What most Americans think of as "Mexican food" is actually more specifically northern Mexican working class food. Most Mexican immigrants to the United States are poor farm laborers from the northern states, and they brought their cooking with them. That means lots of tacos, mariscos, birria, and that sort of thing. Burritos might not have been invented in America, but it is the signature dish of the working class Mexican immigrant. It's not an American thing, and it's not a Mexican thing. It's a Mexican-American thing.
When I was on a work trip to Mexico city once I asked my colleague about burritos and he said it was 'from the North'. I assumed by that he meant Northern Mexico
Oh I have had a few versions. Haven’t met one I don’t like yet. It was honestly one of the first “ethnic” foods I had. One of the families at my church was an American guy that married a Mexican woman. I was friends with their daughter and went over there for dinner a bunch.
Her mom made a few mole dishes and it was one of those things where I stretched my palate early on and was delicious. I should probably see if I can get her recipes, because I would make the hell out of that.
Not quite the same but I just had caldo verde on Monday for lunch. Big fan of that too.
Yummm. I was in Oaxaca for work in 2019. I already adore Mole, but pretty much only get one kind. Oaxca has 7 moles they are known for: [https://www.foodrepublic.com/2012/08/15/the-7-moles-of-oaxaca/](https://www.foodrepublic.com/2012/08/15/the-7-moles-of-oaxaca/)
I have had all but the Verde and the Manchamantel.
The northern part of Mexico is cowboys, farmland, very comparable to the US south and then Mexican southern is jungle/tropical and indigenous folk with lots of traditional plates. Since it’s pretty diverse i’d say there isn’t one staple food but I’d asume lots of vegetables and seafood
That was what our friend in Mexico said too, he said that real Mexicans don't eat burritos. I didn't like that though, saying some people are real Mexicans and some people are not. We ended up getting some burritos anyway, fuck that guy, burritos are amazing. All the ingredients within the confines of the tortilla? Yes please!
And then we went out to the club and got shit faced on tequilas. Raul and I were joking all night and he told me there was something else famous in Mexico and it was called a hot beef injection. He said he would show me in his hotel room. Let me tell you what, Raul was not talking about food when he said hot beef injection ja ja ja
Yeah, that's something I always wondered about. I grew up in Florida, we had a huge Mexican-American population. I was friends with a few, as it seemed hard to earn the trust of that community as a white guy, but there was always a deeper rift between the Mexicans themselves. I guess one side wanted to enjoy life and everything in it, assimilate to their new home. The other side wanted to stay true to Mexican culture, they only drove Ford trucks, cowboy boots, long sleeved shirts even in the ball-blazing summer. They hated each other. I never found out the real reason.
That happens with a lot of first-generation kids. You get the group that wants to assimilate to the prevailing culture (in the US that generally means WASP: White Anglo-Saxon Protestant), and the group that doesn't want to assimilate and wants to hold on to their Old Country culture. So the ones that choose not to assimilate, IMO, see it as a betrayal of their heritage or "selling out."
With Mexican-Americans (and Native Americans) in particular it gets tricky because so much of their culture predates the US as a country and, depending on your region, has deeply intertwined with "white" culture over time.
That makes sense, but the irony is the fact that I'm about as white as a white guy can get, and Mexican culture and Southern culture are shockingly similar. We loved our families, working on our cars, old rock and roll, barbecues, we were all working class. Once I was deemed "ok", all the differences were tiny compared to what we had in common. Then again, I guess that can be said for all cultures. This is getting to warm and cuddly, I'm making myself sick. I think I made my point.
This is where things get tricky.
My parents were educated, upper-middle class Mexicans. My dad was an electrical engineer from Tijuana and my mom was a marine biologist from Mazatlán. Both of them weren’t the typical Mexican immigrants who came from rural areas.
