Attention: Mexican Food Lovers (Burito House)

[Mestizo]

I judge a Mexican restaurant by the quality of menudo. Any decent places?

HAHA!

-Mestizo

[OriginalPoster]

If you like the Mexican food at Miguels, El Diablos, or Salsa Kitchen, you will be extremely disappointed at the Panthip Plaza place.

mm... Miguel's has always been great for me. pricing seems fair and portions okay..food tastes no different than what i buy in Las Vegas from the real mexicans... but OP seems to like subway as well, which is some of the most bland subs you could get when comparing them to other places in the States... so i guess no accounting for taste..

So, why is it the biggest franchise in the world? http://www.franchise...gest-franchise/

Why is Mickey D's the biggest burger joint? Certainly not for the quality of their burgers.

There seems to be some additive in their food that makes kids happy. Take a bunch of kids and any race, religion, or class to a McD and one thing you know for sure is that they are going to be happy. And then when they get older they never quite shake it off, rather as adults each time they go there they swear that it will be the last time and yet they go again.

[wimpy]

I understand completely. There is someting about those fries....

[uptheos]

If you like the Mexican food at Miguels, El Diablos, or Salsa Kitchen, you will be extremely disappointed at the Panthip Plaza place.

mm... Miguel's has always been great for me. pricing seems fair and portions okay..food tastes no different than what i buy in Las Vegas from the real mexicans... but OP seems to like subway as well, which is some of the most bland subs you could get when comparing them to other places in the States... so i guess no accounting for taste..

So, why is it the biggest franchise in the world? http://www.franchise...gest-franchise/

Why is Mickey D's the biggest burger joint? Certainly not for the quality of their burgers.

Ah Wimpy - the Brits will remember Wimpy Burgers.

[hellodolly]

If you like the Mexican food at Miguels, El Diablos, or Salsa Kitchen, you will be extremely disappointed at the Panthip Plaza place.

mm... Miguel's has always been great for me. pricing seems fair and portions okay..food tastes no different than what i buy in Las Vegas from the real mexicans... but OP seems to like subway as well, which is some of the most bland subs you could get when comparing them to other places in the States... so i guess no accounting for taste..

So, why is it the biggest franchise in the world? http://www.franchise...gest-franchise/

Why is Mickey D's the biggest burger joint? Certainly not for the quality of their burgers.

Could be for there french fries.

[Loaded]

I stopped going to this place a while ago after I ordered bean burritos and received wraps that were 20% bean and 80% lettuce. Maybe I was just unlucky. If I read any positive reviews here from people who have been recently, I may try again.

[ha55ha]

No love for Salsa Kitchen? I find the food way better than Miguels

[hellodolly]

No love for Salsa Kitchen? I find the food way better than Miguels

I take it you don't like either one.

I was only at Salsa Kitchen once. Not saying the food was bad or good just saying I was under impressed.

As for Pantip I thought they did a top job with their Burrito. On the topic of lettuce I find it used way to much in Taco's every place I have been to.

Edited August 21, 2012 by hellodolly

[Berkshire]

No love for Salsa Kitchen? I find the food way better than Miguels

Guess it's a matter of taste. I believe the exact opposite--Miguels is way better than Salsa Kitchen. And for whatever reason, Salsa takes forever. The extra wait certainly didn't do anything for the quality of the eats.

[alfieconn]

Ah Wimpy - the Brits will remember Wimpy Burgers.

A "Wimpy Special Grill" ups was the dog's and i always thought their burgers were the best as well !

[Saan]

IMO Miguel's is by far the best Mexican restaurant in town and one of the best in Thailand (although it would be just mediocre in California). Some of the other places have some fairly tasty dishes, but they always seems like an imitation of Mexican dishes to me.

If Miguel's is the best I am not eating Mexican in Chiang Mai. I had hoped there might have been a restaurant here that didn't think mush was Mexicam.

[beb]

IMO Miguel's is by far the best Mexican restaurant in town and one of the best in Thailand (although it would be just mediocre in California). Some of the other places have some fairly tasty dishes, but they always seems like an imitation of Mexican dishes to me.

If Miguel's is the best I am not eating Mexican in Chiang Mai. I had hoped there might have been a restaurant here that didn't think mush was Mexicam.

Gotta say I find expats in Chiang Mai to sometimes be incredibly spoiled. Miguel's certainly isn't the best Mexican joint I've ever eaten at but then I've spent a lot of time in TX and Southern CA. Miguel's is better than some, not as good as others. They certainly do a decent job of it.

