El Paso Mexican Restaurants 1980

This list is presented for anyone who is interested in the Mexican restaurants which were in El Paso in 1980.  It grew out of a project I did to write down a list of all the Mexican restaurants from the telephone directory and then to make notes about the ones I tried.

Although the list was strictly for my own benefit, I think it might be of some historical use today.  It certainly provides a clue about the longest running restaurants in the city, since very few of the restaurants which were open in 1980 survive today.

These restaurants were listed under the “Mexican restaurants” section in the telephone directory. I believe that it is not a complete list of all the Mexican restaurants which existed, but it is at least 80 to 90 percent complete.

Many restaurants served the style of food I call “El Paso” style. This is a modification of New Mexican cuisine (the enchiladas are similar) combined with Chihuahua style Mexican food (such as tacos, chicken mole, caldo de res, and breakfast dishes, to name a few).

Looking back, I think I rated some of the restaurants too low, but this was mainly due to having very high expectations (and at some restaurants I may have tried the wrong thing).

The restaurants I visited are in bold.  All others were simply copied from the phone book to give me possible places to try.

RATING RESTAURANT ADDRESS PRICES COMMENTS
EL PASO
Acapulco 219 S. El Paso
Alberto’s 109 Castellano
star 3 Alexandro’s 309 E. Overland Cheap
Alexandro’s II 7720 North Loop
star 2 Arnold’s 2030 E. Yandell Mod
Bernadette’s 412 E. San Antonio
Burger Boy 5500 El Paso Dr.
Caballero 6400 Montana
star 2 Carmen’s Cafe 8257 Alameda
star 4 Casa Calderon 8450 Alameda Mod
star 4 Casa Jurado 226 Cincinnati Mod
star 2 Chicken Fiesta 3701 Montana Mod
Chico’s Tacos 4230 Alameda
star 2 Chico’s Tacos 5305 Montana Cheap
star 2 Chico’s Tacos 3401 Dyer Cheap
star 1 Chico’s Tacos 1235 McRae Cheap
Ciro’s Flautas 3203 Alameda
star 4 Cocina Arrambide 5908 Alameda Mod Also known as “Pepa’s”
Conchita’s 6933 Alameda
Coney Island 4121 N. Mesa
star 1 Del Camino 5001 Alameda Exp
Delicious Mexican Food 3314 Fort Blvd.
star 3 El Abajeno 9639 Dyer Mod
El Carioca 2104 E. Yandell
El Conquistador 4950B Hondo Pass
El Delfin 4822 Montana
star 3 Elmer’s 6305 Montana Mod
El Nido 6932 Gateway East
El Nopal 2314 Wyoming
El Palenque 705 1/2 S. El Paso
star 3 El Paseo 1611 Montana Cheap
El Ranchito 2030 E. Paisano
El Rancho Escondido 14549 Montana
El Rapido Cafe 617 S. El Paso
El Taquito Place 909 N. San Marcial
El Zarape 819 S. El Paso
star 3 Forti’s 321 Chelsea Mod
star 3 G & R 401 E. Nevada Mod
Grandma’s Tamales 7682 Alameda
Grandma’s Tamales 6041 N. Mesa
Grandma’s Tamales 1212 Yarbrough
star 4 Griggs 5800 Doniphan Mod
star 4 Griggs 9007 Montana Mod
Hamburger Hut 3700 Alameda
Hamburger Hut 8764 Alameda
Hamburger Hut 8541 Alameda
star 1 Imperial Cafe 510 Myrtle Mod
star 2 Jasper’s 2200 Yarbrough Mod
star 3 Julio’s 1201 N. Mesa Exp
star 4 Kiki’s 2719 N. Piedras Mod
La Casita 3333 Yarbrough
La Feria 419 S. Mesa
star 4 La Hacienda 1720 W. Paisano Cheap
star 2 La Paloma 1017 Delta Cheap
star 3 La Paloma 9415 Dyer Mod
La Pastora 7705B North Loop
La Posada 307 E. Overland
Las Casuelas 1310 Magruder
La Tapatia 8941 Old County
star 2 La Terraza 315 Mills Mod
Leo’s 7872 North Loop
star 2 Leo’s 6232 N. Mesa Mod
star 3 Leo’s 5103 Montana Mod
star 1 Leo’s 5003 Alabama Mod
star 2 Leo’s 5315 Hondo Pass Mod
Leo’s 2285 Trawood
Lily’s 4315 Dyer
Linda’s Jet 6211 Airport
Los Compadres 800 N. Zaragoza
star 2 Lucky Boy 4130 Montana Cheap Also called “Beto’s”
star 2 Lunch Box 527 Giles Cheap
Lupe’s Coffee Shop 2919 Pershing
Lupe’s Rushfair Center
Lupita’s 8929 Alameda
star 3 Lupita’s 1230 Myrtle Cheap
star 1 Mexican Cottage 904 Texas Mod
Mi Amiga 501 1/2 E. 3rd
star 1 Michael’s 122 S. Mesa
Miguelito’s 1500 Lomaland
star 4 Moe’s 6298 Alameda Exp
star 2 Montezuma 211 1/2 S. Kansas
Palmera Cafe 2301 Olive
star 3 Pancho’s 5229 Sanders Mod
RB’s 3905 Broaddus
Rachel’s 2138 Cypress
Raphael’s Missouri & Kansas
star 2 Riviera 5218 Doniphan Mod
star 3 Royal 2905 Alameda Cheap
Sarita’s 5541D Alameda
Sierra’s Cafe 3027 Alameda
Sixto 7227 Alameda
Sunset Inn 4532 N. Mesa
Super Burro 5901 Dyer
Taco Burger 1414 Airway
Tampico 119 W. Paisano
star 2 Tenampa 310C S. Florence Cheap
Taquito House 915 Myrtle
star 2 Tony’s 706 N. Piedras
star 3 Victor’s 5000 Doniphan Cheap
Villa Taxco 205 S. El Paso
ANTHONY
Adrian’s Anthony
CANUTILLO
Canutillo Tortilla Factory Canutillo
SOCORRO
Old Adobe Socorro
star 4 Riverside Saloon Socorro
AREA WIDE
star 1 Taco Bell 9 Locations