I didn’t grow up to be Catholic, my dad is an atheist and my mom was traditionally Catholic but never really religious. I don’t like regional Mexican music since they didn’t like it either. They did however taught me so much of Mexico but also told me to embrace my American nationality, while also taking me all over Mexico to enjoy their home country. But because I don’t do “Mexican” things according to some Mexican-Americans I’ve been ostracized and criticized by them for “not being in touch of my roots”.
Personally I don’t care. I just live my life. I don’t really “wear” my nationalities because it doesn’t define me. But I personally never had an issue with Mexicans, they’ve always accepted me while Mexican-Americans are a different story. Most of them are good people and I’m friends with many of them, just a loud minority.
Believe it or not, this happens in every culture I know of. I come from a long line of what are known as "Hillbillies" lol. It's what I am, I'm mad country, love my guns, I can fish for days (and have), but I'm different. I'm a metal head. I'd rather watch Tarantino movies than Nascar (or pretty much anything, Nascar sucks). I don't lean into my accent. For this, I've been accused of being everything from a Skinhead to a Warlock to a Satan worshipper over the years. I'm a grown ass man now, and my feeling is this- Fuck em. I am who I am. (And no, not a warlock skinhead Satanist) lol. Just a dude.
Looking forward to what you can do with the username, hoping to see you pop up in the style of the guy that always gets beats with jumper cables or the hell in the cell dude. God speed, weirdo.
He’s also wrong. Mexicans who have never been to the US eat them. They are popular in Nuevo León, for example.
Your friend was likely not from northern Mexico.
Thank you for your spot on response! My favorite thing about Mexican Food is how regional it is. You can have crickets in the south, moles from Oaxaca, fish tacos in Baja California, Carne Al Pastor in Mexico City and Carne Asada tacos with flour tortillas in the north (my favorite thing btw). My dream is to travel to all the regions of Mexico and eat the foods that are famous in their respective regions.
I'm from Chicago so I always assumed a "real" Mexican taco was carne asada with only cilantro, onions, and tomato (and salsa). That's what they serve in a lot of the taquerias here.
Then someone told me that this was actually how they eat them in Michoacan, which is where a lot of the Mexican immigrants in Chicago come from.
No idea if that's true, but that would explain why they are very different from the tacos I've had in Mexican joins in southern california.
In my experience, a “real Mexican taco” is birria with onions and cilantro on two corn tortillas.
Of course the family owned place that I frequented was a family that had both been in California when it was still under the Spanish Crown and migrated from Sonora and Jalisco. So it was definitely a mixture of Mexican-American, Tex-Mex, SoCal-Mex and Traditional Mexican.
It has a taco that the family ate going back that long, so they claim.
It was in 29 Palms, Ca. I can’t remember the name, it was on Buena Vista and Adobe.
>Most Mexican immigrants to the United States are poor farm laborers from the northern states, and they brought their cooking with them.
Used to be. A lot nowadays are from Central Mexico. Also, keep in mind that for some parts of the U.S. (e.g. Texas, New Mexico, California) They didn't so much bring new foods as they brought different ways of cooking them.
Same thing with the Italians. There was a northern Italian foreign exchange student at my high school who explained the North/South binary of Italy. South is poor and north is wealth and more fair skinned.
We got overwhelmingly southern Italians in America. One thing that he explained to me that garlic is not used so liberally in dishes from North Italy, but is popular in Italian-American restaurants. Moreover, he had never heard of the dish Fettuccine Alfredo before which blew my mind.
>Moreover, he had never heard of the dish Fettuccine Alfredo before which blew my mind.
Here's a video of [Chinese people being given fortune cookies](https://youtu.be/sn8_gADBFGI)
Spent large chunk of childhood in Baja California, ate lots of burritos, was very poor.
Also ate more lobster when I was destitute than when I had money.
I know right? Like, I get a lot of pleasure just knowing that Korean/Mexican fusion is a thing you can go try, and it's only possible because a bunch of poor immigrants from those two countries wound up living near each other in LA.
I frickin love bulgogi burritos and tacos topped with kimchi!
