Is Fort Worth big enough for more Vaqueros? New restaurants offer Cali-style Mex
Vaqueros Mexican has everything going for it, but with one big drawback.
The new take-out restaurant in Watauga and its cousin in Cleburne have drawn loud raves on social media for a purist San Diego version of Mexican food, from chile verde to rolled tacos and alambre burritos.
But it also has a confusing name. It is not the same restaurant as Los Vaqueros, now in its 40th year serving the Fort Worth Stockyards and now at a Willow Park location.
Is there a difference between the names “The Cowboys” and “Cowboys Mexican”?
I’ll let them work that out.
In the meantime, Vaqueros Mexican, 6700 Denton Highway, is expanding the local audience for Cali-style Mexican food, less spicy but often more savory and flavorful.
Both restaurants serve a choice of California or “Texicano” platters for $8 or $9, topping out with an $11 “surf and turf fries” with shrimp and carne asada.
A basic combo plate offers enchiladas in a mild sauce atop a small chile relleno ($9.25.)
But be brave and get the Vaquero burrito with asada, ham and cheese ($8.99) or the pollo asado chimichanga ($7.99).
Chile verde or steak ranchero come with plenty of spice. (But there’s no Texas chili con carne.)
If you want to spice things up, there’s a relish bar with three hotter table salsas including habanero and salsa arbol. The table also offers carrots and peppers escabeche-style.
Southern California restaurants have gained popularity here in recent years, from Los Angeles transplants like Chalio in Fort Worth to San Diego Tacos Shop in North Richland Hills.
The larger restaurants offer coastal dishes such as sizzling molcajete that became a fast favorite, along with seafood and shrimp specials.
Vaqueros Mexican — the Watauga and Cleburne restaurants — aren’t a place for a night out. The setting is fast-food stand, with a few booths and drinks in a cooler (no fountain drinks).
If you don’t like California in general, you are probably not going to be happy about Cal-Mex. Go to Lupe Tortilla, or to El Tejas in Haltom City, or go to the Stockyards and the real Los Vaqueros.
But for the rest of us, it’s the kind of place to try something new.
Both restaurants are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner daily; 817-479-3258, Watauga, or in Cleburne at 280 S. Colonial Drive, 817-526-5182, los-vaqueros-mexican-fast-food.negocio.site.
This story was originally published September 7, 2022 at 5:45 AM.
