What makes Tex-Mex inferior?

[Corraleno]

I don't know the difference between Mexican and Tex-Mex, but as a New Mexican (who grew up in OK, where they also serve Tex-Mex), I was going to explain the difference between New Mexican and Tex-Mex, but you did it perfectly.  Have you lived in NM at some point?  Posolé is definitely a bigger deal here, and, at least in my experience, carne adovada too.  I don't think I'd ever had either one of those until I moved here.

Yep, I lived a few blocks from the Rio Grande bosque for 10 years. I love NM and miss it a lot — especially the food! We lived near a big farm store that would roast bushels of chile in the fall. I would rather be in NM in October than anywhere else in the world: the scent of piñon smoke and roasting green chiles in the crisp fall air, yellow and orange cottonwood leaves against a brilliant turquoise sky, the mountains lit up at sunset.  :001_wub:

[SamanthaCarter]

When you encounter authenticity snobs, just ask them if they eat pizza.

 

 

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[SamanthaCarter]

Yep, I lived a few blocks from the Rio Grande bosque for 10 years. I love NM and miss it a lot — especially the food! We lived near a big farm store that would roast bushels of chile in the fall. I would rather be in NM in October than anywhere else in the world: the scent of piñon smoke and roasting green chiles in the crisp fall air, yellow and orange cottonwood leaves against a brilliant turquoise sky, the mountains lit up at sunset. :001_wub:

As an aside, we honeymooned in NM in October. â¤ï¸

 

 

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[Katy]

I'm guessing their disdain partially comes from the same sort of people who hate chain restaurants.  Americanized Mexican food has too much salt, sugar and fat. Those ingredients make food taste so good you can miss that it's otherwise awful.

 

IME the best Mexican food came from a food truck that my Mexican friend took me too.  You had to order in Spanish, and I have no idea what I ate, but it was one of the best things I've ever tasted.  She said it was some sort of pork, and not to ask questions, just eat.

 

Since then I typically try to find a non-chain restaurant where most of the staff doesn't speak English, and I order fajitas with corn tortillas.  If the meat comes out perfect, with a complex flavor I couldn't replicate at home, and it isn't too greasy, I'll go there again.   Asking immigrant friends or acquaintances where they think the best Mexican food is also a really good option.

[vonfirmath]

Neither do I.  Dh eats only flour tortillas, the kids and I like our corn ones lightly warmed or fried.  I tease him because flour tortillas aren't exactly Mexican food.  They were an invention of Jewish Spaniards who settled there during the Inquisition.  They didn't consider the corn to be kosher. So I guess they're really Span-Mex? :laugh: But I've never liked them and ds, who doesn't eat hardly any breads, won't touch them. 

 

 

Whereas I prefer the flour and ask for it everywhere I can. I can tolerate the corn but it is not as enjoyable.

 

I also eat soft tacos, not hard

[marbel]

I love "Indian" food, "Greek" food, "Italian" food, "Mexican" food, "French" food, and a lot of other food besides!  But I am not under any misapprehension that it is the same food that would actually be served in those countries.  Food will be different depending on who makes it and where - why must it be pigeon-holed???

 

Let's just eat - and enjoy - good food!!

 

Anne (who is now feeling hungry!!)

 

This exactly.

 

Maybe we should add "-ish" to all our foods when we talk about them.  "Come over for dinner, I'm making Indian-ish food." "I'm throwing a Mexican-ish fiesta, want to come over?"  

 

Actually, I have sometimes said that, after an Indian friend went off on me for calling chicken tikka masala Indian food.  It's origins are murky, I guess, but apparently a British riff on an Indian dish. It's served at every Indian restaurant I've ever been to... but my experiences have been limited to the US and UK.... 

 

So I am careful when claiming to cook and serve any sort of "ethnic" cuisine.

[vonfirmath]

I think that it is snobbery to look down your nose at a cuisine from any region in the world just because you don’t like it. I’m talking about well made versions of that cuisine. I don’t like Scandinavian food but don’t say that Scandinavian food is inferior. It just isn’t a flavor profile that I personally like.

