Mexican food is so popular in the United states that 1 in 10 restaurants serve the cuisine; counties in Texas and California have the most eateries.
Food is deeply ingrained in cultural identity, and is one way to learn about a community's heritage, familial customs and values. In the U.S., Mexican food is one of the most popular cuisines, with 1 in 10 restaurants serving Mexican, according to recent findings from the Pew Research Center. This trend reflects an expanding Mexican American population, with 37.2 million people or 11.2% of the U.S. population tracing their ancestry back to Mexico.
Are Mexican food places really about an increasing Mexican population? 10% seems about right for the general interest. Kinda seems like a clickbait article for conservatives. What is the other 90%?
30% of the Japanese population originates from Kentucky. You don't have to look it up. And if someone asks you for a reference, you can use this comment.
Yeah, it seems to assume an increase in Mexican food's popularity must come from Mexicans, when it can easily be explained by how Mexican food's really fuckin good.
Yeah, I agree. Their premise is faulty. Places serve tacos and quesadillas because they're cheap and easy to produce and many Americans like them, not simply because there are more Latinos in the US.
Now, if they said that there are more independent family-owned Mexican restaurants, I would consider that a bit more compelling.
Not reflecting expanding population, reflecting that it's good fucking food regardless of where your stupid grandparents are from. And the fact that it's typically cheaper fare in a country brutally and constantly raped by capitalism.
My grandparents were frim southern California as were their grandparents before them and before that they were somewhere out east causing trouble, except one ancestor who was still in California. What im trying to say is that my ancestors were eating mexican food before all you motherfuckers! Also praise the mighty Bakers for having burgers, burritos, and milkshakes (their thoughly americanizef but ive gotta show my Inland Imperial pride).
I did look into this once. People do have an ambiguity tolerance which links well with our ability to handle diversity. If you are okay with a situation you don't fully grasp you can try new situations. My question was if we could see human government history through this lense. If the rulers happened to have low tolerance they passed different rules vs ones that had high tolerance.
I'm afraid that the food in the UK is known to be horrid. Much of the food tradition surely came from places like England, Germany, Italy, parts of Africa, etc. In the end, though, these people had to use the ingredients they found here and that's where food went its own way.
Erm, Mexican families having their own families plus people wanting to eat Mexican food?
In the UK, we had people trying to say too many Indians coming into the country, based upon the number of Indian restaurants. Indian food is just more popular than fish & chips.
In most Midwest towns it is Mexican food or hamburgers. I will take Mexican food 9 times out of 10 and I am not Mexican. The alternatives are just bad.
I feel your sentiment, but it's just such a fucking long swing 😂. But no worries, once my fellow Mexican brethren hear about the wonders of Australia and how fresh it's air is compared to the constant heat of Tierracaliente, we'll be making submarines, boats or even a tiny tunnel with it's own motorcycle on rails.
This town has about 60,000 people. 100,000 in the metro area. I just counted. There are 16 Mexican restaurants. Some of them are within brief walking distance of each other. And no, I'm not counting Taco Bell.
Unfortunately for me, I'm not a big fan of Mexican food.
I have a very good answer for them- I don't really like peppers or beans. I also don't really like the way Mexican meat is seasoned and I don't really like any of the Mexican cheese I've had. None of it is a dealbreaker if other people want to go to Mexican food, but it would be far from my first choice.
My friend is from a smallish town (~4k) and they don't like Mexican food much, either. (And the southern US cuisine is also something they are "meh" on.) Not a whole lot of restaurant food they like around their neck of the woods.
Oh lordy when they come visit me in the city, they chow down on what we got. It's always fun to have them help me order something I've never tried; I'm not nearly as adventurous when they're not around. (I usually experiment in the kitchen or order something familiar when I go out.)
I've never been to a Mexican place that serves anything with American cheese on it. Even taco bell doesn't stoop that low. Many fast food places have the crappy movie theater cheese though.
No not American cheese. They don't use really any yellow cheeses in Mexico. On a taco, if there is cheese it's generally Queso Fresco, a white cheese that doesn't melt.
But in Americanized dishes they often add yellow cheese. Shit even at the store they sell "Mexican Blend" bags of cheese with yellow cheese lol
Of course, just because it isn't "authentic" doesn't mean it isn't good. Know the difference sure but you can still enjoy both.
No need to be gatekeepy. Tex-Mex is also delicious!
But some signs:
Any kind of yellow cheese is generally not found in "authentic" Mexican.
Burritos, no. They do exist up north but are quite different. No rice or vegetables. Nothing like Tex-Mex burritos.
Lettuce, diced tomato (other than pico de gallo), sour cream, (or as aforementioned, yellow cheese) on tacos/tostadas is not "authentic". Onions, cabbage, cilantro, lime. Pico or some salsa optional. That's "authentic".
"Authentic" tacos don't have hard shells. Flour vs corn tortillas vary by region but tacos are always soft tortillas.
Fajitas are an American invention (and they slap, again I'm not here to gatekeep)
Nachos as most generally know them, lots of toppings, etc. that's an Americanized thing too.
Ground beef. In tacos or otherwise isn't generally a thing. Really beef isn't THAT common an ingredient in Mexico (in the north, a bit more common)
I don’t have a solid answer for what is considered authentic, but growing up in California there are a few things I look for.
Is the salsa tasty with a nice balance of spice and aromatics? Great chips are a plus, but making them in house is a PITA so I assume most restaurants use a vendor
Rice and beans are actually delicious. I prefer refried
trying to remember the last time I had tacos served in a flour tortilla but that would be a red flag. Corn tortillas should be the default or only option
weird one but I trust a place that does traditional food cost pricing more. $11.40 enchiladas vs $11.25 where the pricing is less rounded
This is mostly true for the entire US. But not just Texmex, there are a lot of variations. Like the Chipotle burritos that started in San Fransisco.
And not just Mexican food, most food is altered somewhat for the US tastes. That orange chicken at the Chinese restaurant was invented in the us.
I have found what I believe are authentic Mexican restaurants. But we were the only non-Mexicans there and they were cooking dishes like whole fried fish.
No. America is absolutely massive and not homogenous.
There may be some areas without authentic Mexican food, but if you go anywhere within ~50 miles of a major city, you can usually find an authentic Mexican restaurant.
That said, they're both great. Tex-Mex can also be great. They're completely different types of food.