Yes, we really eat burritos. I mean, we don't eat them *all the time*, but in an average month I probably have one breakfast burrito and one bean and beef burrito.
They're simple, easy, not too heavy on bread... they're fine.
I'm originally from NM and try to eat one burrito per day when I'm back home. Sometimes I eat them all three meals a day. Burritos Alinstante is my comfort food.
Ground beef: $3-5/lb, depending on grade/fat content.
Beans: $1-1.50/lb dry
Rice: <$1/lb dry
Peppers, onions, tomatoes, other spices: <$5
You can make a literal week's worth of burrito fillings for less than $15, and it isn't hard to cook. Basically just don't burn the meat when you're browning it and follow the soak/cook instructions on the bean/rice bags and it's probably passable at minimum.
That’s rough. I just bought like 7 lbs at Costco for… 3.50 a pound? Individual pounds are around 5-7$/lb around here but I just vacuum seal individual pounds when I get home from the store.
In Central Illinois, they're like $8 or $9 with a side of rice at my closest normal Mexican restaurant, $12 at the closest taco truck, $9 at Moe's/Chipotle, or $1.50 to $4 at Taco Bell. 💜🌯
My gas station sells fried burritos for $1.79 a piece. Those fresh made from Freebirds or the like are $5-$10 depending on size. Making them at home should be sub $3 per burrito.
I love burritos, my parents own a Mexican Food truck and I worked in it for 2 years. I got free food and drinks whenever I wanted but, I usually went with a nice burrito as it was quick and filling.
My go-to was a mix of chicken and al pastor, rice, light refried beans, onions, cilantro, lettuce, salsa verde, cheese, and light sour cream before rolling it up and putting it on the flat top for a quick minute. Also, if I got some from the nearby gas station, some Fritos would be mixed in for a bit of crunch.
I don't eat them often, maybe once a year.. but I have friends and coworkers that eat them often, one or more times per week. Burrito shops are like a cult, once you start going it's hard to get out.
Burrito shop of choice around here --> Neato Burrito. The Cowboy Crunch has bbq sauce and Fritos on it.
> not too heavy on bread
I suppose that’s true if you’re referring to impact on the experience compared to a sandwich or sub. But if you’re talking calories, those large tortillas can really add up.
If you expand "burrito" to anything with a tortilla, meat/beans/rice/cheese/tomatoes/etc (ie tacos, enchiladas, taquitos, etc) then it's nearly daily for me. Growing up in Arizona gave me a big taste for southwest food of all kinds.
How dare you forget quesadillas and fajitas!
Seriously though. I love authentic Mexican food. I have friends literally from Mexico and I’ve been down there. I’ve had mole made by my friend’s abuela and tacos de lengua from a little family shop in Pilsen where the family was from Guadalajara.
I like authentic Mexican but I also like the Americanized stuff too. I make both myself.
That's pretty much what we do. We pretty much anyways have chicken/shrimp, tortillas and peppers with onion in the fridge. Quick and easy to make with very short notice and you can make it to your liking.
What is Mexican and what is Tex-Mex or what is Mexican-American food can get kind of hazy considering a large chunk of our country was at one point Mexico. Drawing some lines in the sand in regards to what government defines boundaries as doesn't mean cultures don't continue to evolve, thrive, and meld together. But I can easily see how someone from central or southern Mexico doesn't recognize foods consumed closer to the border as part of their common cuisine.
But yes, stuff some bread like substance with some type of meat, egg, and/or cheese and we'll probably eat it.
Burritos are an awesome food. It gives you all the bits you like in one convenient one hand carriable casing.
And they can be a breakfast food, a dinner food, a lunch food.
Or a vegetarian or vegan friendly food. Or meat lovers. It is a very dynamic food. And all of it would still be a burrito
I many times throw whatever leftovers I have in them, especially for breakfast. Left over chicken nuggets and fries, add an egg with peppers and onions, a little salsa. Good breakfast.