Most surprising to me is that I have this choice in a city of this size in a third world country. I've searched for Mexican high and low in in other, more advanced and richer countries with zero luck. I mean, some places dont' even bother with cilantro or cumin or whatever ingredient that is crucial for the flavor of whatever dish. They just try to make it look like the food in question. At Miguel's I feel like I'm eating at a mainstream, middle of the road, LA mexican family restaurant.

But then I find this to be true with a lot of food here. I'm frankly amazed at the choices available.

[Ulysses G.]

Gotta say I find expats in Chiang Mai to sometimes be incredibly spoiled. Miguel's certainly isn't the best Mexican joint I've ever eaten at but then I've spent a lot of time in TX and Southern CA. Miguel's is better than some, not as good as others. They certainly do a decent job of it.

I agree completely. If you are coming straight from Mission Street in San Franciso, Miguel's would not be remarkable, but it is excellent compared to most other Mexican restaurants in South East Asia. We are lucky indeed to have so many decent foreign restaurants in Chiang Mai.

[uptheos]

Most surprising to me is that I have this choice in a city of this size in a third world country.

Can't argue with that.

[62strat]

When at Pantip I will have the Mexican there, although I got a little stomach problem one time about a year a ago (sorry to say)... Miquels is nice for quaility and selection but for a burrito most similar to the southern Cal and Tex/Mex stlye I grew to love, it is Diablo's that I have gone out of my way for. If I could get Mexican food like I had in San Diego, and Chinese food like I had availible in SF and the Pizza and pasta I ate so often in NY then I could really bust out of these clothes and be the White Buffalo of my Thai Moo Ban

[uptoyoumyfriend]

thanks a bunch for the tips-went last night and enjoyed a meal at the cat house which is just further back and on the other side of the soi from the former tuskers -the menu is promising the prices reasonable and burrito hit the spot.

[tornado24]

Best burritos at Diablo!! And quesadillas arent bad... Everything has cheese in Thailand is a waste of time and money as well, however, the quesadilla was alright.

[Rasseru]

If you like the Mexican food at Miguels, El Diablos, or Salsa Kitchen, you will be extremely disappointed at the Panthip Plaza place.

mm... Miguel's has always been great for me. pricing seems fair and portions okay..food tastes no different than what i buy in Las Vegas from the real mexicans... but OP seems to like subway as well, which is some of the most bland subs you could get when comparing them to other places in the States... so i guess no accounting for taste..

So, why is it the biggest franchise in the world? http://www.franchisedirect.com/blog/subway-is-the-worlds-biggest-franchise/

The man just explained it. There is no accounting for taste.

[hellodolly]

Gotta say I find expats in Chiang Mai to sometimes be incredibly spoiled. Miguel's certainly isn't the best Mexican joint I've ever eaten at but then I've spent a lot of time in TX and Southern CA. Miguel's is better than some, not as good as others. They certainly do a decent job of it.

I agree completely. If you are coming straight from Mission Street in San Franciso, Miguel's would not be remarkable, but it is excellent compared to most other Mexican restaurants in South East Asia. We are lucky indeed to have so many decent foreign restaurants in Chiang Mai.

That one got me laughing you are comparing mexican restaurants from every place but Mexico.

I was wondering after going through this thread again if any one here has ever ate at a real Mexican restaurant in Mexico.

My experience there was two restaurants side by side advertising the same thing will not always deliver the same thing as well as I have seen the dish change from one day to the next.

[Jingthing]

If you're talking burritos the gold standard, epicenter, what have you, would be the Mission District, San Francisco, USA. Definitely not anywhere in Mexico.

Edited March 22, 2013 by Jingthing

[thaicbr]

If you're talking burritos the gold standard, epicenter, what have you, would be the Mission District, San Francisco, USA. Definitely not anywhere in Mexico.

So the best Mexican food ... isn't in Mexico! I take it you have been everywhere in Mexico to know this. Food is always very subjective.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burrito

Edited March 22, 2013 by thaicbr

[Jingthing]

If you're talking burritos the gold standard, epicenter, what have you, would be the Mission District, San Francisco, USA. Definitely not anywhere in Mexico.

So the best Mexican food ... isn't in Mexico! I take it you have been everywhere in Mexico to know this. Food is always very subjective.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burrito

I didn't say Mexican food. I said: BURRITO.

[thaicbr]

And a BURRITO is the name of a Mexican food dish..Amazing to comprehend I know.

Jing. All you have to state is " in my opinion the best burrito comes from......."

Edited March 22, 2013 by thaicbr

[Jingthing]

And a BURRITO is the name of a Mexican food dish..Amazing to comprehend I know.

