I am seeking REAL Mexican food or S. Cal Mexican in Pittsburgh. - REAL means down home, authentic...al pastor, ceviche, shrimp (or shrimp & octopus) soup, lard-laden refritos...etc, and may include "dive" atmosphere and even mariachi. - S. Cal means fish tacos, real fresh salsa, maybe some light, inventive combinations. All require good margaritas. I've travelled Pittsburgh over, and none qualify... >Mad Mex - poor S. Cal attempt, not even close to real. I think they use "squeeze cheese" on certain things, margaritas are overpriced and generally not very good. >Cozumel - maybe closer to real, but more americanized real, with little true variety on their menu >Fajita Grill - not really worth mentioning. Foo foo gourmet attempt mexican...dry (both in Marg. and moisture content of the pseudo-tamales I once ordered), qualifies as neither of the sought after styles >Don Pablos - actually (scarily) one of the better, though too american-Chi Chi 'ized, no good variety >some place tucked in the wilds of the north hills I can't remember - pretty good, yet standard American mex menu I've done many others (Jose and Tony's -ick, Pollo Rey, some strip mall in Monroeville, etc, etc). Any help/suggestions in Pittsburgh? What's good? I'm from Milwaukee with a large hispanic population and good restaurants...Conejito's, Rudy's, Tres Hermanos My girlfriend is from San Diego...Rubio's, Wanna Iguana...and there's a ton of REAL there too.
Pittsburgh, PA
Looking for real Mexican in Pittsburgh
Sorry man, The best Mexican I know of is in Cleveland (Luchita's on 117th) I'm ashamed to admit we frequent Don Pablo's for margaritas, but they're the best in Pittsburgh, AFAIK. Really pricey, though. Bring your Visa card. Eats-wise - I'm with you...way too Chi-Chi, but far more tolerable. Their service is more than a little unorganized. El Campensino is not bad for a family-run Mexican place, but aen exremely typical menu. A bit low budget, food-wise - BYOB. wrote in message ... >I am seeking REAL Mexican food or S. Cal Mexican in Pittsburgh. > >- REAL means down home, authentic...al pastor, ceviche, shrimp (or shrimp & >octopus) soup, lard-laden refritos...etc, and may include "dive" atmosphere >and even mariachi. . . . >My girlfriend is from San Diego...Rubio's, Wanna Iguana...and there's a ton of >REAL there too. >
NNTP-Posting-Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 18:25:33 EDT Organization: Stargate Industries, LLC. Xref: pgh.food:7966 Someone wrote: >I am seeking REAL Mexican food or S. Cal Mexican in Pittsburgh. >>Don Pablos - actually (scarily) one of the better, though too american-Chi Chi >'ized, no good variety As one who spent 11+ years in South Texas, Don Pablo's comes closest to what we had there. Not perfect, but pretty damn close. I never cared for the California tendency to put Sour Cream and Guacamole on everything. I like mine a bit spicy. I think that DP is is LIGHT YEARS above Chi-Chi's. They may have the same cookie-cutter atmosphere, but the food is much much better and closer to authentic. If you ever get to Charlotte, NC in your travels, go to AZTECA on Woodlawn Blvd just east of I-77. They have about 30 native Mexicans running that place and it is great!!! Most from Matamoros, Guadelajara and Monterrey. Family place and they know what they are doing! John
wrote in article ... > Someone wrote: > > >Fajita Grill - not really worth mentioning. Foo foo gourmet attempt > > mexican...dry (both in Marg. and moisture content of the pseudo-tamales I once > > ordered), qualifies as neither of the sought after styles > > IMO Fajita Grill is the best mexican you'll find in Pittsburgh... It used to be. It used to be some of the best Mexican I've had anywhere including most of the southwestern states. But that was in the Pleasant Hills days. I finally got to their new Shadyside location recently and was appalled at the changes - all for the worse as far as I am concerned. I agree with the original poster. Ptui! > one you didn't mention that's worth checking out is Mago Latino > on Liberty Ave. in Bloomfield. Some of their stuff is quite > good, but it's BYOB like Fajita Grill so it doesn't really fit > your qualifications. A big disappointment after reading posts raving about it after it first opened. And we went to Casa Chapala last weekend. I had been there once before when it was in Somerset. I thought it was pretty good then, but I was somewhat disappointed this time. Not by lack of authenticity, but by poor quality. I had the tacos al carbon which would have been great except for the large amount of gristle in the meat. Also the sauce on the tamal sucked and the rice and beans lacked flavor. I did like the queso fundido and the nachos we had as appetizers. Kate
>> >some place tucked in the wilds of the north hills I can't remember - >pretty >> > good, yet standard American mex menu >> > >> probably Franklin Inn > >Does anyone with Latino experience have a good rundown on the Franklin Inn? >I've >heard about it many times, and don't know where it is. I'm interested in >trying it >if it's above average. > Hi, I live and work in the *wilds of the North Hills*. Franklin Inn does have decent Mexican food. My favorite time to go is on a weekend. They have some good egg dishes and chorizo ones as well. Their menu is not real extensive, but they do have great food IMHO. I have not been impressed with other Mexican restaurants here in Pittsburgh, but when I want Mexican, I'll go to the Franklin. The easiest way to get there: get off the Camp Horne exit of 279 and head east until you get to Mt. Nebo Road. Take it until it passes back under 279 and turn right onto McAleer Rd. Take that to the end of the road and turn right (that's Rochester Rd.). In about a mile, maybe less, the Franklin Inn will be on your right. Blessings, Priscilla