Tips On Dining

Meals

desayuno -- Breakfast

comida -- Main meal of the day, taken in the afternoon.

cena -- Supper

Courses

botana -- A small serving of food that accompanies a beer or drink, and usually served free of charge.

entrada -- Appetizer

sopa -- Soup course. (Not necessarily a soup -- it can be a dish of rice or noodles, called sopa seca [dry soup].)

ensalada -- Salad.

plato fuerte -- Main course.

postre -- Dessert.

comida corrida -- Inexpensive daily special usually consisting of three courses.

menú del día -- Same as comida corrida.

Degree of Doneness

término un cuarto -- Rare, literally means one fourth.

término medio -- Medium rare, one half.

término tres cuartos -- Medium, three fourths.

bien cocido -- Well-done.

Note: Keep in mind, when ordering a steak, that medio does not mean medium.

Miscellaneous Restaurant Terminology

cucharra -- Spoon.

cuchillo -- Knife.

la cuenta -- The bill.

plato -- Plate.

plato hondo -- Bowl.

propina -- Tip.

servilleta -- Napkin.

tenedor -- Fork.

vaso -- Glass.

IVA -- Value-added tax.

fonda -- Strictly speaking, a food stall in the market or street, but now used in a loose or nostalgic sense to designate an informal restaurant.

Popular Mexican & Yucatan Dishes

a la tampiqueña -- (Usually bistec a la t. or arrachera a la t.) A steak served with several sides, including but not limited to an enchilada, guacamole, rice, and beans.

achiote -- Small red seed of the annatto tree with mild flavor, used both for taste and color.

adobo -- Marinade made with chiles and tomatoes, often seen in adjectival form "adobado"/"adobada"

agua fresca -- Any sweetened fruit-flavored water, including limonada (limeade), horchata , tamarindo , sandía (watermelon), and melón (cantaloupe).

alambre -- Brochette.

albóndigas -- Meat balls, usually cooked in a chile chipotle sauce.

antojito -- Literally means "small temptation." It's a general term for tacos, tostadas, quesadillas, and the like, which are usually eaten for supper or as a snack.

arrachera -- Skirt steak, fajitas.

arroz -- Rice.

atole -- A thick, hot drink made with finely ground corn and flavored with fruit usually, but also can be flavored with chile chocolate, or spices.

bistec -- Steak.

bolillo -- Small bread with a crust much like baguette.

buñuelos -- Fried pastry dusted with sugar. Can also mean a large, thin, crisp pancake that is dipped in boiling cane syrup.

café con leche -- Hot coffee with milk. In cheap restaurants often made with powdered instant coffee.

cajeta -- Thick caramel sauce made from goat's milk.

calabaza -- Zucchini squash.

caldo tlalpeño -- Chicken and vegetable soup, with rice, chile chipotle, avocado, and garbanzos. Its name comes from a suburban community of Mexico City, Tlalpan.

caldo xochitl -- Mild chicken and rice soup served with a small plate of chopped onion, chile serrano, avocado, and limes, to be added according to individual taste.

camarones -- Shrimp. For common cooking methods, see pescado.

carne -- Meat.

carnitas -- Slow cooked pork dish from Michoacán and parts of central Mexico, served with tortillas, guacamole, and salsa or pickled jalapeños.

cecina -- Thinly sliced pork or beef, dried or marinated, depending on the region.

cebolla -- Onion.

ceviche -- Fresh raw seafood marinated in fresh lime juice and garnished with chopped tomatoes, onions, chiles, and sometimes cilantro.

chalupas poblanas -- Simple dish from Puebla consisting of hand made tortillas lightly fried, but left soft, and topped with different chile sauces

chayote -- A type of spiny squash boiled and served as an accompaniment to meat dishes.

chilaquiles -- Fried tortilla quarters softened in either a red or green sauce and served with Mexican sour cream, onion, and sometimes chicken (con pollo).

chile -- Any of the many hot peppers used in Mexican cooking in fresh, dried, or smoked forms.

chile ancho -- A dried chile poblano, which serves as the base for many varieties of sauces and moles.

chile chilpotle (or chipotle) -- A smoked jalapeño sold dried or canned in an adobo sauce.

chile poblano -- Fresh pepper that is usually dark green in color, large and not usually spicy. Often stuffed with a variety of fillings (chile relleno).

chile en nogada -- Chile poblano stuffed with a complex filling of shredded meat, nuts, and dried, candied, and fresh fruit, topped with walnut cream sauce and a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds.

chile relleno -- Stuffed pepper.

chimichurri -- Argentine sauce made with olive oil, oregano, parsley and garlic, served with grilled meats.

chivo -- Kid or goat.

churro -- Fried pastry dusted with sugar and served plain or filled. The Spanish equivalent of a donut.

cochinita pibil -- Yucatecan dish of pork, pit-baked in a pibil sauce of achiote, sour orange, and spices.

col -- Cabbage. Also called repollo.

consomé -- Clear broth, usually with rice.

cortes -- Another way of saying steaks; in full it would be cortes finas de carne (fine cuts of meat).

cuitlacoche -- Variant of huitlacoche.

elote -- Fresh corn.

empanada -- For most of Mexico a turnover with a savory or sweet filling. In Oaxaca and southern Mexico it is corn masa or a tortilla folded around a savory filling and roasted or fried.