 

I personally think that a lot of recipes are good when made with fresh ingredients and by good cooks. Our local Mexican restaurants are owned by Mexican families who provide freshly cooked food with fresh ingredients. Their menu is varied with items that show off their regional specialties. They might also have some dishes that appeal more to “American taste†(I can think if a few especially at one restaurant. ). I don’t begrudge them that - it’s hard to be successful in the restaurant business and of course they want to cater to their customers.

 

 

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I really hope we get back up your way this summer.

 

One of my favorite "Mexican restaurant dishes" is the shrimp appetizer at Tres Hermanos.

 

I have looked and looked but not found anything like it anywhere since.

[Jean in Newcastle]

There us a huge difference between the American food served at Applebees and the American food served at a restaurant where they made it fresh with fresh ingredients.

 

 

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[Greta]

Yep, I lived a few blocks from the Rio Grande bosque for 10 years. I love NM and miss it a lot — especially the food! We lived near a big farm store that would roast bushels of chile in the fall. I would rather be in NM in October than anywhere else in the world: the scent of piñon smoke and roasting green chiles in the crisp fall air, yellow and orange cottonwood leaves against a brilliant turquoise sky, the mountains lit up at sunset.  :001_wub:

 

 

I love the bosque!  So beautiful.  I live in the foothills, which is beautiful too, in a very different way.

 

If places can have "signature scents" then New Mexico's is definitely the roasting chile that's in the air in the late summer and fall.  I love that smell.  First of all because it means good food.  And secondly because it means an end to the long, hot summer!  :D

 

When I lived in upstate NY, I thought the signature scent there was the lilacs.  That fragrance would absolutely fill the air in the spring, marking a blessed end to the long, dreary, gray, cloudy, oppressive winters.  (I've gotten quite spoiled to all of this NM sunshine!)

[Mbelle]

I like both.  Yum!  I'm hungry.  I'm a fairly adventurous eater so I don't mind trying new stuff.  

 

Some foods I really don't care if it's not the exact same as the region it's from and sometimes I even like the adapted version much better.

 

However, I just can't do that with Italian food.  I like Italian that is similar to the flavors in different areas of Italy.  I have never been below Rome so I don't know about southern Italian.  I do not like NY Italian or American Italian or whatever it's called.  I just can't eat it.  We also visited my BIL in Melbourne, Australia this past June and he took us out to a very snazzy Italian restaurant and I had high hopes, but no I just didn't like it.  It was different all together from Ny/American and Italian.  

[SparklyUnicorn]

Although, for a chain restaurant I don't think AppleBees is terrible. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

Well this might make some people's head explode.  I just saw a recipe for Tex Mex Scotch eggs.  :lol:

[Seasider]

Flour tortillas are commonly used in Tex-Mex, while they are rare in most parts of Mexico--corn tortillas are lower in fat and calories and higher in fiber than flour. Different regions of Mexico have different cuisines (depending on local ingredients); so areas of Mexico have a number of fish dishes--fish is rarely part of Tex-Mex. Mexican cuisine will often include more fresh vegetables and fruits. Tex-Mex tends to be based upon rice, refried beans, flour tortillas, (or fried corn tortillas), and inexpensive cuts of meat--often on ingredients which were relatively inexpensive

In a word, authentic Mexican seems more "fresh" to me, lots of fruit, veg & seafood. But I admittedly have a preference for Yucatán cuisine. I hadn't really thought about the difference between coastal and central Mexican foods. Maybe I should schedule some research via restaurant in next week's meal plan. 😄

[Jean in Newcastle]

Although, for a chain restaurant I don't think AppleBees is terrible.

I can’t eat there now because their food is precooked and just heated up. (We have celiac and have special food preparation needs). But back when I went there I didn’t think it terrible per se. Just not the same as food cooked on the spot from fresh ingredients.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I can’t eat there now because their food is precooked and just heated up. (We have celiac and have special food preparation needs). But back when I went there I didn’t think it terrible per se. Just not the same as food cooked on the spot from fresh ingredients.

 

Last time I went there I had steak and broccoli.  There is no way either of those was precooked.  There are many items that HAVE to be precooked in any restaurant.  Otherwise you'd be waiting an hour or more to get food.

[Laura in CA]

Here in CA I've never heard the term Tex-Mex used (except for chains, I guess?). I think we are a little bit spoiled, with what seem to be very authentic places here. I've eaten food in Mexico (in small villages in Sinaloa), which was fantastic, fresh, and in smaller portion sizes.

