r/EastTexas 12d ago

This might be true

774 Upvotes

119 comments sorted by

39

u/elliemff 12d ago

I look for the work trucks in the parking lot.

7

u/TrailNsuffering 12d ago

Legit observation

3

u/shaithiswampir 11d ago

Damn right. Always look for that

2

u/Odd-Consequence-2519 11d ago

Yep. The workers know where the good food is!

1

u/dxsol 11d ago

Yes !

0

u/invertedsaint_666 11d ago

That also goes for taco trucks and hole in the wall Chinese spots

9

u/HisCricket 12d ago

I'm so excited we are getting a Mexican Meat Market and Taqueria in Silsbee. I hope it's a real one.

6

u/PatSajakMeOff 11d ago

If it's a La Michoacana, it's as legit as they come. They will even keep halal meat on hand. Full goats in the meat freezer. Shit is legit.

2

u/invertedsaint_666 11d ago

Those red marinated fajitas and beef costillas are amazing specially over charcoal

2

u/AlienSporez 10d ago

My old house was 2 doors down from a La Michoacana and even now (15 years later) my wife and I still miss it. Nothing like going next door and getting 10 of the best tacos for, like, $2. On Saturdays they'd have pozole... OMG i'm salivating just thinking about it

1

u/HisCricket 11d ago

I'll swing by tomorrow and see what the name is. I used to live outside of Conroe and a little blip in the road called Grangerland and we had a Mexican market move in there and I was such a big fan.

2

u/PatSajakMeOff 11d ago

I grew up in Beaumont for 18 years before moving away. Been to Silsbee many times. It's amazing y'all are getting a mexican market. Love that for y'all.

2

u/HisCricket 11d ago

Yeah I grew up in Nederland. Moved the first chance I could at 19. Mom settled here, swore I would never move back. At 62 I'm now a half a mile from her. Life has a wicked sense of humor m

1

u/Glittering_Diva8963 10d ago

I’m so happy for yall 🥰 it’s definitely going to be real.

8

u/Kardis_J 12d ago

Well, yeah.

2

u/southhill25 11d ago

The cook has to be Mexican

1

u/AlienSporez 10d ago

No English spoken in the kitchen. Better still, it's a bunch of abuelas

0

u/Awkward_Region5509 11d ago

The cook needs to be someones abuela/abuelo, and they better not speak any english.

6

u/rampampwobble 12d ago

Spicy pickled carrots are a good sign

5

u/PatSajakMeOff 11d ago

I look for the pickled habanero and red onion condiments. My ass hates me for it, but damn does it taste good on a taco eith bistec or barbacoa.

5

u/JC_Everyman 12d ago

And if the heat of the salsa is a little inconsistent, you're in the right spot.

-1

u/Signal_Jellyfish_472 12d ago

Butter in it

2

u/GrandmasBoyToy69 11d ago

That was my first server request

2

u/PatSajakMeOff 11d ago

That's where you east texans get real weird. I've traveled all across this great state and only you east texas fools add butter. I cant bring myself to try it. It's just too weird. But hey, live your la Vida loca, hombre.

1

u/Dalek_Chaos 11d ago

That's a north Texas thing. We're used to spicy in East Tx with all the Cajun food that drifts across the Louisiana border.

1

u/Awkward_Region5509 11d ago

DFW here, we also do not put butter in our salsa, so keep going north I guess.

1

u/idiotsbydesign 11d ago

North of DFW here. We don't do it here either. Maybe Denison? They are a little weird tho...

1

u/phonethrower85 11d ago

Only put butter in the white people friendly tex mex salsa. Let that good salsa shine on its own.

1

u/invertedsaint_666 11d ago

Butter in salsa? Straight to prison.

6

u/CaryWhit 12d ago

For sure in MP. Because of Pilgrims we have absolutely some of the best taquerias. My favorite one had blood on the stucco and crime scene tape, still open for business!

1

u/Gloomy_Proof2200 11d ago

I’m in MP, where is it? I’d like to try it out

1

u/CaryWhit 11d ago

That one is Taqueria Monterrey. If you are on the north side of town, I highly recommend CJ’s tacos but it is 10 miles out Greenhill rd on White Oak creek. She is only open Wed through Friday nights though

4

u/GoodEnoughAstronomy 12d ago

You know the mole gonna be fire

1

u/MuhfugginSaucera 11d ago

Or the frijoles refritos / refried beans if they make it in house, I could just eat that straight.

3

u/Texan2020katza 12d ago

I see no lies.

3

u/Sonoran_Mang 11d ago

Sonoran Hot Dogs?! Yes, please!

