9 Dishes To Stop Ordering At Mexican Restaurants & 9 Authentic Ones To Try Instead
I’ve always been a sucker for Mexican food, but after visiting Mexico City last year, I realized most American ‘Mexican’ restaurants serve dishes that would make my abuela friends gasp in horror.
The commercialized versions we’re used to often bear little resemblance to authentic Mexican cuisine. Ready to upgrade your ordering game?
Let’s explore what to skip next time and the real-deal dishes that deserve your attention instead.
1. Skip: Chimichangas
When I ordered a chimichanga in Oaxaca, the waiter actually laughed at me! This deep-fried burrito monstrosity is about as Mexican as apple pie. Born in Arizona (though some debate this), chimichangas represent American excess at its finest – take something already calorie-dense and dunk it in bubbling oil.
The problem isn’t just authenticity; it’s that the frying process masks the subtle flavors that make Mexican cuisine special. The crispy exterior creates a grease-soaked barrier between you and the ingredients inside.
Most Mexican families wouldn’t recognize this dish if it showed up on their dinner table. When restaurants focus on spectacle rather than substance, you’re missing out on the true culinary heritage of Mexico.
2. Try Instead: Cochinita Pibil
My first bite of cochinita pibil in Mérida changed my life! This Yucatecan treasure features pork marinated in acidic citrus juice and achiote paste, then wrapped in banana leaves and slow-roasted in an underground pit oven called a ‘pib’ (hence the name).
The result? Meat so tender it practically melts before your fork touches it. The bright orange-red color comes from annatto seeds, not artificial coloring, and the flavor profile balances earthy, tangy, and slightly sweet notes perfectly.
Traditionally served with pickled red onions, habanero salsa, and warm corn tortillas, this dish represents the beautiful marriage of ancient Mayan cooking techniques with Spanish ingredients. It’s history you can taste!
3. Skip: Nachos With Cheese Sauce
I’ll confess – I’ve demolished many plates of those nuclear-orange nachos at 2 AM. But those stadium-style chips drowning in processed cheese sauce? They’re a Tex-Mex invention that strayed miles from the border.
The original nachos, created by Ignacio ‘Nacho’ Anaya in 1940, were simple: fried tortilla triangles topped with real cheese and jalapeños. No fluorescent pump cheese, no mountain of sour cream, no sad iceberg lettuce.
What’s worse than their inauthenticity is how they’ve become the poster child for Mexican food in America. When that processed cheese sauce congeals into a rubbery layer after sitting for five minutes, you’re experiencing culinary sadness, not Mexican cuisine.
4. Try Instead: Tacos Al Pastor
Walking through Mexico City’s streets at night, I was hypnotized by the spinning trompos (vertical spits) of marinated pork, their edges crisping as flames licked upward. Tacos al pastor tell a fascinating culinary migration story – Lebanese immigrants brought shawarma techniques to Mexico, which evolved into this beloved street food.
Thin slices of achiote and dried chile-marinated pork stack onto a vertical spit, topped with pineapple whose juices tenderize the meat as it rotates. A skilled taquero slices the caramelized meat directly onto corn tortillas, catching bits of pineapple in one fluid motion.
The flavor combination is mind-blowing – smoky, sweet, spicy and tangy, finished with cilantro, onions and a squeeze of lime. Pure street food perfection!
5. Skip: Hard-Shell Tacos
Remember those yellow boxed taco kits from the grocery store? I grew up on those crunchy U-shaped shells that shatter on first bite, sending seasoned beef confetti all over your plate. Hard-shell tacos are about as Mexican as fortune cookies are Chinese.
Created by Glen Bell (yes, the founder of Taco Bell) in the 1950s, these pre-formed shells were designed for American assembly-line efficiency. Real Mexican tacos use soft corn tortillas that are either quickly fried until soft or simply warmed.
The ground beef filling with pre-packaged ‘taco seasoning’ completes this American invention. When you order hard-shell tacos, you’re essentially eating an American fast-food creation that became normalized through chain restaurants.
6. Try Instead: Tlayudas
“You haven’t lived until you’ve had a tlayuda under the stars in Oaxaca,” my Mexican friend told me before my trip. She wasn’t exaggerating! Often called “Mexican pizza” by tourists (though locals might cringe at this comparison), tlayudas are massive, dinner-plate-sized tortillas crisped on a comal until slightly crunchy but still pliable.
The base layer is a thin spread of asiento (pork lard) and black bean paste, topped with quesillo (Oaxacan string cheese), lettuce, avocado, and your choice of protein – typically tasajo (beef), cecina (pork), or chorizo.