 

The four-star rating system was as follows:

star 4 Very Good.
star 3 Good.
star 2 Fair.
star 1 Poor.
 

El Paso has always been the “Mexican Food Capital of the United States” even though it has only claimed this title for itself recently.  In 1980 I would say that Mexican restaurants composed the majority, or at least a good portion of all restaurants in the city.  Most of these were mom and pop restaurants with budget prices and the standard dishes found in Mexican cuisine.  Most restaurants had at least one dish which was a standout, but the ones that had at least three or four are the ones with a three or four star rating on this list.

Today El Paso has many more Mexican restaurants than existed in 1980, but I think the number would fall far short of 50% of the city’s total number of restaurants.  There are many more styles of Mexican food available than in the past, representing several Mexican states in addition to the always popular Chihuahua style cuisine.  What has not changed very much, though, is that restaurants still tend to be mom and pop establishments with fairly low prices and food which is familiar to the general population.  There are more health conscious restaurants now, and in general I think the choices are much better now than they used to be.

Some notes about individual restaurants are as follows:

  • Arnold’s served the same food as Leo’s, but was owned by a different family member.
  • Casa Jurado–a brother opened the Casa Jurado on Doniphan (which is still operating).
  • Del Camino at one time was one of the best restaurants in the city, but in 1980 it was going through severe problems that led to its closing a short time later.
  • Forti’s is largely unchanged today from the way it was in 1980, except that I think they have added some more good dishes.
  • Griggs on Doniphan was my favorite restaurant in the city.  Other Griggs family members operated La Posta in Mesilla, NM and El Pinto in Albuquerque.  However, I thought the food at Griggs was the best of the three.  The Griggs recipes are now served at Peppe’s Restaurant in Canutillo (on Doniphan Dr.)
  • La Hacienda was another favorite of mine.  Amigos Restaurant at 2000 Montana opened after La Hacienda closed, and served the food from La Hacienda.  As far as I know this food is still available.
  • La Terraza was another “Leo’s” restaurant.
  • Lupita’s on Myrtle at one time was my favorite place for lunch because they served home style Mexican plates (it changed every day, and you had very little choice about what was served, but it was so good it changed my thinking about what was “authentic” Mexican food).  By 1980 it had changed more to the standard restaurant model, though.
  • Moe’s was great, and one of its secrets was that it used lard in the food (it still had many loyal patrons until the time it closed).
  • Montezuma was known for its breakfasts, and many people picked up burritos to take to work with them.
  • Pancho’s was good in El Paso at the same time it was bad to terrible just about everywhere else.  Once I got to eat at the original Pancho’s (that was either on Alameda or Paisano), but I’m not sure if it was still open in 1980.  The original Pancho’s had the best food of any of the locations I tried.
  • Canutillo Tortilla Factory is today known as the Little Diner, and is well known on many national hole in the wall food guides.  In truth, though, the food then and now is not much different from at least a couple of dozen other restaurants that are listed here.

