# Restaurants that don't serve essential dishes/items **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [February 18, 2025, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-dont-serve-essential-dishes-items/1014451 "2025-02-18T13:21:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2025, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-dont-serve-essential-dishes-items/1014451/21 "2025-02-18T15:19:04Z")
> [@MW\_Degen\_Gamblr](#): > > I finally reached New Mexico. > > … > > I imagined queso from authentic Mexican restaurants in the southwest region would be queso on steroids. I’m reminded of this [onion article](https://theonion.com/restaurant-turns-out-to-be-spanish-not-mexican-1819566217/). New Mexican food is its own cuisine, not just food from Mexico, nor standard stateside Mexican dishes. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2025, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-dont-serve-essential-dishes-items/1014451/22 "2025-02-18T15:21:05Z")
I was going to mention something similar - the people who think an “Italian restaurant” is one that serves what I call pizzeria or Italian American food , where the “side dish” is some sort of pasta with some sort of red sauce. They get upset when they end up somewhere where pasta is a separate course, and where the main course is served with scarole or some other vegetable as a side dish. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2025, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-dont-serve-essential-dishes-items/1014451/23 "2025-02-18T15:53:02Z")
The o.p. reads like this is his first trip ever outside of South Central Indiana and he is shocked to discover that the rest of the country doesn’t consider Velveeta to be an ‘ethnic’ food. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2025, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-dont-serve-essential-dishes-items/1014451/24 "2025-02-18T15:56:17Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > doesn’t consider Velveeta to be an ‘ethnic’ food. Any food that ends in a vowel is ethnic. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2025, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-dont-serve-essential-dishes-items/1014451/25 "2025-02-18T16:00:53Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > And yeah, in California, you need to go to Taco Bell or Chipotle for queso dip. When we lived in Los Angeles I never heard of queso anywhere. When we moved to Texas everyone was shocked that I had not heard of queso. I still haven’t eaten queso dip. Not eating much Mexican food any more either. Tex Mex is not my favorite and the fact that there appears to be nowhere in Texas to get a decent burrito is very sad. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2025, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-dont-serve-essential-dishes-items/1014451/26 "2025-02-18T16:01:03Z")
Pie is ethic? ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2025, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-dont-serve-essential-dishes-items/1014451/27 "2025-02-18T16:03:46Z")
Queso is Spanish for cheese. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2025, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-dont-serve-essential-dishes-items/1014451/28 "2025-02-18T16:10:27Z")
Salsa de queso para nachos, I suppose. Nachos are pretty rare in Mexico, though. I think I had some at an American restaurant in Cd. Juarez once. I can’t imagine any other cuisine anywhere at all in Mexico other than nachos where one would encounter nacho cheese. I’m assuming, of course, that “queso dip” is some regional lingo for “nacho cheese”? ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2025, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-dont-serve-essential-dishes-items/1014451/29 "2025-02-18T16:13:52Z")
But you have to admit it was a gouda one. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2025, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-dont-serve-essential-dishes-items/1014451/30 "2025-02-18T16:14:11Z")
I once ate at a German restaurant at Lake Tahoe that only offered Bud and Miller. I guess you can make spaetzle, schnitzel, etc. from readily available ingredients, but imported beer is trickier in remote areas. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2025, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-dont-serve-essential-dishes-items/1014451/31 "2025-02-18T16:14:39Z")
Note, by the way, that nachos are less than a century old. They were invented in 1943 by a restaurateur named Ignacio Anaya, hence the name (“Nacho” is a nickname for “Ignacio”). ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2025, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-dont-serve-essential-dishes-items/1014451/32 "2025-02-18T16:14:55Z")
The OP is referring to _chile con queso_, which is definitely Tex-Mex. Possible derived from the more “authentic” _queso fundido_ (aka _choriqueso_), a mix of melted cheese and chorizo which is definitely not a dip - much too heavy, usually made with a mixture of stringy Mexican cheeses. I do get royally pissed off when I go to a restaurant that has queso fundido on the menu but is actually serving queso dip. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2025, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-dont-serve-essential-dishes-items/1014451/33 "2025-02-18T16:29:37Z")