 

Interesting thread! I knew that the term Tex-Mex encompassed more than whether you call them flautas or taquitos :) but I didn't know much more than that ...

 

I have a friend from Mexico City, and her husband is from Oaxaca. She told me a hilarious story about their first encounter with burritos (in the U.S.) – they'd never heard of them before. Her husband still refuses to eat them! ("Why would I want my food all smooshed together??" :lol: )
And yes, there's a huge and delicious array of Mexican food that isn't served in "Mexican" restaurants here north of the border – regional specialties such as tinga (which my husband makes a pretty good version of; we first heard of it from my son's friend who is from Michoacán). 

 

How my husband and I judge whether a place is authentic or not:

 

• clientele is mostly Mexican

• staff don't speak much, if any, English past menu items and numbers

• menu is in Spanish and (at least) some stuff isn't translated, b/c no gringos are going to order it – cabeza, lengua, tripitas, buche ...

• the name of the restaurant has a regional or estado component, such as El Jalisco (in a PP), La Michoacana, Tacos Sinaloa, etc.

 

Oh, what is also big in CA – "fusion," such as Korean-Mexican (made hugely popular by Roy Choi; we've had this in LA), etc. I think I hear of fusion more than Tex-Mex here.

 

 

Edited February 9, 2018 by Laura in CA

[Seasider]

I was horrified at sopapillas at some restaurants! I want NO sugar, cinnamon, or powdered sugar on them! Just honey for dip!

Sounds like sometimes sopapillas get confused with beignets. Maybe that's a Louisiana-Mex thing? 😆

[foxbridgeacademy]

This exactly.

 

Maybe we should add "-ish" to all our foods when we talk about them.  "Come over for dinner, I'm making Indian-ish food." "I'm throwing a Mexican-ish fiesta, want to come over?"  

 

Actually, I have sometimes said that, after an Indian friend went off on me for calling chicken tikka masala Indian food.  It's origins are murky, I guess, but apparently a British riff on an Indian dish. It's served at every Indian restaurant I've ever been to... but my experiences have been limited to the US and UK.... 

 

So I am careful when claiming to cook and serve any sort of "ethnic" cuisine.

Yep, I say I'm making "a curry", whether it be tikka masala, biryani, or butter chicken.

[sassenach]

I may have missed it but I didn’t see anyone say that Tex mex isn’t Mexican food, I only read people state a preference. We’re still allowed to have those, right?

[brehon]

<snip>

 

How my husband and I judge whether a place is authentic or not:

 

• clientele is mostly Mexican

• staff don't speak much, if any, English past menu items and numbers

• menu is in Spanish and (at least) some stuff isn't translated, b/c no gringos are going to order it – cabeza, lengua, tripitas, buche ...

• the name of the restaurant has a regional or estado component, such as El Jalisco (in a PP), La Michoacana, Tacos Sinaloa, etc.

 

Oh, what is also big in CA – "fusion," such as Korean-Mexican (made hugely popular by Roy Choi; we've had this in LA), etc. I think I hear of fusion more than Tex-Mex here.

Lol! Your list is exactly what I use to determine whether or not a Mexican (i.e., Tex-Mex) restaurant is authentic.

[Bluegoat]

Well this might make some people's head explode.  I just saw a recipe for Tex Mex Scotch eggs.  :lol:

 

That seems a bit weird but I bet it would be yummy.

 

I saw a Scottish Indian restaurant that serves an Indian style haggis.

[Crimson Wife]

Well this might make some people's head explode. I just saw a recipe for Tex Mex Scotch eggs. :lol:

Scotch as in the liquor?

 

 

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[KungFuPanda]

Scotch as in the liquor?

 

 

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No, the hard boiled eggs with season pork strapped around it then breaded and fried.

[Bootsie]

Sounds like sometimes sopapillas get confused with beignets. Maybe that's a Louisiana-Mex thing? 😆

I am from Louisana, but moved to Texas back in the 1980's .  I went into a restaurant and saw "cajun fajitas" on the menu.  I had never heard of a fajita before--I am still not sure what a cajun fajita is supposed to be...