5 thoughts on “El Paso Mexican Restaurants 1980

  1. Sierra’s Cafe was wonderful. We ate there more than any other place even though we had to drive to get there. It served only three entrees with no sides, save for the francesito that came with the menudo. Tacos, menudo, and enchiladas. That was it. Dirt cheap, too.

    There were probably only four tables in the restaurant. If you wanted a beverage with your meal, you were directed to a soda machine that dispensed cold drinks in bottles.

    The two viejitas, the only help in the restaurant—they both cooked and waited on tables—proudly displayed a large, framed pic of the son of one of them. He was a toddler in the pic, looking adorable in his shorts and suspenders. According to my grandmother, the restaurant’s income paid the way for the boy to eventually go to college and then law school. The viejitas proudly displayed his college books in a glass-enclosed bookcase.

    The walls were painted a light green which complemented the many houseplants.

    On Sundays, a line of people, mostly African American, would be in the restaurant with ollas in hand to take menudo home. Mejicanos would sit at the tables.

    The tacos were to die for. They had this fabulous beef and potato filling in a tortilla fried till crispy. Three golden half-circles, looking festive with shredded lettuce, were brought hot on a plate. I think these were served with a salsa of chile pequin on the side … but I’m not sure.

    The menudo became the standard by which I judge all menudo. The bowl came to the table with no fat on the surface of the broth. Sometimes the broth of other people’s menudo can be murky, but Sierra’s version had an appealing clear red broth. There was a generous helping of meat and hominy in a serving. The tripe pieces were cooked tender, never chewy or rubbery.

    The enchiladas? Meh. Two out of three excellent foods was reason enough to look forward to the restaurant. One of my earliest memories is of myself at three running down the sidewalk on North El Paso Street to my grandfather’s father open arms and becoming excited when he announced that we were going to Sierra’s.

    Life’s simple pleasures and good memories. That was Sierra’s Cafe.

    • I really enjoyed your story about one of El Paso’s “gone but not forgotten” restaurants. It is typical of the many mom and pop places that are a large part of the city’s history. When you say that the menudo became the standard by which you judge all menudo, it seems that most of these small restaurants have at least one dish which customers consider to be the standard.

      I’m sorry that I did not get to try more of these places while they were still open, but of course some of them are still in operation. The ones that stay in business for a number of years generally either have very good food overall, or they have the special dishes that everybody likes. I tend to think, though, that it is mostly the latter.

  2. Great list–frequented most of them over the 60 years of enjoying living in EP, but the one especially searched info on was the Panchos on Alameda or Paisano–appreciated your comments, as it was our favorite for real Mexican food, too (maybe the late 1950’s -1960’s?)!

  3. Thank you for your blog.
    Montezuma was my Dad’s Uncle, Kiko’s restaurant. I remember eating there in the 80’s.
    It was a large space with a cashier counter which had different flavors of gum for sale.
    I also remember high ceilings and an alley on the side… We heard eventually there was a devastating fire that took down the restaurant and Kiko was now too old to rebuild.
    Again, thank you for this post and spending the time to write about your experiences.

    • I remember the restaurant but I have forgotten many of the details. Was it on the alley behind Kansas Street? If so I think many people in my office went there for burritos and other items for takeout or a quick lunch. Do you have any mementos, pictures, menus, etc. that would give more information about the restaurant? I’m just curious.

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