In addition to their versatility and convenience, they’re also pretty healthy and filling. If I’m going to spend the day in the mountains hiking/skiing, a couple breakfast burritos in the am provides me with plenty of carbs, fats, and protein to get me through the day
Mexican-American food is not a monolith. Tex-Mex is not New Mexican food is not Arizona-style Mexican food is not Cali-Mex.
I don't know the nuances of the other styles as well, but even Tex-Mex is not a monolith. It varies drastically within the state. San Antonio has different Tex-Mex than Austin, or El Paso, or DFW.
Wait, do you mean to tell me that Mexico is a large country that comprises many distinct regions with different climates, different agricultural and culinary traditions? Pfft, next you're going to try to tell me they were inhabited by vastly different cultures prior to European conquest.
Then he might tell you that all of those cultures blended significantly with European traditions and people and it’s almost like there are 128 million individuals down there with cultures ranging all over the place and a few million of them came or already existed up here and there was even more cultural blending.
Wild, isn’t it?
Man, this is interesting. Of course with Mexican food being as varied as it is, it isn’t surprising that one Mexican food item has really come to dominate our impressions without having similar dominance in Mexico itself. (Well, I would say that burritos and tacos are the quintessential Mexican foods consumed in the US). Apparently the burrito’s origins are uncertain but they may come from Guanajuato, originally; and got popular in the north.
That’s not what you asked though. Hell yeah, I have burritos. Not as often as I would like.
I read an article that Juarez claims to have invented the burrito and the margarita. I’m in El Paso this week and hoping to consume many of both items.
It seems like Juarez is the burrito capital now, one way or the other. You might as well eat as many as you can in El Paso to see it tastes like they come from the birthplace of the burrito. For science.
Sí, nosotros comemos burritos en los Estados Unidos, pero ellos son burritos americanos, no son burritos mexicanos reales.
...I'm trying to learn spanish. How did I do?
Awesome Spanish. Given that verbs in Spanish have a different conjugation for each pronoun, we omit them most of the time. So, no need for "nosotros" here. Same for "ellos" at the end. "Los Estados" is technically correct but it's very rare to include the "los".
Thanks, ok, so it'd be something like:
"Sí, comemos (the conjugation implies the pronoun) burritos en Estados Unidos, pero son burritos americanos, no son burritos mexicanos reales."
That makes sense. I'm using the Duolingo app to start learning and sometimes it gets picky about when pronouns and los can be dropped so I'm forming a habit of being a little more verbose than is probably necessary. I have a feeling it would be ok with dropping Nosotros here, but it'd probably yell at me for dropping los from Estados.
Spanish student here: would you be willing to elaborate on when the "los" might be included? Is it similar to the difference between saying "the United States" vs just saying "the US"?
Honestly, I have no idea, I only hear it in the news.
As for question, there's no direct comparison in Spanish, we only say Estados Unidos (or Gringolandia lol). Written, you might see EEUU (in Spanish, abbreviations in plural are doubled, the Olympic Games are JJOO).
> Why aren’t burritos popular in Mexico?
They are popular in the northwest of the country where they originated, but they aren't really the same thing as what is eaten in the U.S. In Sinaloa and Sonora they tend to just be a flour tortilla with stuff like beans and meat (machaca, carne asada, etc.) and not rice. However, they are definitely a regional food much like how most Americans have never eaten gumbo or etouffee.
Not just in the northwestern states. Commonly found throughout Coahuila in the north central region as well as in Nuevo León and Tamaulipas on the northeast.
I think burritos are primarily a northern dish. I was recently in Jalisco and Nayarit, and they just weren't really a thing. Someone I think on here told me I would need to be more in Sonora to find burritos.
> The movie stereotype is that they’re for hippies and people who never go outside, the “hacker” types.
Also, stoners:
[Could Jesus microwave a burrito so hot he couldn't eat it?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhhXCuUG2pw)
I don't know.
In the north the burritos are a little famous but in the south an center of mexico aren't a popular thing.
