best damn cabrito I've ever had!)
While my home city of New Orleans is reknown for its cuisine, a lot of it is fatty. Now, that tends to be largely in the form of butter and other dairy, but just like Chef Ramsay so often suggests, they also use some cheaper meats, artfully prepared.
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Jdvn1
Hanging in there. Better than the alternative.
That's what I suspected, but I've read that San Antonio is known for great tex-mex--if the average quality meat is a lower quality, that seems to be a misrepresentation. Sure, San Antonio may have high-end great restaurants, but most cities have that. Houston, Dallas, and Austin have better average restaurants, and also great high-end restaurants.
So, what's so special about San Antonio's food scene?
As a bit of a foodie, though, I'm happy to try the better restaurants. I don't mind saving up money for a great meal.
So, what's so special about San Antonio's food scene?
As a bit of a foodie, though, I'm happy to try the better restaurants. I don't mind saving up money for a great meal.