[JudoMom]

So. Very. Hungry.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I don’t have a problem with fusion food. As long as the end result tastes good. I do think that sometimes our mind is expecting a specific taste though and when we don’t get that taste we reject foods that we would like if we had no preconceived notions.

 

 

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[Sk8ermaiden]

I'm another one who grew up on Tex Mex and has NEVER seen Velveeta in a Tex Mex restaurant, or used in home Tex Mex cooking. 

 

Almost all the Tex Mex restaurants here are owned and staffed by Mexican Americans, as well as patronized heavily by them. When you walk in and the staff is not Mexican, you get worried.

[Tanaqui]

Scotch as in the liquor?

 

Scotch eggs - as anybody who grew up playing Neopets can attest! - are peeled hardboiled eggs covered in meat (sausage?) and breadcrumbs and then fried.

 

As for Tex-Mex, that's a valid cuisine. And as long as it tastes good, I don't give a about authenticity. The only thing that worries me is Chinese-Mexican restaurants - you know, mostly Mexican but they also serve wonton soup and lo mein and they're staffed primarily by Asians, or mostly Chinese but they also serve guacamole and tacos and are staffed primarily by Hispanics? Those can be good, but when they're bad they're very very bad.

 

Edited February 10, 2018 by Tanaqui

[Rosie_0801]

I like both.  Yum!  I'm hungry.  I'm a fairly adventurous eater so I don't mind trying new stuff.  

 

Some foods I really don't care if it's not the exact same as the region it's from and sometimes I even like the adapted version much better.

 

However, I just can't do that with Italian food.  I like Italian that is similar to the flavors in different areas of Italy.  I have never been below Rome so I don't know about southern Italian.  I do not like NY Italian or American Italian or whatever it's called.  I just can't eat it.  We also visited my BIL in Melbourne, Australia this past June and he took us out to a very snazzy Italian restaurant and I had high hopes, but no I just didn't like it.  It was different all together from Ny/American and Italian.  

 

Lygon St isn't what it used to be...

[Ottakee]

Just for a laugh, in the summer at the pow wows you can buy Indian Tacos from the food truck. Indian fry bread, seasoned ground beef, lettuce, tomato and yellow cheese.

 

Not sure just how "authentic" this is coming from Northern Michigan.

[Lanny]

The thread title includes the word "inferior".  I do not believe good "Tex-Mex" is "inferior" to good "Mexican" food eaten throughout Mexico. They are extremely different kinfd of cooking and recipes. That's comparing Apples to Oranges. The main "Tex-Mex" items I remember eating are more or less Snacks in the interior of Mexico. They eat fish, meat, chicken, soups, salads, etc., etc and "Mexican " cooking also has regional varieties, as you do in the USA or as we do here in Colombia.  Two different kinds of meals.

 

Just enjoy the food as long as it is well cooked and delicious.

[Carrie12345]

I don't know that I've heard of "Tex-Mex" being inferior as an overall concept.  A lack of authenticity at chain restaurants?  Sure.

 

I was recently posting about pizza in the US.  While none of it is authentically Italian-from-Italy pizza, you can get good pizza in some places.  But calling Dominos "good pizza" is just... well, it makes me want to feed people good pizza and change their world!

 

(My region dictates that I debate Italian a lot more then Mexican or Tex-Mex.  :lol: )

 

Editing to add: I can also debate Real Bagels like a champ!

Edited February 10, 2018 by Carrie12345

[Bluegoat]

Just for a laugh, in the summer at the pow wows you can buy Indian Tacos from the food truck. Indian fry bread, seasoned ground beef, lettuce, tomato and yellow cheese.

 

Not sure just how "authentic" this is coming from Northern Michigan.

 

You can get them at the pow wows all across Canada too.  

[Sandwalker]

I don't think Tex Mex is inferior, as the thread title proclaims. It's a different cuisine, and many people outside Texas call it Mexican food in any case.

 

I like the authentic Mexican food better, for nutrition, taste, and easier vegan options. There's a food truck near my work with great authentic Mexican food. So many fantastic vegan foods, and the cooks and workers seem so happy all the time; it's a joy to go there. A sign outside says "Broken English spoken here". :)

[Mbelle]

Lygon St isn't what it used to be...

 

We were on Southbank. Is that similar?

