I?ve always thought there?s something a bit, well, naff, about Tex-Mex cooking.

It?s a watered-down hybrid, which developed in the US after the Second World War for people who fancied something a bit ethnic and exotic but couldn?t face the thought of tucking into a bowl of dried out cornhusks. To get around this gritty little problem everything ? and I mean everything ? was smothered in tomato sauce and cheese to make dishes more palatable.

The ?concept? received its first official slap in the face in 1972 with the publication of Diana Kennedy?s ?The Cuisines of Mexico?. Kennedy wrote that although ?Mexican? cooking as Americans knew it might represent some of the basic foods of Mexico, ?they have been brought down to their lowest common denominator north of the border, on a par with the chop suey and chow mein of Chinese restaurants 20 years ago?.

Thank you Diana, we get the message. It?s the sort of grub wolfed down by the trough-ful by overweight Americans who believe a day trip to Tijuana provides an authentic taste of Mexico. (I?ve been there. Believe me, it doesn?t.) It represents everything kitsch about American culture without any of the irony.

That being said, we are faced with a dilemma. It?s early evening on a drab Sunday, Hamilton is as deserted as Death Valley and we haven?t eaten all day. To Rosa?s it is then.

The interior is as I had imagined it ? bright, breezy and cheesy ? your typical ?theme? restaurant. One wall is decorated by a Bruce Stuart mural who is the only artist I know who can brighten up a room with a painting of a nocturnal scene. Wild West knick-knacks hang here and there. Wow! Just like the real Mexico then.

The place is empty and despite the abundance of bubble gum-colour the atmosphere inside is about as dull and dreary as the weather outside. But we don?t care. Our party of three needs food.

We skip the ?Giddy Ups? as our menus describe the appetisers (See, isn?t this a fun place to be?) and dive straight in to ?Rosa?s Favourites?. Chicken fajitas, beef tacos and a rack of ribs are ordered.

We enjoy a complimentary bowl of nachos and salsa but don?t have to wait long for the main event to arrive.

The plate of ribs, in true American style, is enormous but still not big enough to accommodate the double rack of pig meat that hangs over the sides.

We tuck in and I instantly discover that the ribs are? actually really rather good. The meat falls from the bone easily and the barbeque glaze is not at all cloying as I expected. Each rib is picked clean and I?m enjoying myself so much I have to order another round of napkins.

The ribs are served with side orders of salad and boiled mixed vegetables. There?s nothing fancy about them but they do the job of taking away some of the guilt that we carnivores suffer from when tucking into a mountain of meat.

The fajitas are just as satisfying ? chicken pieces served up on a sizzling platter with plenty of onions, peppers and spices along with all the traditional accompaniments. Yummy.

Although the place was dead our waiter did his best to make our visit warm and enjoyable. Service was efficient and friendly.

The salsa probably came out of a jar and to be honest I?m not even sure if the chicken was cooked in-house. The kitchen obviously takes as many shortcuts as it can get away with, in fact the whole meal could have been put together using one of those ?Old El Paso? starter kits you see on the grocery store shelves for all I know. Nevertheless, Hack and dos amigos left totally satisfied.

Of course you don?t expect to pay the earth for this kind of dining out but even so, our final bill represented very good value. Three main courses and a rounds of drinks cost us $65.

Who cares if the food Rosa?s Cantina dishes up seven days a week is not authentic. Tex-Mex cuisine might be derided by some as being a tasteless concept but, it can also be extremely tasty. All in all we had a very enjoyable experience.