With Respect To Mexican Food, I’m Fickle

First of all, I'm in love with Mexican food, but I’m fickle. The problem isn’t that I like it but don’t want to eat it all that often. I’d eat it every day if it was possible and practicable for me to do so. Also, I’m not one of those who like some of it, but not all of it. I like it all. My problem is that I can’t decide which Mexican restaurant in the Texas Hill Country I like best. Well, that’s not true. I can decide, and I do decide, but I change my mind nearly every day. That’s where my fickleness with respect to Mexican food comes into play. It’s not exactly true, but it seems that the “best” Mexican restaurant for me nearly always seems to be the last one I visited.

Given its relatively close proximity to Mexico, and the important influence that Mexican-Americans play in the region, the fact is that there are really no disappointing Mexican restaurants in the hill country. On the contrary, and, in my opinion, they are all very authentic, and all very good. Of course, I’m not Mexican-American, so my credibility to judge what authentic Mexican food is or isn’t may be questioned, but I do the best I can. Given the sheer number of places serving up Mexican food, it would be impossible to for me to actually visit them all, let alone do any kind of subjective or objective rating. So, I won’t try, and neither should you. You’ll just have to take my word for which one is best, and, continue to take my word for which one is best in the future. But, as I’ve already warned you, I change my mind from time to time. We’ll, that is not exactly true either. I change my mind very frequently.

My latest favorite place has been hiding from me in plain sight for years, and is just over in Leander, Texas. As in the past, my wife had to steer me away from my natural inclination to return to the haunts of previous “best” places, and try something new. Quite some time ago, a friend of my wife had told her about this great Mexican restaurant in Leander, but my wife didn’t remember what the name of the place was, or, just where it was located in Leander. That part didn’t bother me too much, because Leander isn’t all that big, and I’m fairly good with finding my way around places. And, like most men, I pride myself in doing it without asking anyone for directions, and I can’t be bothered with GPS devices.

Later, after driving around Leander for a half hour or so, and, after heeding my wife’s advice, I pulled the vehicle over and asked someone for directions to a Mexican restaurant whose name I didn’t know. Apparently, everyone in the hill country knows about this place but me, because even after giving a half-assed and extremely vague description of it, I got clear directions, and we quickly found the place. In my defense, I’m quite sure that within another 45 minutes, I would have located it without needing the assistance of others. We might not have been there in time for lunch, but we surely would have arrived for dinner. And, let me remind you that I’m only writing here about Mexican food, not what meal of the day I’d be eating it.

The restaurant at the end of our search, or as Texans say, at the end of our trail, is a place called Jardin Del Rey. Conveniently located (I can say that now that I found it) on Highway 183 in Leander, right by the Post Office (see, I’ve done all the hard work for you), it sits back off the road a bit, but is clearly marked by a huge multi-colored road sign right on the highway which clearly states, “Jardin Del Rey Mexican Restaurant.” I can’t believe I missed it after driving by it 3 or 4 times. I must have been distracted by my wife telling me to stop somewhere and ask for directions. Yes, I’m quite sure that was the issue now that I’ve had time to reflect upon it all.

Jardin Del Rey, is impressive, and at least for now, is clearly my favorite. Starting with lots of parking in the front , back, and side of the building, there is no doubt that friendly, prompt, and courteous service dictates the whole experience from the time you pull off the highway coming in until the time you pull onto the highway going back out.

The interior of the restaurant was clean, colorful, and festive, with a lot of booths. Booths seem to be an important seating choice in all restaurants these days. It’s a little strange when you think about it. People want to go out and eat among others, in a public place, but would prefer a booth where they are somewhat hidden and separated from the other people eating there, but, I’m getting a little bit off target.

After requesting our booth, we were quickly seated. Immediately thereafter, warm chips and salsa were placed in front of us. The salsa was spicier than at most places, but not overly so, and it was freshened with the taste of fresh chopped cilantro. During the course of our meal, my wife and I went through two servings of chips and salsa, which should tell you that we liked it quite a bit. Normally we hold back on a second serving, so as to have enough room for the meal. But on this occasion, we made an exception to our “hold back” rule and made that second round of chips and salsa disappear in a hurry.

Jardin Del Rey’s menu offers a lot of food choices, and those choices are inexpensive. There are breakfast plates, lunch specials, and a wide selection of appetizers, enchiladas, platters, plates, caldos y ensaladas, and especialidades. As with most Mexican restaurants, many side orders are available at Jardin Del Rey, and include Mexican rice, Chile con queso, frijoles charros, refried beans, as well as other selections.

