The region of the country that Mexicans call El Norte extends from the east coast state of Tamaulipas, which connects the tropical south and the northern plains, to the vast deserts of the west.

Along this path, which stretches for 1,800 miles of United States border, the northern part of Mexico encompasses six states, with vistas ranging from colonial towns to picture-perfect cowboy country unlike anything to be found further south. Spanish, Sephardic, Chinese, Mormon and Mennonite people have all settled in northern Mexico, influencing the culture and cuisine. The reasons that this area is so different from the rest of the country are rooted in history and geography.

Because much of northern Mexico is made up of arid to semi-arid desert, the beginning of agriculture took place much later than in the more fertile south. The early Chichimec inhabitants of the area were hunter-gatherers, living frugally and preserving what they could. The huge banquets and sophisticated dishes that greeted the Spaniards in Moctezuma's court were not to be found in the north.

Instead, the Europeans discovered fine grazing land for the cattle they imported, and thus began the ranch culture, the basis of northern Mexican cuisine. The culinary tradition that arose on the cattle ranches and in the mining camps was predominantly a masculine one, and in the north men ran the kitchens, which were frequently located out on the range. Outdoor cooking was the rule rather than the exception, and grilling was the favorite cooking technique.

This method is still perfect for preparing the tasty, tender beef of northern Mexico. The state of Sonora is most famous for its beef, featured prominently on Sonoran restaurant menus. At the Hacienda de Los Santos, in the colonial silver mining town of Alamos, the chef prepares a filet mignon in chipotle-tomatillo sauce, memorable for both the quality of the beef and the smoky flavor of the sauce that complements it so well.

Because norteño beef is so flavorful, salsas tend to be milder than in other parts of Mexico, enhancing the flavor of the meat rather than overpowering it. Anaheim and other mild chiles are used frequently, and the appearance of habaneros and santaneros is less frequent on northern tables than it is in the south and gulf coast regions.

Another norteño-style beef preparation, machaca, is one that the Spaniards adopted from the ancient Chichimec culinary tradition of salting and drying meat. This delicious, practical and versatile food is found on many norteño menus, especially combined with eggs for a typical ranch-style breakfast. El Tio and El Regio restaurants, both in Monterrey, specialize in carne seca, dried beef, prepared in a variety of ways. In Batopilas, Chihuahua, visitors to the Copper Canyon can sample a typical regional breakfast of home-cured machaca at Lazara's, a private home which opens to guests looking for a hearty, homemade meal.

Beef is not the only regional specialty, however. Goats and sheep also thrived in the north and continue to be used in the region's most popular dishes. Restaurants in Nuevo Leon and Coahuila that specialize in cabrito (kid) are among the finest in the country. In Monterrey, Los Cabritos and Los Cabriteros both feature kid, slow-cooked over mesquite coals. Las Huasteca Nuevo Leon offers a wide range of regional meat dishes, including arrachera, grilled marinated flank steak.

Another facet of the livestock business is the dairy industry, for which the northern states are famous throughout the country. The Mennonites, who settled in Chihuahua in the 1920s at the invitation of the Mexican government, made great strides in local cheesemaking, and today queso chihuahua, also called queso menonita, is among the finest of Mexican cheeses. Queso fundido, a cheese fondue frequently seasoned with chorizo, chile strips or mushrooms, is a popular dish. Los Caporales restaurant in San Fernando, Tamaulipas, incorporates both northern specialties, cheese and beef, into their fajitas al sombrero, the "sombrero" being the tortilla that tops the serving. In the north, that tortilla is likely to be made from wheat.

In addition to cattle and wool-bearing animals, Europeans established their subsistence grain, wheat, in northern Mexico. Although they never succeeded in replacing corn in the tortillas of the south, wheat prevailed in the Spanish-dominated cattle ranches and silver mines of the north. The finest and most flavorful of these are the paper-thin tortillas called sobaqueras, a name derived from the Spanish word for armpit, sobaco, because the diameter of the tortilla was originally the length from hand to armpit. The road through Santa Ana, Sonora, is lined with burrito stands where these tortillas are made fresh for every order, folded in half and rolled around meat for burritos de machaca or arrechera.

The classic accompaniment for most norteño food is a serving of beans, most commonly pintos. Frijoles charros ("cowboy beans"), frijoles borrachos ("drunken beans" cooked with beer), and frijoles maneados (beans combined with cheese) are among the most common, heartiest bean dishes. The lack of refrigeration that characterized most of the northern region made beans and other dry storage items indispensable to the local diet.

The area has come a long way from the days of the early ranches and mines, with modern irrigation methods contributing to the variety of produce now grown. Chihuahua, originally named for the Nahuatl word for "dry, sandy place," is the largest producer of apples, peaches and walnuts in Mexico. The ancient drying methods complement the modern selection of fruits and vegetables, and the making of cajeta de membrillo (quince jam) and chiles pasados (dried chiles) is an artisanal form of food production largely carried out by small family businesses.

The rugged mountains and deserts that made El Norte a frontier for so long are today dotted with towns and cities that embody the cross-cultural character of the north. Monterrey, the financial capital of northern Mexico, is home to thousands of businesses, not the least of which is a thriving restaurant industry. While many U.S. food chains are now found south of the border, it is also true that a wide selection of Mexican dishes have crossed the border to the U.S., led by the food of the north, the ranch cooking that opened up a whole new culinary vista to Americans and paved the way for the many other regional Mexican specialties that are now found on menus all over the United States and the world.

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