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How Mexican food became more American than apple pie

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K

krameriffic

Member
I prefer a good smothered burrito to a tin foil hold it in your hands burrito. A good green chili sauce makes or breaks a burrito.
 
C

ChiTownBuffalo

Either I made up lies about the Boston Bomber or I fell for someone else's crap. Either way, I have absolutely no credibility and you should never pay any attention to anything I say, no matter what the context. Perm me if I claim to be an insider
krameriffic said:
I prefer a good smothered burrito to a tin foil hold it in your hands burrito. A good green chili sauce makes or breaks a burrito.
Click to expand...

I have yet to find a great burrito here in Chicago.

As for green chile? Forget it.

I'm going back to the Southwest for that.
 
R

Rootbeer

Banned
I'd rather eat a San Francisco style burrito than a slice of Apple Pie 9 times out of 10, so this has my support.

Chipotle lifted their concept from the eateries that evolved here. You can still find hundreds of taquerias around the bay that serve awesome, huge burritos. It's heaven if you enjoy mexican-american food.

It is considered something of a betrayal to eat at Chiptole here instead of a local taqueria, but I still think Chipotle has a quality product. Haters should watch less South Park
 
Death Dealer

Death Dealer

Member
Kreios said:
and yeah, it's a shame, but this happens to just about every foreign dish to hit the US. It will just make traveling that more exciting when I get to it though.
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It happens everywhere. Have you ever tried eating non-Mexican food in Mexico ? It's almost universally terrible.

And I've had Mexican food in Sasebo Japan that would make any drive through "Filiberto's" seems like a meal from a Rick Bayless restaurant. And it wasn't exactly cheap either. IIRC about $20 for two tacos, rice and beans.
 
C

ChiTownBuffalo

Either I made up lies about the Boston Bomber or I fell for someone else's crap. Either way, I have absolutely no credibility and you should never pay any attention to anything I say, no matter what the context. Perm me if I claim to be an insider
Zulithe said:
I'd rather eat a San Francisco style burrito than a slice of Apple Pie 9 times out of 10, so this has my support.

Chipotle lifted their concept from the eateries that evolved here. You can still find hundreds of taquerias around the bay that serve awesome, huge burritos. It's heaven if you enjoy mexican-american food.

It is considered something of a betrayal to eat at Chiptole here instead of a local taqueria, but I still think Chipotle has a quality product. Haters should watch less South Park
Click to expand...

Fun fact: I am Chipotle customer #17
 
P

Pachterballs

Banned
I’ll never forget the delight I felt a couple of years ago when I worked on a series of investigative stories on Orange County neo-Nazis. One of the photos I unearthed showed two would-be Aryans scarfing down food from Del Taco
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Didn't realise that food could be angled so heavily as a racial thing til I read this.


What's Aryan food?
 
C

ChiTownBuffalo

Either I made up lies about the Boston Bomber or I fell for someone else's crap. Either way, I have absolutely no credibility and you should never pay any attention to anything I say, no matter what the context. Perm me if I claim to be an insider
Pachterballs said:
Didn't realise that food could be angled so heavily as a racial thing til I read this.


What's Aryan food?
Click to expand...

Crackers


mic-drop.gif
 
M

Mudkips

Banned
xbhaskarx said:
The majority of people have terrible taste (see: tv ratings, music charts, movie box office, etc), so while America has countless small ethnic restaurants with wonderful food because we are such a diverse country, once those foods are accepted by the unwashed mainstream masses, we will of course get chains with Americanized bastardizations that are shit.
Of course no one HAS to eat at those places, there are still plenty of delicious authentic Italian/Mexican/Chinese etc restaurants out there for those with good taste, if they know where to look. I wonder what the next trendy chain with crappy fake ethnic food will be, perhaps Thai or Indian...
Click to expand...

If it's not authentic, it's bastardized American shit that only dirty plebes eat.
Not only is that an extremely offensive attitude, it's wrong. Americanized versions of many, many foods are far superior to their original forms.
 
K

Korey

Member
In socal we love our mexican food.

CALIFORNIA BURRITO

The California burrito, a San Diego-area specialty, consists of chunks of carne asada meat, French fries, cheese, and either pico de gallo, sour cream, or guacamole (or some combination of these three). The ingredients are similar to those used in the carne asada fries dish, and it is considered a staple of the local cuisine of San Diego, California.
Click to expand...

2006-09-25_california-burrito.jpg
VBqF2l.jpg
 
H

Hero

Member
Wow, he's just coming to this conclusion now? Should e-mail him and tell him that Chinese food in American restaurants is different than actual food made in China.
 
M

M-PG71C

Member
tl;dr for the article really. What I do know is Mexican food period is fucking awesome and I thank those glorious bastards everyday for it.
 
ReBurn

ReBurn

Gold Member
The only real Mexican food I've had I found at some run-down shack in San Diego. I was driving and I smelled something so awesome I had to go. I normally wouldn't eat someplace so dumpy, but I'm glad I did.

