Hehe! So true.
My DIL has a BIL who is from Mexico. He makes/eats “authentic Mexican.” In fact, pretty much EVERYTHING he eats he does so using tortillas. He doesn’t even generally use utensils (forks, spoons) to eat anything. Now that’s being authentic! 
Thanks!
I agree with this. I’ll just point out that in my experience, east coast restaurants suck at making good Mexican(-inspired) cuisine. I’m sure there are some good ones, but the crap they have at the run-of-the-mill Mexican chains on the east coast wouldn’t fly in the southwest since we know better. The best places elevate the rest.
There were zero good Mexican restaurants in the Raleigh, NC area when I lived there and I grew up in Texas and my BFF is Mexican American from Eagle Pass. So while I lived in NC she sent me all her authentic Mexican recipes and I learned to make my own salsa and tortillas and OMG the difference.
However, yes “real” Mexican food depends on what region of Mexico you’re talking about. For example you ask for a flour tortilla or any kind of yellow cheese in central Mexico and they’ll literally look at you like your nuts. My step mom was born in Cuernavaca and they owned property there so we’d visit and be in the residential areas. It’s very different than what you’d eat in Texas or Cancun.
In regards to where you got taken in Texas tastes vary. We have several great Mexican restaurants near us and they are all drastically different so depending on your tastes you might prefer one style to another but the point is in Texas we have so many options and so many of them are good. Places like Citywalk just can’t compete. This kind of goes to the discussion @amvanhoose_701479 and I had about eating BBQ in Disney. I just can’t do it.
Cajun would be another example of this but I think Disneyland does a decent job with their interpretation in New Orleans Square but it’s nothing like real NOLA or Houston even.
So I got outvoted. I wanted Bigfire but the girls voted for Italian. We went to Vivo. It was good and our server was fabulous.
I’ve always wanted to go there but DH makes me go to Cowfish everytime! Lol. And last time we ate at The Kitchen for the outdoor seating and it was quiet and calm there away from the hoopla.
Yeah, I’ve avoided that as well. Not necessarily that Disney can’t measure up, but why get BBQ, Mexican, or Cajun there when I can get an excellent selection of that locally at home? It just makes more sense to branch out to other cuisines.
Might get a few sampling’s of some of that on one of our grazing days, but seems to be no sense dedicating an entire meal slot to it when there are so many places to try!
We had an amazing dinner at Cowfish last night. I would definitely pick that over Vivo. We also like The Kitchen.
Good to know. I used to like Emeril’s but it’s gone now. It’s a steakhouse now?? I can’t remember.
Hmmm. I have totally forgotten where Emerils used to be.
It’s all glass walls and towards Margaritaville side right in the corner you walk by if you come from parking to IOA from what I remember. I think it’s still an upscale restaurant of some sort with good reviews but it will always be Cowfish for me. DH would go there multiple times over somewhere else. lol. It is good I agree. A long time ago I enjoyed the Italian places like Bice at Portofino and heard the opera singer. Also a good experience.
Looks like it was where Bigfire is now. We ate at Emerils in 2010 (last time we were at UOR!) and it was really good. DS twins were 10m and the bread service was their first restaurant table food. Great memory. 
Really looking forward to Cowfish. DH picked it for his “Birthday Eve” dinner with the family. (We’ll have date night at Morimoto for his actual birthday.)
Explains why I’m happy to eat almost anywhere. The variety in town are chain restaurants Applebee’s, Chilies, Cracker Barrel, or 5 different Mexican restaurants. I just want a steak cooked correctly and not dried out 50% of the time.
Oh that makes sense.
Cowfish is a great choice.
I’m kind of sad that Carly and I didn’t try any restaurants in City Walk last week. It was just so crowded, we just walked through it as fast as we could!
That was our first trip. We stayed offsite and were on the way to the car anyway. I just didn’t want to stop.
This next trip we are staying onsite and plan on eating on property only. I’ve tried to make each trip different from the others. I was shocked though at how pleased DD was by the idea. Although I think Cowfish is the main thing she is excited about. She likes Sushi and the name is silly.
Nothing beats getting the mussels and hearth stone bread from Bigfire. One-two combo.
