Happy Cinco De Mayo Kansas City. It’s a great day to celebrate Mexico and the wonderful culture and history of our friends south of the border. May 5th is observed to commemorate a Mexican ass kicking placed onto to French at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862 when Mexican General Ignacio Zaragoza opened a can of whoop ass on an invading French army. Salute to the 1862 Mexican Army.
KCFoodGuys.com celebrates Cinco de Mayo by posting our inaugural Mexican Food annual report. There may be lots of Mexican food options in Kansas City but you can categorize them all into four broad categories.
Mexican Mush: I need to tell you something. That local Mexican restaurant you like is gross. Yes, your kids favorite strip-mall Mexican restaurant isn’t good. It’s cheap, you get coupons and the beer is cold, but that food isn’t good. They have margarita specials, but they are from the tap and they have a strange metallic aftertaste. This category is called Mexican Mush because every plate tastes the same, has the same texture and color. No reservations are needed at the Mexican Mush restaurant because all they are doing is filling up the trough.
TexMex: This is the Mexican you crave. These larger Mexican restaurants chains like On The Border, the family owned Mexican restaurants on Southwest Boulevard like El Patron and the trendy spots like Chuy’s have good stuff including table side guacamole, delicious enchiladas and plenty of menu items to choose from with great drinks.
Authentic Mexican: KCFoodGuys personal favorite is the wonderful Mexican tacoaritas and Mexican grocery stores that serve authentic Mexican grub. You won’t find free chips and salsa or cheese dip in these authentic street taco halls. But you will find Asada, Carnitas and Pastor tacos and wide varieties of flavorful sauces and fresh salsa. You also can have an authentic Mexican bottle of soda pop. Kansas City, Kansas and the Northeast neighborhood in KCMO each have at least a dozen of these wonderfully authentic street taco shops and Mexican bakeries. Bonito Michoacan offers great street tacos and one of the city’s largest salsa bars. But there are other great tacoaritas out there like El Camino Real and Dos De Oros.
Gourmet Mexican: Yes, Mexican can be gourmet. Restaurants like Port Fonda in Westport and Ixtapa in Parkville serve hand crafted traditional Tex-Mex dishes. The menu is endless and includes delicious beans, great cheeses, seafood, flavorful pork, desserts, beef and lots of vegetarian options. These dishes will amaze and are in stark difference to the Mexican Mush resturants that serve the masses. Value isn’t free so be mindful of the prices and it’s common for standard sides to be a la cart and chips with salsa are never free.
There aren’t any walls separating you from good Mexican food. Make a 2016 Cinco De Mayo resolution to add more good Mexican food in your life.
Fred is a enthusiastic and opinionated food writer that dreams in barbeque, craves street tacos and boasts about organics. Fred is an adventurous eater who balances the local classics but loves to try out the new spots and trends. Fred loves the Downtown/Crossroads/Westport lunch scene and is currently campaigning for true BBQ in the BBQ Dead Zone(aka: Liberty MO).
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