Mexican Restaurants in Pittsburgh? (Penn: steak, to work, district)

[Der Schwabe]

I've been eating Mexican food for at least four decades and I am pretty sure the chalupa is authentic.

[TheYO]

Originally Posted by charisb

I have had some pretty bland and overall unexceptional food in Mexico *sound of minds blowing*.

But it was "authentic" bland food, right?

Just because it's authentic doesn't mean it has to be good. Most Westerners would hate authentic Chinese food, so we get General Tso's and sweet and sour chicken.

[Aqua Teen Carl]

Originally Posted by TheYO

Most Westerners would hate authentic Chinese food, so we get General Tso's and sweet and sour chicken.

China Star in the North Hills does authentic Szechuan style. Pork blood tofu, kidneys, tripe, intestines..... it's amazing.

Then again I'm the type of guy who has had hákarl in Iceland and would try it again.

[UKyank]

Originally Posted by TheYO

But it was "authentic" bland food, right?

Just because it's authentic doesn't mean it has to be good. Most Westerners would hate authentic Chinese food, so we get General Tso's and sweet and sour chicken.

That's kind of the point that I was trying to make. I wouldn't consider actual authentic Mexican food as something that is widely liked. This is different then saying it is universally bad - If you like it (as some on this board have made clear) there's nothing wrong with that, and if you grew up with it or spent a long time eating it you have probably developed a palate for it - this would explain why places with a larger influx of Mexicans would have more in the realm of actual authentic food available at eateries as there is a market for it, whereas other parts of the US prefer the more Americanized tex-mex variant (and when you do find 'mexican' places elsewhere in the world outside of the Americas it is usually that same tex-mex variant) as that is preferable to the wider audience. Neither makes anyone better for what they prefer.

Its like the fact that having eaten them for a large chunk of my life, I like a lot of dishes from the British Isles, whereas authentic versions (or any version) of most of them are impossible to find here & many other places as well. I accept the fact that while I may enjoy them, they are not something that most people will like & thus without a decent percentage of UK natives to have as regular customers, there will most likely not be many places around with such a menu because otherwise it would be unprofitable to open such a business.

[gortonator]

Originally Posted by UKyank

Its like the fact that having eaten them for a large chunk of my life, I like a lot of dishes from the British Isles, whereas authentic versions (or any version) of most of them are impossible to find here & many other places as well. I accept the fact that while I may enjoy them, they are not something that most people will like & thus without a decent percentage of UK natives to have as regular customers, there will most likely not be many places around with such a menu because otherwise it would be unprofitable to open such a business.

I see you must be yearning for spotted dick and some toad in the hole ...

[doo dah]

Originally Posted by gortonator

I see you must be yearning for spotted dick and some toad in the hole ...

Marmite, amirite?

[BarqCider]

I always wanted to bring to an area that doesn't have many latino restaurants, a place that sold some dishes that are popular in their native lands, but Americanized enough that it would sell. like charka(dried bacon) with mote.

like 1-2 dishes from south America. maybe one day when I have enough money saved up and learn the restaurant biz, ill try to open it up here in the burgh

and yes, id decorate it with flags of south American countries. I have a nice concept of it. just cant decide if I want to make it upscale, or more of a hole in the wall..

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by BarqCider

I always wanted to bring to an area that doesn't have many latino restaurants, a place that sold some dishes that are popular in their native lands, but Americanized enough that it would sell. like charka(dried bacon) with mote.

like 1-2 dishes from south America. maybe one day when I have enough money saved up and learn the restaurant biz, ill try to open it up here in the burgh

and yes, id decorate it with flags of south American countries. I have a nice concept of it. just cant decide if I want to make it upscale, or more of a hole in the wall..

Pittsburgh used to have an Argentine steak house in the 2000 block of Penn Ave., back in the 90's.

Guess it went under, but other cuisines unfamiliar to the people around here have been offered and been successful.

[sskink]

Originally Posted by UKyank

That's kind of the point that I was trying to make. I wouldn't consider actual authentic Mexican food as something that is widely liked. This is different then saying it is universally bad - If you like it (as some on this board have made clear) there's nothing wrong with that, and if you grew up with it or spent a long time eating it you have probably developed a palate for it - this would explain why places with a larger influx of Mexicans would have more in the realm of actual authentic food available at eateries as there is a market for it, whereas other parts of the US prefer the more Americanized tex-mex variant (and when you do find 'mexican' places elsewhere in the world outside of the Americas it is usually that same tex-mex variant) as that is preferable to the wider audience. Neither makes anyone better for what they prefer.

Its like the fact that having eaten them for a large chunk of my life, I like a lot of dishes from the British Isles, whereas authentic versions (or any version) of most of them are impossible to find here & many other places as well. I accept the fact that while I may enjoy them, they are not something that most people will like & thus without a decent percentage of UK natives to have as regular customers, there will most likely not be many places around with such a menu because otherwise it would be unprofitable to open such a business.

I think we're actually on the same page. I agree with everything you say above.

It appears the only difference is that I take exception to people who eat this watered down version of Mexican (or really, any overly-Americanized cuisine) and yet continue to refer to is as "Mexican" and not "Tex-Mex" or "Cal-Mex" or "Mexican-American".

I'm big on nomenclature as it makes communication clearer and thus we can set our expectations accordingly.

I never said "all authentic is good". Of course there are bland foods in every cuisine. Yucca is one of the most boring things to eat short of poi/taro. I'm not even a big fan of tamales.

My point continues to be that there is "no authentic" when it comes to importing any cuisine. On a recent episode of Bourdain from Thailand, he was eating with a US chef who lives there. This chef was noting that for the specific dish they were eating for which the restaurant is acclaimed (paraphrasing), "What's authentic to this restaurant is what they serve here, just up the coast, this dish is different, but it's just as authentic to that restaurant."

He then noted that while he tries to capture these dishes when he comes back to the US to cook them, he can only attempt "authenticity", he can't actually deliver it. Meaning, one could say that the dishes served at the two Thai restaurants are both "authentic Thai", but once they leave that country, they're inevitable affected by ingredients, lack of place/context and thus cannot be authentic.

It was probably the best summation of "authentic" when it comes to cuisine that I've heard.

[gortonator]

Originally Posted by sskink

My point continues to be that there is "no authentic" when it comes to importing any cuisine. On a recent episode of Bourdain from Thailand, he was eating with a US chef who lives there. This chef was noting that for the specific dish they were eating for which the restaurant is acclaimed (paraphrasing), "What's authentic to this restaurant is what they serve here, just up the coast, this dish is different, but it's just as authentic to that restaurant."

He then noted that while he tries to capture these dishes when he comes back to the US to cook them, he can only attempt "authenticity", he can't actually deliver it. Meaning, one could say that the dishes served at the two Thai restaurants are both "authentic Thai", but once they leave that country, they're inevitable affected by ingredients, lack of place/context and thus cannot be authentic.

Spot on. Several years ago I went on a jungle curry-a-thon (Gang Pa) in Thailand, and it was remarkable how the same dish changed as you moved from village to village and even different restaurants in the same town. I got a feel for the spectrum of interpretations of that dish, and it was great. It's still my fave Thai dish - not sure I've found one in Pittsburgh, but that's another thread.