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Desperately seeking NuMex Food

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Chad Wayne

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May 14, 1996, 3:00:00 AM5/14/96
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I'm a West Texan that is missing NuMex food. The local fare just doesn't
cut it for me.

What is NuMex? NuMex is the style of Mexican food indigenous to the West
Texas/New Mexico/Mexico border. The base for the sauces are either red
chile or green chile rather than the meat/tomato based sauces typical of
the TexMex meals. I'm also a fan of hot. The hotter the better. If you
have any suggestions I would appreciate it. You can e-mail me or post
here. Or if you have questions just ask.

Chad.

vjd...@rosie.uh.edu

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May 15, 1996, 3:00:00 AM5/15/96
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You might try the Chicken Enchiladas at Goode Co. Taqueria (on
Kirby just south of Hwy 59, across the street from the GC BBQ).
The sauce is definitely hot and NOT tomato based...it's orange
to brown, and sometimes liquid fire! It's also the only place
I've seen where you choose the cheese (my choice here is the
Mozarella, but Monterey Jack and Cheddar are also listed).

Vickie

Mark Manning

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May 15, 1996, 3:00:00 AM5/15/96
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Shhhhh! Chad Wayne (cwa...@gsbs3.gs.uth.tmc.edu)'s speaking:
: I'm a West Texan that is missing NuMex food. The local fare just doesn't
: cut it for me.

Chad,

Here are some suggestions:

The ORIGINAL ninfas on Navigation. The others are nothing
like the original. Unfortunately, the restuarant is only open
during the day because the area is so bad.

Tampico's. The one next to us closed so I do not know if
there are any others you can go to but they used the red/green
chili bases you are talking about in some of their foods.

Mamacita's - ClearLake. They have several unusual dishes
using the red/green chilis. They are located on Nasa Rd 1
between Hwy 3 and El Camino Real.

Dos Mas. Not super fantastic, but I have had one or two dishes
where they used the red/green chili sauces. Located in Clear
Lake (again) on Bay Area just before Hwy 3, south side. Very
small restuarant so you have to look hard for it.

Ok, here is a very obscure one. On I-10 half way to San
Antonio is a restuarant called Grumpies. On the other side
of the freeway is a converted service station. It's now a
mexican restuarant. Extremely good food and hot sauce. Only
been there once, but they have two or three types of mexican
food.

I hope this helps. :-)

-------------------------------------------------------------
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TruskiDo

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May 15, 1996, 3:00:00 AM5/15/96
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>I'm a West Texan that is missing NuMex food. The local fare just doesn't
>cut it for me.
>

>What is NuMex? NuMex is the style of Mexican food indigenous to the West
>Texas/New Mexico/Mexico border. The base for the sauces are either red
>chile or green chile rather than the meat/tomato based sauces typical of
>the TexMex meals. I'm also a fan of hot. The hotter the better. If you
>have any suggestions I would appreciate it. You can e-mail me or post
>here. Or if you have questions just ask.
>
>

Try Mesa Grill on West Grey.


TruskiDo



David Stivers

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May 16, 1996, 3:00:00 AM5/16/96
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In article <4ndit8$7...@uuneo.neosoft.com>, mar...@starbase.neosoft.com
(Mark Manning) wrote:

>Shhhhh! Chad Wayne (cwa...@gsbs3.gs.uth.tmc.edu)'s speaking:

>: I'm a West Texan that is missing NuMex food. The local fare just doesn't
>: cut it for me.
>


>Chad,
>
>Here are some suggestions:
>
>The ORIGINAL ninfas on Navigation. The others are nothing
>like the original. Unfortunately, the restuarant is only open
>during the day because the area is so bad.

There's nothing NuMex about Ninfa's, and it's hardly in a _bad_ area. Run
down and poor, sure. Ninfa's certainly is open during the evening, at
least on weekends. And they do have security, along with everyone else
these days. About the only thing we agree on is the relative quality of
the original Ninfa's vis-a-vis the rest of the chain.

David

--
David N. Stivers st...@hgc9.sph.uth.tmc.edu
Assistant Professor, Human Genetics, School of Public Health
UT-Houston Health Science Center, Box 20334, Houston, TX 77225
713/792-4631 (voice) 713/792-4615 (fax)

Julie Cody

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May 16, 1996, 3:00:00 AM5/16/96
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Try Chuy's (I like the Westheimer location, 1 blk west of Kirby). They
even have Chilifest every year, complete with fresh peppers from New
Mexico, some of which get roasted in an area set up outside, just for
this 2 (or so) week period.

LOVE the 911 Hot Plate (blue corn enchiladas with their great chicken).

Albert Nurick

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May 16, 1996, 3:00:00 AM5/16/96
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In article <4ndpka$n...@newsbf02.news.aol.com>, trus...@aol.com (TruskiDo) wrote:
>Try Mesa Grill on West Grey.

I'll second that! When my girlfriend and I are in Houston, we almost always
brunch at Mesa.

| Albert Nurick | "In case of doubt, decide in |
| alb...@data.net | favor of what is correct." |
| http://www.data.net | |
| http://www.data.net/albert | - Karl Kraus |

H.M.Martin

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May 22, 1996, 3:00:00 AM5/22/96
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trus...@aol.com (TruskiDo) wrote:
>
> In article <cwayne-1405...@grad13.gs.uth.tmc.edu>,
You might try La Chingada gourmet Mexican restaurant, run by
Abierto Hasta II, A.M. It's right off Main Street. You turn
up McGowen and go down Fannin.
>


Mark Manning

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May 22, 1996, 3:00:00 AM5/22/96
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Shhhhh! David Stivers (st...@hgc9.sph.uth.tmc.edu)'s speaking:
: There's nothing NuMex about Ninfa's, and it's hardly in a _bad_ area. Run

: down and poor, sure. Ninfa's certainly is open during the evening, at
: least on weekends. And they do have security, along with everyone else
: these days. About the only thing we agree on is the relative quality of
: the original Ninfa's vis-a-vis the rest of the chain.

