I can relate with you. I miss my mom's cooking and the seldom fast food cravings when I moved here. Now, I do alot of cooking. Though many of my meals don't turn out well, cooking some Mexican meals seem to be easy since I found some prepackaged spices at Jenny Lou's.

search the bbs for "mexican" and you'll find many a topic dedicated to this.

Among them:

Where can I find Mexican salsa?
Good Mexican food is in Haidian, not Chaoyang!
Mexican Food, Chinese Style

I totally agree about Peter's Tex Mex. From Breakfast to Dinners they are hard to beat. You can a lot to eat, tastes good, and in my many times there, I have never had any stomach ills, as compared to the Wave. But no more Wave for me, since Pete's is in the same area. Will be interested in trying the new one at the old John Bull just to compare.

I'll give Peter's the thumbs up...but for TEX-MEX, not Mexican. I've lived in Dallas and San Diego, and the difference between the two foods is miles apart. Give me some authentico comida mexicana anyday over that Tex-Mex stuff. No offense, it's just my preference, but every time I hear Tex-Mex I think of El Torito, or some other psuedo-mexican cookie cutter places *yeeeech* Real Mexican food is hard to find in Beijing, but I'm always surprised how many of the ingredients I actually can find at Jenny Lou's.

nietianlong- what would you charge for another dozen tamale's thrown into your regular once a year batch? -)

Haha well I tried I was always spoiled by my neighbors. They would cook tamales on the weekend, and sell me a dozen on Sunday. I would be out by Weds

Actaully the best tortilla's I've found in BJ are at the Choayang Xi Men Jenny Lou's, although the Lido one also carries them sometimes. They are in a zip-lock baggie, and with a stick on label... back by the cheeses and butter. Not those big, thick, gummy tortilla's in the yellow package...these look like they are made fresh.

They always have corn, but I prefer the flour when they have them. Heated up with a little butter, they are pretty good by themselves. Only problem, if you can call it that, is I've only found taco size, not burrito size.

Have you ever tried to make a chile relleno with the large 'poblano' type chili's here? I've roasted them and used them in dishes before. I LOVE a good chile relleno, uh....make that 4 chile relleno's. I won't even bring up margarita's.

OMG...is it dinner time yet? I am so craving my little hole-in-the-wall place in Encinitas right now.

Heh, my mom lived in Encinitas for a couple years. Of which hole in the wall taqueria do you speak?

Ah, well my favorite is La Especial Norte on Highway 101. A block from the beach near the head shops, antique stores and surf shops. Haha Encinitas is GREAT!! Las Olas has some great carnita's too, but a little pricier.

For the 2am fix after a night of drinking... Juanita's is the choice... as are Roberto's/Alberto's/Robertito's/Albertito's/Filberto's/Rico's/et al "-ito's"...which the only difference is the name on the sign.

I must say that the fajitas at Mexican Wave are just to die for! You have to go there. Their salsa is a disappointment, though.