Growing up in Texas, its so confusing finding out about whats "Mexican" food and what's Tex-Mex. The line is blurred here. But grilled meat in a tortilla is pretty much universal.
Growing up in Texas, its so confusing finding out about whats "Mexican" food and what's Tex-Mex. The line is blurred here. But grilled meat in a tortilla is pretty much universal.
The term tejano food is usually more apt. "Tex-Mex" is often used pejoratively, but many of the foods labeled as such descend from the existing food traditions of that region. Texas was...
The term tejano food is usually more apt. "Tex-Mex" is often used pejoratively, but many of the foods labeled as such descend from the existing food traditions of that region. Texas was historically part of Mexico, and foods can still be "Mexican" even if they don't have anything to do with the regional cuisine of regions of contemporary Mexico.
Do you mean that Tex-Mex is used pejoratively in that people view it as worse than "authentic" Mexican food and that tejano accentuates that it is, indeed, Mexican food?
Do you mean that Tex-Mex is used pejoratively in that people view it as worse than "authentic" Mexican food and that tejano accentuates that it is, indeed, Mexican food?
Yes, more or less. "Tex-Mex" is often a sort of erasure of Tejano cultural facets, or at least used disparagingly. Another side of that, related to Texas, is attempts by later-comers to claim...
Yes, more or less. "Tex-Mex" is often a sort of erasure of Tejano cultural facets, or at least used disparagingly.
Another side of that, related to Texas, is attempts by later-comers to claim chili con carne, when there are written records of local chili-seasoned meat stews from the 1500s.
I both love and loathe fajitas. I love them because they're just instantly appetizing, especially when served on a sizzling grill plate. The smells really hit hard and make you hungry instantly....
I both love and loathe fajitas. I love them because they're just instantly appetizing, especially when served on a sizzling grill plate. The smells really hit hard and make you hungry instantly. But it's almost always better in theory than practice. The meat slices are too big so it's not quite as flavorful as you imagined it would be, and even though it's served with tortillas the size and shape of the fajitas are too awkward to properly put into a taco. They're never really bad, but they're always at least a little disappointing.
I suppose it's more of a problem of the restaurants not making good fajitas, but I've ordered them quite a few times over the years and they almost all have the same problems. The best fajitas I've ever had was actually at a vegan restaurant, where it was sliced thinner and smaller so the flavor was more consistent and actually fit better with the tortillas (which were made fresh and tasted excellent).
This has been my experience. I never order fajitas when eating out because they're too much of a hassle for the final result. At home though, I cook fajitas at least every two weeks and more often...
I suppose it's more of a problem of the restaurants not making good fajitas
This has been my experience.
I never order fajitas when eating out because they're too much of a hassle for the final result.
At home though, I cook fajitas at least every two weeks and more often than not, once a week.
For the meat, I slice it very thin, relatively short, and across the grain so that it's easy to bite through and the meat gets thoroughly seasoned.
For the tortillas, I use 8" tortillas from the bakery at my local grocery store.
For the vegetables, I do one red and one orange bell pepper, half a yellow onion, and plenty of sliced mushrooms.
My GF is vegetarian and we just skip meat in fajitas. Peppers, onions, and anything else on hand. (Zucchini, cauliflower) Grill it/roast it. I don't miss stringy cheap skirt steak texture wise or...
My GF is vegetarian and we just skip meat in fajitas.
Peppers, onions, and anything else on hand. (Zucchini, cauliflower) Grill it/roast it.
I don't miss stringy cheap skirt steak texture wise or the hassle of adding chicken taste wise.
If we go out to Mexican I'll still order meat in whatever I get. But at home. I just skip meat
Bit more background since the article doesn't actually mention the history at all - fajitas were taken from regional folk food to a nationally-known icon by Mama Ninfa out of Houston, Texas:...
Bit more background since the article doesn't actually mention the history at all - fajitas were taken from regional folk food to a nationally-known icon by Mama Ninfa out of Houston, Texas:
Growing up in Texas, its so confusing finding out about whats "Mexican" food and what's Tex-Mex. The line is blurred here. But grilled meat in a tortilla is pretty much universal.
The term tejano food is usually more apt. "Tex-Mex" is often used pejoratively, but many of the foods labeled as such descend from the existing food traditions of that region. Texas was historically part of Mexico, and foods can still be "Mexican" even if they don't have anything to do with the regional cuisine of regions of contemporary Mexico.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tejanos
Do you mean that Tex-Mex is used pejoratively in that people view it as worse than "authentic" Mexican food and that tejano accentuates that it is, indeed, Mexican food?
Yes, more or less. "Tex-Mex" is often a sort of erasure of Tejano cultural facets, or at least used disparagingly.
Another side of that, related to Texas, is attempts by later-comers to claim chili con carne, when there are written records of local chili-seasoned meat stews from the 1500s.
I think of the mental model behind Diet for a Small Planet that skips the meat but otherwise finds a lot of universality in ethnic food.
I both love and loathe fajitas. I love them because they're just instantly appetizing, especially when served on a sizzling grill plate. The smells really hit hard and make you hungry instantly. But it's almost always better in theory than practice. The meat slices are too big so it's not quite as flavorful as you imagined it would be, and even though it's served with tortillas the size and shape of the fajitas are too awkward to properly put into a taco. They're never really bad, but they're always at least a little disappointing.
I suppose it's more of a problem of the restaurants not making good fajitas, but I've ordered them quite a few times over the years and they almost all have the same problems. The best fajitas I've ever had was actually at a vegan restaurant, where it was sliced thinner and smaller so the flavor was more consistent and actually fit better with the tortillas (which were made fresh and tasted excellent).
This has been my experience.
I never order fajitas when eating out because they're too much of a hassle for the final result.
At home though, I cook fajitas at least every two weeks and more often than not, once a week.
For the meat, I slice it very thin, relatively short, and across the grain so that it's easy to bite through and the meat gets thoroughly seasoned.
For the tortillas, I use 8" tortillas from the bakery at my local grocery store.
For the vegetables, I do one red and one orange bell pepper, half a yellow onion, and plenty of sliced mushrooms.
My GF is vegetarian and we just skip meat in fajitas.
Peppers, onions, and anything else on hand. (Zucchini, cauliflower) Grill it/roast it.
I don't miss stringy cheap skirt steak texture wise or the hassle of adding chicken taste wise.
If we go out to Mexican I'll still order meat in whatever I get. But at home. I just skip meat
Bit more background since the article doesn't actually mention the history at all - fajitas were taken from regional folk food to a nationally-known icon by Mama Ninfa out of Houston, Texas:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninfa%27s
Ninfa's is garbage nowadays though, and not worth a visit.
Well, Texas was originally taken from Mexico, so maybe they count as authentic Mexican cuisine.
This is off topic, but I had a colleague whose Dad troll was to teach his kids that it was pronounced fah-JIE-tuh.
Only acceptable when accompanied with a “Like the Pokémon!”
My family and I pronounced it like this until I was mocked endlessly for saying it in secondary school one day - oh the shame!
On the reverse...
Friends Dad pronounced Cajun "Ca-hoon"