: David

David,

I've had at least one dish there which was made up of large chunks of
red, green, and yellow bell peppers, large chunks of onions, and
spices in a red sauce. One of their "Off the wall specials" if I
remember correctly. That's not NuMex? Fit the descripton given. If
not NuMex would you classify it as TexMex then?

Chad Wayne

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May 23, 1996, 3:00:00 AM5/23/96
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> I've had at least one dish there which was made up of large chunks of
> red, green, and yellow bell peppers, large chunks of onions, and
> spices in a red sauce. One of their "Off the wall specials" if I
> remember correctly. That's not NuMex? Fit the descripton given. If
> not NuMex would you classify it as TexMex then?


I would classify it as TexMex. The flavor of NuMex food comes from the use
of Green Chiles - Anaheim, Big Jims, etc. The peppers themselves have a
very distinctive flavor independent of the sweet bell peppers and have a
variety of heat. My personal opinion is that Bell Peppers have no business
in Mexican food (I'm a bit of a chauvinist), but rather in those dishes
that require a sweeter flavor with little heat... e.g. chinese and italian
foods. I imagine that the food at Ninfa's has a special place in its own
right, but the flavor just doesn't do it for me.

Chad

Mark Manning

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May 29, 1996, 3:00:00 AM5/29/96
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Shhhhh! Chad Wayne (cwa...@gsbs3.gs.uth.tmc.edu)'s speaking:
: I would classify it as TexMex. The flavor of NuMex food comes from the use
<snip>

(I tried to post this the other day but it wouldn't go
through....argh)

Ahhhh! I was mistaken about what type of peppers we were talking
about. You mean those little red and green peppers which can be as
hot going in as coming back out! Ah yes. In that case, most of the
restaurants I mentioned are not NuMex, but TexMex instead. I've only
eaten at one restaurant in Houston which used the really hot peppers
and they are closed now. It is very hard to find (at least for me) a
restaurant which is willing to burn it's customer's lips off. :-)

Janet Green

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May 29, 1996, 3:00:00 AM5/29/96
to cwa...@gsbs3.gs.uth.tmc.edu

I assume you're talking about Southwestern style food. Try Mesa, it's primo
Southwestern food. It is a sister resturant to Blue Mesa in Dallas and there are a
few items you should not miss....Painted Desert Soup and Adobe Pie are two of my
favorites. Also, be sure to drink a glass of iced tea. They have a unique
flavor to their tea.


Janet Green

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May 29, 1996, 3:00:00 AM5/29/96
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Chad Wayne

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May 30, 1996, 3:00:00 AM5/30/96
to

In article <4oii24$k...@internal.lamrc.com>, Janet Green
<janet...@lamrc.com> wrote:

NuMex food is also a bit disticnt from the "Southwestern" fare that
originated out of Sante Fe, e.g. Blue corn tortillas, black beans, etc.
Not a lot of spice but a very distinct flavor. Southwestern style food is
more of an elitist food originating from some of the better chefs in the
better restaurants. Typically NuMex comes from "family"-owned restaurants
where when one peaks into the kitchen one would find 5 or 6 very old
ladies cooking with lots of lard and lots of red chile (not chili).

For those of you who are following the post or thread... if you ever get
out to Southern New Mexico/West Texas, I can recommend about 50 places...
alas they are 700 miles from Houston...

Anyway, I suspect there must be a place of which I am seeking in Southwest
Houston, but I have yet to hear of it.

Thanks all,

Chad.

Sudeep Dhillon

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Jun 4, 1996, 3:00:00 AM6/4/96
to

Have you tried ZuZu at Champions and FM 1960. Great casual food. I was
amazed at the quality of the food you get for $5-6. Not a casual sit
down resturant but more like Jason's deli where you go up and order the
food. Does it qualify for NuMex

TruskiDo

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Jun 4, 1996, 3:00:00 AM6/4/96
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In article <31B49E...@nettap.com>, Sudeep Dhillon <dhi...@nettap.com>
writes:

>Have you tried ZuZu at Champions and FM 1960. Great casual food. I was
>amazed at the quality of the food you get for $5-6. Not a casual sit
>down resturant but more like Jason's deli where you go up and order the
>food. Does it qualify for NuMex
>
>

This debate really puzzles me. I consider "New Mexican" to be stuff like
green chiles, pozole, and blue corn tortillas, etc. which is available at
Mesa (for the most part). TexMex is enchiladas, tacos, etc. ZuZu's is "New
TexMex" for lack of a better name -- fresher, more authentic Tex-Mex sans
Velveeta sauce. And then there's "Mex-mex" (coined by Pico's) which is
more authentic mexican (also available at Merida). But I gues the phrase
"NuMex" is puzzling because I don't know if it means New Mexican or New
"Tex-Mex."

P.S. I like Zuzu's too. It's a great alternative to Taco Bell or Taco
Cabana. Service was a bit slow last time, and we haven't been back in
awhile.


TruskiDo



Tim Dooley

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Jun 5, 1996, 3:00:00 AM6/5/96
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Try Pico's on Bellaire. Order the Chicken Mole. Its fantastic.

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