Truly great Mexican cuisine is defined by flavorful and fresh dishes, vibrant salsas and handmade tortillas, wonderfully-textured cheeses, regional specialties, and of course, chilies. Unfortunately, Mexican cuisine also tends to get simplified, and some of our least favorite Mexican restaurant chains seem content to serve bland dishes with questionable ingredients. What places are getting it right? We set out to find the best Mexican restaurant in each state, and it wasn't easy.
At 6:30 p.m. on a Saturday, every seat is taken at the Original Red Onion in Rolling Hills Estates, deep in the Palos Verdes Peninsula. As 20 parties wait for tables, a steady stream of takeout orders flows through the kitchen, and bustling bar patrons hold generously poured jalapeño mezcal margaritas that spill down the green cactus-shaped stems. Throughout the restaurant's multiple rooms, servers maneuver rolling carts of carne asada and saucy enchiladas between tables while they empty and refill chip baskets and salsa bowls.
Those cheese and topping-doused tortilla chips that we know as nachos are one of the greatest snacking foods ever invented. They originated in northern Mexico in a town called Piedras Negras, located right on the Mexico-United-States border, back in the 1940s. The original version was reportedly topped with cheese and jalapeños (an excellent combination, if you ask us), but these days, nachos at your favorite Mexican restaurant can come topped with a slew of ingredients ranging from ground beef, salsa, and scallions.
Like a lot of restaurants in Livermore, this spot's strip mall location might throw you off the scent of how good the quality of the food within is. You'll find plenty of classic Mexican specialties on the menu, like still-warm housemade chicharrónes, chicken tinga, and perfectly spiced equites. But don't ignore some of the less-expected dishes, like the parmesan-encrusted cauliflower with chipotle aioli for dipping, or the tender honey butter vegetables-stuffed chile relleno-a pleasantly light take on what is usually a heavy entrée.
When you think of Utah, Mexican food probably isn't the first menu option that comes to mind. But one Mexican restaurant chain began its journey in St. George and has since grown to more than 160 restaurants across 11 states, including California, Washington, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, and Colorado. Cafe Rio Mexican Grill opened in 1997 when founders Steve and Patricia Stanley wanted to bring their take on Northern Mexican and Tex-Mex flavors to southern Utah. Little did they know how big it would become.
Shots are the quickest way to get tequila down, but there's a way to actually enjoy the taste of tequila without trying to mask it with salt and lime juice. In an interview with Tasting Table, Jaime Salas, Head of Advocacy & Legacy for Jose Cuervo Tequila deemed the tried and true lime and salt duo "training wheels." But, says Salas, "while salt and lime are known as a dynamic duo when enjoying tequila shots, sangrita brings flavor contrast that still compliments the expression."
Cambridge got a new over-the-top restaurant that will mesh Mexican cuisine with 1990s mall culture - 13-foot-tall Aztec-inspired statues, a lush jungle interior, cheeky tiki mugs, and $5 tacos. This is what you'll find at Gato Exotico, the new dining destination from the team behind playful, immersive American Chinese restaurant Wusong Road in Harvard Square. Gato Exotico is the latest addition to CambridgeSide, a longstanding Lechmere-area mall that's been reimagining its food options, starting with swanky food hall and bar CanalSide, which opened last year.
Emidio Oceguera has managed some of Chicago's best-known restaurants, including De Cero and Chicago Cut. When he began entertaining the idea of opening his own place, his parents kept him grounded. Their advice ultimately inspired him to launch the Pilsen restaurant Cerdito Muerto in his childhood neighborhood last summer. Oceguera brings unapologetic personal touches to the space and menu. In a Mexican food scene as rich as Chicago's, Oceguera isn't interested in chasing trends or being anything but himself.
Growing up in a Mexican household, it never truly felt like the holidays until my abuela, very aptly, broke out the yellow box of Abuelita chocolate from the tiny cupboard next to the stove. My family and I would decorate the Christmas tree, laughing and reminiscing over handmade ornaments. Then we'd soak up the beauty of the silvery lights in the sala, warming our palms with mismatched tazas of chocolate.
In her new cookbook " Rooted in Fire: A Celebration of Native American and Mexican Cooking," Pyet DeSpain, Season 1 winner of Gordon Ramsay's "Next Level Chef" competition series, offers a warm introduction to the culinary traditions that shaped her upbringing in Kansas City, Kan., and on the Osage Reservation in Pawhuska, Okla. She invites readers to embrace a land-first approach to cooking that emphasizes an intimate understanding of how their food reaches their plates.
Aguachile, the bright and punchy seafood dish from coastal Sinaloa, Mexico, gets its name (which translates to chile water) from the vibrant blend of chiles, lime juice and salt that transform the sweet flesh of raw shrimp into tender, tart flavor bombs. I love making shrimp aguachile because it really takes me to a place. For me, that place is Mazatlan, Mexico.