What makes tlayudas special is their perfect textural balance – not too soft, not too crunchy – and how they showcase regional Oaxacan ingredients. They’re meant to be folded and eaten with your hands, making for a messy but transcendent experience.
7. Skip: Fajitas
The sizzling platter approaches your table, turning heads as smoke billows dramatically upward. I’ll admit it – fajitas are theatrical dining at its finest. But authentic Mexican? Not even close.
Fajitas originated in the 1930s among Mexican ranch workers in Texas who were given skirt steak as part of their pay. The dish as we know it today – with its bell peppers, onions, and flour tortillas – was commercialized in the 1970s by Ninfa’s restaurant in Houston.
While delicious, fajitas represent Tex-Mex at its core. The word “fajita” means “little belt,” referring to the cut of meat, not the entire dish. When you order fajitas, you’re getting Texas border cuisine, not something you’d find in Mexico City or Oaxaca.
8. Try Instead: Chiles En Nogada
My first encounter with chiles en nogada left me speechless – it’s not just food, it’s edible patriotism! This stunning dish proudly displays the colors of the Mexican flag: green poblano peppers, white walnut sauce, and red pomegranate seeds.
Created by nuns in Puebla to honor Mexican independence, chiles en nogada features poblano peppers stuffed with a sweet-savory mixture of ground meat, fruits, and spices called picadillo. The walnut cream sauce (nogada) poured over top is slightly sweet with hints of cinnamon and sherry.
What makes this dish special beyond its flavors is its seasonality – traditionally served only around Mexican Independence Day (September 16) when pomegranates and walnuts are harvested. It represents Mexican cuisine at its most refined and historically significant.
9. Skip: Taco Salads In Fried Tortilla Bowls
Nothing says “I don’t understand Mexican food” quite like a giant fried tortilla bowl filled with lettuce and taco fixings. I used to think these were the healthy option until I realized I was eating a literal bowl made of deep-fried carbs!
This American invention from the 1960s has zero connection to Mexican cuisine. Real Mexican salads like ensalada de nopales (cactus salad) bear no resemblance to these Tex-Mex creations topped with commercial sour cream and bland iceberg lettuce.
The saddest part might be how these salads reinforce stereotypes about Mexican food – that it’s all about cheese, beef, and crispy tortillas. When you order a taco salad, you’re missing the fresh, vibrant, vegetable-forward side of authentic Mexican cooking.
10. Try Instead: Pozole
The first time I tasted pozole, I was fighting a cold in Mexico City. One spoonful of this soul-warming soup, and I swear my sinuses cleared instantly! This ancient pre-Hispanic stew dates back to Aztec times and remains a celebration staple throughout Mexico.
The foundation is hominy – large corn kernels that have been treated with lime to remove the hulls – simmered with meat (usually pork) in a rich, chile-infused broth. What makes pozole special is the customization. Each bowl comes with a spread of garnishes: shredded cabbage, radishes, onions, oregano, lime, and chile.
Pozole comes in three varieties – rojo (red), verde (green), or blanco (white) – depending on the region. It’s communal food meant to be shared with family and friends, especially during holidays and special occasions.
11. Skip: Queso Dip
I’ve definitely double-dipped into my fair share of queso at Tex-Mex restaurants. That molten yellow cheese substance served with tortilla chips is undeniably addictive – but about as Mexican as spray cheese.
Queso dip (or chile con queso) as Americans know it originated in Texas and uses processed cheeses like Velveeta that didn’t even exist in traditional Mexican cooking. Real Mexican cheese dishes like queso fundido use authentic cheeses like Oaxaca or Chihuahua melted with chorizo or rajas (roasted pepper strips).
The biggest giveaway that queso dip isn’t authentic? Its consistency. That unnaturally smooth texture comes from sodium citrate and other stabilizers in processed cheese. When something can sit at room temperature for hours without separating, that’s food science, not Mexican tradition.
12. Try Instead: Birria
My obsession with birria began at a tiny roadside stand in Jalisco where I watched a family ladle rich, mahogany-colored consommé over freshly chopped meat. Originally made with goat in Jalisco state, birria is a labor of love – meat slowly stewed with a complex blend of dried chiles and spices until it’s fall-apart tender.
What separates good birria from great birria is the consommé – that rich, fatty broth infused with chile oils that stains your fingers orange-red. Modern variations like birria tacos (where tortillas are dipped in the fat before being filled and crisped) have gone viral, but the traditional stew version remains the soul-warming original.
Served with cilantro, onions, lime, and corn tortillas, birria exemplifies Mexican cuisine’s ability to transform humble ingredients through time and technique into something extraordinary.
