# Why don't Mexican restaurants serve Fideo? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 17, 2018, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mexican-restaurants-serve-fideo/814379 "2018-05-17T23:08:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2018, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mexican-restaurants-serve-fideo/814379/1 "2018-05-17T23:08:17Z")
I’m making Fideo con pollo (with chicken) tonight. Just got to thinking, this is a really good dish that I know most Americans would love. So why is it never on the menu at Mexican restaurants? ETA: Excuse my poorly worded thread title. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2018, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mexican-restaurants-serve-fideo/814379/2 "2018-05-17T23:28:11Z")
Because Americans are used to getting pasta at an Italian place or making mac & cheese. A pasta and chicken dish at Jose’s would just weird them out. Now, it might show up on the menu at a more upscale place run with an authentic kitchen, but I’ve never encountered it in the wild. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mexican-restaurants-serve-fideo/814379/3 "2018-05-18T00:31:44Z")
because its a "home " dish … when you go to a ethnic restaurant they think you don’t want what they eat every Tuesday … Only exception to this is Italian resturants …where the only difference between home cooking and restaurant cooking is quality of ingredients A chienese schoolmate used to say that Chinese resturants served “holiday” food … and had nothing to do with what they ate everyday He also mentioned most westerners would be grossed out with what they did eat … ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mexican-restaurants-serve-fideo/814379/4 "2018-05-18T00:46:53Z")
Because some people would initially read it as “Fido” like I did. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mexican-restaurants-serve-fideo/814379/5 "2018-05-18T01:26:53Z")
duplicate of below. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mexican-restaurants-serve-fideo/814379/6 "2018-05-18T01:28:07Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > I’m making Fideo con pollo (with chicken) tonight. > > Just got to thinking, this is a really good dish that I know most Americans would love. > > So why is it never on the menu at Mexican restaurants? You can find it at some restaurants here in Chicago. One place not far from my house serves it along with free chips and salsa as a sort of amuse bouche, or whatever you’d want to call it. But “amuse bouche” is too fancy a term for the down-home, cheap ma and pop restaurant we’re talking about. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mexican-restaurants-serve-fideo/814379/7 "2018-05-18T01:31:57Z")
Actually, I’m thinking of the soup; I realize you may be talking about just the noodles with chicken, as a sort of pasta dish? That I’m not entirely sure I’ve seen. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mexican-restaurants-serve-fideo/814379/8 "2018-05-18T01:37:36Z")
Ok, it does seem to exist at least [here](https://locu.com/places/carniceria-jimenez-chicago-us-1/) (as Plato De Fideo Con Pollo Y Frijoles De La Olla.). But what I usually have seen is sopa de fideo con pollo, or something similarly named. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mexican-restaurants-serve-fideo/814379/9 "2018-05-18T02:19:54Z")
Likely sopa seca (de fideo) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mexican-restaurants-serve-fideo/814379/10 "2018-05-18T03:46:59Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > because its a "home " dish … when you go to a ethnic restaurant they think you don’t want what they eat every Tuesday … Only exception to this is Italian resturants …where the only difference between home cooking and restaurant cooking is quality of ingredients > > A chienese schoolmate used to say that Chinese resturants served “holiday” food … and had nothing to do with what they ate everyday > > He also mentioned most westerners would be grossed out with what they did eat … People need to stop comparing Chinese-American, Italian-American, and Mexican-American cuisine to Chinese, Italian, and Mexican cuisine. That will make it possible for them to judge these cuisines on their own merits as legitimate fusion creations rather than just dismissing them as poor imitations of something they’re not. People should also avoid overusing ellipses. ---
**Author:** ![Hector\_St\_Clare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5ac83/32.png) [@Hector\_St\_Clare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hector_St_Clare)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mexican-restaurants-serve-fideo/814379/11 "2018-05-18T15:21:49Z")
Restaurant cuisine in general is a terrible representation of any culture’s _actual_ cuisine. What you get in an Indian restaurant is going to be very different from what you might eat at the table in someone’s home. ---
**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:** [May 21, 2018, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mexican-restaurants-serve-fideo/814379/12 "2018-05-21T11:38:08Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > People need to stop comparing Chinese-American, Italian-American, and Mexican-American cuisine to Chinese, Italian, and Mexican cuisine. That will make it possible for them to judge these cuisines on their own merits as legitimate fusion creations rather than just dismissing them as poor imitations of something they’re not. But this makes it hard to find an authentic restaurant when you want an authentic restaurant. If there were truth in labelling laws or something, it would make it easier. Yelp doesn’t help. One of the Mexican-American restaurants in town sucks for authentic Mexican food, but then there’s a review who says she’s from California, and by far this restaurant has the absolutely most authentic Mexican food she’s ever had in Michigan. Missy, you’re from _California_ talking about authentic Mexican food? Don’t call it authentic Mexican when it’s only Mexican-American. ---
**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:** [May 21, 2018, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mexican-restaurants-serve-fideo/814379/13 "2018-05-21T21:55:43Z")
Why would someone from a part of Mexico not know authentic Mexican food? Just because it’s not authentic to the region of Mexico you’re thinking of doesn’t mean it’s not authentic to some other region. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2018, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mexican-restaurants-serve-fideo/814379/14 "2018-05-21T22:24:54Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > …where the only difference between home cooking and restaurant cooking is quality of ingredients > … Does this mean it’s higher quality at home of the restaurant? ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mexican-restaurants-serve-fideo/814379/15 "2018-05-22T02:13:50Z")
Serving chicken with a Beethoven opera? Preposterous! ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mexican-restaurants-serve-fideo/814379/16 "2018-05-22T02:25:30Z")
In Laredo TX, 30 years ago, I ate a lot of Fideo because it was cheap and filling. Haven’t had it since I left Laredo. If I ever ran into it on a menu, I would certainly order it out of nostalgia, if nothing else. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mexican-restaurants-serve-fideo/814379/17 "2018-05-22T02:31:00Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Ok, it does seem to exist at least [here](https://locu.com/places/carniceria-jimenez-chicago-us-1/) (as Plato De Fideo Con Pollo Y Frijoles De La Olla.). But what I usually have seen is sopa de fideo con pollo, or something similarly named. > [@Chingon](#): > > Likely sopa seca (de fideo) Cesar’s does the soup. Its okay, but pretty damn salty. Fideo seems like an item that could be a winner at a burrito joint. Cheap and quick comfort food. But I suppose anything the doesn’t come off the griddle might be a hassle. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mexican-restaurants-serve-fideo/814379/18 "2018-05-22T06:49:25Z")
… 😕 _checks the links to verify usage adds ‘fideo’ to her list of 'words from Spanish that work different in English_ Man, in Spain if you only got one _fideo_ you’d be complaining in three voices despite having only one throat. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mexican-restaurants-serve-fideo/814379/19 "2018-05-22T09:05:14Z")
The word _fideo_ is also (as far as I can tell, speaking no Spanish) used differently in Mexico than in Spain. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mexican-restaurants-serve-fideo/814379/20 "2018-05-22T10:16:58Z")
Not from what I see in Google searches. Note that “works different in English” is not a criticism, just an observation. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mexican-restaurants-serve-fideo/814379.md?page=2)