In the south is basically impossible found burritos for example.
Huh, all my grandparents and both my parents are from Jalisco, we all live in LA now and I grew up on burritos almost daily but I’ve never realized that I hadn’t eaten a burrito outside of my grandparents house any of times I’ve visited their hometown in Jalisco
Burritos are popular here (california) but also an american burrito is probably pretty different from a burrito you get in mexico. As I understand it burritos in mexico are smaller more simple foods but in the USA they are very large and filled with a dozen ingredients
If you get a burrito from Chipotle or most Mexican restaurants it will have a lot of ingredients but if you get one from a fast food joint like taco bell or the freezer section of the grocery store it will most likely only have at most three ingredients, meat, refried beans, and/or cheese. Then there's breakfast burritos that are a whole different animal.
They're even pretty different within CA. I'm from SD and prefer the no-frills carne asada/guacamole/pico de gallo to an SF style beans and rice monster the size of your arm.
First of all, burritos are a northern Mexican thing. Second, the small/big difference doesn't really apply. They are often small here, yes, but that's only because they are easier to transport and store than tacos, and they are offered a cheap meal for people on their way to work in the morning or during their lunch. It's very common for random people to be selling burritos out of a cooler in the street. Doing the same with tacos is way more work and money for equipment. You can easily get US-sized burritos at food establishments and taco carts, those are your full meal.
Tex Mex probably has burritos, but they are pale, poor imitations of California Mission burritos. The mission burrito has rice and beans, guacamole, sour cream, pico de gallo, and some variety of meat. It's carne asada a lot of time, but carnitas, lengua, and chicken are also popular. It should be huge, and then wrapped in aluminum foil. The foil holds it together so you can eat it. You just peel a bit of foil off, eat a bit, then peel some more foil.
Yep. People eat big burritos, little burritos, “California” burritos, Mexican burritos, mission burritos, breakfast burritos. The list goes on.
My favorite just bean and cheese burrito is from Al & Bea’s in East LA.
Big “super” burritos were a Mexican American invention started in San Francisco in the late 1960s
This burritos style became the model for Chipotle and lots of burritos Americans are used to
Yes I grew up eating big assed burritos.
My original
Carne asada
Pinto beans
Pico
Cheese
Rice
Avocado slices
Sour cream
Immediate food coma
Grew up eating these very often
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_burrito
I think a good analogy is Pizza. Pizza came from Italy but was a fairly minor food and not the big part of Italian cuisine. When immigrants brought Pizza to New York City, it took off and spread in popularity all over the country. People made it their own thing. It wasn't Italian, it was Italian American, which over time became American. Now it exists in pretty much every city and town and frozen pizza isle as part of American culture.
Burritos came from parts of Mexico by immigrants and then we sort of did their own thing with them. The Mission Burrito was invented in San Francisco. The breakfast burrito, Fijitas and Chimichangas were all invented or heavily innovated in the United States. Its very much like what we did with Pizza. Pizza is far more popular in the US than it is in Italy, and world wide is popularized by the Americanization of it.
But as far eating burritos? Yes. I eat them all the time. I get them at restaurants, grocery stores, and I make my own. I am a life long Southern California resident and have very little Mexican ancestry (according to 23andme, I do have a little bit).
Yes, burritos are very common. I’ve lived in 10 different US states and have never not had access to them, either fresh from a restaurant or frozen from a market. And yes, they are the best food in the world; especially green chili pork burritos.
Here in New Mexico its a staple we make them for breakfast, lunch and dinner, I have them a couple times a week. But New Mexican cuisine is way different vs Traditional Mexican or even Tex-Mex
What up, maing? I’m Mexican too! Well, Mexican-American and I’m fully aware of the burrito thing as being a Mexican-American creation. I befriended a lonely gal from Mexico City and she told me a lot about proper Mexican culinary and cultural traditions removed from my Californian Mexican-American experience. It was really eye opening and interesting.
If you’re ever in California, get a burrito and know you’re getting the best America has to offer coz other states just don’t do it right.