I rarely go to a place like Taco Bell, Moe's or Chipotle. Too bland. But I do like the Tex Mex chain places with Mexican sounding names like La Hacienda or Señor Tequila.
 
G

Garcia el Gringo

Member
What can I say?! The best Tex-Mex I've had is a couple of notches above the best Mexican food I've had.

Joking aside, I'll take both. I like the authentic stuff quite a bit. My friends' families cook some amazing food. I just find the Americanized stuff more comforting.
 
X

xavi42

Member
Americanized Mexican is just loaded with way too much cheese and sour cream. All the stuff that clogs arteries. Real Mexican food is delicious and much healthier.
 
G

Gaborn

Member
Hero said:
Wow, he's just coming to this conclusion now? Should e-mail him and tell him that Chinese food in American restaurants is different than actual food made in China.
Click to expand...

He's not just saying the food is different. He's saying that the melding of a food to a culture shapes both cultures and is a sign of acceptance. He's saying that the hybridization of foods is analogous the melting pot of our broader culture. That people adapt cuisines they're familiar with and that familiarity is a sign of cultural acceptance and integration, an acknowledgement of a people integrated into the fabric of society in a fundamental way. In other words, it's a sign that a culture is not "foreign" it is US.

The California Burrito incidentally is a perfect example of this phenomenon he's celebrating.
 
DanteFox

DanteFox

Member
Garcia el Gringo said:
Americanized Mexican food is the best food ever. I don't want that authentic stuff.

I've offended Mexican friends with my stance. I don't care.
Click to expand...

Location: New Jersey.

Yeah...

but seriously the two aren't mutually exclusive. I love authentic mexican food and I love the crazy tex mex and california stuff too.
 
T

TheYanger

Member
xbhaskarx said:
The majority of people have terrible taste (see: tv ratings, music charts, movie box office, etc), so while America has countless small ethnic restaurants with wonderful food because we are such a diverse country, once those foods are accepted by the unwashed mainstream masses, we will of course get chains with Americanized bastardizations that are shit.
Of course no one HAS to eat at those places, there are still plenty of delicious authentic Italian/Mexican/Chinese etc restaurants out there for those with good taste, if they know where to look. I wonder what the next trendy chain with crappy fake ethnic food will be, perhaps Thai or Indian...
Click to expand...

I know you think you're all hip and cool, but I eat at Del Taco because it fucking tastes good. I've had 'authentic' mexican food, in small mexican towns. I didn't think it was anything spectactular, just different. FOOD IS FOOD. If people eat it it's because they like it. The 'authentic' derision that people like you spout is the foodie equivilent to being a true fucking hipster.
 
I

industrian

will gently cradle you as time slowly ticks away.
Guerrillas in the Mist said:
The story I heard was a bloke that worked at a curry house in Glasgow put ketchup on his Chicken Tikka, and the chef was inspired from that. Of course, there's tons of people and places that lay claim to it's invention.
Click to expand...

According to the legend, some guy went to the Taj Mahal restaurant in Glasgow and claimed his chicken was too dry. The cook then grabbed a tin of condensed tomato soup & some herbs and boom, Chicken Tikka Masala.
 
N

nVidiot_Whore

Banned
Food snobbery when it comes to "Americanization" sort of kills me.

I mean I get thinking Phad Thai is shit when it's made with Ketchup instead of Tamarind based.. but just because something isn't "authentic" doesn't mean it can't be DELICIOUS.. and made from really good ingredients.

When it comes to Mexican food.. I enjoy both.. I eat at various authentic places that offer regional Mexican cuisine.. I also eat a lot of "Burrtios" that are fairly Americanized.

I'd probably say more often than not I prefer the latter.. and I'll continue to not give a shit what some snob thinks about it.
 
G

Garcia el Gringo

Member
DanteFox said:
Location: New Jersey.

Yeah...
Click to expand...

Whoa, whoa. We have a pretty high Mexican population in NJ. New Brunswick alone has so many hole in the wall restaurants and I have a lot of friends that can cook the authentic stuff. I know first hand that we don't have the best Mexican food, but it definitely has a healthy presence in this state.

I've had Mexican food in Cali and in Texas and it was comparable to the NJ stuff. Of course, the Mexican food in Mexico was the best. So yeah... Delicious stuff, honestly.
 
L

lobdale

3 ft, coiled to the sky
Jesus christ it is shit like this that makes me want to move back to America immediately. Do you know how many little doggies I would punt for a huge fucking burrito that costs five bucks?

Goddammit Japan.
 
bengraven

bengraven

Member
Just for the record: Taco John's is motherfucking dope. We have one TJ's down here in FL and it's fucking ridiculously far away. I would sell your mother to Satan for some Potato Oles and my delicious fried food from heaven, Mexi Rolls.


Also, "southwest style" food has been served in this country for hundreds of years. Considering 1/3 of America was at one point part of Mexico and the people who cultivated the entire western half ate quite a bit of Mexican food and evolved it themselves, I don't see an issue with this.
 
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