I hear it all the time — and usually from people who have lived in California.
“There’s no good Mexican food in Hawaii.”
But is that really true?
And if it is, why?
I don’t claim to be a Mexican food aficionado. I’ve never been to Mexico — or even near the border — and I grew up eating burritos and nachos from Taco Bell. Like most north-of-the-border Americans — worse, in my case, since I live on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean — I probably never had real, authentic Mexican food.
The short time I had lived in Chicago about 15 years ago, I remember eating at a Mexican restaurant run by actual Mexicans who, for whatever reason, had immigrated to one of the nation’s coldest cities in the winter. And the experience of eating fresh tortilla, carne asada packed with spices, and a mole sauce that smacked me in the face with flavor, oh, I got it.
Mexican food was something I started to crave.
So when I moved back to Honolulu in 2000, I was on a mission to eat — and then cook — whatever Mexican dishes I could get my hands on.
And it’s not like I was entirely disappointed.
There have been great little Mexican finds in town, starting with Azteca Mexican Restaurant in Kaimuki (above), which serves consistently good, homestyle Mexican food. (Plus, the owners are incredibly nice.) And you can’t beat the $1.50 tacos at Serg’s Mexican Kitchen in Manoa, if not for the price alone. (Though battling college kids for them isn’t fun.)
There’s also Zaratez Mexicatessen on South King Street with its carne asada burrito, Maria Bonita in Chinatown with its taqueria, and Mexico in Kalihi with frozen margaritas that don’t skimp on tequila.
I’d say that’s not a bad lineup.
Still, people complain all the time that Hawaii doesn’t have any good, real, authentic Mexican food.
So what about it? What makes Mexican food good? Or real? Or authentic? Do we have good, real, authentic other kinds of foods, like Korean or Indian?
I feel like food, in general, is so regional and personal. One cook’s version of salsa may not be similar to another’s, and really, what we’re comparing are things we’re familiar with — not necessarily the authenticity of the dish. Meaning, I’ll always think my grandma’s version of vinha d’alhos, a Portuguese pork dish, is superior to all others. But it might not be authentic — and it might not be one that others will like.
So I’m throwing it out there: is it fair to criticize one person’s interpretation of, say, Mexican food? Or do we really have lousy palettes for it?
18 Comments
I’m a huge fan of Mexico Restaurant myself. In my opinion, restaurants tailor their authentic recipes to fit the demographic they are servicing. After all, if you don’t give your customers what they want, your customer base will dwindle away.
How about you adding a recipe page to your blog and share your favorites on it or those that you get requests for. For example, I see your fans requesting the vinha d’alhos recipe from your grandmother.
Hi Cat. If I was to go get Mexican food while in Hawaii, Azteca would have been my first choice. A friend told me that Cholos in Haleiwa was the best but having lived in LA for the last 30+ years, I was disappointed with their food. Honestly, I go for Hawaiian food when I am back in the 808. So what makes it authentic? My interpretation is when you see a long line of ladies on Saturday morning all with pots in their hands to buy the fresh menudos that are made fresh on weekends. Authentic is when I see tripas, lengua, sesos, birria, on the menu along with bif de res, chuletas, lengua con cebolla chili verde and tapatio sauce on every table. And definitely no sour cream in sight.
You want good Cali-Mex in Hawaii? Go to Luibueno’s in Haleiwa (formerly Rosie’s Cantina). Their food is ono and they have the best horchata. If you drink, they also infuse their own tequila with pineapples and vanilla beans. 🙂
Hello Cat,
I went to Tijuana years ago and went to eat at a restaurant to get a taste of real authentic mexican food. Well I was disappointed, it was terrible, I would have been better off going to Taco Bell.
I like Azteca in Kaimuki and Torito’s in Market City.
I grew up just east of Los Angeles and lived in that general area my entire life until I moved to New Mexico a little over two years ago, and my idea of authentic Mexican food is similar to Glenn’s. I would add to his list fresh, house made tortillas are a must. I’ve rarely had what I call good Mexican food outside of California, and the “southwestern” cuisine in New Mexico is good, but a completely different genre. When I go home to CA, I always want Mexican (after In-N-Out of course). I do think to a large degree you like what you grew up with and that’s ok – you would laugh at my idea of Hawaiian, but as I spend more time in the islands, I’m improving. No one has a lousy palate, it’s all what you’re used to.