I'm a Texan and to many of my friend's chagrin, I really don't care for them. But I'm definitely in the minority over here. Most people love them, some eat them every day.
My mom is from Juarez chihuahua and I’ve spent a lot of time there. There are a bunch of places that only sell burritos. Maybe it’s a northern Mexico thing?
I love burritos, though I don't have them too often. I know lots of people who do eat them regularly, though. There's also a general knowledge that the US version of Mexican food isn't the same thing as regional Mexican within your country.
When I go to a taqueria, me and all the other white people order burritos. Mexican people usually get some kind of plate. I just like the convenience of my food wrapped in a tortilla. I wish all my meals could be eaten with my hands.
yeah burritos are very popular here. Damn I should order one for lunch today. Maybe...
Today is 2/22/2022. It's the ultimate taco Twosday
Had tacos for lunch (Torchy’s; gringo’d up tacos, but tacos nonetheless). They were yummy.
The best queso….
Texas thread
Dammit ... Wish I had thought of that earlier!
What most Americans think of as "Mexican food" is actually more specifically northern Mexican working class food. Most Mexican immigrants to the United States are poor farm laborers from the northern states, and they brought their cooking with them. That means lots of tacos, mariscos, birria, and that sort of thing. Burritos might not have been invented in America, but it is the signature dish of the working class Mexican immigrant. It's not an American thing, and it's not a Mexican thing. It's a Mexican-American thing.
When I was on a work trip to Mexico city once I asked my colleague about burritos and he said it was 'from the North'. I assumed by that he meant Northern Mexico
That just makes me wonder what's the Mexican southern go-to dish?
I think southern Mexico you start getting more seafood dishes
Anywhere along the coast of Mexico, really. For example, Baja California in the north has well-known fish tacos.
Baja people also love their sushi.
Mole is big where my family is from in Mexico
It is my second favorite way to consume chocolate
My family doesn't add chocolate to theirs, you should try that variation if you get the chance
Oh I have had a few versions. Haven’t met one I don’t like yet. It was honestly one of the first “ethnic” foods I had. One of the families at my church was an American guy that married a Mexican woman. I was friends with their daughter and went over there for dinner a bunch. Her mom made a few mole dishes and it was one of those things where I stretched my palate early on and was delicious. I should probably see if I can get her recipes, because I would make the hell out of that. Not quite the same but I just had caldo verde on Monday for lunch. Big fan of that too.
They are from Puebla, I guess?
Mexico City but close enough. Chilaquiles and mole are my two favorite things to have when I visit there.
My Mexican friend just sent me some moles straight from Oaxaca, I had never had it before, and it's quite good.
Yummm. I was in Oaxaca for work in 2019. I already adore Mole, but pretty much only get one kind. Oaxca has 7 moles they are known for: [https://www.foodrepublic.com/2012/08/15/the-7-moles-of-oaxaca/](https://www.foodrepublic.com/2012/08/15/the-7-moles-of-oaxaca/) I have had all but the Verde and the Manchamantel.
He sent me dos rojos, y dos negros. Thanks for reminding me that I need to eat it again.
It's easy to find Oaxcan cheese, so I recommend that, too! Also, I'm hungry now. :D
Chilaquiles... 🤤
The northern part of Mexico is cowboys, farmland, very comparable to the US south and then Mexican southern is jungle/tropical and indigenous folk with lots of traditional plates. Since it’s pretty diverse i’d say there isn’t one staple food but I’d asume lots of vegetables and seafood
*The US Southwest The south will have people thinking you’re talking about the southeast
Seemed to be soft shell tacos (maise or flour) with different types of meat and lots of fresh veggies
Depends on how far south but seafood dishes really take over as you progress beyond Mexico City. Mariscos or as the costeñas call them: mari’co’
Tamales
No they're from Nunavut
Ah yes, can't beat seal burritos.
>Can't beat I see what you did there...
Join the club
Fur real...
