#28 My Faith is Restored in the Hole in the Wall

Ernesto's Taqueria
Ft. Worth, TX

My friend Lupita swears that Ernesto's has the best menudo anywhere in the DFW area. She has the proper foodie credentials (growing up with Mexican parents and grandparents who love to cook). Plus she never lies. We pack the car with a few artist friends and take a road trip to Ft. Worth to see some galleries and gorge at Ernesto's. I am a bit nervous about eating menudo, but Lupita's enthusiasm is contagious.

Unfortunately Ernesto's only serves menudo on Sabado and Domingo. We are there on Viernes, so we are out of luck. The taqueria is a bit intimidating. I walk in and see vats of mystery meat. No veggies in site. Without Lupita, I would have bailed immediately. I'm not a big meat eater, as evidenced by my prolific posts about spinach enchiladas and fish tacos.

I deferred to Lupita who ordered for me--barbacoa, carnitas and chorizo with papas (potatoes). The lunch special included 3 tacos with rice and beans for $4.85.  You can't beat that price. I'm glad I didn't know what barbacoa was or I definitely wouldn't have eaten it. COW HEAD. Slow-cooked cow head, but still. The cowhead was mighty tasty. Actually all of it was tasty. I didn't even feel guilty about eating Babe. (For those of you too young for the reference, it was a 1995 film about a pig with a personality).

The tacos were served with double corn tortillas (I hate flour tortillas) with cilantro, onions and tomatillo salsa. The only thing missing was guacamole. I'm sure the crew would have pulverized an avocado for me if I asked. They were very friendly and accommodating.

I stayed away from the really scary dishes==Lengua (tongue) and Tripas (which Wikipedia defines as edible offal--not to be confused with awful). This is not a restaurant for vegetarians. There were NO veggie options on the menu. Meat and more meat.

For drinks, we had horchata; a rice drink with sugar and cinnamon. Although I lived in Mexico for a short time, I never tasted this before. It was delicious, although I didn't need 32 ounces of it.

The taqueria is located on the southside and there are no shortage of Mexican restaurants on this city strip. This gem doesn't look like much from the outside--actually it resembles a bail bond office. It's worth the trip. Lupita's sister goes every Sunday after church for their menudo. I have to go back--when  I'm feeling adventurous.

Proprietors/Chefs--Ricardo, Ruben and Jacinto

#27 Intromit

Rosa's Tortilla Factory & Cafe
Coppell, TX

Intromit was the word of the day on dictionary.com. I like the word, because it rhymes with vomit. Kind of like an onomatopoeia word. It means to accept, concede and suffer. All of which I've been doing for the sake of this blog. 


I've passed by this restaurant many times on Route 121 Ft. Worth bound. With a beautiful new building and a name like Rosa's Tortilla Factory, I was expecting big things. We went last Saturday for a post-wrestling tournament late lunch. The best thing about it was the festive interior with ceramic painted tiled tables, brightly painted walls and a glass enclosure that showed someone making homemade tortillas.. Traditional Mexican ceramic animals hung on the wall.  In reality, it is a glorified take out restaurant. (My first clue should have been the drive-thru express lane, which was packed with waiting cars.) I'm a bit suspicious about take-out instant food. Call me 
radical, but a five-minute food guarantee seems a bit at odds with an "authentic" Mexican food experience as promised by the restaurant's advertising. 

I had a bland guac salad with chips that might have been fresh at one time. Salsa was non-descript. My son had pinto bean and cheese burritos. My husband had chicken soft tacos. The old adage--you get what you pay for is true. We all ate for $18. In my case, I would rather not waste my calories for a substandard meal. My husband said the best part was the price. Clearly others agree as evidenced my the long drive-thru line.  

Disappointing 26

Los Charros Tex Mex (no website, bad sign #4)

Allen, TX

I probably would have avoided this restaurant for a while longer if it weren’t for my massive blood sugar crash. While shopping at the outlets with my teenaged son, I suddenly felt my face go pale and palms get clammy. This usually means that I have about 10 minutes until I literally pass out. We ran out the door and went to the closest eatery. It looked closed--construction in the parking lot and only 1 car in the lot. Not a good sign. We entered and I immediately had deja-vu. At age 15, my first job was hostessing at Chi Chi’s Mexican restaurant in Pittsburgh. The kitchen always smelled dank—a combo of dirty dishwater and stale Mexican food. This is the same smell that wafted into my nose upon entering Los Charros. (2^nd bad sign.) The 3^rd bad sign was the lack of patrons. There was only 1 other couple in the restaurant and only 1 guy at the bar.

