> I knew the food would be right up my alley from what I > had heard, so I went looking for some Tex-Mex (not > really knowing what it was). Tex-Mex is not the same as Mexican is not the same as New Mexican. In Texas you get chili, Tex-Mex style. In New Mexico you get chile, red and green. In Mexico as far as I know you get neither, but something else again. (Mexican chili con carne is made with chunks of meat rather than ground meat, if I recall correctly.) Of course you can get some New Mexican style food in Texas and Tex-Mex here in New Mexico (Frito Pie being a prime example). I've also had New Mexican style in Arizona and Colorado, but never in California or elsewhere. Tex-Mex, on the other hand, is pretty ubiquitous. Unrelated aside: hadn't been to a MacDonald's around here in literally years but went to one yesterday, and found double green chile cheeseburger on their $1 menu. It was pretty indifferent, nothing like Dave's Not Here in Santa Fe or even Dos Amigos in Espanola, but at least they had it.