Julia’s Mexican Restaurant

Food Guides — page 5

Guides to Mexican food, drinks and ordering, written from the kitchen at Julia's Mexican Restaurant in Houston. What the dishes are, what the words on a menu mean, and how to order well.

Mexican Food Guides What Is Mole? The Sauce, Not the Chocolate A family of chile sauces thickened with nuts and seeds and cooked for a day. Why most contain no chocolate, the main varieties, and what to…
Mexican Dining Guides How to Reheat Mexican Leftovers Without Ruining Them Covered and low beats hot and fast. Sorting wet from dry, steaming tamales, re-crisping chips, and which dishes are genuinely better the second day.
Mexican Food Guides Dia de Muertos Food: What Goes on the Altar and Why Not Mexican Halloween. Pan de muerto, sugar skulls, marigolds, tamales and mole, and why almost everything on an ofrenda is somebody's favorite dish.
Drink Guides Tequila Types Explained: Blanco, Reposado and Anejo Silver, gold, reposado, anejo. What time in oak actually changes, why margaritas want blanco, and the label detail that matters more than the age.
Mexican Dining Guides Taking Kids to a Mexican Restaurant: What to Order Most of the menu is already mild and almost all of it comes apart into pieces a child recognizes. The reliable orders, and why the toppings…
Mexican Dining Guides Mexican Menu Words Explained (and How to Say Them) Suiza, asada, rajas, pibil, picadillo. The protein, the method and the sauce, plus five pronunciation rules that cover almost every word on the page.
Mexican Dining Guides Gluten Free at a Mexican Restaurant: What to Know Corn tortillas, rice and grilled meat are the straightforward part. The fryer, the tortilla press and the grill are the questions a menu cannot answer.
Mexican Food Guides Cinco de Mayo vs Mexican Independence Day Different wars, different countries, fifty-two years apart. What each date actually marks, why the US celebrates the smaller one, and what to eat.
Mexican Dining Guides Charro Beans vs Refried Beans vs Black Beans Three beans, three different dishes. Which contains pork, which is heaviest, why the kitchen matched a particular one to your plate, and how to swap it.
Mexican Food Guides Salsa Roja vs Salsa Verde: What Is the Difference? Red is tomato, green is tomatillo, and neither color tells you a thing about the heat. What separates them, plus why pico de gallo is not…
Mexican Food Guides Mexican Cheeses Explained: Which Melt and Which Crumble Oaxaca, queso fresco, cotija, panela and cheddar. Which ones melt, which are crumbled on at the end, and what naming a cheese tells you about the…
Mexican Food Guides Pozole vs Menudo: What Is the Difference? Two red chile broths that look identical in the bowl. One is pork and hominy, the other beef tripe. Which to order first, and why both…