empanizado -- Breaded.

enchilada -- A lightly fried tortilla, dipped in sauce, and folded or rolled around a filling. It has many variations, such as enchiladas suizas (made with a cream sauce), enchiladas del portal or enchiladas placeras (made with a predominantly chile ancho sauce), and enchiladas verdes (in a green sauce of tomatillos, cilantro, and chiles).

enfrijoladas -- Like an enchilada, but made with a bean sauce flavored with toasted avocado leaves.

enmoladas -- Enchiladas made with a mole sauce.

entomatadas -- Enchiladas made with a tomato sauce.

ensalada -- Salad.

escabeche -- Vegetables pickled in a vinegary liquid.

fideo -- Angel hair pasta.

flan -- Custard.

flautas -- Tortillas that are rolled up around a filling (usually chicken or shredded beef) and deep fried; often listed on a menu as taquitos or tacos fritos.

frijoles refritos -- Beans mashed and cooked with lard.

gorditas -- Thick, fried corn tortillas, slit open and stuffed with meat or cheese filling.

horchata -- Drink made of ground rice, melon seeds, ground almonds, or coconut and cinnamon.

huazontle -- A vegetable vaguely comparable to broccoli, but milder in taste.

huevos mexicanos -- Scrambled eggs with chopped onions, chiles serranos, and tomatoes.

huevos rancheros -- Fried eggs, usually placed on tortillas, and bathed in a light tomato sauce.

huitlacoche -- Salty and mild-tasting corn fungus that is considered a delicacy in Mexico.

jitomate -- Tomato.

limón -- A small lime. Mexicans squeeze these limes on everything from soups to tacos.

lechuga -- Lettuce.

lomo adobado -- Pork loin cooked in an adobo.

masa -- Soft dough made of corn that is the basis for making tortillas and tamales.

menudo -- Soup made with beef tripe and hominy.

milanesa -- Beef cutlet breaded and fried.

molcajete -- A three-legged mortar made of volcanic stone and used for grinding. Often used now as a cooking dish that is brought to the table steaming hot and filled with meat, chiles, onions, and cheese.

mole -- Any variety of thick sauce made with dried chiles, nuts, fruits or vegetables, and spices. Variations include m. poblano (Puebla style, with chocolate and sesame), m. negro (black mole from Oaxaca, also with chocolate), m. verde (made with herbs and/or pumpkin seeds, depending on the region).

pan -- Bread. A few of the varieties include p. dulce (general term for a variety of sweet breads), p. de muerto (bread made for the Day of the Dead holidays), and p. Bimbo (packaged sliced white bread).

panuchos -- A Yucatecan dish of masa cakes stuffed with refried black beans and topped with shredded turkey or chicken, lettuce, and onion.

papas -- Potatoes.

papadzules -- A Yucatecan dish of tortillas stuffed with hard-boiled eggs and topped with a sauce made of pumpkin seeds.

parrillada -- A sampler platter of grilled meats or seafood.

pescado -- Fish. Common ways of cooking fish include al mojo de ajo (pan seared with oil and garlic), a la veracruzana (with tomatoes, olives, and capers), al ajillo (seared with garlic and fine strips or rings of chile guajillo).

pibil -- See cochinita pibil. When made with chicken it is called pollo pibil.

picadillo -- Any of several recipes using shredded beef, pork, or chicken and onions, chiles, and spices. Can also contain fruits and nuts.

pipián -- A thick sauce made with ground pumpkin seeds, nuts, herbs, and chiles. Can be red or green.

poc chuc -- Pork with onion marinated in sour orange and then grilled; a Yucatecan dish.

pollo -- Chicken.

pozole -- Soup with chicken or pork, hominy, lettuce, and radishes, served with a small plate of other ingredients to be added according to taste (onion, pepper, lime juice, oregano). In Jalisco it's red (p. rojo), in Michoacán it's clear (p. blanco), and in Guerrero it's green (p. verde). In the rest of Mexico it can be any one of these.

puerco -- Pork.

pulque -- A drink made of fermented juice of the maguey plant; most common in the states of Hidalgo, Tlaxcala, Puebla, and Mexico.

quesadilla -- Corn or flour tortillas stuffed with white cheese and cooked on hot griddle. In Mexico City it made with raw masa folded around any of a variety of fillings (often containing no cheese) and deep fried.

queso -- Cheese.

res -- Beef.

rompope -- Mexican liqueur, made with eggs, vanilla, sugar, and alcohol.

salbute -- A Yucatecan dish much like a panucho, but without bean paste in the middle.

solomillo -- Filet mignon.

sopa azteca -- Tortilla soup.

sopa tarasca -- A blended soup from Michoacán made with beans and tomatoes.

sope -- Small fried masa cake topped with savory meats and greens.

tacos al pastor -- Small tacos made with thinly sliced pork marinated in an adobo and served with pineapple, onion, and cilantro.

tallarines -- Noodles.

tamal -- (Not tamale.) Masa mixed with lard and beaten until light and folded around a savory or sweet filling and encased in a cornhusk or a plant leaf (usually corn or banana), then steamed. Tamales is the plural form.

taquitos -- See flautas.

tinga -- Shredded meat stewed in a chile chipotle sauce.

torta -- A sandwich made with a bolillo.