Passing up on any appetizers, we ordered our lunch while munching on the chips and salsa. My wife ordered the Soft Taco Mexican Plate, and went with the beef tacos instead of the chicken. They were served with pico de gallo, sour cream, and rice and beans. I opted for the Chile Rellano, which is always a gamble depending upon the restaurant where they are served. In a lot of places around the rest of the country, this food order would have resulted in a small, shriveled, and miserly stuffed Chile pepper being served up. Not so at Jardin Del Rey, where I got an unbelievably large Poblano pepper with the stem still attached, generously stuffed with beef and cheese, and served with guacamole, pico de gallo, rice and beans, and an order of soft warm tortillas. I have to tell you, if you like cheese like I do, you really need to visit this place. The cheese was hot and melted, and literally poured out of the pepper along with the beef when I cut into it with my fork. And, to top it all off, the pepper was covered with a liberal amount of cheese, and salsa.

With the great food and outstanding service at Jardin Del Rey’s in Leander, Texas, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that this is the best Mexican restaurant in the Texas Hill Country. Well, at least it is until the next time I head out in search of Mexican food.

Word Of Mouth

With the overwhelming number of Mexican restaurants in the Texas Hill Country, it would be impossible to anoint one of them as the best. In the first place, it would be an insurmountable task to visit them all. But even if you could, picking the best one is simply not doable. The choices range from places with fancy atmospheres to small trailers. A common denominator, however, with respect to most, is that the food is very good.

At nearly the same point in time several years ago, both my wife and I got the same recommendation from two very different sources. Her friends, on the one hand, and my friends, on the other, both said that Jardin Corona, in Cedar Park, was the place to go for Mexican food.

Hidden way in the back of a strip mall, which itself is not too visible from the street, is Jardin Corona. But what the restaurant may lack in visibility, it makes up for in tasty food. Noon hour is very busy, not so much that you won’t get served promptly, but you’ll definitely notice the crowd, especially since the place is not all that big. As such, we started going around 3:00 in the afternoon for a really late lunch. That helped a little, but not as much as we expected. Jardin Corona is busy because it is popular, and it is popular, because the food is great.

Unlike a lot of restaurants I frequently visit, Mexican or otherwise, I tend to order the same menu selection, because I am familiar with it, like it, and know I won’t be disappointed. But at Jardin Corona, I order something different every time, because I am that confident that whatever I order, will be outstanding. My random methodology has not yet proven to be a mistake. I must admit though, I am obsessed with the queso at Jardin Corona. And, no matter what I order, you can be sure I’ve got some queso coming with the meal. Usually, I just ask them to dump some queso on whatever I order.

Given what I’ve just said, I can’t recommend a favorite at Jardin Corona, because they are all my favorites. I can tell you, however, what I ate during my last visit a couple of days ago. It was a chimichanga, stuffed with chicken and cheese, and, of course, covered, at my request, with queso.

I’m not saying that Jardin Corona has the best Mexican food in the hill country, or, I’m not saying that it does not. But, what I will tell you is that, in my opinion, it serves really good Mexican food. My opinion is supported by, what I consider to be very reliable source when considering whether to visit any restaurant, and that source is “word of mouth.”

Cacahuates Or Barbacoa For Lunch?

As I pulled into just one more of those increasing number of Texas hill country gasoline stations with the very small covenience store or a market attached to it today, I really only intended to pick up a bag or two of cacahuates, or what y’all call peanuts. I’ve become a fan of the chili pepper flavored cacahuates lately, and thought I’d grab some small bags for lunch. Once I stepped out of the car, however, I smelled something which changed my mind. Inside, and at the back of the convenience store was a lady cooking some mighty fine looking Mexican food. Immediately, I forgot about the bags of nuts, and ordered the barbacoa plate.

Barbacoa is barbecued food originating in Mexico, and is popular in Texas, and other border states. Barbacoa can be either pork or beef, but beef is more prevalent here in Texas. And, barbacoa is not just prepared from any beef; it is prepared from the meat in the head of the cow. This meat is cooked slowly (traditionally, but rarely these days, in a pit) and can be flavored very simply, with garlic, salt, and pepper. Some people choose to add additional spices beyond the basic ingredients, and those spices usually include chili powder and oregano. Most barbacoa is not very spicy, and in my opinion, fewer spices are better.

Once the meat is cooked, it is served with onions, cilantro, and either corn or flour tortillas. In South Texas, along the Rio Grande, barbacoa is often eaten on Sunday mornings, but of course, is available on other days as well.

