Mexican cuisine is based largely on the pre-Hispanic culinary traditions of indigenous tribes like Maya and Aztecs. But it has also incorporated elements from Spanish cuisine like pork, beef, rice, wine, chicken, onions and garlic. The conquistadores then included native pre-Columbian cuisine and began using chilli pepper, beans, avocado, tomato and maize. Mexican cuisine is a combination of all these tastes and flavours. It is intense, colourful and spicy.
Mexican food is served all over the world today. But visitors to Mexico are in for a pleasant surprise because authentic Mexican cuisine as cooked in Mexico is very different from and far better than the Mexican food served outside Mexico.
This Mexico Restaurants Guide gives a brief rundown on the food and cuisine of Mexico, with details on some of the most popular dishes that you may wish to sample. Don't forget to do some shopping while you're on holiday - use our Mexico shopping guide for hints and tips on what there is to buy. You can check out information about what the local Mexico dining scene is like in the following destinations:
- Los Cabos
- Yucatan
- Cancun
Food & Cuisine in Mexico
Mexican specialities like tacos, enchiladas, tamales, quesadillas, burritos, mole and chocolate are famous even outside Mexico. But there are many regional specialities which tourists can savour only when they visit Mexico. These include machaca and cabrito from Monterrey, chills en nogada from Puebla, tlayudas from Oaxaca, milanesas and barbacoa.
Local Mexican Cuisine
Though Mexican cuisine has a distinctive quality about it, some of its dishes display Middle Eastern or Spanish influences. It uses a variety of native ingredients, spices and flavours and is presented with a lot of colourful embellishments.
Mexican cuisine varies with the geography and climate of a region. It is also influenced by the ethnic composition of the indigenous people of that region because different regions have been influenced to varying extents by the Spaniards. The cuisine of northern Mexico consists of a variety of meat (goat, beef and ostrich) dishes. This region is famous for the Arrachera cut. The cuisine from Central Mexico is a combination of the various influences that prevail all over the country but it also contains many authentic Mexican dishes like carnitas, menudo, pozole and barbacoa.
The cuisine from South East Mexico bears the Caribbean stamp due to the proximity of this region to Mexico. Most dishes use either chicken or vegetables and all of them are spicy. States that lie on the Pacific Coast and the Gulf of Mexico use a lot of sea food. They are famous for their fish based dishes cooked ‘a la veracruzana'.
Lately, Mexican chefs have combined the elements of different international cuisines to bring forth the Mexican fusion style of cooking. For instance, sushi is made with an array of tamarind or mango based sauces and served with soya sauce blended with Serrano-chilli or chipotle peppers and habanero. Dishes like pozole and menudo from this region are very spicy.
Local Dishes
Mexicans have always considered corn as sacred and do so to this day, despite diverse external influences. Corn is a staple ingredient in most of the dishes of Mexico. It serves as the base for the ever popular tacos, fluatas, tostadas, chalupas and enchiladas which are stuffed with a variety of fillings like cheese, meat, chicken and beans and then fried. These are the most authentic dishes of Mexico and are available all over the country.
Pollo con mole is another great favourite with Mexicans. It is made from chicken that has been cooked in a sauce containing various spices, chocolate and garlic. Mexico is famous for pastries and chocolate and honey drinks.
Beverages
Tequila is Mexico's most famous drink. It is brewed from the maguey plant. Pulque, mezcal and aguamiel are some of the other potent drinks brewed from the same plant. In fact, mezcal is the notorious beverage with a worm at the bottom of the glass!