> [@MW\_Degen\_Gamblr](#): > > I guess where I’m from, the authentic Mexican restaurants cater towards “gringos”. The Mexican restaurants in my neck of the woods definitely serve it, and other parts of the midwest. Well, yeah. You aren’t going to find chicken feet in a Chinese restaurant that caters to a non-Chinese clientele but you might find egg rolls there. Places that cater to a particular Chinese clientele will be the reverse. And you won’t find places that cater to a Chinese clientele unless there is a critical mass of Chinese customers - which is probably the reason my brother in law can’t get good Chinese food in a suburb of Rochester NY. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2025, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-dont-serve-essential-dishes-items/1014451/34 "2025-02-18T16:38:10Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > I’m assuming, of course, that “queso dip” is some regional lingo for “nacho cheese”? What “queso dip” or “queso” exactly IS probably differs between regions of the US. In the New Orleans area and the Gulf South in general, some kind of cheese dip (invariably called _queso_ on the menu) is _de rigeur_ at Mexican and Central American restaurants\*\*. However, it’s not merely melted Velveeta. Some places are satisfied to do a passable melted cheese blend with added half-&-half or milk to control viscosity. But the better local Mexican/Central American places have elevated house recipes for cheese dip, commonly based on a _harina y grasa_ mix (cf. _roux_ in French cuisine), thus having a lot in common texturally with béchamel sauce. _Queso fundido_ is not common at our Mexican/C.A. places, but several of them do offer it. **Marvin\_the\_Martian** is right – it’s way too thick to use as a dip, though it is commonly served with tortilla chips anyway. While you can spoon & scrape _queso fundido_ onto chips if you like, knowing customers will ask for some soft flour tortillas instead. \*\* _Colombian restaurants are starting to make inroads here, and a quick search of a few menus indicates that our Colombian places DON’T serve cheese dip, tortilla chips, or anything like that._ ---
**Author:** ![MW\_Degen\_Gamblr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ec9cab/32.png) [@MW\_Degen\_Gamblr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MW_Degen_Gamblr)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2025, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-dont-serve-essential-dishes-items/1014451/35 "2025-02-18T16:42:31Z")
A couple of downtown and Wicker Park Mexican restaurants serve queso. You should try queso, it’s really good and Im not a fan of Mexican food in general. But not much can go wrong with chips and cheese. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2025, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-dont-serve-essential-dishes-items/1014451/36 "2025-02-18T16:43:57Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > When I went to ‘traditional’ Mexican restaurants back in Texas, I don’t think any of them had queso (but they often had tamales!) I tend to think of tamales as an essential Mexican dish but they’re missing from the menu in some of my favorite places. Perhaps they’re too labor intensive? ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2025, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-dont-serve-essential-dishes-items/1014451/37 "2025-02-18T16:57:50Z")
> [@MW\_Degen\_Gamblr](#): > > You should try queso, it’s really good and Im not a fan of Mexican food in general. ‘Mexican food’ is a diverse array of very different regional cuisines, in none of which will you find “queso dip”, or ‘chips and cheese’. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![MW\_Degen\_Gamblr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ec9cab/32.png) [@MW\_Degen\_Gamblr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MW_Degen_Gamblr)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2025, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-dont-serve-essential-dishes-items/1014451/38 "2025-02-18T16:58:26Z")
Balthisar, Silenus, and Stranger… I’m just your average Midwesterner from next door, but I have more culture than that! I wouldn’t dare to associate queso with nacho cheese. For one thing, queso dip is white! Yes, Im talking about chile con queso. I’m not talking about Taco Bell nacho cheese dip or those dips you purchase from Aldi’s. Queso dip is a mix of cheese, milk, and peppers, not a bunch of processed gunk. But it is neeeeeews to me that queso is just Tex-Mex. ---
**Author:** ![MW\_Degen\_Gamblr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ec9cab/32.png) [@MW\_Degen\_Gamblr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MW_Degen_Gamblr)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2025, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-dont-serve-essential-dishes-items/1014451/39 "2025-02-18T17:00:06Z")
You’ll find it in the Midwest… ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2025, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-dont-serve-essential-dishes-items/1014451/40 "2025-02-18T17:04:01Z")
Reminds me of The Sopranos when they go to Italy and Paulie is upset they aren’t serving spaghetti with tomato sauce. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-dont-serve-essential-dishes-items/1014451.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-dont-serve-essential-dishes-items/1014451.md?page=3)