Mexican Food

Mexican food, whether it’s authentic or Americanized is pretty popular – all over California and most particularly here in LA – and this is a great choice if you’re working on a budget; that said, because it’s so varied and rich in flavors it can also be used for more sophisticated menus.

3 options are available if you wish to serve Mexican food at your wedding:

• The first one is going the Gringo way, which is serving the kind of Tex-Mex food that you can find at chains like Taco Bell and Del Taco.  While this is the cheapest option, I would stay away from imposing this on your guests … unless you really don’t like them.
• The second choice is almost as cheap and simple but the main difference is that it’s good: Hiring a taco man who will grill meat and make tacos right in front of your guests will have several benefits: it is not only appetizing but it will bring extra entertainment to your wedding party while allowing guests to socialize while waiting in line.
• Finally, you can go for authentic Mexican food and in that case, you have the choice between family-style cooking, which will work for average budgets and sophisticated dishes for those can afford it.

SERVICE

For the first two options (see above), a self-service buffet will work while for the third one, you can either take the buffet route or have servers bringing food to the tables (best for sophisticated dishes).

MENU IDEAS

If you go Gringo-Mex style, hard tacos, burritos, fajitas, enchiladas and chicken bowls are the most common choices. They will certainly do the job when it comes to get your guests full but you probably won’t create a memorable experience – at least not the way you wanted it!

If you hire a taco man, you can actually offer your guest some very tasty tacos – and trust me they will be back for more – and even make them discover some flavors they didn’t know: Of course, you have classic choices like pork, beef and chicken but you can also make them with shrimps, fish, lobster and even dare to serve tongue and brain. Keep in mind that tacos made with fresh ingredients taste great and that your taco chef can come up with some fancy sauces to make them stand out even more.

Finally, there are authentic dishes. You can go the easy way with carne asada (marinated beef steak with tortillas), carnitas (slow-roasted pork simmered in broth and spices and served with tortillas), enchiladas, ceviche (sea food or shrimp cocktails), chile relleno (peper stuffed with beef and cheese) but I would suggest selecting more sophisticated dishes from Oaxaca, which are mole-based (a sauce made of peppers, chipotle and chocolate) or entrees featuring chipotle sauce (a sauce made with chilis). Mole (red or green) works best with white meat such as chicken, duck and turkey while Chipotle is most commonly served with chicken, pork tenderloin and even fajitas. Another good idea is offering parilladas, which incorporate varied cuts of meats or seafood and can serve several guests. Finally, if you have a more generous budget, lobster is something you could consider (flame-broiled, grilled, in white wine).

Regarding the dessert, while you should offer a wedding cake, you should know that you can also include traditional Mexican cookies as well.

For drinks margaritas, Mexican beers and sangria are easy drinks that should satisfy everybody.

PRICES

As you can see, Mexican food is so varied that it can accommodate every budget. Here is some pricing information (not including drinks and service):

Your cheaper options (gringo-mex and taco man) should start at less than $10 per person while authentic home cooking is around $40 per person (including appetizers and entree). Of course, if you’re serving gourmet food such as lobster, this will depend on the current lobster market price.