Fuel For The Fire Of The "Authentic" Mexican Food Kerfuffle

[Jingthing]

So much of what we love about Mexican food is ... American.

So what?

That’s because, as Arellano explains, what most of us think of as Mexican food was invented in America, and it has a long history of being co-opted by gabachos (as Mexicans actually call gringos). Chapter by chapter, Arellano painstakingly traces the paths of dishes—tamales, tacos, burritos, tortilla chips, tequila—and shows how they either were born in the United States or changed irreversibly after crossing the border.

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2012/03/gustavo_arellano_s_taco_usa_reviewed_.html

[tutsiwarrior]

well...ye gots to call it somethin'...

[tutsiwarrior]

here's tutsi on his first trip to Mexico City where he found himself in a place that served 'almuerzo' to local office workers: caldo, entrada y un postre...'can you make me some tacos please?...' and they looked puzzled and said: 'de carne res o de queso?...'...tutsi: 'whatever ye got...' and then a deep fried mishmash appeared...no shredded lettuce or tomato or salsa or sour cream...but they sure were tasty...washed down with a local beer and I was ready to go...

and then I said: 'there's something wrong here...' as I gazed upon the ruin of the 1985 earthquake...

(substitute tacos fer badges...)

Edited April 14, 2012 by tutsiwarrior

[Jingthing]

here's tutsi on his first trip to Mexico City where he found himself in a place that served 'almuerzo' to local office workers: caldo, entrada y un postre...'can you make me some tacos please?...' and they looked puzzled and said: 'de carne res o de queso?...'...tutsi: 'whatever ye got...' and then a deep fried mishmash appeared...no shredded lettuce or tomato or salsa or sour cream...but they sure were tasty...washed down with a local beer and I was ready to go...

and then I said: 'there's something wrong here...' as I gazed upon the ruin of the 1985 earthquake...

That's cool that you knew how to ask for a taco in Spanish ...

[DrTuner]

I've always considered Mexican food, as it is served around Europe, as basically American, same as slowly cooked BBQ ribs and the lot. They are typically served in the same restaurant. Going further south the food is usually labelled "South American", sticking everything south of US in the same pot.

Authentic food rarely resembles the variation which has travelled half the world and has been adjusted to local tastes on the way. Normal evolution of food and a source of agony for the few purists.

[Jingthing]

I've always considered Mexican food, as it is served around Europe, as basically American, same as slowly cooked BBQ ribs and the lot. They are typically served in the same restaurant. Going further south the food is usually labelled "South American", sticking everything south of US in the same pot.

Authentic food rarely resembles the variation which has travelled half the world and has been adjusted to local tastes on the way. Normal evolution of food and a source of agony for the few purists.

In the U.S. you do NOT find BBQ ribs at Mexican restaurants!

Yes I see that in Thailand and I believe you about Europe. But let's get real the native countries for modern Mexican cuisine are Mexico AND the U.S.A. Not surprising about the U.S.A. considering a lot of the land of the U.S.A. used to BE Mexico.

California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, as well as parts of Wyoming, Colorado, Oklahoma and Kansas.

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_present_USA_States_were_part_of_Mexico_in_the_past#ixzz1s1DUUPay

Edited April 14, 2012 by Jingthing

[tutsiwarrior]

here's tutsi on his first trip to Mexico City where he found himself in a place that served 'almuerzo' to local office workers: caldo, entrada y un postre...'can you make me some tacos please?...' and they looked puzzled and said: 'de carne res o de queso?...'...tutsi: 'whatever ye got...' and then a deep fried mishmash appeared...no shredded lettuce or tomato or salsa or sour cream...but they sure were tasty...washed down with a local beer and I was ready to go...

and then I said: 'there's something wrong here...' as I gazed upon the ruin of the 1985 earthquake...

That's cool that you knew how to ask for a taco in Spanish ...

well...you know...tacos also means shoe heels in spanish so that I at least got the emphasis correct...

tutsi arrives in Cochabamba in 1965 with an exquisite pair of 'Beatle boots' and the local reaction was: 'que lindos son estas taquitos...' and I never saw a tortilla anywhere...

Edited April 14, 2012 by tutsiwarrior