Jump to content
View in the app

A better way to browse. Learn more.

Surly Horns

A full-screen app on your home screen with push notifications, badges and more.

To install this app on iOS and iPadOS
  1. Tap the Share icon in Safari
  2. Scroll the menu and tap Add to Home Screen.
  3. Tap Add in the top-right corner.
To install this app on Android
  1. Tap the 3-dot menu (⋮) in the top-right corner of the browser.
  2. Tap Add to Home screen or Install app.
  3. Confirm by tapping Install.

Featured Replies

I judge Tex-mex on 4 things: fajitas, queso, salsa and margaritas.   They fail, miserably, on 3 out of 4 of those criteria.  If I a missing something, I am all ears.   

  • Replies 1k
  • Views 89.6k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Most Popular Posts

Posted Images

I like their ritas, I like their chalupas compuestas, and I like the staff at Hacienda (Slaughter)

19 minutes ago, Atxracer said:

I judge Tex-mex on 4 things: fajitas, queso, salsa and margaritas.   They fail, miserably, on 3 out of 4 of those criteria.  If I a missing something, I am all ears.   

you’re missing that steamin, greasy plate of enchiladas. 

That's right. Their Enchiladas Perfecto are quite tasty. I clean my plate so they don't have to wash it.

You're an idiot. Maudie's has great queso, salsa and margaritas. And you don't order fajitas from any place that doesn't make their own tortillas, so you're 4th criteria is invalid.

Here's a Maudie's Pro Tip.

Instead of ordering the Enchiladas Perfecto, order the Mexican Special.

You lose one enchilada, but you gain a crispy taco and guacamole salad. And those two items are served before everyone else gets their plate, so you get a good feeling of rubbing it in their face that you are eating tacos and guac and they aren't.

That's a good order.

I usually go Strait Plate:  Hold the onions.  Add japs and an extra fried egg.

13 hours ago, Atxracer said:

I judge Tex-mex on 4 things: fajitas, queso, salsa and margaritas.   They fail, miserably, on 3 out of 4 of those criteria.  If I a missing something, I am all ears.   

you got two out of four right.  salsa and queso.  i would go with enchiladas and beans for the other two.  

14 hours ago, futureman said:

you’re missing that steamin, greasy plate of enchiladas. 

with lots of cheese and onions, and a guacamole salet

1 hour ago, Biff Tannen said:

with lots of cheese and onions, and a guacamole salet

with iced tea and a waitress who will smile every time

15 hours ago, rage-a-holic said:

You're an idiot. Maudie's has great queso, salsa and margaritas. And you don't order fajitas from any place that doesn't make their own tortillas, so you're 4th criteria is invalid.

Maudie’s queso is terrible, maybe the worst I’ve ever had. But I agree on their salsa. And, tortillas aside, I actually like their fajitas. The serranos are a nice touch.

I think, in general, having any Tex-Mex joint on this thread is stupid anyway. Some places do certain things better than others, and I’ve occasionally been to a place that was BAD. But when it’s good, it’s all kind of the same. In a good way.

Wow, whole lotta love for Maudies.  Maybe its the location.  For convenience and the margarita, I primarily go to the Bee Caves one. Thanks for the tip on the strait plate.  Sounds interesting, will give it a try.

Not ordering fajitas from a place that doesn't make their own tortillas is a fair point.  

5 hours ago, formermav43 said:

Maudie’s queso is terrible, maybe the worst I’ve ever had. But I agree on their salsa. And, tortillas aside, I actually like their fajitas. The serranos are a nice touch.

I think, in general, having any Tex-Mex joint on this thread is stupid anyway. Some places do certain things better than others, and I’ve occasionally been to a place that was BAD. But when it’s good, it’s all kind of the same. In a good way.

I don’t know if they do them better at different locations, but the maudie’s on lake austin blvd has absolute shit fajitas.  still great for queso and enchiladas though. 

I don’t know if they do them better at different locations, but the maudie’s on lake austin blvd has absolute shit fajitas.  still great for queso and enchiladas though. 

The fajitas are bad at all their restaurants. They just don’t do them well, but other things are damn good.

