NON-gourmet Mexican cuisine in Maryland/DC?

December 1, 2006 2:50 PM

Please help me find some crappy, cheap Mexican food in the Maryland/DC area.

Throughout my whole life, I have been a lover of Mexican food, but only a very specific kind of Mexican food. After speaking to people and learning more about cuisine, I have learned that to most, the style of Mexican I like is horribly inauthentic and altogether awful. Despite all this, it's what I like, so I want to keep eating it. Unfortunately, I just relocated from Richmond, VA (where I could find crappy Mexican everywhere) to Germantown, MD, and I am having a hell of a time finding suitable restaurants.

I guess the best way to narrow down what I'm looking for is to list some standard characteristics. The tacos usually use ground beef, rather than shredded or cubed. The pinto beans are basically pulverized. The queso dipping sauce is pretty watery, and the salsa used is red and seems tomato-based. The enchilada sauce generally seems to have a hint of cinnamon in it. The menu is usually quite extensive, with at least 20 combos for both lunch and dinner. AND, the kicker: The majority of the time, the first combo available on the lunch menu is called a "Speedy Gonzalez."

After a lot of internet searching, I thought I had hit the jackpot with Torino's in Bethesda, but upon my arrival I saw that it is now an Asian bistro. Oops.

Could someone please help me in my quest? I just want my Mexican comfort food, it doesn't need to be fancy (in fact, I'm pretty much expecting a dive). I'm willing to drive up to 30 minutes, maybe a little further if necessary. Thanks so much!

posted by sarahsynonymous to food & drink (24 comments total)

Anita's? They have a bunch of locations in suburban VA just outside of D.C. The food is tasty, quite cheap, plentiful "comfort" fare similar, if not entirely identical, to what you describe.
posted by killdevil at 3:00 PM on December 1, 2006

Tippy's Tacos -- Same comment as killdevil, basically. All locations in NoVA, and not exactly like you describe, but close enough. The Merrifield location is probably a 40-minute drive.
posted by sa3z at 3:05 PM on December 1, 2006

I don't live there anymore, and don't remember the name, but about two years ago I went to a place near the intersection of Middlebrook and Frederick road. Can't find it on Yahoo, but I think it was in the same plaza as Yaraku Japanese.

I thought it sucked, so good luck!
posted by saffry at 3:13 PM on December 1, 2006

Sorry, don't know Germantown, but my recollection of Toucan Taco in Laurel is that it fully met your crap-Mexican requirements and is probably lot more convenient to you (< 10 minutes from us 95) than anywhere in virginia. br>
(Toucan Taco; 315 Gorman Ave; Laurel, MD 20707; [phone])

(Ah, back in the day there used to be a Tippy's in College Park; great crap-Mexican. Good times, good times...)
posted by mojohand at 3:34 PM on December 1, 2006

Wait a minute, this is crappy Mexican food? You've described the place where we eat twice a week - and we love it! And I would never, ever have thought to consider it crappy!

In Kentucky, BTW, these kinds of places always begin with El - El Nopal, El Caporal, etc.
posted by jbickers at 4:31 PM on December 1, 2006 [1 favorite]

You are so describing Taco Bell. Surely there are some in the area? I don't eat fast food as a general rule, but Taco Bell - delicious!
posted by WaterSprite at 4:34 PM on December 1, 2006

Don Pablo's sounds up your alley. It's slightly more upscale (read: expensive) than someplace like Anita's, but it's totally crap and a chain to boot.

My friends love it, and the margaritas are head-sized.

According to their website, they have locations in Columbia, Laurel, Owings Mills, and Baltimore, plus a bunch of restaurants in NoVa.
posted by timetoevolve at 4:42 PM on December 1, 2006

Oh, man. It's great to find another lover of crappy Tex-Mex. Whenever I get a craving for mushy beans and ground "beef" drowned in mysterious red sauce, I hit Taco Maker in Security Square Mall. You'll love it.
posted by Faint of Butt at 4:43 PM on December 1, 2006

I nth your love of bad Mexican and second Don Pablos.

