Though San Diego has maybe the largest concentration of Mexican eateries in the whole United States, Aqui es Texcoco is proud to be one of only 5 restaurants in the area officially recognized by the federal government of Mexico for serving authentic Mexican food!
Owner, “Paco” Perez, is excited to introduce his traditional Mexican fare to the culturally diverse population of San Diego County, also providing an authentic family restaurant where the local Hispanic community can enjoy some of their favorite dishes from Mexico. Fresh ingredients and authentic cooking techniques are the secret – from barbacoa de Borrego (slow roasted lamb dishes) to specialties of lamb consomme, delicious side dishes, beverages and desserts – all prepared from scratch daily.
Authentic Mexican cuisine evolved over thousands of years, blending indigenous pre-Columbian cultures with the Spanish colonization of the 15th and 16th centuries. Many ingredients consumed today worldwide originated in Mexico – such as chocolate, maize, corn, vanilla, avocado, guava, huitlacoche, zapote, jicama, epazote, camote, and many varieties of modern beans. Tequila is still made exclusively from the blue agave plant grown in Tequila, Mexico and in the highlands of Jalisco, where it was first mass-produced around the year 1600. Jamaica (hibiscus) tea is one of several beverages made in Mexico from fresh juices or extracts. Aqui es Texcoco’s menu features Jamaica sorbet, custom made for them by local Neiderfrank’s Ice Cream.
“Americanized” Mexican dishes, known as Tex-Mex or Southwestern, range from chimichangas to nachos (baring little resemblance to the Mexican totopo flatbread, salted and sometimes dipped into fresh salsa). Non-authentic dishes will also substitute tomato-based sauces for Mexican chile-based (like mole) recipes. Cheddar cheese isn’t used in Mexican cuisine, whereas U.S. stores consider it an essential component of Mexican-cheese blends; instead, panela cheese is more often served with traditional Mexican salads and entrees. In Mexico, the local street vendors serve everything from tacos with fresh cheese to grilled vegetables and barbecued meat, served with fresh fruits and juices – unlike fast food versions of Mexican food with their boxed taco shells and portable packets of watery sauces.
Over the last few decades, popularity has shifted to sugar-laden sodas instead of fruit drinks, fried fast foods instead of grilled and baked, canned foods with preservatives rather than fresh ingredients – practices which have Mexicans now facing the same health issues as their neighbor, the United States. The health ministry of Mexico states that obesity has become one of its heaviest burdens, and claims it is investing over 1.2 percent of its GNP every year in tackling the problem. It is suggested that a return to the authentic recipes of their ancestors will take Mexico’s dangerous obesity levels (it is the currently the 2nd most overweight nation in the world) back to a healthy diet, rich in nutrients and low in saturated fats.