Once having picked up my take-out barbacoa plate, I walked up to the cashier at the front of the store to pay. Once I handed the cashier the check, I said, “Wait,” and then doubled back to an aisle to pick up a couple of bags of cacahuates. I’ve got barbacoa today, I reasoned, but tomorrow, well, that’s another day.

Dee Dee’s

Getting Mexican food in the Texas Hill Country is not, as you can imagine, a problem. It is sold in small trailers by the side of the road, expensive and fancy places, and anything in between. You can get it at the various local chains too of course. All in all, depending upon your appetite, and the type of ambience you want, the choices are overwhelming.

One place that I like a lot is Dee Dee’s Tacos & More in Lago Vista. The place sits way back off the road behind a boat sales and repair business, and if it weren’t for the small sign hanging on a fence by the road, you would never see the place. But, all the locals know where the Dee Dee’s is located, and I suppose, that is all that really matters.

The place is popular for its breakfast tacos, and very early in the morning with all that breakfast traffic coming in and going out, you would think you were in a busy airport terminal. Everything is managed very well, however, because we all keep going back for more.

Dee Dee’s is located in a very small white building, with four permanently placed covered picnic tables outside. Despite its small size, there is still room for eight tables and several seats at a dining counter (even though nearly one-third of the restaurant is taken up by the cooking area). The white walls are covered with large photographs of the various menu items for sale, and the room is lit with florescent lighting.

The quaint and no-frills atmosphere aside, the good food, fast service, and reasonable prices are why locals make Dee Dee’s a regular stop. The entire menu of breakfast, lunch, and dinner items can be purchased all day long. If you feel like a dinner selection at 5:00 in the morning, that’s your business and Dee Dee’s will gladly make it for you. I should mention that there is not only traditional Mexican food on the menu. You can also get eggs, omelets (loaded with all your favorite goodies), pancakes, biscuits and gravy, and beef brisket. They also have a catering service.

My favorite menu item is "Oscarito’s Taco Plate," which consists of two soft Picadillo tacos along with rice and beans. This plate will tell you in a “nutshell” why I am a fan of Dee Dee’s. The soft tacos are not paper thin like a lot of places. They have substance to them, having the thickness of a pancake. Like most authentic Mexican food, the food is not overly spiced, but cooked and flavored with simple ingredients. The beef’s natural flavor is brought out by the onions and potatoes. Lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese top it all off. In my opinion, Spanish rice is often a disappointment at most Mexican eateries, because it is so very dry. I always end up pouring salsa over it to give it much needed moisture and make it more palatable. Such is definitely not the case at Dee Dee’s. The rice served there is very moist, and is flavored nicely with onions. I would not dare spoil it with salsa. Although I don’t get too excited about refried beans anywhere, the beans here are hot and have a gentle smoky flavor.

Authentic foods cooked simply, along with fast and friendly service, make Dee Dee’s Tacos & More, a special place to visit, even if it is a little difficult to find.

The Ubiquitous Prickly Pear Cactus

The Prickly Pear Cactus is the state plant of Texas, and it’s little wonder why. It is found nearly everywhere throughout the state. It is a relatively small cactus, covered with very sharp spines. We, in fact, have many growing on our property here in the hill country. While stumbling into the plant wearing sandals is not a pleasant experience, eating it certainly is.

The Prickly Pear Cactus is native to the American Southwest and Mexico, and has been part of the the diet of people living in the area throughout history. Before moving to Texas, I never imagined that people ate cactus, but I have to tell you, it’s surprisingly good.

The Prickly Pear Cactus is comprised of a couple of parts. The pad is the large flattened portion of the plant and is referred to as “Nopales.” The fruit is referred to as “Tuna.”

Even if you have this spiny plant growing in abundance on your land, it is advantageous to purchase the cactus you wish to consume. Removing the spines is a tedious and time consuming task, and certainly not worth the time or effort, especially when a single fruit of the cactus, completely cleaned of the spines can be purchased for twenty cents in a local hill country store.

The fruit, or Tuna, with the spines removed, is easily prepared for consumption. Simply cut off both ends of the fruit, split the fruit lengthwise, and peel the outer skin off. The remaining portion consists of a sweet and juicy, seed-filled interior with the flavor of a melon. The small seeds are swallowed or chewed by some folks, but probably should be spit out as you would do with watermelon seeds. Various products are derived from the fruit, including jelly, syrup, and candy.

The pad, with a flavor similar to green beans, can be prepared in a variety of ways, often, but not always cooked.

The common Prickly Pear Cactus is interesting to look at, always troublesome to handle, but surely provides an interesting addition to hill country foods.