Most regional Mexican cooking that makes it to Dallas comes from places with some name recognition attached. Oaxaca, Jalisco, the Yucatán, places people have at least heard of even if they couldn’t point to them on a map. La Laguna doesn’t have that kind of reputation outside northern Mexico, which is part of why Mi Rinconcito Lagunero, spaced into a strip on Vilbig Road in West Dallas, is worth a drive even if you’ve never heard the word “lagunero” in your life.
La Comarca Lagunera straddles the Coahuila-Durango border, built around Torreón, Gómez Palacio, and Lerdo. It’s desert, cotton country, dairy farms, nothing coastal or colonial about it, and the food follows suit. Corn takes a back seat here in a way it doesn’t almost anywhere else in Mexico. Flour runs the show instead, and the tortillas are built thick enough to survive a real stew packed inside them, which is the whole point of the dish this region is known for.
That dish is the gordita lagunera, and calling it a gordita undersells it if you’re picturing the version most Texans already know. It started decades ago as a plain side, something to mop up a plate with, and sometime around the 1970s cooks in Torreón started splitting the tortilla open and stuffing a full guisado inside instead. Chicharrón prensado, pressed pork cracklings cooked down until they’re rich and almost confit-like rather than crunchy, is what most laguneros will tell you is non-negotiable. Asado rojo, pork simmered down in red chile, comes in a close second. People from the region will genuinely argue over whether a bigger version counts as a “pizza gorda” or a “tortillón.” That’s how seriously the thing gets taken back home.
A Mexican newspaper covering the U.S. side of this story picked Mi Rinconcito Lagunero out specifically as a gathering spot for the Comarca Lagunera diaspora around North Texas, the kind of place homesick transplants drive to when they want something they can’t find anywhere else in Dallas. The gorditas here run through the region’s whole lineup: chicharrón prensado, asado rojo, carne con chile, egg in red chile, beans and cheese, and arriero, a mix of stewed beans, meat, and rajas that barely shows up on menus even in parts of Mexico outside the region itself.
Weekend menudo is the other reason people show up. It comes with pan francés instead of tortillas, the lagunero way, which is a small detail but a real one if you’ve had menudo served the standard way everywhere else in Texas. Molletes, tacos dorados, and lonches round out the rest. The lonche is worth ordering if you’ve never had one specifically from this region. Same French-style bread as the menudo, split and packed with carnitas, avocado, tomato, onion, and jalapeño. Closer to a torta than a sandwich, but laguneros will tell you it’s neither, it’s its own thing.
Nobody built this menu to be discovered by people outside the community it’s feeding. That’s the whole appeal. This is regional Mexican cooking tied to a specific stretch of desert most Dallas diners couldn’t find on a map, served the way it’s actually served back home rather than adjusted for anyone unfamiliar with it.
A few things worth knowing before you order, since almost none of it is on the standard Tex-Mex menu most Dallas diners already have memorized.
Gordita de chicharrón prensado The one laguneros consider the standard by which everything else gets judged. Pressed pork cracklings cooked down slow until they turn rich and almost spreadable, packed into a thick flour tortilla split open like a pocket. Nothing crunchy about it despite the name. It’s closer to a confit.
Gordita de asado rojo Pork simmered down in a red chile sauce until it falls apart, then stuffed into the same style of tortilla. The other filling laguneros argue is non-negotiable, usually right after chicharrón prensado in the same breath.
Gordita de arriero A combination guisado of stewed beans, meat, and rajas that doesn’t show up on many menus even back in the region itself. If chicharrón prensado is the safe order, this is the one for someone who already knows what they’re doing.
Menudo estilo Torreón Weekend-only, and the detail that separates it from menudo anywhere else in Texas is what comes on the side. Pan francés instead of tortillas, the lagunero way, meant for tearing off pieces and dipping straight into the broth.
Lonche Built on the same French-style bread as the menudo, split and packed with carnitas, avocado, tomato, onion, and jalapeño. It looks like a torta and gets compared to one constantly, but laguneros will correct you. It’s its own category.
Tacos dorados Rolled and fried hard, usually filled with shredded beef or chicken, closer to a flauta in most other parts of Texas but called by their own name here.
Molletes Split bread, refried beans, melted cheese, broiled until the top browns. Simple by design, usually ordered alongside something heavier rather than as the main plate.
Mi Rinconcito Lagunero is located at 3010 Vilbig Rd., Dallas, TX 75212. Hours run Sunday 8am to 4pm and Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday 8am to 9pm, closed Wednesdays. The phone number is 469-730-2115, and online ordering is available at mirinconcitolagunerotx.com.
