Why You Should Always Order Homemade Tortillas At A Mexican Restaurant

Mexican food has become a staple of the American diet, and increasingly, Mexican restaurants are popular dining spots. The most beloved ones are where the food is fresh, handmade, and served to order. In Santa Barbara, California, the late great Julia Child favored a small hole-in-the-wall operation called La Superica. It's still there, according to KQED, and the fresh, made-to-order tortillas are one reason why. 

Tortillas are the ingredient that sets a great taco, burrito, or enchilada apart from an average one. Sure, the fillings count. You want your protein to be juicy, your vegetables marinated, slightly crisp, and flavorful, but what contains it all is not to be discounted. According to Insider, even if a restaurant's homemade tortillas cost more, you should order them. Forget about mass-produced and uniform circles of dough, because a hot handmade tortilla provides a flavor and texture that is simply unmatched. And once you try them, you won't be able to return to the ones from the factory. 

In a burrito, for example, a flour tortilla is used, but if the tortilla is factory-made, it likely won't have sufficient fat added to the dough, nor the elasticity needed to hold in all of the ingredients, reports Kitchn.

Most restaurants keep recipes secret, but homemade tortillas are essentially: masa (corn flour) or wheat flour that is mixed with water and some salt and then formed into a dough (via Gimmee Some Oven). According to the Los Angeles Daily News, Zapien's Salsa Grill and Taqueria, rolls and presses its tortillas to size, then warms them on a comal before serving them on hot plates to customers.

The best-tasting tortillas are a matter of diligence and even pride. And finding a taco place that serves them up authentically, with the kind of attention to detail homemade tortillas provide, will make eating out on Taco Tuesday (or any night of the week) a truly joyous and memorable occasion.