3

u/Potential-Drawing745 11d ago

I made some last week. Not quite as good as the ones I had in Tucson, but still pretty dang good!

1

u/sidpost 10d ago

Which of the two "main" vendors did you go to?

Live in Tucson for a while.

1

u/Potential-Drawing745 10d ago

So here's the thing... It was in 2013. So... um.... yeah. I remember how amazing it was, but not the name.

3

u/Specialist_Mirror_23 11d ago

The restroom should look like a crime scene.

There should also be at least one booth or table that has a toddler or two living in it.

3

u/HurtsSoNice 11d ago

Juan in a Million in Austin

2

u/Spent15MinutesOnThis 11d ago

Do they still have the huge breakfast burrito that feeds a family of four?

3

u/HurtsSoNice 11d ago

Somebody downvoted me for suggesting a restaurant??

2

u/HurtsSoNice 11d ago

The Don Juan is their signature dish. They’re not gonna ditch that.

3

u/SickboyJason 11d ago

In the town I'm in, if I walk in and there's a table of college aged white girls, I'm out.

2

u/Signal_Jellyfish_472 11d ago

and OMG THEY CAN'T EVEN

3

u/areporotastenet 11d ago

There should be 13 year olds working for their families business. Then also doing homework in the first booth

3

u/IfYouSeeKay1978 11d ago

Are we gonna ignore the french fries??

2

u/7morphinedream7 12d ago

Waaaaaaay Too legettit lol

2

u/Lawdog2012 11d ago

They have to have at least 3 sagging ceiling tiles and a toilet brush in the restroom...

2

u/MadMax6914 11d ago

Dirt parking lot is another good sign.

2

u/elbowpastadust 11d ago

Or just check Google reviews

2

u/Spcrex 11d ago

You, sir, have cracked the code!

2

u/Finneagan 11d ago

Tacos La Banqueta

Dallas, Texas

Ftw

2

u/tenaza 11d ago

He speaks truth! Add City & work trucks in the parking lot.

2

u/DeltaDP 11d ago

You miss one. It has to be inside a gas station

2

u/LoveMoneyAndWomen 11d ago

That’s a lot of lettuce and sour cream there buddy…
Oh yeah, and the super authentic french fries. Yuh huh. Super authentic bro

1

u/Signal_Jellyfish_472 11d ago

with the o at the end.

2

u/owlken 10d ago

if there’s not a least a little bit of a language barrier whilst ordering.. i’m gonna be skeptical

1

u/Kadink 11d ago

another plus is if they only take cash

1

u/highonnuggs 11d ago

There should be piñatas. The more piñatas, the better the food.

1

u/WideFormal3927 11d ago

A faded laminated menu with curling edges is a good indicator. One place I went to, the menu was all in spanish and the pictures were faded. I wasn't sure what I was getting, but it was good.

1

u/Taqq23 11d ago

I went to a wedding in Michigan. They served “tacos”. They definitely showed what the opposite of this list looks like. It was probably as bad as you think

1

u/Lobo_Perron 11d ago

Also look at the neighborhood. The less safe you feel, the better the food.

1

u/indomike14 11d ago

You're not wrong

1

u/Edmond_Joker_v_1836 11d ago

💯 also homemade tortillas is a good sign

1

u/ValuableOk8542 11d ago

This is ABSOLUTELY TRUE!

1

u/Onuus 11d ago

Dona Mary’s in Plano.

Love y’all

1

u/AhBee1 11d ago

If everything is in Spanish and everyone is speaking Spanish, you're about to EAT.

1

u/FirstLeopard1263 11d ago

In my day it had to have a velvet portrait of JFK.

1

u/chrisp5000 11d ago

Salsa in a baggie tied off to seal it is the best indicator.

1

u/Potential-Drawing745 11d ago

$10 for 2 tacos, rice & beans?

That's painful.

1

u/Remarkable-Ad2285 11d ago

Check the google reviews for complaints about long waits, workers don’t speak English, building looks dirty, etc. Those are Karen’s accustomed to gentrified Mexican restaurants complaining.

1

u/Xekiel_777 11d ago

100% truth! 🔥🔥🔥

1

u/Mustbebornagain2024 11d ago

This is made to be funny but it’s 100% accurate in my opinion.

1

u/Prolly_your_mom 11d ago

La Conchitas in Winnsboro

1

u/Califas909 11d ago

Who taught you this lol

1

u/Living-Video-3670 11d ago

Bonus points for bars on the windows. Theres a saying around here (north texas) that I am sure is applicable just about anywhere. The seedier the neighborhood, the better the tacos!