Jing. All you have to state is " in my opinion the best burrito comes from......."

No I don't have to phrase my opinions the way you tell me to. Seriously, people who understand burritos in the SF Mission district and in Mexico (where they aren't even on the menu in MOST of country and they are almost an entirely different food than the California burrito which is what the world knows as a burrito) understand exactly what I mean, and they way you phrased it, isn't what I mean.

The burrito that the WORLD knows is indeed a Mexican style dish, developed in California. Not denying the Mexican roots but that very simple basic provincial version could have never become an internationally significant food, such as pizza.

To be clear I have indeed tried Mexican "roots" burritos, a very simple dish that can indeed be very delicious when the flour tortilla is well made and the meat is delicious. I can understand some people will prefer roots burritos to international burritos but my point again, is that they are DIFFERENT dishes.

While it is true that S.F. Mission district is probably the best neighborhood on the planet to taste this dish, that wasn't my point really. The point is that dish was invented there, comes from there.

Compare to a sandwich. Assuming you believe the Earl of Sandwich story. Is the Vietnamese Banh Mi, also a sandwich, is that origin British or Vietnamese?

The Mexican roots burrito is the sandwich in this example, the basic idea of stuffing something in a flour tortilla. The burrito food that became world famous ... is Californian in origin.

The thing is that Mexico and the USA bleed together in food culture. Large parts of the USA were Mexico. New Mexico style Mexican food for example is totally distinctive, not found in Mexico, and is one of the most wonderful styles of Mexican food that exists.

Edited March 22, 2013 by Jingthing

[Ulysses G.]

Face it. Jingthing is right about Mission district burritos being the best.

[BB1955]

Have to agree Diablos has the best Burito and service , disapointed at Migels and Loco Elvis, . Tried the Mexican Grille on canal road , the food was very good.

[daoyai]

Face it. Jingthing is right about Mission district burritos being the best.

Yea, the famous S.F. style burrito has made it to some areas of Mexico, the original is usually machaca (semi dried beef), also quite yummy.

A humungus foil wrapped food bomb is usually the first thing I would eat when visiting Norte Califas.

[daoyai]

The "secret" to the S.F. burrito is the tortilla steamer, it rubberizes the tort making it flexable enough to to streach around the massive ammount of filling without cracking and keeps it chewy and moist. I have not seen that done here, so on that level, Miguels, Diablos, Elvis, Salsa kitchen, all fail to make a S.F. Mission burrito.

[Rasseru]

. . . New Mexico style Mexican food for example is totally distinctive, not found in Mexico, and is one of the most wonderful styles of Mexican food that exists.

That observation triggered a very nice memory for me, of having some of the very best Mexican food I've ever had, at a wonderful little restaurant in New Mexico, miles and miles from any city, town or village, on the open road somewhere. Northern New Mexico, it was. And yes, it was not just good, but very distinctly different from other Mexican foods I've had. Same or similar dishes, but distinct flavourings and 'feel'.

Another memory of some of the best Mexican food I've had is of enchiladas in New York. Sold on the sidewalk of 14th Street in Manhattan, by two older ladies, whose appearance and dress suggested to me they could as easily be Guatemalan or Honduran as Mexican, from a large container that they had hauled there from their home in one of the outer boroughs, where they had prepared the enchiladas -- their limited English was good enough for mostly Spanish-free me to gather all this from them while chowing down there on the street in memory-leaving delight.

Another thing, though. People be talking here about Mexican food mostly like it's one thing. It really isn't. In my travels there, mainly in and around Mexico City, Oaxaca and other points south, the food was only distantly related to the variety of Mexican food I've been served in the United States and elsewhere, including Thailand, all of which I think is more related to the cuisine of northern Mexico.

As a current meme would have it, it's all good. Or can be. Including our own Miguel's, which I like very much. Just wish they offered fresh corn tortillas as well as the flour ones.

Edited March 23, 2013 by Rasseru

[tornado24]

Face it. Jingthing is right about Mission district burritos being the best.

Are you crazy??? Some people think the americans invented the world!! And the burrito as well but they didnt, to make a very tasty burrito the secrect is the quality of the ingredients. Isnt a 3* michelin recipe hehe think that many thais can do it hehe and pretty well!

The mexican burrito and californian are quite different, however isnt a very popular dish in mexico, such as mole, albondigas, enchilada o carnitas.

We are talking about where is the best burrito in chiang mai and I think is at diablo, I dont like the name because means devil.... Anyway the food is great!!

Edited March 23, 2013 by tornado24