What is the Best Mexican Restaurant in the Pittsburgh Area?
- Thread starter TheSpecialSauce
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When I used to go to Houston and Texas 8-10 times a year, me and my one coworker would go find like places where we are by far the only gringo's and eat there. The people at the restaurant really seemed to appreciate this and we were always treated to some awesome stuff off of the menu like some ceviche's and mole's. It was such awesome food and a good time as we try to communicate in our limited spanish.
And whenever I travel to Texas, Cali or other places out West, I always ask my coworkers in those areas when they want to eat "Mexican" or some Latino place to which they aren't thrilled but I tell them I just don't have that in Pittsburgh and when they come here I will take them to great Italian or Eastern European places likely they wouldn't have there.
If you get to San Antonio, be sure to try the Tex-Mex food there. Local version based on Mexican but very different. Very working class cuisine. I love it. And if Albuquerque or especially Santa Fe are on your travels, New Mexican cooking, another local spinoff of Mexican, is great. Different chips, different tortillas, different beans, different salsas, different corn all team up to give it a totally unique taste. It is available in inexpensive cafes but also in some of the best restaurants in Santa Fe.
I know you are very familiar with all the varieties of Chinese cooking: Dim Sum, Szechuan, Hainanese, etc. There are even more varieties of Mexican cooking. Masha and I spent 12 days in Mexico in January before the lockdown. Four days in Mexico City and we had 8 different styles of Mexican cooking. Eight days in Puerto Vallarta. I have been there 23 times and didn’t think I could find a new take on Mexican there. But I did. Brand new place called Qulture. Gives a New Wave Mexican style to what traditionally are not Mexican dishes, like coconut shrimp. Also fabulous ambience in the center of an art gallery. Maybe the best restaurant we have eaten in in ten years.
I know you are very familiar with all the varieties of Chinese cooking: Dim Sum, Szechuan, Hainanese, etc. There are even more varieties of Mexican cooking. Masha and I spent 12 days in Mexico in January before the lockdown. Four days in Mexico City and we had 8 different styles of Mexican cooking. Eight days in Puerto Vallarta. I have been there 23 times and didn’t think I could find a new take on Mexican there. But I did. Brand new place called Qulture. Gives a New Wave Mexican style to what traditionally are not Mexican dishes, like coconut shrimp. Also fabulous ambience in the center of an art gallery. Maybe the best restaurant we have eaten in in ten years.
La Fiesta is Oakland.
Oh wait.. it's be gone for over 10 years.
Oh wait.. it's be gone for over 10 years.
Mendoza's Express on Noblestown is pretty great. Its six tables in a shack-like building but the food is great. I love their El Pastor burrito.
When things open up a little, I need to head to LA for work. What are the names of the places? I definitely would like to check them out when/if possible.
This is going to sound terribly tourist and young, but when I am in LA I never venture to East Hollywood. West Hollywood is like the eastern border of the city to me unless I head with friends through Los Feliz to hike the hills.
Yes, been to San Antonio and experienced that. Also, Austin. Great stuff. Yeah, we tend to label "Chinese", "Mexican", "French" all in the general buckets, that would be like "American" whereas we know, New England, South, Gulfcoast, Pac NW, Midwest, Pittsburgh, etc...have completely different roots in cuisine.
My favorite country's cuisine? Asia! That's the best answer when I ask someone that question.
There used to be authentic restaurants called Mexico City - shut down for health code violations. I think the same Mexican family opened Bea's Tacos downtown, which is authentic and blows everyone else out of the water.
I have been to Old Town in San Diego. Wonderful Mexican food. Around here, not so much.
There is a little Mexican grocery store right on Brookline Blvd and they have a little stand outside for lunch. I hit it up every now and then and I dare say, it’s quite good.
wouldn’t plan my day around it but if you are around there for lunch, you can do much worse.
wouldn’t plan my day around it but if you are around there for lunch, you can do much worse.
Smoke, they are so full of themselves. Doesn't take credit cards, or reservations, not even a sign on their door. Plus $6+ for one taco? Go down the street a little to Condado, which is much better.