I ordered avocado enchiladas and my son ordered brisket tacos. On the plus side, the food was served in 5 minutes, which meant my blood sugar was restored to almost normal. On the downside, the food was served in 5 minutes, which meant it was all pre-made and microwaved. I inhaled it all within 2 minutes, so perhaps missed some of the subtle nuances… or not. My enchiladas were supposed to have a cilantro sauce, but instead it was a ranchero sauce, with flakes of tasteless, dried green herb. It tasted like tomato sauce—no discernable chile or cilantro flavor. My son’s brisket tacos were ok, but a bit greasy. The beans tasted like lard. The guac was creamy—nothing special, but edible.  Our server was attentive and efficient, but not enough to make me want to return, not even for the nostalgic deja-vu. 

The Big 25!

Uncle Julios
Addison, TX

Most of you know that I'm a transplanted Northeasterner. What most of you don't know is that my family is originally from Texas--Dallas to be specific. I lived here until I was 5. I still have first cousins-once-removed, second cousins, second cousins-once-removed, etc...in the area. Cousins on both sides of the family have been telling me that Uncle Julios is a good dependable Mexican restaurant. I've put off going, since I figured I needed one or more cousins with me for the experience. I celebrated my belated bday with various cousins yesterday at Uncle Julios and true to their word, I was not disappointed.

The Addison location has two lovely outdoor courtyards. Despite the fact, that it's directly off the Tollway, I didn't hear any car noise. It was one of those lovely PRE-SUMMER days (meaning less than 100 degrees with a breeze).


Chips were light and salty--just the way I like them. Salsa had a slight smoked flavor. I ordered fish tacos with a side of guac and my cousins ordered chicken fajitas. My fish tacos had a creamy cilantro sauce and were served with cilantro rice and black beans. How refreshing to not have lard sitting in my stomach after eating beans and rice. The fish had a crispy exterior and was moist and flaky inside. Not fishy. The guac was fresh and had chunks of avocado in it. (Always a good sign.)

I asked my cousins what made the fajitas better than other Mexican restaurants. They replied that the chicken breast was tender (all breast meat, marinated with a pronounced, but balanced grill flavor). Other restaurants sometimes skimp on the breast meat or overcook it. Nothing worse than chewy, tough chicken.

The server was attentive without being too overbearing. They brought me a carmel fried ice cream for my bday. Sometimes it's difficult to separate the food from the experience, especially when it begins to all run together after 25 or so restaurants. But I'd go back, especially with my cousins!

24 down, 1394 to go

Don Taco Tex Mex (no website)

Roanoke, TX

Notice they are hiring

My son is a wrestler. What this means is that most Friday evenings, he skips dinner to ensure he makes weight for Saturday morning weigh-ins. At 7:45am every Saturday morning (November-May), we search for the nearest breakfast joint. A ravenous, tired teenaged boy does not make the best meal companion. I have briefly considered creating a new blog dedicated to Saturday morning pre-wrestling tournament breakfast pig-outs. But it seems that my readership might be a bit….limited.

Last Saturday, my husband’s crackberry recommended a placed called the Blue Hangar, which was “just up the road.” I should know by now, that just up the road is code for 60 MILES  in Texas vernacular. We drove around for 40 minutes in cattle country,  just outside of Trophy, Texas (home to the Stepford a.k.a. trophy wife capital of the country*). Airport hangar, but no Blue Hangar. We did see a few planes take off. 

Gearing up for Cinco de Mayo

Back in town, we stop at Don Taco Tex Mex that is miraculously open for breakfast. A very cheerful waitress greets us. We are the only customers. I order my favorite dish—huevos rancheros and my son orders eggs and chorizo. There was menudo on the menu. I’m always told if the restaurant has menudo, it’s the REAL DEAL. But the thought of eating pig intestines at 8am was not palatable.

The rancheros sauce had a spicy kick to it. The eggs were done perfectly—runny, but not too runny. The dishes were served with potatoes and beans. I ordered a side of guac and while it wasn’t tableside (I’m definitely a guac snob now), it was freshly made.  My son who is a purist and doesn’t like his foods co-mingled, initially balked at having the eggs MIXED with the chorizo. But he said the flavor was good.

I would definitely go back. The service was excellent. Probably not the best meal to eat pre-wrestling, but since all I had to do was sit on a bench, it was fine for me. And I was full for 10 hours!

*note--I don't have the trophy wife stats, but based on all the jogging young moms, I am rather confident in my assessment.