Discovering the Best Mexican Restaurants in Denver: A Guide to Satisfy Your Cravings - Eateltoro.com (UPDATE 👍) (2023)

FAQs

What would be the most healthy choice in a Mexican restaurant? ›

Mix and match healthy options like grilled meat (chicken, fish, shrimp), ceviche (raw seafood marinated in lemon or lime juice and other seasonings), black beans, brown rice, avocado salad, sautéed veggies, or tortilla soup.

But, keeping in mind the country's unique culinary traditions, it's fair to say that Mexican cuisine depends on three core staples: corn, beans, and chiles.

Tacos. It's the most popular Mexican dish globally. Usually served with fillings like steak, chorizo, offal, etc.

Breakfast is desayuno, your 'proper', heartier breakfast/ brunch is more of an almuerzo, whereas lunch is comida (hence the abundance of comida corrida places that only serve food from around 1 p.m.-4 p.m.) and dinner is cena.

Like tacos and burritos, enchiladas are among the most popular Mexican foods outside of Mexico. They consist of rolled corn tortillas stuffed with a variety of fillings like meat, beans, cheese, potatoes, and vegetables before being drenched in a sauce.

A lot of Mexican entrees tend to be loaded by salt, fats, and other calorie-laden ingredients. While this may not directly scream of unhealthiness, it can still make some people raise their eyebrows and be on the edge of their seats.

There's no denying that Mexican food is delicious. But many of the entrees are made with oil, lard, and salt -- and loaded with cheese and sour cream. You can get more than a day's worth of calories, saturated fat, or sodium in a single meal.

Aids Healthy Digestion

A lot of Mexican dishes contain corn and beans. They are both rich in soluble fiber that keeps you feeling full and helps food to move through your digestive tract more quickly for healthy elimination. Apart from that, it also helps lower blood cholesterol and glucose levels.

The most important meal of the day is lunch (comida) and normally served between 1 and 3 p.m. Supper (cena) is served late, usually after 8 p.m. and is a light snack, although in urban areas supper can be an elaborate affair eaten at restaurants.

A molcajete is a large mortar and pestle made from volcanic stone used to prepare Mexican food, particularly salsas. Think of the molcajete as a Prehispanic blender or food processor.

What do Mexicans eat for breakfast? ›

Breakfast in Mexico is almost always a mix of simple ingredients – eggs, beans, salsa and tortillas. But add in ingredients such as chorizo, bacon and sausage with fresh Mexican flavours and you have something truly epic.

Tortillas, Quesadillas, Enchiladas, Burritos, and Tamales are all made with 'Masa,' a maize flour dough. The taco is the most well-known of Mexico's street meals, and its origins may be traced back to a pre-Hispanic practice of scooping up other foods with tortillas.

In Mexican culture people usually have 3 big meals a day:

Desayuno (breakfast) is the most important one. It takes place first thing in the morning, anytime between 7am -10 am.

Atole. The traditional Mexican breakfast drink of choice, start your day off right with this mix of water, cinnamon, vanilla, masa (corn hominy), and piloncillo (unrefined cane sugar).

Dinner (La Cena) The last meal of the day, la cena, is usually enjoyed sometime between 7 and 9 pm.

Enchiladas

After all, these tortilla-based delights are one of the most popular foods in Mexico and the U.S.! Like tacos, burritos, and quesadillas, enchiladas come in many styles. Still, the one quality that unites all enchiladas is a soft tortilla that's wrapped around savory ingredients.

A typical dish to eat in Mexico are tacos: corn pancakes stuffed with meat, red, yellow and green chilis, with onion and tomato. The meat can be chicken or beef, and without a doubt, it is one of the most typical internationally-known dishes of Mexico.

Grab a few corn tortillas and fill them with grilled spicy shrimp or fish, such as salmon, which is packed with protein heart-healthy omega-3 oils, for seafood tacos. Bank on beans. Mexican cuisine features a vast array of beans, including black beans, pinto beans, black eyed beans, lentils, and chickpeas.

Grilled proteins are typically some of the lowest-calorie foods at a Mexican restaurant, as long as they're paired with smart side dishes. Choose grilled seafood, chicken or steak with a side of black beans or grilled or sauteed vegetables.

Are enchiladas healthy? ›

At their base form, enchiladas are a healthy recipe made with protein, carbs and fats. But like many recipes, some are healthier than others. They're also made with a sugar free enchilada sauce (We love the Siete enchilada sauce), black beans (fiber!) and protein-rich shredded chicken.

The unhealthiest dish you can order at a Mexican restaurant is… the chimichangas. A chimichanga is essentially a deep-fried burrito. It is a Tex-Mex dish made with a large tortilla stuffed with multiple servings of rice, beans, cheese and meat.

Traditional Mexican food is loaded with carbohydrates. This may pose a problem for people diagnosed with diabetes. Carbohydrates cannot be broken down in the body by diabetics without the help of taking insulin or other diabetic medication. Accumulation of carbohydrates is what increases blood sugar levels.

In general, tacos can be a good source of protein and fiber that isn't too high in calories. However, certain condiments or extra items can significantly increase the number of calories and amounts of fat or salt. This is particularly true of tacos from restaurants.

Essential vitamins and minerals can be found in tomatoes, lettuce, and other vegetables that are commonly found in Mexican food. They each supply different vitamins and minerals to improve your health. For example, onions and tomatoes are a good source of vitamin C, which helps boost your immune system.