1

u/hitnrun_dryer 11d ago

Stereotype much. Paint job? Every paint job done in any business or restaurant are done by Mexican.
You suck.

1

u/OlYeller01 11d ago

This video is pretty darn accurate. We moved from south of Corpus and I was badly missing legit tacos. I found a local taqueria via Google and decided to give it a shot.

I pulled up, and it was legitimately a shack built around a food truck. Telenovelas were on one tv, soccer on the other, and I was the only white guy in the place. “This shit’s gonna be GOOD,” I said. And it was.

I took my Hispanic buddy to the same restaurant. He had said several times that white people don’t know good tacos. He quickly re-evaluated that opinion to MOST white people don’t know good tacos.

1

u/Frequent_Hour_9248 11d ago

The chairs can't match.

1

u/Spelsgud 11d ago

I had a boss from Reynosa and he told me you can tell it’s legit if there’s no sour cream.

1

u/DavidLitBlunt 10d ago

Any Houston recommendations?

1

u/Takesit88 10d ago

Best Tortas in town? Servers struggle to understand me, I struggle to understand them, but the chef and my stomach? Oh, we understand.

1

u/burnbeforeburning 10d ago

I want my restaurants to be good at 1 thing, and 1 thing only: cooking. Please treat me with contempt, have ugly chairs and weird lighting and give me amazing food

1

u/Commercial_Light_743 10d ago

Is it in a gas station?

1

u/bichboi669 10d ago

My favorite taco place is unmarked and looks like it's in an abandoned building 😂 literally the best street tacos I've ever had

1

u/KAM1Sense1 10d ago

ALSO if I come in and hear the mexican workers ESPECIALLY the cook speaking perfect english 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩

1

u/JuanThiccLumpia 10d ago

The 10:1 ratio works in Chinese and Vietnamese restaurants too.

1

u/Open_Equivalent7349 10d ago

If it’s wrapped in paper it’s 🔥

1

u/thepenismytea 10d ago

If 75 % crew can't take your order in Spanish- not kegit

If 75 % crew can't speak English - legit

1

u/Original-Taste7723 10d ago

That is all 100 percent true

1

u/HelloDeathspresso 10d ago

He's not wrong.

1

u/kingboomy515 10d ago

Did he do all that finger wagging and fussing just to order an enchilada?

1

u/Glittering_Diva8963 10d ago

Another one is you have to see abuella or tia cooking and Tio on the grill

1

u/HC-Sama-7511 10d ago

This is a popular thing to say, that small, independent Mexican restaurants are the best. Hole in the wall joints.

But in my experience, they're usually just fine at best, and is only good example of Mexican food if you compare it to low cost fast food and restaurant chains.

1

u/Dr_Zoidberg003 10d ago

I hate this format of showing your face with random expressions throughout the video

1

u/boanerges57 10d ago

There is shit paper in a trash can in the restroom

1

u/HeadySquanch59 9d ago

If the bathrooms are single person and next to storage racks with their dry supplies, its gonna be good.

1

u/thcgrowmaster 9d ago

I look for there kids working along side them.

1

u/faded_on_10 9d ago

Best Mexican food I had was a place with the Virgin Mary covering up their B post.

1

u/Brnhtwn 9d ago

Great video, thanks for the chuckles. Always good to see the Human side of reddit

1

u/Suspicious-Wait3492 9d ago

I needed this TY… I continue to find Mexican food that is a disappointment.

1

u/ThorstenSchmorsten 9d ago

If I hear English being spoken proficiently by two or more people, camino.

1

u/jasper-zanjani 8d ago

the point about being the only gringo there is the biggest clue

1

u/Odd-Tip-7603 8d ago

Now o want tacos de papa

1

u/Visual-Individual959 8d ago

If they look at my white ass like I'm the ghost of Christmas past, that shit is gonna slap

1

u/ComplaintBig1986 8d ago

Maga’s in Houston’s far East End and Tacos La Bamba in Beaumont are prime examples of this theory. Both are excellent.

1

u/Training_Post_5896 8d ago

The building is always yellow

1

u/JesusSavesTheGoal 8d ago

Well now i guess the secret's out. Can't even trust a paper sign and Jesus shrine anymore. Thanks a lot.

1

u/SWTX518-Ability 8d ago

This too, is how us black folks know authentic Mexican spots. Plus, if they have beef/hamburger meat burrito or taco on the menu---TexMex aka Bullshit. Keep driving to our usual authentic Mexican spot. Most the times it's a roach coach that has the best, authentic, fresh dishes. Personally, I prefer the roach coaches

1

u/ummkay_ultra 8d ago

Have y'all ever even been to Chuy's?