Authentic Mexican Food

Many people who visit Mexico think they are experts on Mexican food because they've eaten in Mexican restaurants in their home countries. They are sure they will encounter the same dishes in Mexico that their favorite restaurant serves back home. Unless their favorite place serves traditional, authentic Mexican food, they will be in for a surprise once they cross the border.

When people are asked to give examples of Mexican food, the most common answers are tacos, burritos, chimichangas, enchiladas, and nachos. Oh, and don't forget fiery-hot sauce poured over everything. Burritos, chimichangas, and nachos are virtually unknown outside the border towns, resorts, and in the American chain restaurants that have sprung up all over Mexico.

Tacos and enchiladas are part of Mexico's traditional cuisine, but are quite different from their counterparts in the USA. And, despite rumors to the contrary, all Mexican food is not so hot that it is inedible. The degree of heat in a dish is a personal choice.

Not realizing that much of what is touted as authentic Mexican food in the USA is actually Tex-Mex (and, there is nothing wrong with Tex-Mex...it's delicious!) can lead to frustration and disappointment on the part of tourists who visit Mexico expecting to find certain familiar dishes.

In our five-plus years of living in central Mexico, my husband and I have overheard numerous tourists complaining loudly about the food. The complaints range from, "Not a burrito on the menu!" to "You'd think they could make me a simple taco. Whatever that was on my plate, it wasn't a taco!" to "Can you believe they don't serve nachos? How do they expect me to drink beer without nachos? The waiter didn't even know what I was talking about!"

These people will go back home and tell all their friends that the food in Mexico was terrible and that nothing they were served, except maybe scrambled eggs or pancakes, was anything recognizable.

How sad! Because they had a preconceived idea of what constitutes Mexican food in Mexico, they missed out on the opportunity to try a wide variety of interesting and delicious dishes.

Mexico's foods are as numerous and as varied as the regions from which they come. Though Mexico has some foods that are fairly ubiquitous throughout the Republic, each region has its own specialties.

For instance, the state of Oaxaca is famous for its seven (or more) varieties of mole. No, I'm not referring to the animal, but to a rich, delicious sauce made of more than thirty ingredients (spices, chilies, and some even include chocolate) that is generally served with poultry. Other Oaxaca specialties include Sopa de Gato (Cat Soup...made with beef, not cats!) and Nieve de Tuna (sherbet made with tuna...not the fish, but fruit from the prickly pear cactus).

The cuisine in Oaxaca also includes a few dishes that only the bravest tourists will want to sample. One is an appetizer called chapulines colorados (red grasshoppers). The grasshoppers are only available seasonally and are considered quite a delicacy. They are cooked, the heads (but not the legs!) are removed, and are sometimes served with a squeeze of limón and a dash of salt or ground chili pepper, though some people claim those additions are just to disguise the taste of not-so-fresh grasshoppers.

In the state of Puebla, you may find Gusanos de maguey en salsa borracha (caterpillars that live on the maguey cactus that are dried and covered with "drunken sauce" made with tequila or Mezcal) on the menu along with more "normal" fare such as barbequed pork, Huachinango a la poblana (red snapper in a Poblano chili sauce), and rice pudding.

Some of our favorite foods in our hometown of Guanajuato include enchiladas mineras, carnitas, tamales filled with pork in a guajillo chili sauce, and liver tacos. Though Guanajuato has other, more exotic offerings like pig snout tacos and pickled chicken feet, we haven't been brave enough to try them. Liver is exotic enough for us!

On your next trip to Mexico, don't be afraid to branch out and try foods that your favorite Mexican restaurant back home doesn't offer. You will find a wealth of delicious foods and will no doubt find several new favorites.

Just be sure to bring along a good Spanish-English dictionary. You don't want to inadvertently order worms or ants or ant eggs or grasshoppers...unless, of course, you really are keen to try them!