Do you think that when I moved to North Dakota a little over a year ago, that I forgot everything that I’ve ever learned in my life, prior to living here? That I had to re-learn to walk, and talk? That living for 4 years in Phoenix, and finally learning what Authentic Mexican Food actually was, and developing a love for it, was all lost, once I crossed the state line?
You’re funny. Weird, but funny.
What else is funny, is that you actually believe that the Tex-Mex joint you love in your little suburb, is one of the 1% of Truly Authentic Mexican restaurants in the US.
Tell me, do Mexican Immigrants come from all over Chicagoland, just to eat there?
Because if it were actually a truly Authentic Mexican joint, you would.
There is a place in Mesa AZ, where the founder was from Mexico (like your Tex Mex Joint, minus the Tex Mex) called Backyard Taco. It was called that, because the founder used to cook out of various back yards when he first started out. His meat was sourced from a Carniceria (traditional Mexican butchering is very different from American). His Carne Asada was not from flank or skirt steak, at least not in how you expect to see those cuts. How Mexicans butcher against the grain, makes for a different consistency than how Americans butcher.
And you will not find a single Tex Mex item on the Menu.
Anyway, the point being, is that both, when he was in the back yard, or after he opened his restaurant, Mexicans, from across the entire valley would drive HOURS, just to eat there (Phoenix is the 6th largest city in the US, and covers over 14,000 square miles, and they’d come from every inch of it), and wait in long assed lines, until he ran out of food. And the reason was, it was one of the 1% of Mexican joints that were actually Authentic.
And in case you were wondering, there is no shortage of “Mexican” restaurants in Phoenix. Though nearly all of them, are in fact, Tex-Mex.
I doubt that a Tex Mex Joint in Hanover Park strikes up such fervor
