Even though I grew up eating Mexican food in La Jolla, California, and traveled extensively in Mexico as a teenager, there are still so many wonderful dishes in the Mexican gastronomic canon that I have yet to experience.

Yesterday, when my colleague from the Houston Press and one of the Texas food writers I admire most, Katharine Shilcutt, took me to La Mexicana in Houston, she introduced me to the entomatada (on my plate above, right), a tortilla stuffed with chicken, beef, beans, or (in my case) cheese and then dressed with a light tomato sauce.

(Nota bene: The dish isn’t listed on the menu but can be ordered à la carte.)

La Mexicana is one of the first places that Tracie P took me in Houston when I first moved to Texas: the food is fresh, wholesome, and reasonably priced, the atmosphere is cheerful and family friendly, and the service is dignified and attentive — a Houston classic and favorite.

For obvious reasons, the dish got me thinking about parallels between Italian and Mexican gastronomic traditions: both are based on highly localized ingredients and regional specializations and both have been immensely successful exports for their respective countries.

Forty years ago, the “red sauce” dishes and flasked Chianti of Italian cuisine were considered “ethnic” food (what a despicable word, btw). Today, can you imagine Manhattan without ravioli stuffed with beef cheeks?

Forty year from now, what role will Mexican cuisine play in the world?

All I know is that my entomatada was delicious (and I just love saying entomatada).