I am originally from a small city in Mexico named Oaxaca. I grew up enjoying homemade traditional dishes prepared by my mother, whom learned these from her mother, by the sierra madre del sur.
A few years later I feel lucky to enjoy sunny California as my actual home.
So the debate is always been what makes any food authentic? Is it the name, or maybe the ingredients, or how about the presentation of the dish?
The main point is that whenever you may go to any Mexican restaurant, the big majority have converted their food, to please the palates of the people surrounding the area of the business location. Let me give you an example. If you go to a Mexican Restaurant and order a Fajitas plate. They will serve you this with rice and beans as their side dishes, so far so good... how ever they will ruin the dish by melting jack and cheddar cheese on top of the beans. So if you have never been in Mexico let me tell you a secret, Jack and cheddar are items that have become available in the last few years. For the longest the only cheese available it's been queso fresco, and even then most places do not serve you refried beans with cheese melted on top.
Maybe is the Tex Mex influence and the new era of burritos as the new symbol of a traditional Mexican dish.
But then again my wife who was born in California and descendant German, always makes a point that there is Mexican food and Oaxacan food. Which in her perception is a world of it's own.
So to be fair within their own context we rate each Restaurant in their own category:
1. Tex Mex including, burritos, chimichangas, Nachos, sopapillas, etc
2. Mexican cuisine including Tacos, enchiladas, chiles rellenos, tamales, etc
3. Oaxacan food including Moles( 7 different kinds), chocolate, chapulines, champurrado, atole, mezcal, guias, empanadas de huitlacoche, chepiles, oreja de leon, hierba de conejo, clayudas(tlayudas) alambres, gringas(no joke), enmoladas, enfrijoladas, entomatadas, enchiladas, barbacoa, queso, quesillo, caldo de piedra, etc.
No comments:
Post a Comment