Food is deeply ingrained in cultural identity, and is one way to learn about a community’s heritage, familial customs and values. In the U.S., Mexican food is one of the most popular cuisines, with 1 in 10 restaurants serving Mexican, according to recent findings from the Pew Research Center. This trend reflects an expanding Mexican American population, with 37.2 million people or 11.2% of the U.S. population tracing their ancestry back to Mexico.

  • mob
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    6
    ·
    edit-2
    10 months ago

    There are a lot of Mexican neighborhoods with a lot of authentic Mexican food in America.

    Dont get me wrong, there is a lot of Americanized Mexican food. But I’d bet for every Qdoba/El Rancho, there is a local family Mexican restaurant with an old guy watching Mexican soap operas.

    • bdonvr@thelemmy.club
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      edit-2
      10 months ago

      It depends on the region. Texas absolutely. Iowa not so much. Though you can still probably find some if you try.

      • mob
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        10 months ago

        Spent a lot of time exploring Iowa?

        I’d imagine there is less of everything in general, but ranch/farmland with seasonal employment doesn’t seem like it’d be lacking Mexican culture

        • bdonvr@thelemmy.club
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          10 months ago

          Fairly enough no. But I’ve been, and to many other places.

          I’ve lived in both San Antonio, TX and Kansas. And know them well.

          In San Antonio TexMex and more authentic food abound. In Kansas some TexMex and very few more authentic places. You gotta seek them out.

          As I said, they still exist. But it’s not like there’s one traditional place for every TexMex place

      • prole@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        edit-2
        10 months ago

        Texas and Iowa aren’t the only two regions in the US. My experience has been that, if you’re within 50 miles or so of a major US city (maybe more), you can usually find an authentic Mexican restaurant.

        • bdonvr@thelemmy.club
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          10 months ago

          Absolutely, but what the other person said was it’s like one to one. You can find an authentic Mexican place in a ton of areas, but in a lot of the US it will take some looking.