Also, when trying to explain to people what I'm looking for when I want bad Mexican, I've found that they usually get what I mean more quickly if I say "tex-mex." Real Mexican food is about moles and adobos and a lot of other things that just can't hold a candle to that bright orange "queso sauce." Mmmm.
posted by chickletworks at 5:40 PM on December 1, 2006

these might be a little gourmet for you, but: Guapo's or Cactus Cantina? Both have locations on Wisconsin Avenue in NW DC. As a DC resident I'm a huge fan of Guapo's, as it's good but not that good--definite comfort food as far as I'm concerned, but YMMV.
posted by atayah at 7:10 PM on December 1, 2006

Pollo Rico in Arlington.
posted by The White Hat at 9:52 PM on December 1, 2006

La Fiesta in Crofton, MD. It is what happens when the only Indian family in thirty miles realizes that nobody is quite ready for vindiloo and naan and opens a mexican joint instead.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 5:44 AM on December 2, 2006

There's also a Guapo's at the Rio in Gaithersburg.
posted by amarynth at 7:50 AM on December 2, 2006

Also, when trying to explain to people what I'm looking for when I want bad Mexican, I've found that they usually get what I mean more quickly if I say "tex-mex." Real Mexican food is about moles and adobos and a lot of other things that just can't hold a candle to that bright orange "queso sauce." Mmmm.

As an unwilling Texan, I think that only applies to Tex-Mex outside of Texas. Here, there are many degrees between Taco Bell - TexMex - Gourmet Mexican.

I love them all.


OP: Sounds like you want a Taco place. Taco Bell, Taco Diner, Taco Bueno, Taco Delight, Taco Cabana...
posted by jesirose at 9:10 AM on December 2, 2006

jesirose:

Unfortunately, Taco Benuo is a Texclusive.
posted by ShawnStruck at 9:35 AM on December 2, 2006

Dude, pollo rico is peruvian rotisserie chicken...
posted by kdar at 10:39 AM on December 2, 2006

Seconding Guapo's (I had no idea that was a chain! I always go to one in Virginia. Delicious!) and thirding Don Pablo's, especially for those margaritas mentioned above.
posted by naoko at 2:56 PM on December 2, 2006

Move to Texas and you'll drown in it. The idea of having to search out crappy Mexican food is frightening to me. Good luck in your search.
posted by MadamM at 4:10 PM on December 2, 2006

I know the place saffry's talking about, and it's still crap and it's still there. Starts with a "T". Austin Grill (Bethesda has a location) is very TexMex, so it might fill the bill. We have a place here in Frederick called El Paso that would also work (exit Route 85 north, it'll be about a half mile or so on your right, in the plaza behind a Burger King).
posted by ersatzkat at 7:00 PM on December 2, 2006

My husband says it was El Tejano, which fits jbickers rule for crappy mexican.
posted by saffry at 8:05 PM on December 2, 2006

Holy crap...Tippy's is on the internet!? A bit far for you, but it fits the other criteria..
posted by inigo2 at 8:14 PM on December 2, 2006

Thanks so much for all of the input, and please feel free to add more if you have it! I think some of these places are a bit too far, but a lot of them have definite potential. I know what I'm doing this weekend! :)

A few personal responses:
- saffry and ersatzkat, I actually tried El Tejano last weekend, but it wasn't quiiite right. However, the El Paso in Frederick is setting my senses a-tingling - "in the plaza behind a Burger King" sounds like crappy perfection. I'll have to see!
- jbickers, don't get me wrong, there's nothing I love more than that kind of Mexican food! I've just been rudely awakened as to its actual place on the culinary ladder. ;)
- WaterSprite, Taco Bell works in a pinch, but it definitely ain't the real (well, "real") deal, unfortunately.
posted by sarahsynonymous at 9:45 PM on December 2, 2006

I'm so glad you came up with the name - it was starting to bug me. There's another place in Frederick called Casa Rico which, while not as dive-y as El Paso, has a build-your-own-death-plate buffet on Wednesday nights!
posted by ersatzkat at 3:24 PM on December 3, 2006

Dingdingding, ersatzkat - I went up to El Paso for lunch today, and it's EXACTLY what I was looking for. Again, thanks so much for the recommendation!
posted by sarahsynonymous at 6:49 PM on December 7, 2006