Mexican Restaurant Tips When It Comes to Ordering Food

Mexican food is not only popular in Mexico, but it has also found its way to other parts of the world as well. If you’re a fan of this cuisine, check out the website of Fiesta Mexicana, a family-owned restaurant known for its authentic Mexican food at www.fiestamexrest.com. Whether you are going to Mexico or simply visiting a local Mexican restaurant, you’re lucky as this cuisine offers plenty of mouth-watering dishes for you to explore.

Here are some food ideas when ordering in a Mexican restaurant:

Mexican Food You Shouldn’t Miss

Traditional Mexican food takes pride in their recipes that are usually handed down from one generation to the next. If you are after authentic Mexican taste, find family-owned restaurants such as fiestamexrest.com, which use similar ingredients that their ancestors used, including corn and chiles.

Here are some must-try Mexican dishes.

• Carne Adobada. This is cooked marinated meat, which is often present in the menu. Any meat can be used, but most of the time, it’s pork. The marinade includes spices and chile sauce.
• Sopa Azteca. This is a tomato broth and a tortilla soup. It is usually served together with fried tortilla strips. It may contain meat at times, but it’s typically vegetarian.
• Plantains. Mexico is abundant with plantains, which are cooked in different ways. These can be baked, fried, or cooked in sugar and butter to make a delicious dessert.
• Barbacoa. This is slowly cooked lamb, beef or other meat that’s also shredded. If you’re on a diet, it can be helpful to know what meat you’re getting in your barbacoa.
• Carnitas. This dish is made of roasted or braised pork in oil and often served shredded.
• Chorizo. A spicy pork sausage, which typically comes high in fat.
• Ceviche. A soup appetizer that comes with white fish, shrimp, and scallops cooked with lime and lemon juice and small amounts of oil. It is considered a healthy dish as it usually has fresh vegetables like cucumber, tomatoes, and peppers.
• Fajitas. This dish usually refers to any grilled meat that’s served as taco on tortillas. Beef and chicken fajitas are common but these can also come in a vegetable version. In Mexican restaurants, the meat that is used is cooked with bell peppers and onions, and served with cheese, tomatoes, refried beans, lettuce, salsa, and sour cream.
• Mole. This is the sauce that usually comes with most meals. There are many variations to moles, and most of these are a combination of dried spices, chiles, and some fruit. These ingredients are usually simmered with broth or water to make a thick paste. There are also times when Mexican dark chocolate is combined with a mole.
• Quesadillas. This food is grilled tortillas that come with fillings, which are usually meat and cheese. But these can also come con grasa or deep fried.
• Tacos. This main course dish can either come with soft or hard-shelled tacos. It comes with grilled, sautéed, or pan-fried meat, which can be fish, chicken, or beef. This is also topped with tomatoes, onions, and jalapeno.
• Tortillas. You can choose from corn or flour variants. These are usually handmade fresh every day.
• Tostadas. This Mexican favorite comes with lightly fried tortillas along with cheese, shredded lettuce, a kind of meat, sour cream, and vinaigrette dressing.

The Language: What to Expect

Ordering food in a Mexican restaurant doesn’t have to confuse you because of the difference in language. Mexican Spanish is more commonly called Latin American Spanish because of its variation from the spoken Spanish language. Although several Spanish restaurant phrases are used in Mexico, these will only serve as your foundation in food ordering.

• The word vos, which is the singular ‘you’ in English, is only heard around the South of Mexico. Instead of using vosotros to mean the plural ‘you’, you should expect to hear ustedes.
• Around Mexican streets and shops, expect to hear a combination of English and Spanish as most phrases and words are a combination of these languages.

Here are some basic phrases you can use to order your food in Mexican.

• “Me da…?” Or “Me puede dar…?” – the phrases mean “Can I have…?”
• “Cuánto va a ser?” or “Cuánto es?” – means “How much is it?”
• “Me trae la cuenta por favor?” – means “Can I please have the bill?”

Closing Thoughts

Mexico is known for its festive culture as well as tasty food. A word of caution though: Mexican dishes are high in calories. So, if you’re limiting your daily caloric intake, it’s helpful to choose healthy Mexican food options and avoid that feeling of guilt. Also, if you’re a strict vegetarian, ensure that you explain that you don’t want any meat at all in your food as a restaurant can assume that a vegetarian can still eat chicken, fish or eggs.