Faux Mexican? Five ways to know your food may be great, but not Mexican...

An old friend who was raised in Mexico told me about the day his dad came to him after they had lived in the states for many years.  “Octavio” he said, “Tonight we are going out to dinner to a Mexican restaurant.  The food will not be Mexican, but it will be delicious.” So off Octavio went with his family years ago in the San Gabriel Valley east of Los Angeles to get some “Mexican” food.  When he told me the story, Octavio told me his dad was 100% correct.  The food was wonderful, but it was not Mexican. Gustavo Arellano, in his excellent book “Tacos USA, How Mexican Food Conquered America” would argue with the assessment that it was not Mexican.  He celebrates all the variations of Mexican food, from mission style burritos to the famous combination plate laden with rice, beans and fried tacos as he explains in this great interview. All of this came back to me last night after a visit to Wahoo’s Tacos here in Las Vegas.  The food was indeed delicious, but Mexican? Not a chance.  A burrito with lettuce?  Cajun beans?  Seriously guys, simply serving food centered around tortillas and Modelo Negro beer doesn’t get you into the panteon of quality Mexican Restaurants now spreading around the country. With that experience close at hand, as a public service, I’d like to offer five clues you’ll see if your local taco shack is more Taco Bell than what we’ll find south of the border, down Mexico way... 1. If the beans on that combo plate you ordered are covered in triangles of yellow cheese or the grated four cheese blend you can get at your corner market, you won’t find it south of the border. I have never seen a Mexican variety of yellow cheese.  Cheese in Mexico is usually white and if it is served on beans, tends to the crumbly queso fresco type. 2. If your tacos come with any of the following, ground beef, lettuce, tomato slices, grated cheese, yellow wax paper or even turkey, you are not in Mexico. Tacos come with onions and cilantro in Mexico.  They are also made with steak and all the other parts of the cow or pig, but never have I seen a taco filled with ground beef. 3. If you can order shrimp, chicken, steak or any other type of fajitas, you won’t be finding that plate in too many taco stands or restaurants in Mexico. Sorry folks, as wonderful as fajitas can be, I’ve never seen fajitas in Mexico.  I’m sure they are served somewhere in that great country, but this is a dish popularized by the Orange County restaurant chain El Torito in the 1980’s. 4. When you ask for salsa and the spiciest option you get is Amor or Tapatio bottled sauce, you certainly are not ordering your food in Guadalajara. In Mexico, we love our chiles.  Habañeros, jalapeños, serranos and chiles de agua, we love them all, and expect to experience these tastes in our food.  Unfortunately, the American palette is not ready for this type of experience so we mostly get a tomato blend spiced up with a little bit of pepper. 5. Finally, when you walk in the door, if the first thing that greets you is a wall of mariachi hats or a chile in a beach chair, you can bet you’re gonna get a lot of that yellow cheese covered stuff. The derivative here is that if you see folks getting drunk wearing mariachi hats and dancing like loons, you are more likely in Papas-n-Beer or the old Carlos Murphy’s than an authentic Mexican restaurant. So there you have it.  My top five ways to know you are not in an authentic Mexican restaurant, at least as I’ve experienced it in my 20 years in Mexico.

Dinner in Oaxaca

One of the perks of serving in Mexico is that I get a chance to enjoy some great tacos. One of the places I always go when I am in Oaxaca in Taqueria El Primo. While they have lots of great options, perhaps my favorite is a plate of five tacos "al pastor." As is the custom here in the south, they are served with pork, onion, cilantro and pineapple. And yes, you read that right. Pineapple. Mixing the sweetness of the pineapple with the hot salsa makes for a wonderfully unique taste. You can have them on either corn of flour tortillas. The ones shown here are with corn tortillas, but honestly, I like mine with flour. Once you get your plate, you can then add whatever salsa, typically red or green, you desire, guacamole, pico de gallo, some lime and you're all set for the beginnings of a real taco feast. With a soda, the cost is about $5.00 and well worth it. But when you go, don't be a gringo and show up at 6:00pm. Get there after 9:00, sit and enjoy a soccer game with locals, relax, and talk with your friends. Remember, while dinner is about the food, life is about relationships. Take your time and enjoy it. Taqueria El Primo Calzada de la Republica Barrio Jalatlaco, Oaxaca Hat Tip to Joe Ramirez of MISSION Focused for the great photos.

Mexican Food?

Yesterday a friend in our office asked me to go with him today for lunch. As we were trying to decide where to go, he suggested a place for burritos. And then he caught himself saying “You’re probably sick of Mexican food.” I told him actually no because I have not been able to have a lot of Mexican food lately. Most of what you see on the menu of our Mexican food restaurants up here might have started with an idea in Mexico, but it is not Mexican. Well actually the Caesar Salad is but that’s another story. When you sit down at El Torito, Acapulco, or any of the other fine Mexican places and get your plate of fajitas, cheese covered enchiladas, chimichangas, or Spanish rice, it is not Mexican food. It is good. It can be delicious. And to tell you the truth, I like a lot of it. But it is not Mexican food. Mexican food is carne asada. About a pound of it. On your plate with a stack of warm corn tortillas, guacamole, grilled onions, and salsa. Maybe some beans for variety. Beans that have been cooking on the stove all day. Mexican food is pozolé. A rich stew or soup made with hominy and either pork or chicken. I like the red, but the white is also good. Served with flat tostada shells, not chips. Add cabbage, oregano, radishes, and salsa and you’re good to go. Mexican food is chiles en nogada [pictured on the left]. A poblano chile stuffed with spicy shredded pork, maybe some apple, covered in a walnut sauce and topped off with pomegranate seeds. All the colors of the Mexican flag, the national dish, and an unbelievable taste. Mexican food is a taco stand at the end of street. A place where you order your tacos one at a time, stand at a bar with ten of your newest friends and eat until your full, and then you pay. And the tacos are not loaded down with lettuce and tomatoes. The flavor of the meat is what sells them. Mexican food is molé. All seven of them! My new favorite is verde, or green for the Spanish challenged reader. It is a sauce made from chiles, spices, and chocolate. Serve it over chicken with white rice. It is fantastic. Finally, Mexican food is horchata. Or tamarindo. Or jamaica, made from the hibiscus flower. Or any of the other agua frescas you can find in most of Mexico. And so Kevin, yeah, I’d love to have a burrito today. Just understand, it’s not Mexican food.