Before the main portion of the blog, I would like to say a few things. I have been writing blogs for 1 year now! That is crazy! I am going to be making some small changes here and there. I am starting this food tour series where I talk about the food from different cities. I am also going to stick to a one blog a month schedule.
El Paso, Texas is special to me because I lived there for a few years. I was pretty young when I lived there so my memories from that time are not super vivid, but I have been back many times and I know it very well. El Paso is very interesting from a food perspective because it is the crossroads of Texas, New Mexico, and the Mexican state of Chihuahua. This means it has the different styles of Mexican food from each of these places. They also have lots of other Texan foods, most notably barbecue.
The Texas style Mexican food is very common in El Paso (especially Tex-Mex from San Antonio). One of my favorite places to get it is at Taco Cabana, a "fast food" restaurant from San Antonio. I put fast food in quotation marks because it is actually great quality. They make their tortillas in the restaurant, something common in El Paso, and they taste amazing. When I lived there, I ate an egg, bean, and cheese tacos from there for breakfast almost every morning.
New Mexican style Mexican food is a lot like Tex-Mex and Chihuahuan food, but they add green chilies. El Paso is only an hour away from Hatch, NM, so green and red chilies are part of the culture. In La Mesa, New Mexico, only a short drive from El Paso, is Chopes Bar and Cafe. They drench typical Mexican food in their amazing green chili sauce, to give it that New Mexico flavor. La Tortilla Factory has amazing red chili sauce if that is what you are craving.
Chihuahuan Mexican food is your typical Mexican food, but it is all grilled. The meat, the tortilla, everything. It is absolutely amazing. The best place to get this is at El Taco Tote, a Mexican chain that started in Juárez, right across the border from El Paso. Their tacos are some of the best I have ever had.
Lastly, the non-Mexican food. Since El Paso is in Texas, there is fantastic BBQ. At The State Line, you can get massive beef ribs, tender brisket, beautiful steak, and so much more. It is one of the best BBQ places I have ever been.
El Paso is a very unique food city that every one should go to. While there are lots of things to do in and around the city like hiking around the Franklin Mountains, exploring the culture and history of the city, taking in the vast desert, and so much more. El Paso is a destination that should be on everyone's list, and the food should be in everyone's mouth.
These are the Tacos from El Taco Tote.