There’s No Tex-Mex in Alabama!
It is no surprise that you might not find Tex-Mex food in Alabama. You might not find authentic Tex-Mex anywhere else in the world. We love our Tex-Mex cuisine!
When our family comes from Alabama, we always go to Olney’s great little Mexican restaurant. We don’t just eat—the family also orders beef enchiladas to go. They pack them in a cooler, to travel home to Alabama for later… because there is no Tex-Mex to be found in Alabama.
While we have mainly catfish, Alabama has a great selection of fish, shrimp, and even fried green tomatoes…not readily available in north central Texas. That is our loss.
While visiting Tennessee a while back, amazingly we went to an actual Tex-Mex restaurant— and that is unheard of! The owner had lived in Lubbock for several years. He learned all about Tex-Mex food! It was excellent!
Then, there is the subject of salsa. Our favorite has been a certain brand at our local grocery. My grandson would order a case of it and take it home to Alabama. Sadly, that brand has been discontinued. He now makes his own. It was also the only store brand that my daughter could eat—she also makes her own in Tennessee!
I can’t write about Tex-Mex food without always mentioning Olney’s first taste of Tex-Mex when Joe Ross moved to town in the early 1950s and opened the No-DL a y restaurant. We became obsessed with his Tex-Mex dishes, and have never lost our desire for it. That restaurant was so well known that people came from miles around to eat at the No-D-Lay.
A group of us would often go to the No-DLay after church on Sun. night to visit, and just eat the chips and salsa… such fond memories!
New Mexico Mexican foods are too spicy. Old Mexico foods are just not the same as Tex-Mex. It is like nothing else in the world! When my friend moved to Texas, she quickly fell in love with Tex-Mex cuisine.
But, I can’t say the same for her love of our fried okra. You now… that cornmeal coated, crispy fried okra that we love! I guess that is just a southern thing. She is from St. Louis.