Lots of Mexican restaurants use these same chips it seems. Anyone know what the brand is or if the restaurant use the same method to make them otherwise?
Lots of Mexican restaurants use these same chips it seems. Anyone know what the brand is or if the restaurant use the same method to make them otherwise?
This has been part of my quest to replicate these typical chips and salsas that are found at similar restaurants. I have failed to come close to what they have (buying or trying to make myself). I’ve been making this ( [https://pinaenlacocina.com/tomato-salsa-recipes-salsa-de-mesa-table-salsa/](https://pinaenlacocina.com/tomato-salsa-recipes-salsa-de-mesa-table-salsa/) ) salsa de mesa recipe, which I think is relatively close, but if anyone has any other suggestions that you think I should try, I’d love to hear it 🙂
Standard_Brilliant78
Kitchens I worked in we just cut a corn tort into rectangles, deep fry quick (long time ago, each batch under a minute or so) Then light season them
ximagineerx
There’s usually a local chip and tortilla producer that supplies all the restaurants in the area. The restaurants will then just dunk them in hot oil for service.
Foreign_Ebb_6282
I was on a camping trip with some buddies and we are at a Mexican food restaurant in Terlingua and one of my friends kept claiming the chips were from a distributor in Fort Worth. He said he had asked several restaurants in the dallas area and they all said they get theirs from the same company. Low and behold he asked the manager while we were still eating and he was right!
All that to say it seems those that don’t make their own chips buy from some of the big food distributors like Sysco that all buy from an even fewer number of chip makers
I second what others said, they are definitely made in house. I have been on the hunt for the closest chip to this that’s pre-packaged and the regular Late July chips in the big puffy bag seem to be the closest. Xochitl or however it’s spelled is a really close runner up though.
I usually do santitas because they’re cheap and acceptable, but if I’m making some fine salsa I’m springing for the good stuff.
Lil_Shanties
Juanita’s chips or Juantonio’s chips are very similar just be aware they come shattered quite often, for some unknown reason Winco consistently sells them not shattered like every other store 🤷♂️
Huggynuts
juanitas are good and you can find them at vons
Old_Man_Pritchard
I used to work at a Mexican restaurant when I was younger. Echoing what a lot of people are saying, we received corn tortillas that were already cut into triangles and just fried them in a big oil fryer. I do not remember the brand or company. But I bet you can Google some local restaurant suppliers and find something similar.
Quirky_Respond_1152
Honestly, I find them mostly terrible.
I only learned how bad they were when a local grocery started carrying their own chips, and these were so light and crisp, I now can’t stand restruant chips.
Toastburrito
They all taste the same because they are fried in house.
Pro tip, right after frying, like the second after, squeeze a bit of fresh lime juice on and then salt. It sounds like it will make them soggy but if they’re hot it won’t. They will sizzle a bit. That’s what we did at Chipotle. While frying them, keep the chips moving, and don’t crowd the fryer. This will keep them from clumping and being soggy. Fry till they stop bubbling, or to your preferred level of doneness.
hewasajumperboy
I’d check a restaurant supply store like Cash and Carry or US Foods if they carry something like the Sysco version in bulk.
Watada
My favorite is quartered tortillas fried in peanut oil. A family owned store nearby does it and a lot of local restaurants use them.
I don’t think those are fried in peanut oil. The color is a bit different.
savvyblackbird
If you have a favorite Mexican restaurant you go to a lot, you can ask them. There used to be a fantastic Mexican restaurant close to where my husband and I live. He used to get takeout all the time. They would load him up with a couple brown paper bags full of tortilla chips because they had so many a didn’t want them to go to waste. My husband tips well and knew everyone by name.
We’ve also bought extra bags of tortillas from Mexican restaurants. They’re better quality than a lot of commercial chips (the Tostitos Hint of Lime chips are the exception). Not to mention cheaper. Although we haven’t bought any since prices skyrocketed so I don’t know what they’d cost now.
I deep fry in my LeCreuset Dutch oven because it works just as well as a deep fryer. If I had a nearby Mexican restaurant I could buy fresh chips from, I’d just do that instead. Frying is messy and takes a lot of time. Plus a lot of oil that has to be filtered and stored. You could fry in a smaller pot if you just wanted to make a small batch chips. Just don’t fill your pan more than halfway to the top.
wewefe
I am having flash backs to frying at least a square yard of chips every weekend at a restaurant in college. 40lb+ bags of pre cut chips getting fryed in huge baskets 4x the size of a normal basket. The smell would get into your hair and did not come out.
You can make your own corn tortillas. They are super easy if you invest $20 in a tortilla press. I did a few batches last year using a blackstone griddle to cook them and a turkey fryer to make them into chips.
Any half decent Mexican restaurant cooks their own chips, and ideally they hit the table still warm and fresh. All of the places I frequent locally have distinctly unique chips. You probably see that at chains.
Dinosar-DNA
Also how can I make that salsa? Haha
RevolutionaryCity815
where do i find the smoother salsa like this though😭😭
U_hav_2_call_me_drgn
El Milagro has chips similar to that. They have really good corn tortillas too. They’re out of Chicago, I think, but I just order on Amazon.
OpinionOfOne
We hand cut the same tortillas that we normally used for tacos and such. I think it is a crime against nature to use crap tortillas for chips and tacos.
Mini_And_Andrew
Back when Chi-Chi’s was still around, I was a line cook there. About once a week we were rotated to chip duty. 6+ hours of frying corn tortillas. I still loved their chips. 1983ish.
eulogyhxc
I know what you mean these are light and crispy whereas the homemade kind a lot of places do are heavy and crunchy. I have a feeling these come premade Juanita’s is the closest I’ve found
24 Comments
Which restaurant is this?
