What do real Mexicans think of high end Mexican cuisine...

[joebuck20]

…like Rick Bayless’ restaurants in Chicago. I’ve never been to any of his restaurants, but does he or any of the other famous Anglo Mexican food chefs get many Mexican customers? And how does their food compare what you might find at a high end restaurant in Mexico?

[guizot]

You’ll probably have to define what a “real Mexican” is before you’ll get any satisfactory answers.

I’d also like to know what a “fake” Mexican is.

[joebuck20]

Someone who is actually from Mexico or is of Mexican descent.

[postcards]

@guizot

…I’d also like to know what a “fake” Mexican is.

Taco Bell.

[MPB_in_Salt_Lake]

While I have only been to Mexico a couple of times, and only for short periods of time, as I understand it “Mexican Cusine” is supposedly as diverse (depending on region and specific ethnicity of the chef) as Chinese or French Cusine is…

I Imagine the Mexican food in Vera Cruz is way different that the food in Ciudad Juarez.

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(PBS has a show “Mexico One Plate at a Time” hosted by Rick Bayless, that is really informative and fun to watch—It always gives me some serious food and cerveza cravings though)

[Bridget_Burke]

Rick Bayless came to Houston a few years ago to promote a book; Houston Press food writer Robb Walsh gave him the tour–which included a Mexican restaurant.

Our destination is a little Mexican restaurant called El Hidalguense (6917 Long Point). Bayless and I have had several discussions over the years about the food of recent Mexican immigrants and its inevitable Americanization. I figure El Hidalguense, with a menu that ranges from nachos to barbacoa estilo de Hidalgo is a good place to observe the process firsthand – besides, I like their lamb. The owners don’t speak much English, but they recognize Bayless the second we walk in the front door. That’s why they keep sending us tequila shots, which we are far too polite to decline.

Thanks to his television cooking shows, this sort of thing happens to Bayless all the time. He recounts the time he crossed the border with the food editor of a San Diego newspaper to do a story on the little taquerias of Baja California. His PBS show, Mexico: One Plate at a Time, is in English. The show has never been broadcast in Mexico. But in every taco joint in Baja, they knew exactly who he was.

“The show’s biggest audience is among Hispanics,” Bayless says proudly. The show recently finished its season, but it was produced with subtitling in mind, and he hopes someday it will be rerun on Spanish-language television.

But–what do the chilangos think? Frommer’s has a list of restaurants in Mexico City; these are rather high end places for non-backpacking tourists. But they are popular with the locals. Several cuisines are represented but “Mexican” leads. Some of the places are temples of Mexican cuisine; others offer simple dishes that show a strong family resemblence to Tex-Mex.

The Wall Street Journal lists restaurants in the DF that blend ancient tradition with modern foodie trends. But I have it on good authority that Mexicans also go out for steak–or maybe pizza. And Mexico City Style Sushi can be found in Houston–several steps beyond Japanese purity but quite delicious.