To find out more, we reached out to Michelle Jaelin, a Registered Dietitian based in Toronto. What should tacos be considered — Junk food or health food? Jaelin: “Tacos could be considered as either a junk food or health food, depending on the ingredients used in the taco dish or how it was prepared.

Bottom line: Although cheese is high in saturated fat and sodium, it is also rich in calcium and protein, and some fermented types contain probiotics. One can enjoy a modest amount of cheese as part of a healthful diet, but how it is eaten is key.

Beef is the most popular meat in Mexico. It's often used in tacos, burritos, and enchiladas. The most common cuts of beef used in Mexican dishes are flank steak, skirt steak, and ribeye. Other popular Mexican meats include pork, chicken, and lamb.

Tacos are the top-rated and most well-known street Mexican food. It is made up of meat or other fillings wrapped in a tortilla often served with cheese added. Vegetarian fillings include mushrooms, potatoes, rice, or beans.

Be sure to leave a little food left on the plate as you close in on finishing your food. Especially if it's dinner at home, finishing all the food on your plate is somewhat rude.

What is Mexico's favorite drink? ›

1. Tequila. Of all the popular shots in Mexico, tequila is the most famous, and it's found behind bars all over the world.

Cena —dinner or supper— is taken later in the evening, anytime from 6 p.m. onward. This tends to be a lighter meal before bedtime, although it may also be more substantial, especially if one's comida was on the light side.

Photo: Mocajete is a Mexican stew cooked in a stone bowl - the bowl is heated to high temperature and served to your table where it continues to cook the food.

“Molcajete” is the Spanish word for mortar and pestle. The name itself comes from the Aztec words meaning “seasoning” and “bowl.” However, traditional molcajetes are slightly different than your average mortar and pestle. These tools are made out of volcanic rock.

To find out quickly whether a molcajete is real or fake, pour a little water on the bottom, and leave it there for a few minutes. Real molcajetes can sometimes leak if they have too many pores, but even so, there's a likelihood of some water remaining after a few minutes.

General. Mexicans drink lots of milk, like salty foods more than sweet foods, eat an average of 6 tortillas every day, and have a traditional domestic diet: soup, rice, and stew, without leaving out salsa and beans…

The typical Mexican comida consists of an appetizer (apertivo), soup (sopa), a rice dish (sopa seca), a cooked vegetable or fish (entrada), the main course (platillo fuerte) usually accompanied by a salad (ensalada), beans (frijoles), dessert (postre) and a beverage (bebida).

4. Spanish: Papa Noel (lit. Father Christmas) The man behind the Spanish name for Santa Claus is commonly known to give out presents on 24th December or 25th December (from Papa Noel), or on 6th January (from the Three Kings).

The Mexican celebration of Christmas is called las posadas and begins on December 16. The ninth evening of las posadas is Buena Noche, Christmas Eve.

Rompope is an eggnog-like combination of milk, egg, spice, and liquor, served during the holidays in Mexico, with some variations in name and ingredients popping up across Latin America.

What is a popular Mexican morning snack? ›

There are tetelas, gordita de harina, chilaquiles, huevos rancheros and more. For a Mexican breakfast that sounds traditional, there's Mexican scrambled eggs and old-fashioned oatmeal.

But while many tourists are searching fruitlessly for a restaurant serving dinner at 6 p.m., Spaniards are crowding into cafeterías or around the dining table at home to tuck into another meal altogether: the all-important afternoon snack, or merienda.

Restaurants that serve a full Mexican comida are called fondas, or fonditas. They have set menus that include a choice of soup (often vegetable or noodles), rice, beans, tortillas, and then the meal of the day, which could be a piece of meat in sauce, a stuffed pepper, enchiladas, or many other dishes.

Enchiladas

After all, these tortilla-based delights are one of the most popular foods in Mexico and the U.S.! Like tacos, burritos, and quesadillas, enchiladas come in many styles.

Tortillas, Quesadillas, Enchiladas, Burritos, and Tamales are all made with 'Masa,' a maize flour dough. The taco is the most well-known of Mexico's street meals, and its origins may be traced back to a pre-Hispanic practice of scooping up other foods with tortillas.

The three staples in the cuisine of Mexico are dishes of corn, beans and chillies (hot peppers), all present before the Spanish arrived. Corn is consumed in all possible forms, but most importantly as a tortilla (a thin, round pancake made from corn dough).

Tacos. This is undoubtedly the most famous Mexican food dish in the world. It is the most widespread dish, and you can eat it almost anywhere in the world. It consists of one (or two) corn or wheat tortillas, to which all kinds of meat or fish, and sauteed vegetables are added and finally folded.

The last meal of the day, la cena (pronounced “se-na”), is usually enjoyed between 7 and 9 p.m. (though there is some variation by region).

What food do Mexican eat for Christmas? ›

Mexican Christmas foods include hearty fares such as bacalao navideno and pozole with traditional sides such as the romeritos made of sea blite. Tamales take center stage over the season along with Mexican sweets such as buñuelos, rosca de reyes (Three Kings Bread), and the chocolate drink called champurrado.

Meat is an essential element of contemporary Mexican culture. Its consumption is linked to ancestral elements as well as to agri-food globalization. Currently, the three types of meat most consumed by Mexicans are chicken (35 kg/person/year), pork (20 kg/person/year) and beef (15 kg/person/year).

Tacos. Tacos need no introduction! This traditional Mexican food is beloved all over the world and is one of America's favorite comfort foods. Authentic Mexican tacos were made with soft-shell corn tortillas and best eaten immediately.

Chicken is the most consumed meat in Mexico: Comecarne – Fidesur.