13. Skip: Ground Beef Tacos
Growing up, taco night meant one thing: ground beef browned with a packet of mystery spices, spooned into hard shells. I thought this was Mexican food until my first trip to Mexico, where I didn’t see a single ground beef taco!
Ground beef tacos are a purely American invention. Authentic Mexican tacos feature specific cuts of meat prepared in traditional ways – carne asada (grilled beef), carnitas (braised pork), barbacoa (barbecued meat), or specialized preparations like cabeza (head meat) or lengua (tongue).
The seasoning packet is another American shortcut – a blend of chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, and cornstarch that bears little resemblance to how meats are actually seasoned in Mexico. When you order ground beef tacos, you’re essentially eating American comfort food with a vaguely Mexican-inspired name.
14. Try Instead: Huaraches
“Hold your huarache with both hands or wear the consequences!” warned my street food guide in Mexico City as she handed me an oval-shaped masa base piled high with toppings. Named after their resemblance to sandals (huaraches), these street food favorites start with a thick, hand-shaped corn masa base that’s par-cooked, filled with a thin layer of beans, then finished on the griddle.
The crispy-yet-chewy foundation gets topped with your choice of protein, nopales (cactus), crema, queso fresco, and salsa. What makes huaraches special is the textural contrast – that substantial masa base provides the perfect canvas for the toppings.
Unlike their Americanized counterparts, authentic huaraches aren’t drowning in cheese. Instead, they showcase the complex flavors of well-prepared proteins and the earthy corn base that forms Mexican cuisine’s backbone.
15. Skip: Overstuffed Burritos
That foil-wrapped, two-pound monstrosity that requires two hands and still drips down your arms? I’ve demolished my share of those calorie bombs in college, but they’re about as Mexican as fortune cookies are Chinese.
The Mission-style burrito – named after the San Francisco district where it was popularized – is an American creation featuring flour tortillas stretched to their physical limits. Real Mexican burritos, found primarily in northern states like Chihuahua, are much simpler: a modestly-sized flour tortilla wrapped around one or two fillings, typically just meat and perhaps beans.
The biggest giveaway? Rice. Authentic Mexican burritos don’t contain rice – that’s an American addition designed to bulk up the filling inexpensively. When your burrito needs a structural engineer to prevent catastrophic failure, you’re not eating Mexican food.
16. Try Instead: Mole Poblano
My first taste of proper mole poblano came with a history lesson from the abuela who prepared it. “Twenty-eight ingredients, six hours, and three generations of family knowledge,” she told me proudly. This complex sauce represents Mexican cuisine at its most sophisticated.
Mole (pronounced MOH-lay) refers to various sauces, but mole poblano – with its chocolate-enriched, chile-based profile – might be the most famous. Contrary to popular belief, chocolate isn’t the dominant flavor; it’s just one note in a symphony that includes multiple chiles, nuts, seeds, spices, bread, and fruit.
The result is a velvety sauce that’s simultaneously sweet, spicy, smoky, and savory – a perfect example of Mexican cuisine’s ability to balance contrasting flavors. Traditionally served over turkey or chicken with rice, mole poblano is celebration food that showcases culinary artistry.
17. Skip: Tex-Mex Enchiladas
I’ll never forget my Texan roommate’s horror when I suggested the enchiladas at our local Mexican restaurant weren’t authentic. “But they’re drowning in sauce and cheese!” she protested. “Exactly,” I replied.
American enchiladas – those cheese-stuffed tortilla rolls smothered in bright red sauce and topped with a mountain of more cheese – are a Tex-Mex adaptation. Traditional Mexican enchiladas are much lighter, with corn tortillas lightly dipped in chile sauce, filled modestly, and often topped with fresh ingredients rather than cups of melted cheese.
The bright red “enchilada sauce” from American grocery stores doesn’t exist in Mexico. Authentic enchiladas use specific sauces like mole, salsa verde, or regional chile preparations that vary throughout Mexico’s diverse culinary landscape.
18. Try Instead: Tamales
“Christmas isn’t Christmas without three days of tamale-making,” my friend’s Mexican grandmother insisted as she put me to work spreading masa on corn husks. Tamales are more than food – they’re communal events that bring families together for hours of preparation and centuries of tradition.
These steamed packets consist of corn masa dough filled with meats, cheeses, or vegetables, wrapped in corn husks or banana leaves, and steamed until firm yet tender. The variety is staggering – from sweet strawberry tamales to spicy pork in red chile, each region has its specialties.
What makes tamales special is their connection to pre-Hispanic cuisine – they’ve been made since ancient Mesoamerican times. When you bite into a properly made tamale, you’re tasting history, community, and the corn that has sustained Mexican civilization for millennia.