I am usually at the gas plant so late or trying to get a run in that I DoorDash some chipotle if I haven't done the grocery shopping thing. Marriott Towneplace right there by Walmart has a kitchenette so that is usually where I stay.

Grew up in Fort Stockton. Stacked enchiladas all my life.

And what kind of restaurant serves enchiladas without chopped raw onion?

El Burrito on Big Spring is a diamond in the rough. Great for breakfast and lunch. Monterrey is my favorite overall for Mexican food.

Midland/Odessa is almost 350k population and is almost half Hispanic. You don't think there's good Mexican food there?

Having lived in both places, the thing I miss about Midland is affordable Tex-Mex. Houston has good Tex-Mex if you don't mind spending $55 for a half pound of fajitas. Ninfas, El Tiempo, Candente, Goode Co Cantina, Lupe etc. are all insanely expensive for Tex-Mex.They are good, no doubt. But all of the places listed from Midland are just as good as anywhere in Houston and not nearly as pricey. I don't know where any of the "100s of neighborhood spots" are in Houston, but would love recommendations for Tex-Mex that aren't the usual staples.

I lived in Odessa one year in the mid 60's. The best place for Mexican food was in Pecos.....and we went a lot. I think it was Ben's or something like that.

Ben's Spanish Inn. Every time Fort Stockton and Pecos played there we went. The sauce on the green enchiladas was different than I've ever had anywhere else.

The tacos at Sarah's in Fort Stockton were fabulous. They deep fried the corn tortillas then stuffed, folded and served them.

The love for El Tiempo escapes me. Fajitas are good. The Tex Mex dishes are not. There's one near my office. The majority of the people at the office are Hispanic women who would put you on permanent ban if you suggested it.

Ogre09 said:

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JeremiahJohnson said:

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Houston is one of the best food cities in America. Gtfo

No offense to Midland but not even in the same league.

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Houston has great food! But Tex Mex and BBQ in Houston are trailing Dallas, SA, and Austin.

Whoever brought up Goode Co for anything has broken taste buds.

And El Tiempo is OK. But anyone can make fajitas.

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Now you are saying Dallas has great Mexican food? What's next, Iowa?

Dallas thinks Tex Mex = Mexican food… and they are not great at either.

I've had good BBQ in Dallas at the Pecan Lodge, and of course Austin is the winner, but Houston has better BBQ than Dallas overall - try Corkscrew bedtime you're in town.

The best Tex-Max in Houston is Natalita's in Jersey Village, followed by Los Tios, then Lopez.

Arguing about who has the best Tex Mex is like a cripple fight in action.

Premium said:

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Arguing about who has the best Tex Mex is like a cripple fight in action.

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okay? There is significant difference from place to place.

The best plate of cheese enchiladas you could ever have is at Herbert's Taco Hut in San Marcos.

Seeing all the replies to this thread since I last replied is impressive.

La Condesa and La Corretta are two of the best "hole in the wall" places in Midland I visit one of the two at least once a week. El Burrito may have the best steak fingers in West Texas, they rivals Buddy's in Andrew's in my opinion.

I've lived in Midland for 10 years, It's where me and my wife decided to raise a family and where we will be for the long haul.
The point to my original post was everyone seems to trash the prospect of living/visting Midland or even the food…."they can't leave soon enough!", but those same people have no problem taking their riches from this place and running back to their place of residence in Dallas, Austin, and god-forsaken Houston etc.
I have civic pride in where I live, just like the people on here arguing for Houston or Dallas Tex-mex. It's not a stretch to say that Midland may be the most conservative corner in the entire USA, coupled with the most fruitful business opportunities around.
You damn sure can't say that about the likes of Austin, Dallas, or Houston at least from the conservative side of things.

Are there more scenic places to live, you bet. But my career in Midland affords me and my family to travel a lot.

Midland is a good place to be, get to know it and you might change your mind. Some of the best people are here.
If any of you are ever in town and want to go to lunch DM me.

Plus its a dry climate! You can keep your humidity and your swamp ass….Looking at you Houston! Ha

I was amazed by all of the trash along the roads. Plastic bags, boxes, etc stuck in the fences and small trees along every highway and road. It reminded me of the border towns like Eagle Pass. Is all of Midland like that?
We went from the airport to Odessa and around town.