We had a great time.  It was a beautiful place to eat.  

We should have just ordered the pizza.  Hard to go wrong with that at a decent place.

[Carol in Cal.]

Just for a laugh, in the summer at the pow wows you can buy Indian Tacos from the food truck. Indian fry bread, seasoned ground beef, lettuce, tomato and yellow cheese.

 

Not sure just how "authentic" this is coming from Northern Michigan.

I think that this reflects what was available from USDA surplus back in the day.  Stretchers for the limited purchased meat.  (I have this impression from a NA friend of mine from Montana.)

 

You know, when DH was little his father, who worked in a brewery in the Midwest, would get laid off every year in the holiday season.  They never knew for how long or whether this time the place would close.  Sometimes it was a couple of weeks, sometimes more than a month.  

 

They wouldn't take 'welfare', but they got some kind of unemployment payments from the union I think, and they would get USDA food.  Big bricks of bland cheese, sacks of white flour, milk, generic noodles, that kind of thing.  They had a similar cuisine of casseroles, all about stretching the meat dollars.

 

DH always gets very depressed around Christmas time, and I have often thought that this must be why. 

[sassenach]

I'm another one who grew up on Tex Mex and has NEVER seen Velveeta in a Tex Mex restaurant, or used in home Tex Mex cooking.

 

Almost all the Tex Mex restaurants here are owned and staffed by Mexican Americans, as well as patronized heavily by them. When you walk in and the staff is not Mexican, you get worried.

Maybe I’ve had some bad Tex-mex, because processed cheese has not been a one time experience for me.

 

Do you guys consider Chevy’s (chain restaurant) to be good Tex mex?

[theelfqueen]

All this thread is doing is making me hungry. Very hungry.

 

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[Jean in Newcastle]

Maybe I’ve had some bad Tex-mex, because processed cheese has not been a one time experience for me.

 

Do you guys consider Chevy’s (chain restaurant) to be good Tex mex?

 

I've never even heard of it.  But I googled their menu.  Some menu items list cotija cheese.  You probably just have to be more careful in what you order. 

 

I don't go to Mexican chain restaurants.  Our favorite Mexican restaurant we call "Antonio's" because it is Antonio's restaurant.  That isn't the actual name on the door. 

[marbel]

Maybe I’ve had some bad Tex-mex, because processed cheese has not been a one time experience for me.

 

Do you guys consider Chevy’s (chain restaurant) to be good Tex mex?

 

We haven't lived near a Chevy's in a long time, but when we did, we liked it for what it was - affordable Mexican-ish food in a fun atmosphere.  If we ever ate anything with processed cheese in it, I never noticed.  But then I am not opposed to a velveeta-based queso dip now and then; in fact the person who originally introduced me to it was Mexican, from Mexico.  Not that she considered that authentic Mexican food.  She just liked it.   :-) 

 

She is also the same person who introduced me to the awesomeness of family tamale-making day.  And her brother introduced me to the wonder that is good menudo. 

 

There's room for it all!   :-)  

[brehon]

Maybe I’ve had some bad Tex-mex, because processed cheese has not been a one time experience for me.

 

Do you guys consider Chevy’s (chain restaurant) to be good Tex mex?

I don’t think that chain is in TX. It certainly isn’t in Central Texas. So, I’m guessing no, it isn’t good Tex-Mex.

 

A general rule of thumb is that if the Tex-Mex restaurant has a gringo name, it probably ain’t good.

[Lady Florida.]

I don't understand the snobbishness. They are two different types of food yes, but both are delicious imo. We have 2 local Mexican restaurants both run by Mexicans. They serve actual Mexican food as well as Americanized (call it Tex-Mex, Southwest, or similar). Our local Cuban restaurant also serves both authentic Cuban and American Cuban.

 

 

I think it is hilarious when I travel and see "American" food. Like when we went to Costa Rica, and my son orderered a "perro caliente" (hot dog) which was covered in mayo and salad. In our Belgian grocery store, I can buy a prepackaged "American" hot dog with a cakey bun and a slice of processed cheese. I can also buy "American" condiment sauce which I think is a mix of ketchup, mustard, mayo & pickles, but I'm not brave enough to try it. So I can see why people who have experience with food from Mexico comment on the difference and are amused when people think that Mexicans eat taco bowls.

