El Paso – If you’ve never been to the far west side of the Lone Star State, there’s a few things that may surprise you out here. Believe it or not, it takes just as long to get from El Paso to Las Vegas as it does to get from El Paso to Houston, but they are still big on Texas pride here! The other interesting tidbit is that they do Mexican food way different. “Everything that we make, it’s true to the Mexican culture and the cuisine of Mexico,” said Rosa Saenz.
Rosa owns Los Bandidos de Carlos & Mickey’s, and her family has been in El paso since the early 1900s. It was her father who first got into the restaurant business, and he established an eatery that most Texans have gone to at least once in the lifetime. “From the money that he made during World War II, he started a little company called Pancho’s on Alameda Street,” said Rosa. “And so we’ve been restaurateurs since 1944. Yes. That Pancho’s. That’s where we raise the flag”
Rosa followed in her father’s footsteps and in the 90’s she bought this old restaurant that had been on the block for some time and needed some serious TLC. “It was in really bad shape,” said Rosa. “We were selling $600 a day. There was no phones, no signage. The kitchen was a terrible mess. But I could see the beauty of this restaurant. I just brought my mom’s and my grandmother’s recipes here, and here I am 30 years later.”
“It’s like tradition,” said customer Edgar. “It’s something that’s a restaurant that’s been here for many, many years.”
Carlos and Mickey’s traditional flavors are what keep customers coming back. In other words, don’t ever say the phrase “Tex-Mex” in this place. “You don’t have to go to Juarez,” said Rosa. “You can come to El Paso and you can feel what a Mexican restaurant feels like, and you can taste it too. I really think that El Paso is the Mexican capital food of the United States.”
Rosa’s grandmother’s recipes are all unique and a lot of them will loosen up your sinuses. “Our food is spicy,” said Rosa. “And this is the way my grandmother cooked. And so you’ve got to be ready. When you do eat spicy, you know it’s good when your tears come out or your boogers come out. Then you know you’re eating.”
The other big hit at Carlos and Mickey’s is their big ol’ margaritas. “30 years, best margarita in El Paso,” said Rosa.
“Number one selling in El Paso,” said Tony Nassri. “There’s a lot of people coming out of town just to get those, man. You got to try one, Mr. Shane.”
Tony Nassri is a manager at Carlos and Mickey’s, and before we could pour a preposterously sized libation, we had to cook some food with him and since this is authentic Mexican, I decided to go with the carnitas. “Tender from the inside and crispy from the outside,” said Tony. “It’s really good. Number one selling carnitas. We marinate it for 24 to 48 hours in a special sauces. We also add some milk to it and some spices. It’s really tender, really juicy. What makes it is the tenderness of all the time that it being sauteed and marinated.”
After being cooked in the oven, the carnitas get some time in the fryer before making their way to the flat top. “Look at those pieces, man,” said Tony. “You see all that? They’re caramelized.
To go with those awesome carnitas, Tony whips up some special sauces. “We have a salsa borracha that’s really spicy,” said Tony. “You like spicy? This is awesome, dude. This one is our homemade guacamole sauce.” Okay. “And this is our borracha sauce. It’s really nice.”
Tony was also really nice and threw in some queso fundido. “This is a real queso for you,” said Tony.
Things got really fun when Tony added chorizo and hatch peppers to the mix. “And a hatch, all the way from New Mexico,” said Tony. Just don’t tell my wife that I know how to cook. Hey, make me some of that queso fundido tonight!”
With the carintas and queso ready to go, there was one thing left to do. Make a massive margarita! “This is the best part, man, of the trip,” said Tony. “44 ounces, brother. We’re going to use a local tequila. It’s called Perro Grande. It’s a chihuahua, but you know here, they’re grandes.”
Well, it’s safe to say you’ll feel like El Presidente here at Los Bandidos de Carlos & Mickey’s. While we wait for our plate to cool, we’re going to prep our pallet with this preposterous margarita. Those fresh juices mixed up in there are fantastic. “This is the best place for margaritas,” said Edgar. “That’s why we come here every week.”
All right. We’re going to take on these carnitas. We’re going to shred them up a little bit. One little piece of carnitas, it almost fills up a whole taco. Put a little bit of green onion on there, add the borracha sauce. We’re just going to put a little bit on there because Tony said ‘Just a little bit.’ That is awesome. “First bite,” said customer Nicolas. “I mean, you could tell there’s a difference into the meat, into the carnitas themselves.”
Rosa wasn’t lying about that borracha sauce either, it’s got some serious kick! “Nice and hot,” said customer Jessie.
Time to cool things off with the queso. The chorizo adds in that saltiness and that hatch gives it a little spice. That cheese, I mean, it’s melted cheese. It’s fantastic. “They love the queso fundido,” said Edgar. “I do too, but I try not to eat too much because you’llget big real quick.”
Well, if you’re looking for some excellent eats in El Paso, Los Bandidos de Carlos & Mickey’s is a perfect stop on the Texas bucket List thanks to this authentic Mexican meal. “I know that one day I’ll be gone and I just can only hope that it still stays and stands because it’s a beautiful restaurant,” said Rosa. “It has a lot of beauty in it.”