There really aren't any "great" Italian places in Pittsburgh. Heck, the so-called Little Italy of Bloomfield has more Asian places than Italian.
Alla Familiglia? Never went but that price point for what they are serving doesn't look worth it. Rico's? meh.
DO YOU NOT READ MY POSTS??? That is the one I was talking about.
And let me ask what is your standards for "eyetalian" then Molto Mario?
Lidia's was the best and is now gone. And what are yours, since you seem to have an opinion on just about everything and anything?
Two places in the South Hills for Italian. ... Ciccantes and DeLallos..
Years ago when I was regularly going to Mexico for work there was a woman at the plant that I regularly dealt with down there whose mother had opened up a little restaurant. Unfortunately it was on the opposite side of town so it wasn't easy to get to, but one day four or five of us took a long lunch and went there. When we walked in the woman was talking to her mother and she says to me that her mother wanted to make some certain dish for us, I don't even remember what she called it in Spanish, if that was OK with me. I said something like "OK? I'll eat anything she wants to make." I never even saw a menu, let alone ordered off of it.
Needless to say, everything she made us was great.
I don't know about Pittsburgh but:
When I went to Mexico on business I would fly to Mexico City, fly to Monterrey, get picked up by our plant manager a local who would drive us to Anahuac up in the mountains above Monterrey.
What you didn't want to look like in that neck of the Mexican Mountains was the Mexican Police or US- DEA.
He would take us to outdoor Mexican "Restaurants" run by Anahuac locals, which were open air wood frame structures, no menu's but they made the best Mexican food I ever had, and I love good Mexican food.
Even though the plant manager was a Monterrey local he would always order a couple of lemons, cut them in half, and clean our forks and knives off with the lemons before we ate.
He would tell me just a precaution the food is worth the risk.
Thats real Mexican Food and it didnt resemble what you get here.
When I went to Mexico on business I would fly to Mexico City, fly to Monterrey, get picked up by our plant manager a local who would drive us to Anahuac up in the mountains above Monterrey.
What you didn't want to look like in that neck of the Mexican Mountains was the Mexican Police or US- DEA.
He would take us to outdoor Mexican "Restaurants" run by Anahuac locals, which were open air wood frame structures, no menu's but they made the best Mexican food I ever had, and I love good Mexican food.
Even though the plant manager was a Monterrey local he would always order a couple of lemons, cut them in half, and clean our forks and knives off with the lemons before we ate.
He would tell me just a precaution the food is worth the risk.
Thats real Mexican Food and it didnt resemble what you get here.
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Really? I don't think so.
Ala Famiglia I love.
There are so many.......
Piccolo Forno
D'anoias
Dish
Cenecalo in Irwin
Serafino's
even up by me in Restaurant Hell, the Villa, Capri, Ida's
There are pretty much decent red sauce, old school Italian American joints in almost every neighborhood.
You said beechview. Brookline is not beechview. Come on man. You alle-kiski jerks screwing up the south hills towns.
Yeah sorry....I always get those two confused. But I think actually they did at one time have a place in Beechview too! Same people.
If West Hollywood is your eastern border, you will miss the three best. They actually aren’t in East Hollywood, but are south of there. I used that as a geographic reference point because it is better known than Arlington Heights But, all of them are on major streets and have parking:
Guelaguetza is on 3014 West Olympic Boulevard and has its own parking lot on the side street. It’s easy to get to if you take the Santa Monica Freeway and get off at Normandie. Go North to Olympic and make a left. It’s a very brightly decorated building on the left and the big parking lot is located behind it. It’s my favorite and they have a mole sampler. Olympic Boulevard is a major through street, the longest East-west street in Los Angeles. It usually is 2 or 3 lanes in each direction.
Expression Oaxaquena is located at 3301 West Pico Boulevard. Pico is the first main East-west street south of Olympic, but the numbering differs. 3301 Pico is located probably 10 blocks west of 3014 Olympic. The easiest way to get there from the Santa Monica Freeway is to take the Arlington Avenue exit, go North, and turn right on Pico. It’s at the end of the block on the left.