It’s one of those places you just have to know what to order. I live walking distance from one location so we go there all the time for takeout on nights the kids have practice and whatnot.

Their tortilla soup is surprisingly good and in takeout form all the components are separate - so you can combine to you liking.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I’ll probably get flamed for this, but... Fonda San Miguel.  Yeah, it’s an institution, but they really need to re-work the menu, and step it up in the kitchen.  For the interior Mexican food style, they are (in my opinion), well behind Javier’s in Dallas or La Fonda in San Antonio, and Hugo’s in Houston.

Our food on my last visit (about 4 months ago) was, well, bland and over cooked.

22 minutes ago, Gardner Barnes said:


The fajitas are bad at all their restaurants. They just don’t do them well, but other things are damn good.

It’s one of those places you just have to know what to order. I live walking distance from one location so we go there all the time for takeout on nights the kids have practice and whatnot.

Their tortilla soup is surprisingly good and in takeout form all the components are separate - so you can combine to you liking.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

seconded on the tortilla soup.  it’s good. 

5 hours ago, AustinMT said:

I’ll probably get flamed for this, but... Fonda San Miguel.  Yeah, it’s an institution, but they really need to re-work the menu, and step it up in the kitchen.  For the interior Mexican food style, they are (in my opinion), well behind Javier’s in Dallas or La Fonda in San Antonio, and Hugo’s in Houston.

Our food on my last visit (about 4 months ago) was, well, bland and over cooked.

We ate there a little over a year ago, and the food was awful for the price.  I'd recommend a taco cart over that place.

I love Fonda San Miguel for what it is, which is a very nice restaurant that serves better than decent Mexican food.  I'd sure rather pay $20 for a plate of enchiladas there than $17 at Manuel's.  The difference in dining experience is vast.

The price doesn't offend me.  It's just that the food isn't that great.

I don't understand evaluating tex-mex by fajitas.  tex-mex is cheese enchilada, chips and salsa, guacamole, chicken enchiladas with verde sauce, chile relleno, carne guisada, etc. 

5 minutes ago, bularry1 said:

I don't understand evaluating tex-mex by fajitas.  tex-mex is cheese enchilada, chips and salsa, guacamole, chicken enchiladas with verde sauce, chile relleno, carne guisada, etc. 

Definitely agree on the cheese enchiladas.  That's the very first dish I order at any Tex-Mex restaurant.  If they don't get that one right, I won't bother visiting a second time.

 

Yep. Chips & salsa, an order of cheese enchiladas and a crispy beef taco. That’s always my first order at a new place. 

1 hour ago, bularry1 said:

I don't understand evaluating tex-mex by fajitas.  tex-mex is cheese enchilada, chips and salsa, guacamole, chicken enchiladas with verde sauce, chile relleno, carne guisada, etc. 

 

1 hour ago, utee94 said:

Definitely agree on the cheese enchiladas.  That's the very first dish I order at any Tex-Mex restaurant.  If they don't get that one right, I won't bother visiting a second time.

 

 

1 hour ago, 4th&Five said:

Yep. Chips & salsa, an order of cheese enchiladas and a crispy beef taco. That’s always my first order at a new place. 

All of these QFT.

Fajitas are not necessarily something a tex-mex restaurant will have or be good at.  They require a grill.  Most tex-mex does not, so if the place doesn't have a grill, don't order the fajitas.

I really can't believe there are folks bitching about Maudie's enchiladas on this thread?  Seriously?  They're damned good. 

^^^^^

 

Agree on that front, too.  Fajitas aren't really a Tex-Mex thing, and they certainly weren't an expectation at ANY restaurant until maybe a couple decades ago.  Add to that, that it's easy and fun to grill fajitas myself, and I can do it better than any restaurant I've ever been, and it's just not something I ever find myself ordering.

7 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

 

 

All of these QFT.

Fajitas are not necessarily something a tex-mex restaurant will have or be good at.  They require a grill.  Most tex-mex does not, so if the place doesn't have a grill, don't order the fajitas.

