this post was submitted on 19 May 2024
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It's not correct about tacos either. I wouldn't even call what they're eating in Europe "tacos".
The US has got to be eating the second largest amount of tacos in the world. Not only are there millions of Mexicans in the country, tacos are part of the national cuisine.
Should I be informing some kind of official census each time I eat tacos at home?
Are you publicly admitting to not filling out your Daily Ration and Nutrient Survey? I'd delete this
It's too late for me, that would just add an obstruction charge on top of it for destruction of evidence. Which I guess also technically applies to each time I've flushed the toilet.
I guess I'm an outlaw now. At least it means I get to have all the cool things that have been banned. Brb, I'm gonna go get all hopped up on leaded gasoline and start stupid fights over people doing things that don't affect me.
Make sure you fill out your Tracking And Consuming Order Sheet.
I would bet my life that given the choice between Texmex tacos and European tacos, the vast majority of people raised on authentic tacos would choose Texmex. At least Texmex sometimes accidentally gets authentic flavors by virtue of proximity to the same ingredients.
TexMex tacos are amazing. Authentic Mexican tacos are fantastic. CaliMex tacos are ridiculously tasty. I don't know what the cuisine is officially called in New Mexico but those are fucking delicious.
Here's the deal though. There is as much variation inside of Mexico as there is between Tex or Cali. Mexico is a big place. The Yucatan Peninsula is known for taco de cochinita pibil (roasted pork) and campechano as well as fish tacos (yum!). Central Mexico gave us al pastor (spit roasted pork with pineapple), which is probably my favorite authentic Mexican taco. Oaxaca has everything from insect tacos to beef jerky tacos and the best melting cheese outside of Italy. Northern Mexico is a bunch of beef and goat on flour tortillas (I love them too) which is probably why TexMex uses flour tortillas. Baja California has a bunch of fresh fish in theirs (yum again!) or you can get lobster and beans.
People raging about "authentic" tacos never seem to understand how big and diverse Mexico is.
All of those are authentic tacos. And I still bet anyone who grew up with those will not choose European tacos if given the choice ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I can't comment on that because I've never seen a European taco. I've been to Europe a handful of times and can't remember seeing a single Mexican joint (although I was trying to eat local so I would have missed them anyway).
I tried looking up European tacos and only came up with French tacos (fries, meat, and cheese on a flour tortilla I think?) which sounds like something broke college kids eat.
Do you have examples of other kinds from Europe? I'm obviously super fascinated with tacos in general and have tried my hand at making pretty much any type I could find except the cricket tacos because I don't trust myself to cook crickets. I want to read about them and, since I have a bunch of unexpected guests for a while, force them to eat whatever I come up with. Today we had leftover brisket tacos with smoked queso (not Velveeta and Rotel....it's fine but I had a bunch of nice cheese and fresh veggies on hand) because I like trashy ass tacos as much as I love super good quality tacos.
When people are shit talking European tacos I think a lot of that comes from seeing unseasoned British tacos make the rounds on social media every now and then. Paul Hollywood pronouncing it pico de “gal-o” kind of epitomizes what I’m talking about, just very unfamiliar with what it’s even supposed to be and slapping together something that doesn’t offend the average picky eater.
I guess I just haven't paid enough attention because I haven't seen those. But if they're that bad I probably don't want them. That's too bad because I really enjoy tacos of all types.
Thank you for the roundup. Also you seem like fun.
Well we would. Stop gatekeeping!
You don't have any good peppers and wouldn't know what to do with them if you did. Peppers are the key to authentic Mexican food.
People who like it hot can buy peppers, and they're pretty easy to grow too. However, not everyone likes it spicy. A lack of peppers doesn't make it any less of a taco.
That's the flavor of the taco. Otherwise it's just meat in flatbread.
You are telling on yourself by saying "some people don't like it hot". There are many peppers that are not hot: ancho chiles, chile del arbol, Anaheim pepper, poblanos, banana peppers, cascabel, chilaca, etc.
If you don't know about mild peppers, you don't know about Mexican food. It's just that simple. Downvote away Europeans.
Nah, you really don't need peppers for it to be a taco. All you need is:
Layer it up, fold, then eat. There are a ton of options, and many of the protein options have no peppers, spicy or otherwise. It's a completely irrelevant part of the dish, like which protein you use.
I'm not European, and I work with a Mexican who corrected me on a lot of my assumptions about Mexican food.
You’re telling on yourself by claiming those peppers to be unavailable in Europe. I wouldn’t be surprised if you thought cilantro to be exclusively American at this point.
The mention of "authentic" cuisine is giving me PSTD from working for a Californian company. Apparently that is something very important there, whereas I don't think most of the world gives a shit... even other parts of the US.
I certainly care. My area has a lot of foreign food, but almost everything has been adjusted for local tastes, to the point where everything kinda tastes the same. The local Thai, Indian, Chinese, and Vietnamese/Pho restaurants all seem to tone down the seasonings and add salt and sugar, to the point where I honestly can't taste much of a difference between their menu items.
So we have a curated list of places we like. When I go to get Thai, it's pretty spicy, and the various curries have a very different flavor profile. Same thing at the local Indian places. At Chinese places, I get really richly flavored dumplings, soups, and noodles (and no orange chicken). At Vietnamese/pho places, the pho broth stands on its own instead of needing to be drowned in sriracha and hoisin sauce, and their sides are actually worth ordering.
But these are relatively "hole in the wall" places, but when we take friends, they really enjoy it and wonder why it's so much better than anything else in the area. And when one goes out of business or sells out, I need to go search for a replacement, which can take many attempts (took years to find a decent Thai place...).
So I think a lot of people appreciate authentic foods, it's just that the quiet majority don't want to venture too far outside their comfort zone, so we get crap like everyone ordering "orange chicken" at Chinese places, "masaman curry" at Thai places, and "lassi + vindaloo" at Indian places, with everything toned way down and sugared up. Those dishes are fine once in a while, but those aren't anywhere near my favorite dishes at those respective places.
I'm not from California and I honestly hate visiting there, but I do like to venture outside my comfort zone and try very different foods. I just wish more people shared my interest so I would have better options.
I'm surprised you have so much trouble with Thai restaurants. The Thai government trains chefs and sends them around the world to operate restaurants and it has a government owned restaurant supply company to support them. They do it as a form of "cultural diplomacy". Because of that Thai tends to be one of the most consistent and authentic types of restaurants.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/paxadz/the-surprising-reason-that-there-are-so-many-thai-restaurants-in-america
Ikr? Where I grew up (near Seattle), there were tons of great Thai places, and it really didn't matter which one I went to, it would be pretty good.
Where I'm at now (near SLC, Utah), it's all sweetened, bland crap. It's decently good, but it's nothing like what I grew up with. The most popular places here are essentially franchised, and they all taste bland and sweet instead of properly spiced.
The good places are the small restaurants closer to downtown. The interior decoration is less fancy, but the food is way better.
Calabria would like a word
When people in Scandinavia says they're eating Tacos. What they mean is, we're making and eating burritos.