Mexican Food

I was really looking forward to some good Tex-Mex when we moved here. Unfortunately, I’ve been a little disappointed. With one major exception, I find the Mexican restaurants in this area to be pretty much like the Mexican restaurants in the Portland area; lots of rice, beans, and cheese. Everyone serves chips and salsa, but the salsa IS different. I’ve yet to find any chunky salsa being served. Most places serve both red and green salsa. They are almost puréed. But the most unusual thing about the salsa is that the red salsa is usually served warm. I find this a bit odd, but it seems to be the norm here. The other major difference is the nachos. Instead of a heaping platter of chips covered with meat, cheese, tomatoes, sour cream, etc., you get a plate of 6 to 12 chips (thicker than the regular chips) each “decorated” with the standard ingredients. The first time I ordered a nacho, they asked me if I wanted 6 or 12. Boy was I confused! I had no idea what the waitress was talking about.

The one exception to the usual fare, is a place called Hugo’s on Westheimer in Houston. We went there for our anniversary in February. This is a NICE place, with the most interesting menu. It kind of reminded me of Andina’s in NW PDX. (My favorite restaurant ever!!) They serve things like Squash Blossom Soup, 4 kinds of ceviches, cabrito with nopales (roasted goat meat with prickly pear cactus), and pan fried grasshoppers, to name just a few dishes. When we went, I had a dish consisting of 3 little pastry-like shells with goat, rabbit, and lamb filling. Rick had roasted pork in plantain leaves. They also have a rather extensive vegetarian menu. A little on the expensive side, but if you go for lunch, it’s pretty reasonable for an upscale restaurant.

I’ve also been told that a place called Ninfa’s is pretty good too, but I haven’t tried it yet. (Sorry Bert.)

So now that I’ve established the overall mediocrity of the local restaurants, can someone please explain to me why I’ve gained 20 pounds since I moved here??