There are as many recipes for mole as there are cooks making it. Funny you should mention Chicago. The large Mexican population there and restaurants are dominated by people from the state of Michoacan and other Central Mexican states. A person recently arrived from Campeche or Chiapas might not recognize some of the food there, no matter how authentic it is to its own roots, as even being Mexican. With a national population of 125 million people and climates ranging from subtropical rain forest to desert, with some huge mountains in between that isolate populations in a fairly significant way, I’d discount any concousion of a lack of authenticity.
As to what’s good, that’s dependent on the taste buds and palate of the person rendering that opinion. Like bellybuttons, everybody’s got one.
Oh and I forgot…the good places ask if you want patas (pig feet) in your menudo. Buche (pig stomach like chitlins) is another thing I look for in a Mexican place.
CAT: I’m with M, Azteca & Torito’s in Kaimuki. Forget Jose’s…no taste. But me not Mexican, I like fuud that tastes guud and not burn da butt! El Burrito was pretty guud as well. Cholo’s I pass. Mexico is guud. El Charro in Aiea is guud as well. There have been others in this town and not all make it. Did eat in Juarez once…that was decent for a tourist town…I think we were the only tourist in the small family place. I think now the place is no longer safe due to drug gangs.
There was this place in Waimanalo called Bueno Nalo that had the best mexican food in Hawaii. I also liked Compadres. Now I go to Toritos. The best Mexican food i’ve had was in Arizona and the street Taco’s in Tiajuana were good. The worst meal? This tourist trap in Tiajunana, we would have been bettter off at Taco Bell.
Is El Mariachi still open in Kaneohe? Hole in the wall kine place but was good when I went there a number of years ago.
There are certain people I know that think that because they lived in California for a long time, they know what “real” Mexican tastes like and that Hawaii does not have it. I beg to differ. I, myself, am Mexican, and my parents grew up in East Los Angeles. They have taken me to many tacos stands and holes in the wall whenever I go back to visit them. While nothing tops Abuelita’s home cooking, there are places here that compare to the East LA dives, Olvera Street restaurants, and Tijuana taco carts I have visited. So, it most definietely is here.
I recommend Azteca on Waialae, like most people.
I also staunchly support Zaratez on King Street.
However, I’m not much of a fan of the “fusion” stuff. It’s a taco. It’s supposed to be simple.
Blind spot cuisine for me. Never had much of a taste for Mexican, except for the Lamb at the old La Bamba. Friends who lived in L.A. have told me I’d probably like more if i had Mexican in L.A. or So Cal.
Haven’t eaten much Mexican food here, and would not consider myself an expert on the topic (although I did live in Los Angeles for over a dozen years).
My vote goes to the Santa Cruz taco truck. Totally legit IMHO, hand made tortillas, too. I would say they are good even when held to LA standards. Give them a try if you encounter them, I think they stop by several of the local farmer’s markets!
My brother inlaw always thought Chevy in San Francisco was best Mexican food restaurants every. Everybody thought he so green to America due he did came from Taiwan and know very little of everything around in states.
I had some kind of mexican food thing at a lunch wagon the was church fund raising here in Kapolei next to the Library and it was good but stomach ache after. Didn’t even know what it was or what the menu items were but it was good. Went to Cali and had mexican food in Santa Cruz by the amusement park at the beach and it was ho hum. Also stomach ache after. Had mexican food in North Carolina and that was good but was like that place in west ridge in the eighties.
I don’t want to be all neg about Mexican food in Hawaii, but if anyone is planning a trip to San Diego, try and carve out time to head south of the border and have dinner at Mision 19; here’s a link:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g150776-d2072923-Reviews-Mision_19-Tijuana_Baja_California.html
Outstanding Mexican food.
I laugh at Yelp reviews that dock points from their reviews of ethnic restaurants because the food is not “authentic”. I think it’s a very lazy observation to make, as “authenticity” and “good” don’t always go hand-in-hand. With that said, I do like El Charro Mexican Restaurant, which is next to Aiea Bowl. I liked Cha Cha Cha Waikiki, which wasn’t necessarily “authentic” and I was pretty bummed to find out that they closed down recently…
I am going to try all of these suggestions because I’ve been spoiled by living in San Diego for the past 11 years and I’m looking for someone on Oahu that does Mexican food better than I do. I haven’t heard of a single place that’s comparable, and I think it comes with the type of ingredients that are available. e