Korea Town, which is another terrific place to eat in Los Angeles, is located in the area right between those two restaurants, on or near Western Avenue. It’s farther north and has probably a dozen really good Korean barbecue joints. If you stay in Downtown LA for business, they are a shorter drive. If you stay in the Beverly Hills area, it’s a longer drive and it might not make sense to take the freeway. For us, the freeway is 6 blocks from our house.
Highly second this recommendation, it's some of the best food that I have ever had let alone Mexican. Plus they ship mole paste nationwide so even if you aren't heading to LA any time soon you can still eat good mole.
Also, definitely recommend Koreatown for a fun LA trip in general, there are just so many great places to eat and drink in that part of town. I'll always have a soft spot for Park's BBQ.
IGa market in Beechview has a taco stand outside on the sidewalk. Also the best place in town to buy latin food supplies
The one time I was in LA, a friend's uncle took us to El Cholo on S. Western Ave. This was c. 2000. I remember it having very good food.
https://www.elcholo.com/locations
But, the thing that stands out the most to me was the singer in the Mariachi band, was hands down, the most beautiful woman I've ever set eyes on.
Thank you. Next time that I am in town, I will definitely try at least one of these places out.
The place I always go to in Old Town is Casa Guadalajara. It is basically a souped up version of the standard type of Mexican spot that you would see in Pittsburgh (ex: a much better Patron or El Campesino).
In my experience, the best Mexican places I have had in San Diego were around Chula Vista. To Mike's point above, you get into these areas (So Cal, I will broaden the geographic area) and it turns into a much more specialized sort of meal. Depends upon stylistically what you are looking for.
I love San Diego. If I had it to do over again, I would have lived there rather than Los Angeles. I have spent a lot of time there on some big cases. We usually stayed at the U.S. Grant Hotel which is close to everything. But, I never have had Mexican food there.
That case was one of two huge divorce cases I was involved with where every knowledgeable family law attorney I knew said we had no chance of winning. We won both of them and both were affirmed on appeal. In that one, without our knowledge our client offered his wife $225 Million and the family residence to settle. She wanted $800 Million, and turned it down. At trial, she got $11 Million and the house. Not that she is going to live in poverty, but...
As an aside, the client was born in Gibsonia. He went away to a New England prep school and college and apparently hated Pittsburgh.
That case was one of two huge divorce cases I was involved with where every knowledgeable family law attorney I knew said we had no chance of winning. We won both of them and both were affirmed on appeal. In that one, without our knowledge our client offered his wife $225 Million and the family residence to settle. She wanted $800 Million, and turned it down. At trial, she got $11 Million and the house. Not that she is going to live in poverty, but...
As an aside, the client was born in Gibsonia. He went away to a New England prep school and college and apparently hated Pittsburgh.
El Cholo is probably still the best of the “classic” Mexican restaurants in LA — the ones that serve the dishes Americans are familiar with and expect. That one on Western Avenue is their original location and probably the best. There is another one in Santa Monica 11 blocks from my house.
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Have lived in several cities and outside of the U.S.....Pittsburgh Mexican food is near the bottom. Although not a restaurant the best Mexican I had in PGH is taco truck called Taquitos. The owner’s moved from Mexico to PGH about 20 years ago and I don’t think you will find a better taco around PGH.
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Haha. I was going to mention this in sarcasm font. In 2017 I was manager of an ice hockey team of 12-14 year olds that we brought from southern New Zealand to St Paul Minnesota. We flew from Auckland to Houston and spent a few days in Houston as tourists. On the day of arrival we went to a non-chain Mexican restaurant (of course not 5-star as we were a group of 30+ and mostly kids) and it was really good. The next day the kids just moaned and groaned until we went to Taco Bell. (Not something we have in the south island of NZ). They loved it!
We finished third in the tournament of 12 teams BTW. The teams in prior years had only scored 1 goal in three trips.
This trip was so much fun as I got to show these young Kiwis and the accompanying families my home country.
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