Maydan Market, a new culinary compound in Los Angeles's West Adams neighborhood, has proved itself worth the 6-year wait. D.C. restaurateur Rose Previte's food hall and market feels like an Avengers lineup of the city's best operators, with stalls from already-iconic Los Angeles restaurants such as Holy Basil (which introduced Yhing Yhang, a Thai barbecue counter); Poncho's Tlayudas (running Lugya'h, a crowd-drawing tlayuda joint); and Tamales Elena (whose Maléna slings tamales, weekend barbacoa, fried fish tacos, and more).
The etymology of chocolate is via Spanish via Nahuatl - xocólatl combines xococ for sour, atl for water, owing to the bitterness of its earliest uses for what was once an elegant drink in the royal courts of ancient Mexico. Its export to Europe and the passing of centuries made "hot chocolate" a milk-derived sweet drink, warmed, though in Indigenous communities in Mexico, it's still
For years, I've brought friends to Mercado la Paloma, the food hall and cultural center that is home to Gilberto Cetina's Holbox, the seafood counter that was our L.A. Times Restaurant of the Year in 2023 and last year was awarded a Michelin star. These days, there's always a line for Cetina's exquisite seafood plates, including his octopus taco with squid-ink-stained sofrito.
It's a good time to be a Greater Boston diner in 2025, with exciting and diverse restaurant openings occurring all over the metro area. Each week, Boston.com will highlight the restaurant openings worth knowing about across the Greater Boston region. Some spots will already be open, while others are set to debut soon or later this year. At least one featured restaurant will always be a bonus item - either a pop-up, a collaboration, or event at area restaurants.
In "Last Suppers: If the World Ended Tomorrow, What Would Be Your Last Meal?," author James L. Dickerson claims Monroe had spicy meatballs and guacamole at a Mexican restaurant, washing it down with Champagne, her drink of choice at the time. In "Their Last Suppers: Legends of History and Their Final Meals," author Andrew Caldwell states that on the night of her death, Monroe had a Mexican buffet delivered to her home, which consisted of gazpacho, meatballs, refried beans, veal parmigiana, layered taco dip, and chicken.
A new Mexican restaurant has taken root downtown, right near PSU and the South Park Blocks. Madrina, which opened in late August, offers lunchtime staples like tacos, burritos, and quesadillas in its informal mercadito-themed space during the day. At night, Madrina's neighboring dining room opens for dinner, with hearty plates like cochinita pibil and pollo rostizado, plus a wine list composed entirely of Latina winemakers from the Willamette Valley.
"You have to help me understand," a friend emailed recently. We'd run into each other at Dolores, the Bed-Stuy taqueria that routinely quotes two-to-four-hour waits. On weekends, it's hard to secure even the rickety garden chairs on the sidewalk for drinks, and it took me over an hour to find a spot at the bar wide enough to set a napkin. "Is this normal now? Is it a TikTok thing?" my friend wrote. "HELP!!!!"
Mexico City's celebrated dining scene just got a whole lot closer to home. La Popular, one of the capital's most beloved modern Mexican restaurants, is officially opening its doors in Los Angeles this Monday, September 22nd, bringing authentic flavors and that unmistakable Mexican hospitality to the heart of Hollywood. Perched at Ovation Hollywood with breathtaking, unobstructed views of the iconic Hollywood Sign, this isn't just another restaurant opening: it's a cultural bridge connecting two of North America's most vibrant food cities.
That's because Chicago is just like us: big, urban, vibrant, and brown. This summer I visited the city where I always feel the flutter of familiarity. Let it be said: Chicago, like L.A., is Mexican as hell. Los Angeles may have more Mexican residents in total numbers, but in terms of who makes up each city's Latino population, Chicago is "as Mexican" as Los Angeles. Consider that about a third of Chicago is Hispanic or Latino, and roughly 73% of those people identify as Mexican. In Los Angeles, more than 45% are Latino, and about 71% of that population is Mexican, according to recent census data.
I've traveled to more than 20 countries, but Mexico continues to be one of my favorite destinations to visit. One Mexican city in particular has stolen my heart: Puerto Vallarta. Located on the country's west coast, Puerto Vallarta is more than just a classic resort town. It offers a unique blend of pristine beaches, a bustling downtown scene, and plenty of outdoor adventure.
Tamales are a Mexican staple that, at one point, was only available at street vendors, restaurants, and from the kitchens of Mexican cooks. Now, they're widely available in grocery stores and big box stores nationwide. Tamales are a traditional and important part of Mexican cuisinedating back to between 8000 and 5000 B.C. A tamale features corn-based dough ( called masa) and a variety of fillings, including meats, vegetables, cheese, beans, and even fruit.
Portland's rich, varied, and vibrant Mexican food scene deserves more attention than it gets. Quality taquerias and mercados have long simmered guisados and pressed tortillas across the city, but in recent years, the scene has blossomed even more. Quesabirria carts, mariscos pop-ups, and artful tasting menus have landed around town, expanding the range and regional representation in Mexican dining. Yet as the food scene has grown, so has the federal government's aggression toward the people behind it.
