In the Rockies we don’t have many Mexican restaurants, and they all seem to serve combinations of chopped or shredded meats, chopped lettuce, rice and beans, etc.
Sort of makes sense for immigrant populations living on low wages, but what about in Mexico itself with its mix of classes?
Do middle class Mexicans in Mexico go to restaurants and order steaks, chops, whole chicken breast and drumstick, for example? Or is it all still chopped and shredded?
(I’m not talking about tourist hotels, where they probably get the same cordon bleu fare as other trendy spots.)
I would guess that covering everything in cheese is not standard.
While not an expert by any means, but my experience is that the further one gets from the Mexican border, the more uniform the Mexican menu gets…and less spicy. We get a stereotype of food selections here in the US, but that is not the case in Mexico. (Yes, there are tacos, echilladas, tamales and so forth in Mexico, but they are just another item on a greatly expanded selection to be found in cafes.
In Mexico City, there are numerous places to eat that serve steak and other meats and seafood. There are stews, and soups in numerous flavors. The same is true in Southern Arizona. There are lots of pork dishes, and sometimes I can find my favorite goat. On the weekend menudo is ofter served, but I am not a fan of tripe so I skip it, even though it has a delicious flavor. And all of the dishes based on tuna pads and fruits are yummy. (Tuna pads and fruits come from a cultivated form of prickly pear…genus Opuntia). ETC.
I’ve never seen the yellow cheese that is commonly found covering food in the US and in areas that tourists visit; instead in Mexico a number of soft white cheeses are use in their place.
As a final note, I prefer the Mexican food that is not the stereotype sort, but it is hard to find in most of the US.
Sure. What we think of as “Mexican food” in the US is actually a rather regional cuisine typical of the northern part of the country. In fact, some of the dishes are more Tex-Mex than really Mexican. While food in the rest of the country does often include tortillas, enchiladas, etc, these can be prepared in quite different ways depending on where you are. I was recently in Veracruz, which is well known for its seafood.
I’ve never been to Mecico, but would like to add a general observation about ‘ethnic’ foods. It’s never like it is in the homecountry, once it’s being prepared somewhere else.
American restaurants in Europe never quite capture what an American restaurant is all about, Italian restaurants in the U.S. is a far cry from what it’s like in Italy, Greek ood in Germany is nothing like it is in Greece, ASF.
That’s not saying that it’s always better in its original form. I don’t like what they serve and call pizza in Italy. It’s much better in the U.S. and, anyway, I guess the modern pizza really is an American invention.
In my opinion the food in mexico is substantially different…you have to think like Taco Bell…they dont make mexican food for mexicans… They make it for the “white america”. so they make things we would like…although the basics are the same taco, burritos, things like that but they taste totally different. I live in southern california and go to mexico maybe twice a month…my best friend has a house out there so we go out there to party and theres nothing like stopping by a taco stand at 3am after a nite out and eating some of their tachos and burritos…they taste totally different… you would be surprised. but it’s all up to your taste buds. i have a buddy that is “whiter than white” and i mean when it comes to customs, traditions and culture… he actually prefers a taco bell taco over a tradtional mexican taco… i say he’s crazy
You are basically right and it is incorrect to say that food in the old country = better and more authentic. What we all think of as pizza was invented in the U.S. and Italian American cuisine equals just that and it really doesn’t matter what they are currently doing in Italy. It is its own style of food. The same thing applies to American-Mexican food. Mexican food is just as regional as food is in Italy, France, and the U.S. Some people use the term Tex-Mex as a synonym for fake Mexican food but Texas was a part of Mexico for a long time as was California so Mexican foods developed there are authentic almost by definition. Mexico certainly has some regional cuisines that are almost unheard of in the U.S. but that has little relevance to the Mexican styles that come from good quality Mexican restaurants in the U.S. There are more “authentic” regional Mexican foods in lots of places in the U.S. In these parts, East Boston is a poor area with lots of traditional ethnic cuisines targeted to the people that moved from various countries in Latin America.
So Cal has several higher-end Mexican restaurants (as well as a gazillion ordinary Mexican restaurants); couldn’t say that it’s food that ordinary campesinos (sp?) would get down south, but it’s probably authentic.
Mariscos (seafood), dishes covered with a chocolaty molé sauce; one local restaurant has exotic (to me) meats like goat.
As the quip goes, as a Southern Californian, I learned Spanish by accident.
