Talk of The Villages Florida - Best Authentic Mexican

Talk of The Villages Florida (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/)

- Restaurant Discussions (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/restaurant-discussions-90/)

- - Best Authentic Mexican (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/restaurant-discussions-90/best-authentic-mexican-358762/)

Palma on 441 , Leesburg

Quote:

Originally Posted by golfing eagles (Post 2431789)

I'd go for the authentic Mexican food. I'll pass on the rooster:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

Do yourself a huge favor then. Try this for your first visit there:

Three carne asada tacos, ask for two lime wedges (I think 3 tacos only comes with one).
1 bottle Jarritos Mandarin soda.

Squeeze a thin line of red sauce across each taco, and squeeze generously with lime. Try one taco before adding more red sauce to either of the other two. It has a bite to it.

Tell'em the old lady who gets 2 tacos and a mandarin every few weeks says hi.

Quote:

Originally Posted by manaboutown (Post 2431838)

Anybody know of a nearby Mexican/Tex-Mex style restaurant serving good menudo, tamales, carne adovada and sopaipillas?

Carne adovada isn't Mexican or Tex-Mex. It's New Mexican. No idea where you can find menudo around here, I imagine beef tripe stew is an acquired taste. Ay! Jalisco serves sopapillas but they're more like cachangas, and don't puff up like a beignet or a fried dough pizza does.

Viva Mexico makes a few different stuffings for their tamales. I've never had them but as I said before - most of their customers are Mexican so I assume they're probably good.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deden (Post 2431865)

We found a Mexican food truck, yes food truck family run, that is better than any Mexican restaurant around. On the corner of Rt 25 and Griffin rd. in Lady Lake... Street behind Home Depot on 441.

I tried it, wasn't really fond of it. The meat was oversalted and the salsa roja tasted off, maybe they added chipotle spices to it or something. I definitely like the truck on 301 better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mrmean58 (Post 2431774)

Being from California i was spoiled with the quality of Mexican food served there. You will be looking for a very long time to find high quality Mexican food in or near the Villages.

Interesting! We moved from SoCal two years ago (life long SoCal native), and pretty much what we eat here at Fiesta Grande or Tequila Cantina is what was served at the Mexican restaurants we had close to home. I guess we never found the good stuff, lol.

I've tried them all too. To me, they're all pretty much the same. Just stick with the ones that have the cleanest bathrooms.

Quote:

Originally Posted by eyc234 (Post 2431933)

We would agree with the at home. Long lived Texans and there is no place here that is authentic or Mexican. It is mostly US-Mex. Do our own from tortillas to tamales.

Even the restaurants and food trucks run by & staffed by ethnic Mexicans? How does that work?

Mexican food somehow knows where the border is and it stops on the southern side?

New Mexico, Arizona, California, and Texas certainly have "authentic" and Mexican food, lots of it. If those states, why not Florida?

I agree that many places have a limited menu and the food is oftern "mild", but to make a blanket statement that "no place here that is authentic or Mexican" is not true. Another thing is I'm sure you haven't been to all Mexican restaurants even an hour drive.

Another version of the food-snob "You can't get real pizza outside NYC or Italy".

Another vote for Casa Agave on 301 just north of 44. Clean environment, fast, friendly service and the food is consistently good. The Molcajete Agave is my fav.

If you are down in the Eastport area where all the building is going on, I hit up the mobile roach coaches. Military slang for a mobile food truck that drives around. They cater to the local construction workers. Price is reasonable, food has always been good.

Highly recommend Luna Azul

Tried Luna Azul for the first time last night. Excellent service and food was great

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danube (Post 2431983)

There is such a thing as "Mexican cuisine." There is also such a thing as "Tex-Mex cuisine." There is also such a thing as "Florida cuisine."

Tex-Mex shares some common traits with Mexican cuisine but they have distinct dishes that are not native to the other. Tex-Mex typically uses either flour tortillas or hard-shell corn tortillas. Mexican typically uses soft corn tortillas. If your taco is served with ground beef, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and taco sauce in a crunchy hard-shell corn tortilla, then it is decisively Tex-Mex, and NOT Mexican. Mexican tacos are soft-shell, smaller, with just a spoonful of shredded or chopped (not ground) beef, pork, or chicken, and usually only has cilantro and onion on it. In the states they're called "street tacos" and you have to pay extra for that at restaurants. In traditional and authentic Mexican places - such as the food trucks we have up here, they're just called tacos - because they don't sell any other kind, so no adjective is needed to distinguish them from anything else. And they're MUCH less expensive than what you get in the restaurants. They also are typically served two-up: two soft-shell tortillas, set down on the hot grill with a little oil to get them cooked through, then stacked on top of each other, with the "inner" ingredients dumped in the middle so you can fold the edges up and eat them without a fork.

Fajitas are not Mexican. They're Tex-Mex. Mexicans IN Mexico don't eat fajitas. It's not a thing there.

La Placita in Leesburg on West Main St

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fran from MI (Post 2431717)

Looking for the best authentic Mexican Restaurant near The Villages.

La Placita in Leesburg on West Main. It’s a simple place. The food is very good. The wait staff doesn’t speak English.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michread (Post 2432106)

La Placita in Leesburg on West Main. It’s a simple place. The food is very good. The wait staff doesn’t speak English.

I just looked at some of the photos and checked their FB page. They just opened up in early 2024 and the food in the photos looks delicious! I also like that they have some shelves for Mexican products, and the ice cream station. Definitely going to try this one next time I'm down in Leesburg!

La Palma on 441/27- Leesburg

Quote:

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby (Post 2431744)

Tequila Cantina isn't really an "authentic" Mexican restaurant. It's a combination Mexican and Tex-Mex restaurant. Fajitas are a Tex-Mex invention, they're not on menus or in homes in Mexico.

I wanted steak tacos but they don't offer that, they only offer ground beef or shredded chicken, unless you pay extra for "street tacos" which are actually cheaper to make than the regular tacos. Ground beef on crispy corn taco shells is an American thing, it's not a Mexican thing.

For authentic Mexican I go to the taqueria on 301, called Viva Mexico, up near 42. They make the tortillas to order, the carne asada is not oversalted, it's simple but delicious food, and sometimes a rooster from the farm in the neighbor's yard will come to keep you company as you eat under a tarp on a picnic table.

Their customer base is primarily Mexican. But the women who run the place are English-speakers so you don't have to order in Spanish unless you want to.

They also have a couple of off-menu items, I'm pretty sure I saw one of the customers eating a bowl of pozole, and that's definitely not on the menu.

They're a stationary food truck. They're in the process of moving next door and putting up an outbuilding with an actual kitchen but they were hit with sticker shock when they went to have it built. So that's delayed.

Ok, is there anybody on TOTV that knows more than OBB on any subject. I mean why do search on Google, AI, or go to local library. Just ask OBB. :bigbow: