A couple of quick hints: If the restaurant serves a chimichanga or specializes in something called "fourthmeal," chances are it's not true Mexican cuisine.

The debate can get hotter than a habanero pepper when folks discern between "real" Mexican restaurants and spots that just want to make a quick buck off burritos.

Kurt Spataro certainly has a passion for authentic food from south of the border. The Sacramento, California, chef spent more than seven years traveling through Mexico and studying its regional cuisines. He opened Centro Cocina Mexicana in 1994, which serves such Oaxacan specialties as mole negro, in a trendy setting.

"It's the original soul food," says Spataro about Mexican cuisine. "It's really satisfying to eat and really satisfying to cook. It's not only delicious and satiates you, but there's something that's so old and ancient about it. When you re-create these old things, it connects you to something deeper than having a meal."

But some of the dishes considered Mexican aren't from south of the border at all.

Those sizzling fajitas are a Texas invention popularized in the 1980s. Ask for the deep-fried burrito known as a chimichanga in Mexico and you could receive a puzzled stare.

Nachos and enchiritos? We won't even get started on that one.

A glut of inauthentic food makes it tough for Diana Kennedy to eat at Mexican restaurants when she visits the United States. Kennedy, who lives in Michoacan, Mexico, is one of the world's authorities on Mexican food and author of such seminal cookbooks as "The Cuisines of Mexico."

"When it's done well, it's such exciting food," says Kennedy, by phone from Mexico. "But why is it that guacamole can be so marvelous and so horribly done? And tacos, the idea of some intriguing stuff in a fun bite of a tortilla, has been taken on by the world in good, bad and indifferent forms."

First, the basics

The basis of Mexican food blends a pre-Columbian diet (corn, chilies, jicama, beans) with culinary influences from Spanish conquistadores and other settlers (garlic, beef, onion, chicken). The variety of climates, agriculture and other regional characteristics make for the exceptionally diverse cuisine we know as Mexican food.

In the northern states, you'll find plenty of barbacoa de chivo (barbecued goat). It's all about fish in Veracruz, the southeastern state in the Gulf of Mexico. Grasshopper tacos? That's a staple of Oaxacan food, along with chocolate and a variety of mole sauces.

Authentic examples

Take a swing through Sacramento and you'll find excellent examples of regional Mexican food.

Lalo's Restaurant bills itself as "Real Mexican Food." The menu reflects the owners' roots in Hidalgo, a central Mexican state known for its barbacoa (barbecued meats) and variety of tamales, and Mexico City.

Items include tacos de cabeza (meat from a cow's head) and lamb barbacoa that's wrapped in cactus leaves and slow-cooked for up to six hours. This tender and fragrant meat is available only on weekends and sold by the pound.

Quesadillas are filled with flor de calabaza, a squash blossom that adds an exceptionally earthy and tasty pairing with melted Oaxacan cheese. Extra adventurous eaters can also request huitlacoche in their quesadilla. This corn fungus is considered a delicacy in Mexico, and the taste isn't funky or foul. The flavor is mild and harbors something of a mushroom taste.

The range of tortas (Mexican sandwiches) reflects the international flavor of Mexico City, the former home of Lalo's co-owner Cecilia Tinoco. The tortas come with such stuffings as "Italiana" (three cheeses and ham) and "Hawallana" (pineapple and ham).

"It's real Mexican City food, but we eat what everyone in the country eats," says Tinoco, in between food orders. "Mexican food has to be fresh. I'm not taking anything out of the can, I'm getting fresh chilies and peeling them. That's the only way it's real Mexican food."

The bottom line is that freshness is a hallmark of any "authentic" food. But not skimping on ingredients or cutting corners in the kitchen can make for some labor-intensive cooking. Sure, anyone can buy bags of corn tortillas that were processed by machine. But making them from scratch, especially in a restaurant setting, takes more time than many folks have.

"The basis (of Mexican cooking) is a good tortilla, but only the diehard do it (from scratch)," says Kennedy, the Mexican food authority. "When you don't have that basic corn flavor, the tortilla doesn't have a good flavor. With mole, so often people buy it prepared. It is labor-intensive and the ingredients aren't cheap, but it goes a long way."

Traditional recipes

And some folks haven't taken the time to learn the traditional recipes in the first place.

"I'm the only person out of all my friends that makes tortillas from scratch," says Gutierrez, who's taught local classes in mole and tamale making. "It's a sign of the times. There's a tradition of passing down recipes and getting together, but people don't have the time anymore. If we don't rediscover and define the traditions, we will lose our ability to make them."

ENFRIJOLADAS

Prep time: 35 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Serves 4

Recipe from Kurt Spataro of Centro Cocina Mexicana.

Note: The cooking time does not include the time to cook the beans.

2 cups cooked black beans

2 avocado leaves, optional

2 tablespoons vegetable oil or flavorful lard, plus more for frying tortillas

12 corn tortillas

1/2 cup cooked chorizo

Garnish:

1 small white onion, cut into rings

4 ounces queso fresco or farmer's cheese

1/4 cup Mexican crema or 1/4 cup sour cream thinned with a little milk

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Chipotle chilies en adobo, cut into rings, optional

In a food processor or blender, blend the cooked beans with the avocado leaves, if using, until smooth. Add a little water if necessary to facilitate the blending.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook the bean puree for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Taste the bean puree and add salt to taste. Add more water if puree is too thick. It should be thin enough to pour.

Pour oil in a shallow pan to 1/4-inch depth. Place over medium heat and fry each tortilla briefly on both sides. Drain well. While the tortilla is still warm, dip it into the bean puree. Spoon some of the chorizo (about 2 teaspoons) and bean puree onto the tortilla and fold into quarters. Repeat process with remaining tortillas.

Arrange three filled tortillas on each plate. Spoon a generous amount of the bean puree over each. Garnish with the onion rings, cheese, crema, cilantro and chipotle chilies, if desired.

Per serving: 572 cal.; 22 g pro.; 57 g carb.; 29 g fat (9 sat., 10 monounsat., 9 polyunsat., 1 other); 41 mg chol.; 922 mg sod.; 11 g fiber; 2 g sugar; 45 percent calories from fat.

BIF STEC (GRILLED STEAK)

Prep time: 25 minutes

Cook time: Depends on desired doneness

Serves 6

From "Recipe of Memory" by Victor M. Valle and Mary Lau Valle. Note: The prep time does not include the 4-hour marinating.

4 tablespoons minced garlic

1 tablespoon coarsely ground black peppercorns

1 teaspoon salt

5 Mexican limes or 2 lemons, juiced

3 pounds skirt steak, sliced into 6 servings

1/2 cup bay leaves

Place the garlic, peppercorns, salt and lime juice in a food processor or molcajete and grind to a coarse paste. Place the steaks in a small roasting pan and baste them on all sides with the marinade.

Place the steaks on a large platter and cover with about 6 bay leaves on each side. Stack steaks on top of one another in a large bowl; add any leftover marinade; cover with plastic wrap. Marinate steaks in the refrigerator for 4 hours. Remove and discard bay leaves before grilling or broiling the steaks, but not if you intend to barbecue them (the burned bay leaves add to the flavor).

Per serving: 362 cal.; 46 g pro.; 4 g carb.; 17 g fat (8 sat., 7 monounsat., 2 polyunsat.); 112 mg chol.; 529 mg sod.; 0 g fiber; 0 g sugar; 44 percent calories from fat.