I have travelled to Mexico quite a bit recently on business, and for the most part have quite enjoyed authentic Mexican dishes. My observations:
[ul]Much less cheese on dishes compared to what you get on this side of the border. And as someone else pointed out -the cheese is more often white not yellow.[/ul]
[ul]Ground beef is not common in authentic Mexican dishes. I’m not sure what cuts of beef are used in carne asada and other beef dishes, but it is usually fairly tender and has a more seasoned, flavorful taste than here.[/ul]
[ul]Chicken is not always breast meat, as is common here, and again is more flavorfully prepared.[/ul]
[ul]Dishes in creamy sauces don’t seem as heavy in Mexico.[/ul]
[ul]I prefer beans and rice sides in the US more so than in Mex. Beans are prepared in much more variety in Mex. (and not always good), vs. the more common refried approach in the US. Mexican dishes usually don’t come with heaping sides of rice and beans like they do here, typically smaller portions.[/ul]
[ul]Most dishes aren’t prepared as spicy there as here. My experience has been that usually salsas, peppers and other spicy seasonings are offered on the side so that one can spice it up to taste. Cilantro is popular, as is lime and other citrus seasonings.[/ul]
I’m experiencing the wave of Mexican immigrants into the Southeast, and, really glad to have it, after a good lifetime of integration with Mexican immigrants, early life in Southern California. So, here in NC, there are a lot of Mexican resteraunts popping up. Most of it is just Glop, really fast food, and rather greasy and tasteless.
My memories of eating in Mexico, two decades ago when my parents hauled us down there during research, was, very tasty food, and really great salsa, not to be found here much. Part of that may have been that my parents took us to decent, yet, always cheap restaurants, with six kids in tow, but, they were discerning. I remember meals in Mexico City, and it was not at all the Glop served in the US as Mexican now.
Part of this may be that Mexican food workers get caught up into the whole system here, fast fast, and its the system, not the culture. I do know that when I worked in a catering kitchen, with mostly Mexican workers, our lunches cooked, and absolutely eaten together, per culture, was very different from what was served up for Gringos.
It’s really a matter of mass produced food over well produced food/
It depends, of course, on where you go (in the U.S.). In L.A., there are quite a few restaurants which serve food that resembles food in Mexico.
But Mexico is a big place (as is the U.S.), and things vary a lot.
I learned first hand by working four years in my step-mother’s Mexican restaurant in San Diego (She’s from Mexico City). I started when I was thirteen. I got to know the “star” cook, (from Michoacan), and she told me her secrets out of boredom. Mole, salsa verde, etc.
Then I went to Mexico. All over Mexico. And the food was sometimes really good, and sometimes really bad. Just like in any country.
To ask the question: “Is Mexican food different in restaurants in Mexico?” seems
to me like a silly question. Try this:" Is American food different in restaurants in America?"
Do you think it’s all the same?
I like american-mexican food, and expect fully that I will not enjoy Mexican-Mexican food as much. Although, if I eat it at any of the tourist traps in Mexico, I will consider it Mexican-American-Mexican food, which might be very good.
It is my understanding, that cheese is a luxury and that the average person in Mexico will probably not have much cheese. It may be different for wealthy Mexicans. Cheese is certainly not native.
As noted elsewhere, Mexican food in the American Southwest has a special flavor that is to die for. I’ve eaten in restaurants in Mexico City and found the stuff to be more like Tex-Mex in it’s blandness. I’ve eaten in Central America, too, and I know there must have been some local specialties, but that was so long ago that I cannot remember if what I had differed much from Mexican cuisine.
Having to do with cuisine, this may be more appropriate for CS.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
Not with that attitude. 
Go into it with an open mind and palate. I’ve eaten all over Mexico, and the food is as varied as in the US. Personally, I prefer the food in Northern Mexico, followed by the Yucatan and that of the Gulf Coast. There are some wonderful dishes out there. You just have to be open to them. Of course, there is a whole bunch of crap out there as well. But good Mexican cooking can be downright transcendant.
Taco Bell recently opened their first restaurant in Mexico, and it was pointed out that what the Americans call a “taco” is not the same thing as what Mexicans call a “taco”-they’re similar, but a Mexican taco is somewhat different. A Mexican taco uses a harder shell, apparently.
Other way around. In my experience, most tacos in Mexico are the soft variety.
Ah, thank you. The Wiki article was a little confusing. Taco Bell is trying to push itself in Mexico as what Americans eat, just like they say it’s what Mexicans eat in America.
Mexico is a big country and has may regional variations on food preparation. What is common near Mexico might be unheard of in Baja.
As far as how authentic is the Mexican food in the US goes, I live in the barrio in the San Fernando Valley. When I go to the local taco stand, I can get a taco made by a guy that sneaked across the border 2 days ago.
I’m thinking he didn’t change his cooking style much in 2 days.