Traditional Mexican food can often be very spicy; if you are not used to peppers, always ask if your food includes it. (¿Esto tiene chile?).

There are many food carts on the streets of Mexican cities and towns. Travellers are advised to eat from these carts with caution, as hygienic preparation practices are not always reliable. In doing so, you may (or may not) find some of the most unique and genuinely Mexican dishes you've ever had. From these vendors, you may find tacos, burgers, bread and almost any kind of food and service you would imagine.

Chicharron - Deep fried pork skin. Quite crunchy and if well-prepared slightly oily.
Enchiladas - Chicken or meat stuffed soft tortillas covered with green, red or mole sauce. Some may have melted cheese.
Tacos - Tortillas filled with meat (asada (steak strips), pollo (shredded chicken), carnitas (fried shredded pork), lengua (tongue), cabeza (meat from cow skull), sesos (cow brains).
Tamales - corn dough shell with meat or vegatable fillings. Tamales Dulces contain fruit and/or nuts.
Tortas - Fancy mexican sandwich. Bread is fried lightly, meat fillings are same as tacos, lettuce, tomatoes, jalapeños, beans, onion, mayonaise and avocado.
Quesadillas - Cheese or other ingredients grilled in between tortillas.
Mole - Mild to medium spice sauce made with cocoa and a hint of peanut over meat, usually served with shredded chicken. ('Pollo en mole')
Pozole - Chicken or pork broth with hominy corn, spiced when served with oregano, lettuce, lemon juice, radish, chopped onion, dried ground chile and other ingredients, usually served with a side dish of tostadas, fried potato and fresh cheese tacos.

Gorditas - corn patty stuffed with chicharron, chicken, cheese, etc. topped with cream, cheese and hot sauce.
Guacamole - crushed avocado sauce with green serrano chile, chopped red tomato and onion, lemon juice and fried tortilla slices "totopos".
Tostadas - fried flat tortilla topped with fried beans, lettuce, cream, fresh cheese, sliced red tomato and onion, hot sauce, and chicken or other main ingredient.
Huaraches - a bigger version a gordita.
Sopes - corn patty topped with a wide variety of ingredients such as chicken, cheese, etc. and hot sauce.
Carnitas - deep fried pork meat.
Chile en nogada - A big green Poblano chile with a beef or pork apple stuffing, covered with a white nut sauce and sprinkled with pomegranate seeds which happen to be red. The three colors represent the national flag and the dish is served nationwide around Mexican Independence Day 16th September.
Barbacoa - Sheep meat cooked with maguey leaves in a oven made at a hole in the ground.
Sopa de Tortilla - tortilla chips soup
Chilaquiles - tortilla chips with green tomatoes sauce, usually served with chicken or eggs.

You can measure the quality of food by popularity, do not eat on lonely places, even if they are restaurants or hotels.

Ask for the "platillo tipico" of the town, this is a local speciality not found elsewhere, a variation, or the birthplace of a recipe, also consider that most of the recipies change from place to place, like tamales, in the south are made with the banana plant leaves, and in the Huasteca region tamales are very big, one is OK for a complete family.