The difference between Mexican food and Tex-Mex

Burritos, nachos, chili con carne, hard taco shells, cheese on everything. Most of what Europe calls Mexican food is in fact Tex-Mex. That is not fake Mexican food — it is a cuisine of its own, with its own history. It is simply a different one.

Tex-Mex is not «wrong» Mexican food

Tex-Mex is the cooking of the Mexicans who stayed on the US side when the border moved in 1848. It has its own history, its own dishes and every right to exist. Calling it fake is unfair. Calling it Mexican is not right either.

The giveaways

Yellow cheddar that melts. Wheat tortillas as the default. Cumin in almost everything. Hard, U-shaped taco shells. Sour cream on top. And chili con carne, which simply does not exist in Mexico.

What Mexican food looks like instead

Corn tortillas. Fresh cheese that crumbles rather than melts. Chilli arriving in the salsa on the table, not cooked into the dish. Onion, coriander, lime. Small portions, several of them. Sauces built from dried chillies that were toasted and rehydrated, not from powder.

Where the confusion came from

Tex-Mex reached Europe first, through American chains in the eighties and nineties. So for a whole generation «Mexican» means nachos under melted cheese. Mexican food arrived later and is still explaining itself.

Both are good, they are just different

We cook Mexican. We also have burritos and wheat tortillas on the menu, because plenty of people want them and we do not see it as our job to correct anyone’s dinner. But if you want to understand the difference, order it on the classic corn tortilla.

Where we are

Amigo is at Ģertrūdes iela 48a, in central Riga. Our chef Alan is from Mexico City. Open Tuesday to Thursday 17:00–23:00, Friday and Saturday until midnight. See the menu or call +371 255 60 957.