 

 

 

In Ireland I was able to choose between Italian pizza or American Pizza. 

 

To be fair this is done with lots and lots of other foods.  "I'm having Italian tonight."  or "I'm eating Greek food."  or "I ordered Chinese food for lunch."  Etc..etc..

 

True. I also think the Italian food I make at home that came from my Italian mother that came from her Italian family is not the same as what I'd get in Italy. For one, we know immigrants adapted their dishes to what ingredients were available here in the U.S. Also, my great grandparents came here in the late 1880s. Italians, like other cultures, have adapted to more current tastes and health recommendations. I doubt if I was able to find my Italian relatives in the Naples area, that they'd even recognize what I think is our "authentic" Italian home cooked food.

 

 

When I visited Mexico in 1984 I ate a sandwich sold as "hamburguesa americana" (American Hamburger)--it was made with shredded ham.

 

When I visited Europe in 1986 (and again in Ireland) my friend ordered a ham salad sandwich. It was a slice of ham, a piece of lettuce, and some mayo on white bread. Apparently the lettuce made it "salad". 

Edited February 10, 2018 by Lady Florida.

[Rachel]

I like Tex-Mex and I like Mexican food. I was shocked when I was in Baja California and ate in a restaurant, the food was nothing like the food at the authentic Mexican restaurants back home. That was the first time I realized that Mexican food wasn’t just enchiladas or fajitas with a side of rice and refried beans.

 

For what it’s worth, I have never seen Velveeta cheese used any place that called itself Tex-Mex or Mexican.

 

We have Mexican restaurants owned and run by Mexicans that are geared towards Americans and their food is very different than the taco carts or Mexican restaurants geared toward Mexicans. The food is good at both types of places, just different.

 

I personally prefer Mexican food with California influences but I don’t think any one version of Mexican food is superior.

[vonfirmath]

Never heard of Chevy's.

 

I think she means Chuy's.

 

I love Chuy's. it used to be my favorite and is certainly ALL over my town. I expect it is Tex-Mex due to this.

 

Note very few restaurants bill themselves as "tex-Mex" -- they bill themselves as Mexican. the user has to decide whether it is true Mexican or Tex-Mex.

[Violet Crown]

Every time I read the title of this thread I feel simultaneously aggrieved and hungry for enchiladas mole and a Shiner.

[brehon]

I think she means Chuy's.

 

I love Chuy's. it used to be my favorite and is certainly ALL over my town. I expect it is Tex-Mex due to this.

 

Note very few restaurants bill themselves as "tex-Mex" -- they bill themselves as Mexican. the user has to decide whether it is true Mexican or Tex-Mex.

Oh! Maybe. You think so? Yeah, Chuy’s is all over my area; though I’m not sure if it is outside it.

 

Chuy’s used to be much better 15-20 or so years ago than it is now, at least in my opinion.

 

You’re right that most restaurants in TX, at least, don’t specifically have Tex-Mex in their names, just Mexican.

[Lady Florida.]

I’m making adovada tonight in honor of this thread. It’s so hard to find on most Mexican restaurant menus unless they’re right by the border along Cali or New Mexico. But it’s the best darn pork or beef chili dish thingy that isn’t Cincy chili ever.

 

I’m doing it with beef from this recipe, because pork allergy = me. And it smells amazing, just so you know.

https://www.google.com/amp/www.seriouseats.com/amp/recipes/2012/12/carne-adovada-adobada-chili-braised-pork-recipe.html

 

Oh, that looks yummy! I have a boneless pork loin that I bought on sale and then had buyer's remorse after remembering that cut dries out so easily. I've been trying to decide what I want to do with it. Do you think it would work for this dish? 

[Tanaqui]

Or maybe she means Chevy's.

 

Which I have heard of, but I've never heard of Chuy's.

 

Edited February 10, 2018 by Tanaqui

[ktgrok]

Is there non spicy Mexican food?

[school17777]

We were in DC today and I for the first time saw a Tex Mex restaurant in a strip mall. We were starving and thought we had to hurry home, so we didn’t stop. If I knew we didn’t have to be home after all, we would have eaten there. It was called something like El Pas..... don’t remember the rest of the word.