interior Mexican

Mole de caderas, a type of mole or sauce made from goat meat and bones. Mole is regarded as Mexico’s national dish.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɪnˌtɪəɹɪə ˈmɛksɪk(ə)n/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɪnˌtɪɹiɚ ˈmɛksək(ə)n/
• Hyphenation: in‧ter‧i‧or Mex‧ic‧an

interior Mexican

1. (US, chiefly Austin, Texas) Especially of cuisine: of or pertaining to the country Mexico itself, in contrast to Tex-Mex (“a mix of Texan and Mexican”).

   Synonym: Mex-Mex

   Antonyms: Tex-Mex, Tex-Mexican

   Tony likes eating at interior Mexican restaurants because they put white cheese on their tacos, and not yellow cheese.

   • 2000, David A. Sandoval, “Gnats, Goods, and Greasers: Mexican Merchants on the Santa Fe Trail”, in Manuel G. Gonzales, Cynthia M. Gonzales, editors, En Aquel Entonces [In Years Gone By]: Readings in Mexican-American History, Bloomington, Indianapolis, Ind.: Indiana University Press, →ISBN, part I (Genesis of a People: 1598–1846), page 23:

     New Mexican merchants, along with interior Mexican merchants, combined to achieve economic dominance of the trade by the early 1840s, and the New Mexican sphere of trading expanded to tributaries throughout the Great American Desert.

   • 2008 October 8, “Pozole party”, in San Antonio Current‎, San Antonio, Tex.: San Antonio Current Ltd. Partnership; Euclid Media Group, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-05-26:

     It [a particular restaurant] received a glowing review in this paper four years ago, but sadly, it's been all but forgotten. With a menu that features true interior Mexican cuisine, as soon as I saw that sopas are a main course rather than an afterthought, I knew the writing was on the wall.

   • 2009, Marvin C. Bendele, “Barbacoa? The Curious Case of a Word”, in Elizabeth S. D. Engelhardt et al., Republic of Barbeque: Stories beyond the Brisket, Austin, Tex.: University of Texas Press, →ISBN, page 89, column 1:

     You can walk into most "authentic" or "interior" Mexican restaurants in Texas today and order conchita pibil—steamed pork (which, in southern Mexico, is cooked underground in banana leaves) with spiced sauce in a tortilla.

   • 2011 November 4, Virginia B. Wood, “Restaurant Review: El Chile collaborates with a well-seasoned chef”, in The Austin Chronicle‎, Austin, Tex.: Austin Chronicle Corp., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-02-05:

     El Alma has definitely earned a regular spot in my Interior Mexican restaurant rotation; I suggest you add it to yours.

   • 2012, Gustavo Arellano, “When Did Mexicans Start Making Food for Mexicans?”, in Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America, New York, N.Y., London: Scribner, →ISBN, page 163:

     It wasn't until the 1980s, however, that an earnest movement to serve what some called "interior Mexican" food emerged—in other words, Mexican food that hadn't yet penetrated the American market.

   • 2013 July 19, Wes Marshall, “Restaurant Review: Have your lake and eat there too”, in The Austin Chronicle‎, Austin, Tex.: Austin Chronicle Corp., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2015-09-15:

     We also love their cochinita pibil ($11.99), Los Pinos' most traditional Interior Mexican dish. The pork comes out fork-tender with a powerful achiote and garlic kick.

   • 2016 November, Sylvia Casares, with Dotty Griffith, “Salsas, Appetizers, and Snacks”, in The Enchilada Queen Cookbook: Enchiladas, Fajitas, Tamales, and More Classic Recipes from Texas-Mexico Border Kitchens, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Griffith, St. Martin’s Press, →ISBN, page 83, column 1:

     Texans go out to a "Mexican restaurant" for "Mexican food," although we know perfectly well that what we want is Tex-Mex, not authentic "Mexican food" as it would be found in Mexico. When Texans want that, they seek a place serving "interior Mexican food" or "Mex-Mex."

   • 2017, Terry Thompson-Anderson, “Meat Lover’s Breakfast and Brunch Dishes”, in Breakfast in Texas: Recipes for Elegant Brunches, Down-home Classics & Local Favorites, Austin, Tex.: University of Texas Press, →ISBN, page 139:

     Fonda San Miguel Restaurant in Austin is a local icon serving interior Mexican food. Over forty years ago, when the restaurant first opened, many Austinites were not familiar with the complex dishes of interior Mexican cuisine. […] There is a large herb and vegetable garden on the restaurant grounds that provides the kitchen not only with many herbs unique to interior Mexican cuisine but also with unique vegetables.

   • 2021, Russell Cobb, “American Counterpoints: Barbacoa and Barbeque beyond Nation”, in Rocío del Aguila, Vanesa Miseres, editors, Food Studies in Latin American Literature: Perspectives on the Gastronarrative, Fayetteville, Ark.: University of Arkansas Press, →ISBN, part IV (Latin American Food Writing: Between History and Aesthetics), page 222:

     The supposed authenticity of interior Mexican cuisine has acquired a degree of prestige the hybrid form of Tex-Mex never achieved, even after some forms of Mexican cooking made their way into the US American mainstream.

• Interior Mexican

• Mexican cuisine on Wikipedia.Wikipedia