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And if you get something more elaborate like Mole Poblano or Molcajete, it will cost considerably more than that.
So you're really paying 5 or so dollars to eat at these places? Also, the most expensive thing at Taco Bell is around 5 or 6 dollars, while at the real Mexican places I go to it would be more like 17 dollars for Molcajete or 15 dollars for Mole Verde or Blanco
Are those tacos small, though? Here in New York you can find little tacos for $1.75, but the full size ones run between $2.50 and $3.00. And this is in Mexican neighborhoods.
The physical size is comparable to a standard Taco Bell taco.
There are a lot of poor mexican places - chains and otherwise. In many you seem to get the exact same thing no matter what you ordered - a big glob of cheese (disgusting) covering beans and maybe corn (or ground beef if that is your thing)....
We are lucky to have a great Burrito place nearby, but it's not full menu Mexican. Newport RI has Diego's - which is truly high-end gourmet Mexican food.
We used to eat Taco Bell on the road - just to make sure we got some decent protein compared to other fast food. But my wife won't do it any more.
Chipolte can be OK - maybe a 6 out of 10 if you pick the right ingredients.
Are those tacos small, though? Here in New York you can find little tacos for $1.75, but the full size ones run between $2.50 and $3.00. And this is in Mexican neighborhoods.
The $1 tacos are small, but the ones at our local Mexican Restaurant for $2.75 are quite large they probably have 5 ounces of meat in them but they are still traditional street tacos, i.e. carne asada cilantro, onion, salsa.
If I eat fast food Mexican, I'll usually opt for Del Taco or King Taco.
Two of my favorite places in LA are Burrito King on Sunset (in Echo Park) and Chica's Tacos on Olive (in DTLA). Taco Bell or Del Taco cannot beat either of those
If you want real Mexican food you go to a real Mexican restaurant, if you want faux Mexican food you go to Taco Bell,
Or if you are in s hurry you go to Taco Snelling, just as any other fast food restaurant. I don’t know why people keep thinking price and quality of food and ignoring the time component. Most people go to fast food restaurants when they are on the road, or are time-crunched. Deciding whether to eat at a full serve restaurant or go to a fast food restaurant is based on time more than any other factor IMO.
Or if you are in s hurry you go to Taco Snelling, just as any other fast food restaurant. I don’t know why people keep thinking price and quality of food and ignoring the time component. Most people go to fast food restaurants when they are on the road, or are time-crunched. Deciding whether to eat at a full serve restaurant or go to a fast food restaurant is based on time more than any other factor IMO.
Which is why the survey that is the subject of this article is so absurd.
People don't go to Taco Bell (or McDonald's, or KFC, or Subway, etc.) because it's their favorite Mexican/burger/chicken/sub place, they go because it's convenient and cheap.
Everybody knows Taco Bell. But only a very small fraction of people - just those in the local area - know the really good Mexican places. So maybe there's a spectacular place making authentic Mexican in Santa Fe. The majority of people who have ever eaten there rate it the best Mexican they've ever had. But maybe only a hundred thousand people or so have ever eaten there. Meanwhile, probably a majority of Americans have eaten at Taco Bell. And if just 1% of those Taco Bell eaters think Taco Bell is the best, that's far, far more than think that great little place in Santa Fe just by sheer numbers.
Most people prefer other, better, actual, Mexican food, but that vote is split up between hundreds of small chains and one-off restaurants.
On another note, there was a restaurant near here (Maryland), in a strip mall, that had a sign advertising Authentic Mexican Food - California Style. They didn’t last. I never had the desire to find out what California Style could be that would still be authentic Mexican.
There is no such thing as "Mexican Food - California Style" because even in California the Mexican food is very different area to area partly based on how the food has evolved (i.e. San Diego burritos vs San Francisco burritos) and what part of Mexico the shop owner/residents are from.
Quote:
Originally Posted by l1995
I eat at authentic Mexican restaurants all the time, and no way is it as cheap as Taco Bell over here. But I know that Texas in general (and most of the US) has a much lower cost of living/doing business than NYC.
3 tacos and a drink at a hole in the wall place in a heavily Mexican neighborhood in Brooklyn or Queens would cost me about 10 dollars, Taco Bell I can fill myself up with 5 dollars or less.
I have no problem paying more for actual Mexican food, though.
NYC doesn't have very many Mexicans. There is no economy of scale. You can find quality taco all over So Cal at varying costs based on the area. In Boyle Heights/East LA you can find tacos of normal size for $1.50 all over the place.
Ingredients matter too. Forget al pastor, carne asada, barbacoa and carnitas, which seem exotic in some parts of the country. If you can’t find a taco stand with one or more of the following fillings, you can’t getting an authentic taco; cabeza, lengua, tripa, buche, birria, cachete, cueritos and oreja. If you can find one that offers chapulines you know you’ve found REALLY authentic.
Tacos made from cabeza, lengua, tripa, buche, etc are considerably cheaper than shrimp, beef and pork.
Quote:
Originally Posted by l1995
I really don't find Mexican food to be super cheap, relative to other ethnic cuisines and mid end American ones. And there's nothing wrong with that, the food is not worth less just because it's made by/for Mexican people.
You really need to get out of NY and get to California. Pick any city with a predominately Mexican (not just the nebulous, made up "Hispanic" label) and you will find incredible food at incredible values.
As to Taco Bell, I don't know how to comment. Santa Ana (pop 350,000) is about 75% Mexican with 8% "other" Hispanic. If any city in the U.S. should have zero Taco Bells it should be Santa Ana, which has more great Mexican taco stands and restaurants than I could try in a year, but it has four Taco Bells. I understand that Taco Bell (headquartered 6 miles south of Santa Ana by the way) has been working to improve their food. They know the reputation locally and know what "authentic" tastes like, but don't hold your breath on them introducing tripa or buche anytime soon.
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