I really can't believe there are folks bitching about Maudie's enchiladas on this thread?  Seriously?  They're damned good. 

It's the surl/shag.  People would bitch about anything.  Texas could win the national championship in football for the next 5 years straight, and folks around here would complain that the team wasn't beating teams by large enough margins, or that there's too much White Stripes being played in the stadium, or something.

Usually the best fajitas coincide with a higher grade cut of beef. The smaller joints don’t spend the money on expensive  beef. If anything, stick to the chicken if you must. 

Expensive beef? Fajitas are about taking an inexpensive cut of beef and making it into something better. 

 

And f chicken ‘fajitas.’

Edited by HenryJames

And yes, although started from the cheapest cuts, the fajita meat at Maudie’s vs pappasitos is night and day regardless of tradition. It’s not the prep

6 minutes ago, futureman said:

lupe tortilla has decent fajitas. 

 

And crappy cheese enchiladas

For the price you pay for those Lupe fajitas, I'd rather drink myself stupid and eat cheese enchiladas at y mas or maudies.

I guess I need to go seek out these heralded Wagyu fajitas.

Oh wait, no I don't.  WTF?

If you're going to go to Lupe, do yourself a favor and just get the normal beef fajitas. They're expensive enough and good.

Why are we even talking about Lupe Tortilla?  This thread is not about overrated Houston restaurants.

 

4 minutes ago, utee94 said:

Why are we even talking about Lupe Tortilla?  This thread is not about overrated Houston restaurants.

 

lupe has entered the austin biosphere 

Lupe would qualify as most overpriced Tex-mex for sure.

2 minutes ago, futureman said:

lupe has entered the austin biosphere 

I entered your mom’s biosphere last night.

35 minutes ago, HenryJames said:

I entered your mom’s biosphere last night.

her taco was succulent...

36 minutes ago, HenryJames said:

I entered your mom’s biosphere last night.

Image result for woody allen sleeper

Surprised about the hopdoddy hate. There are burgers in Austin I like better but it’s always been good. Actually better than good.

I don’t think anyone hates their burgers. They are damn good. They hate the hype.

polvos is pretty underrated.  their ceviche hits the spot this time of year.

Usually the best fajitas coincide with a higher grade cut of beef. The smaller joints don’t spend the money on expensive  beef. If anything, stick to the chicken if you must. 

Expensive beef? Fajitas are about taking an inexpensive cut of beef and making it into something better. 
 
And f chicken ‘fajitas.’

Verdad.
And yes, although started from the cheapest cuts, the fajita meat at Maudie’s vs pappasitos is night and day regardless of tradition. It’s not the prep

WTF???

It’s skirt steak. Period. It starts with cheap cuts, and ends with them. Because “fajita” IS a specific cut. The difference between grades is negligible. Prep damn well does matter - removing membrane, type and time of marinade, not overcooking, slicing properly.

Jesus. What the fucking fuck.

Cut up leftover steak, some cheese, salsa, mushrooms and veggies if you have them. Place on tortilla, throw in microwave for 40 seconds. Boom. Fajita.

Y’all getting pretty uppity about your definitions of fajitas. 

If you think the meat used at the higher end Tex mex places (pappasitos, Lupe etc) are the same, I don’t know what to tell you. Are you saying they just suck ass with that cut of meat or are the latter using a different product?  

Your taco truck and those restaurants ain’t serving the same skirt steak just cooked differently. Shit. Does Taco Bell use the same meat in this universe?

Edited by ChickenSandwich

Cut up leftover steak, some cheese, salsa, mushrooms and veggies if you have them. Place on tortilla, throw in microwave for 40 seconds. Boom. Fajita.
Y’all getting pretty uppity about your definitions of fajitas. 

Mushrooms? You getting your fajitas at La BBQ?

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

Configure browser push notifications

Chrome (Android)
  1. Tap the lock icon next to the address bar.
  2. Tap Permissions → Notifications.
  3. Adjust your preference.
Chrome (Desktop)
  1. Click the padlock icon in the address bar.
  2. Select Site settings.
  3. Find Notifications and adjust your preference.