this post was submitted on 19 May 2024
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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.