Midland wouldn't be terrible to live. We considered it in 2018. My issues are a couple fold:
1) everyone is always working or chasing the next job
2) it is freaking dangerous getting around out there

Very valid point & observation, that stretch in particular is always an eyesore along with the first couple of miles outside of town off Hwy 158 (it's across from the city dump).
So in short no not all of Midland is like that, just a very well travelled path between Midland/Odessa.

But hey we are doing better than Houston. HA……https://www.kxan.com/news/texas/2-texas-cities-ranked-in-top-10-dirtiest-cities-in-america-report/

Chasing the job I guess is relative to what you do, not sure that is Midland specific. I've had the fortune to have the same job/become a business owner with the same company since I've been here. Out of all of my close friends I can think of a couple that have changes jobs or have felt the pressure to keep chasing the bouncing ball.

Travel on the highways in/out of Midland is congested with oil field traffic. Comes with the territory. The traffic in town is only congested at times due to the city out growing the infrastructure. In town traffic is nothing, I can be from one side of town to the other in 10-15 minutes max.
I would take the traffic around here over the major Texas cities in a heartbeat!!! I travel to all of them regularly and am constantly reminded how much of a beating sitting in traffic on I-35 for an hour is.

By chasing jobs I meant the contractors are always looking for the next contract. Everyone is there to sell something. Everyone is there to work and if you aren't working you could be losing. Kind of like a gold rush town feel. Not so much a community. I bet that is different in the heart of town and the neighborhoods.

I've been here 5 years and wife almost 2 now. We love it out here, don't plan on leaving anytime soon. Basically for all the reasons you pointed out. We see it as somewhat of a safe, very conservative town to raise our family, the people are nice, traffic is minimal, the climate is great.

But this thread is more about food, and while there are some nice options in town, and always adding more, it is still lacking when compared to other cities. That, and I miss the greenery and large trees.

I'm in Midland/Odessa often and really do like the area (but Houston is home).

In one day I saw a roadrunner, a coyote, and a tumbleweed blowing through town. My childhood cartoons were confirmed.

The West Texas wind is for real.

Objectively speaking DFW has come within punching distance to Austin in the past few years in the BBQ scene. Arguably #1 at this point actually

Yeah they definitely have gotten a bunch of legit spots. Wasn't a shot at DFW. Nice that good quality BBQ isn't only in the hill country anymore.

The great part about HTX and DFW is you can get great BBQ without an hour an half wait like in ATX and complimentary parking. Do have to say I miss Tejas Chocolate + BBQ from when I was working down there though.

My great grandparents lived on Lorraine next to the first house built out of concrete in Midland (historical marker, best hide and seek house in the world). We were there a ton in the 70's and 80's. Luigi's and La Bodega were our go-to's. Sounds like they are still hanging around 30 years later.

Lived in Midland for a short period.

The following were on our constant rotation:

- Wall St
- Venezia
- Basin Burger
- Cork and Pig
- Ray's Italian
- Oscar's Super Burrito

Probably some others I'm forgetting. I would also throw in Rosa's. Yeah it's a chain, but still consistently good and great tortillas. Would not recommend La Bodega based on our experience. It was one of the first recommended places we tried but it was a terrible meal all around. Bland store bought tortillas, boiled unseasoned chicken in tacos, and nacho cheese dip served as "queso". My wife still makes comments about how bad that meal was even years later. Maybe it was just an off night but we never went back.

I used to travel to Midlans for work and really liked the place. Then we went to The Bar and my boss ordered snuff from the waitress. It was love from then on.

I travel to Midland a lot, since my daughter and grandkids live there. If you can't find a good place to eat, then it's on you. I woudn't want to live there, but they have a lot going on. More wealthy 30 year olds than I have ever seen

A thousand "yes's" to the cheese enchiladas at Herbert's in San Marcos.

Junction71 said:

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A thousand "yes's" to the cheese enchiladas at Herbert's in San Marcos.

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I hear you -- I had some awesome enchiladas at a place that used to be a gas station in Pearsall, which is equally relevant to the Midland discussion.

Really makes you think.

HtownAg92 said:

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Junction71 said:

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A thousand "yes's" to the cheese enchiladas at Herbert's in San Marcos.

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I hear you -- I had some awesome enchiladas at a place that used to be a gas station in Pearsall, which is equally relevant to the Midland discussion.

Really makes you think.

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None of this is relevant to the op seeing how the op has already been to midland and returned home. So if not for constant derailments, or discussions…on a discussion board, this thread would have been dead awhile ago