Texans Reveal What Makes A Tex-Mex Restaurant Truly Great

Here in Texas, we love our hometown cuisine- and most of us have a Tex-Mex restaurant that we swear by. But what makes that particular place the perfect spot for Tex-Mex?

Recently, an owner of a successful Tex-Mex restaurant posted a thread on Reddit asking people that very question- what makes you love a Tex-Mex eatery? The answers were really spot on

But first, what makes the Mex...Tex?

In a nutshell, flour tortillas instead of corn and yellow cheese instead of white. And sour cream instead of crema. Tex-Mex is also very beef heavy- which makes sense given our ranching heritage.

Tex-Mex places will almost certainly have fajitas and quesadillas for this reason- and because they are insanely popular.

So what makes a Tex-Mex place the best?

Susan, the owner of Ventura's Tamles in Victoria Texas wanted to know the answer to this question. And I love to see a successful owner challenge herself to be even better.

But after almost 40 years, I still don’t really know what people LOVE TO EAT the most. Like what dishes make people go oh yeah, this is the reason I came to a restaurant and didn’t cook at home??? Makes me wonder if I’ve been too comfortable with what I know and I think I really just want to challenge myself/our kitchen to expand a bit more out of that comfort zone

Reddit was happy to supply her some answers (and many chimed in to let her know they love her place). Here are some of the best answers they had to give.

Options

Something I wish Tex Mex restaurants offered more were choose 2 or 3 combos. Tons of places have combos but never the combo i want.

I read this and remembered that my favorite Tex-Mex restaurant does this exact thing- a choice of 1-3 "main items" and tons of delicious side options too. It allows me to satisfy my exact craving without any compromise.

Quintessential Queso

Queso is often the deciding factor when I’m picking a tex mex restaurant and soooo many of them serve what I can only assume is canned cheese that might have a little jalapeño chunk or two floating around in it. Or just as bad, no queso at all.

Hard agree. Queso is a Tex-Mex staple (see the bit above about yellow cheese), and we want it made of real cheese and served real hot. Fresh fried chips are also important.

Other great advice for any restaurant owner

Pay attention to what people leave on the plate. Either portions are too large (some people are embarrassed to ask for 'doggie' bags), or, the recipe needs work.

This is really solid advice for any eatery to avoid food waste and take an opportunity to be even better.

Final note

Here in Texas, service is king. Even the tastiest places will suffer if the service isn't there- we are polite people and expect the same in return. Luckily, most places deliver just that- a welcoming and warm atmosphere.