Pati Jinich, the chef identified for packages together with PBS’s “La Frontera” and “Pati’s Mexican Desk,” has dined at numerous Mexican and Mexican-inspired eating places.
Although she’s had good meals at spots throughout the US, she mentioned she will sense when an institution is not doing her dwelling nation’s delicacies justice.
Listed here are the 5 pink flags she seems to be out for at Mexican eating places.
Chilly salsa is not a superb signal.
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Salsa is a staple at any Mexican place, however Jinich advised Enterprise Insider that she’s skeptical when it is served chilly.
“Mexican salsas are finest after they’re freshly made and after they’re both scorching or lukewarm however not chilly,” she mentioned.
Even when the salsa is made in large batches forward of time, which is frequent, the chef mentioned it is best to both carry it to room temperature by taking it out of the fridge or heat it up by simmering it on the range.
“The chilly temperature makes salsas much less flavorful,” Jinich mentioned. “When they’re lukewarm or heat, their flavors are unlocked.”
Tortilla chips should not be skinny and brittle.
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Although Jinich chef mentioned serving a basket of chips earlier than the meal is primarily an American invention, it is now frequent in eating places throughout the US and Mexico.
However not all tortilla chips are created equally.
“On the Mexican facet of the border, the topos, or tortilla chips, are typically made on the restaurant and with recent corn tortillas, and so they’re thicker, too,” she mentioned.
She’s not a fan of the skinny, simply cracked chips discovered in lots of Mexican eating places within the US.
Premade guacamole is a giant no.
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If there’s one factor Jinich cannot stand, it is low-quality, premade guac.
“Premade guacamole is a shame,” she mentioned. “It simply would not style in any respect just like the guacamole that I do know and that I like and that is really easy to make.”
In Jinich’s eyes, a superb restaurant ought to at all times make recent guacamole, ideally tableside, if it is on the menu.