This has been part of my quest to replicate these typical chips and salsas that are found at similar restaurants. I have failed to come close to what they have (buying or trying to make myself). I’ve been making this ( [https://pinaenlacocina.com/tomato-salsa-recipes-salsa-de-mesa-table-salsa/](https://pinaenlacocina.com/tomato-salsa-recipes-salsa-de-mesa-table-salsa/) ) salsa de mesa recipe, which I think is relatively close, but if anyone has any other suggestions that you think I should try, I’d love to hear it 🙂
Kitchens I worked in we just cut a corn tort into rectangles, deep fry quick (long time ago, each batch under a minute or so) Then light season them
There’s usually a local chip and tortilla producer that supplies all the restaurants in the area. The restaurants will then just dunk them in hot oil for service.
I was on a camping trip with some buddies and we are at a Mexican food restaurant in Terlingua and one of my friends kept claiming the chips were from a distributor in Fort Worth. He said he had asked several restaurants in the dallas area and they all said they get theirs from the same company. Low and behold he asked the manager while we were still eating and he was right!
All that to say it seems those that don’t make their own chips buy from some of the big food distributors like Sysco that all buy from an even fewer number of chip makers
You may find this post [helpful](https://www.reddit.com/r/mexicanfood/comments/xoaali/weird_question_whats_the_difference_in_how_these/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&utm_content=2&utm_term=15)
I second what others said, they are definitely made in house. I have been on the hunt for the closest chip to this that’s pre-packaged and the regular Late July chips in the big puffy bag seem to be the closest. Xochitl or however it’s spelled is a really close runner up though.
I usually do santitas because they’re cheap and acceptable, but if I’m making some fine salsa I’m springing for the good stuff.
Juanita’s chips or Juantonio’s chips are very similar just be aware they come shattered quite often, for some unknown reason Winco consistently sells them not shattered like every other store 🤷♂️
juanitas are good and you can find them at vons
I used to work at a Mexican restaurant when I was younger. Echoing what a lot of people are saying, we received corn tortillas that were already cut into triangles and just fried them in a big oil fryer. I do not remember the brand or company. But I bet you can Google some local restaurant suppliers and find something similar.
Honestly, I find them mostly terrible.
I only learned how bad they were when a local grocery started carrying their own chips, and these were so light and crisp, I now can’t stand restruant chips.
They all taste the same because they are fried in house.
Pro tip, right after frying, like the second after, squeeze a bit of fresh lime juice on and then salt. It sounds like it will make them soggy but if they’re hot it won’t. They will sizzle a bit. That’s what we did at Chipotle. While frying them, keep the chips moving, and don’t crowd the fryer. This will keep them from clumping and being soggy. Fry till they stop bubbling, or to your preferred level of doneness.
I’d check a restaurant supply store like Cash and Carry or US Foods if they carry something like the Sysco version in bulk.
My favorite is quartered tortillas fried in peanut oil. A family owned store nearby does it and a lot of local restaurants use them.
I don’t think those are fried in peanut oil. The color is a bit different.
If you have a favorite Mexican restaurant you go to a lot, you can ask them. There used to be a fantastic Mexican restaurant close to where my husband and I live. He used to get takeout all the time. They would load him up with a couple brown paper bags full of tortilla chips because they had so many a didn’t want them to go to waste. My husband tips well and knew everyone by name.
We’ve also bought extra bags of tortillas from Mexican restaurants. They’re better quality than a lot of commercial chips (the Tostitos Hint of Lime chips are the exception). Not to mention cheaper. Although we haven’t bought any since prices skyrocketed so I don’t know what they’d cost now.
I deep fry in my LeCreuset Dutch oven because it works just as well as a deep fryer. If I had a nearby Mexican restaurant I could buy fresh chips from, I’d just do that instead. Frying is messy and takes a lot of time. Plus a lot of oil that has to be filtered and stored. You could fry in a smaller pot if you just wanted to make a small batch chips. Just don’t fill your pan more than halfway to the top.
I am having flash backs to frying at least a square yard of chips every weekend at a restaurant in college. 40lb+ bags of pre cut chips getting fryed in huge baskets 4x the size of a normal basket. The smell would get into your hair and did not come out.
You can make your own corn tortillas. They are super easy if you invest $20 in a tortilla press. I did a few batches last year using a blackstone griddle to cook them and a turkey fryer to make them into chips.
https://www.webstaurantstore.com/mission-30-lb-4-cut-yellow-unfried-corn-chips/1136941.html
Just buy corn tortillas cut and fry them
Any half decent Mexican restaurant cooks their own chips, and ideally they hit the table still warm and fresh. All of the places I frequent locally have distinctly unique chips. You probably see that at chains.
Also how can I make that salsa? Haha
where do i find the smoother salsa like this though😭😭
El Milagro has chips similar to that. They have really good corn tortillas too. They’re out of Chicago, I think, but I just order on Amazon.
We hand cut the same tortillas that we normally used for tacos and such. I think it is a crime against nature to use crap tortillas for chips and tacos.
Back when Chi-Chi’s was still around, I was a line cook there. About once a week we were rotated to chip duty. 6+ hours of frying corn tortillas. I still loved their chips. 1983ish.
I know what you mean these are light and crispy whereas the homemade kind a lot of places do are heavy and crunchy. I have a feeling these come premade Juanita’s is the closest I’ve found