3 Cities for Eating Great in Tamaulipas

Here are 3 cities in Tamaulipas where you can eat delicious food and try the best tasting regional cuisine.

3 Cities in Tamaulipas for Eating Great Food

1. Matamoros

Without a doubt, this city is a paradise for beef lovers. As a city on Mexico’s northern border, Matamoros’s culinary industry is based on meat products like beef and goat. Grilling is most common and they’re often served with chorizo or Tampico-style roast beef.

Visit Los Portales

For four generations, this place has satiated the hunger of steak lovers. In fact, figures such as Tin Tan, La Vitola, El Piporro, Lucha Villa, Chelelo, and even Vicente Fernández have eaten here.

Where

136 J. San Elcano, Euzkadi, Matamoros, Tamaulipas.

T. 01 868 812 0577

Travel Tips

• Tepache is a beverage made throughout the north from fermented pineapple skins, but here they add a local sugar.
• In Reynosa, they make excellent-quality baked gorditas and corn-flour cookies called pemoles. 
• Dried meat makes a great souvenir to take home: it requires no refrigeration and goes great with a liquor produced in the state.

2. Reynosa

Here, beef and steak remain the standard as a popular ingredient. It’s also common to find other dishes like machaca de res (spiced dried shredded beef). Other options include barbacoa tacos in a flour tortilla and Tamaulipas tamales that you can find at a variety of establishments.

Furthermore, as Reynosa is a major international business destination, this means the food industry has been pushed to offer other options beyond the regional delicacies. Thus a large number of new restaurants have opened serving international cuisine and others specializing in just a few dishes.

Visit Sierra Madre Brewing Co

This brewery began making craft beer. Nevertheless, today it offers a major culinary adventure. Here, diners can pair their international foods with over six different beers. Among these, there’s the Munich-style Huasteca, a fine beer.

Where

101 Miguel Hidalgo Blvd., Las Fuentes, Reynosa, Tamaulipas.

T. 01 899 925 7364

3. Nuevo Laredo

The food of Nuevo Laredo is influenced by good cuts of excellent quality beef. Here, it’s common to have eggs and machaca with mortar-ground salsa for breakfast. For lunch, there’s nothing like cabrito, a delicious mesquite-grilled dish, or dried beef with a regional mescal or tequila.

Visit El Rancho

This is the legendary place where “El Cabo” (the place’s owner) arrived from Michoacán to Nuevo Laredo and opened El Rancho in 1970. At first, he sold Michoacán-style carnitas. With time, he added cabrito, mollejas (sweetbreads), carne asada, and even seafood.

Over time, El Rancho has become a classic in the city. Additionally, it has the particular touch of being decorated in a grand Michoacán style. If you come here, be sure to try the Plato Laredo. This dish includes an exquisite stuffed chili, a chicharrón-stuffed gordita, a cheese enchilada, rice, beans, guacamole, and if that wasn’t enough, a beef fajita in the middle. For seafood lovers, the Jumbo Shrimp are a good option. They come stuffed with crab and served with buttered vegetables.

Where

2134 Vicente Guerrero Norte, Juárez, Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas. T. 01 867 714 8018