Alright so I have to admit. I have a prejudice against Mexican food. In a time where many would immediately assume that is a racist comment, it truly is not. I grew up in San Antonio and due to that I have a higher standard for mexican food in general. Especially in what has become my home and favorite city in the world, Fort Worth.
Growing up in San Antonio made it easy to find great mexican food. Tacos were truly tacos and not this everything is a burrito crap that some people resort to. In San Antonio you could dine on a budget AND get the best and most authentic meal out there. It was incredible. Many times I heard that San Antonio was actually the northern most city in Mexico and it makes sense considering from the food in general you would have no idea you were in America. I say this just to give a baseline of where I come from in terms of my tastes for mexican food.
After moving to Fort Worth, I’ve fallen in love with the city but i have to admit that the city doesn’t truly understand good mexican food. I personally have yet to find anything close to what I would consider ‘San Antonio’ worthy. This is an incredibly high standard to have, but I can’t help it that I grew up for 18 years with older hispanic ladies hand kneading out fresh tortillas for my breakfast tacos and fajitas. All I know is what great tastes like and for a while it was easy to find. It has been more difficult to find in Fort Worth for mexican food.
My coworkers know that I have a huge prejudice for mexican food. I never crave it. I never want it but ultimately when it comes to the group going out for lunch I will concede to FOMO and go where the group wants. Today it was Mi Cocula. I was not too thrilled about it.
I have to say that I was extremely impressed with it. Mi Cocula had some authentic dishes for lunch, was affordable at around $8-11 per plate and was very heavy on the flavor. I got the guisada which was always a favorite of mine. To the point that my mom learned to make it for my birthday meals. Nothing like my white mom from Jersey who moved to Texas, but can cook like no one else in my mind, making a super authentic mexican meal. The guisada I got from Mi Cocula was not like moms however. It was a different spin but I have to say that this guisada was quite good. The stew was heavily seasoned and the braised pork was definitely fork tender. Also the flour tortillas that came with it were 100% homemade which went a long way for me.
Overall I definitely think that Mi Cocula is a place that should be on any mexican food fans radar in Fort Worth. Thank you Eric for forcing me to go even though I never want mexican food. You were definitely right that it is a knotch above the rest.