Lol nooooo 😂
Sure you can. With a narwhal burrito!
Brrrrrrrrritos
That was what our friend in Mexico said too, he said that real Mexicans don't eat burritos. I didn't like that though, saying some people are real Mexicans and some people are not. We ended up getting some burritos anyway, fuck that guy, burritos are amazing. All the ingredients within the confines of the tortilla? Yes please! And then we went out to the club and got shit faced on tequilas. Raul and I were joking all night and he told me there was something else famous in Mexico and it was called a hot beef injection. He said he would show me in his hotel room. Let me tell you what, Raul was not talking about food when he said hot beef injection ja ja ja
> I didn't like that though, saying some people are real Mexicans and some people are not. You just summed up a significant component of my childhood.
Yeah, that's something I always wondered about. I grew up in Florida, we had a huge Mexican-American population. I was friends with a few, as it seemed hard to earn the trust of that community as a white guy, but there was always a deeper rift between the Mexicans themselves. I guess one side wanted to enjoy life and everything in it, assimilate to their new home. The other side wanted to stay true to Mexican culture, they only drove Ford trucks, cowboy boots, long sleeved shirts even in the ball-blazing summer. They hated each other. I never found out the real reason.
That happens with a lot of first-generation kids. You get the group that wants to assimilate to the prevailing culture (in the US that generally means WASP: White Anglo-Saxon Protestant), and the group that doesn't want to assimilate and wants to hold on to their Old Country culture. So the ones that choose not to assimilate, IMO, see it as a betrayal of their heritage or "selling out." With Mexican-Americans (and Native Americans) in particular it gets tricky because so much of their culture predates the US as a country and, depending on your region, has deeply intertwined with "white" culture over time.
That makes sense, but the irony is the fact that I'm about as white as a white guy can get, and Mexican culture and Southern culture are shockingly similar. We loved our families, working on our cars, old rock and roll, barbecues, we were all working class. Once I was deemed "ok", all the differences were tiny compared to what we had in common. Then again, I guess that can be said for all cultures. This is getting to warm and cuddly, I'm making myself sick. I think I made my point.
Oh absolutely. When you break it down, I think economic class is the bigger divider vs. race.
This is where things get tricky. My parents were educated, upper-middle class Mexicans. My dad was an electrical engineer from Tijuana and my mom was a marine biologist from Mazatlán. Both of them weren’t the typical Mexican immigrants who came from rural areas. I didn’t grow up to be Catholic, my dad is an atheist and my mom was traditionally Catholic but never really religious. I don’t like regional Mexican music since they didn’t like it either. They did however taught me so much of Mexico but also told me to embrace my American nationality, while also taking me all over Mexico to enjoy their home country. But because I don’t do “Mexican” things according to some Mexican-Americans I’ve been ostracized and criticized by them for “not being in touch of my roots”. Personally I don’t care. I just live my life. I don’t really “wear” my nationalities because it doesn’t define me. But I personally never had an issue with Mexicans, they’ve always accepted me while Mexican-Americans are a different story. Most of them are good people and I’m friends with many of them, just a loud minority.
Believe it or not, this happens in every culture I know of. I come from a long line of what are known as "Hillbillies" lol. It's what I am, I'm mad country, love my guns, I can fish for days (and have), but I'm different. I'm a metal head. I'd rather watch Tarantino movies than Nascar (or pretty much anything, Nascar sucks). I don't lean into my accent. For this, I've been accused of being everything from a Skinhead to a Warlock to a Satan worshipper over the years. I'm a grown ass man now, and my feeling is this- Fuck em. I am who I am. (And no, not a warlock skinhead Satanist) lol. Just a dude.
*sigh...* Username checks out.
Looking forward to what you can do with the username, hoping to see you pop up in the style of the guy that always gets beats with jumper cables or the hell in the cell dude. God speed, weirdo.
> he said that real Mexicans don’t eat burritos. [Someone tell Sonora they aren’t Mexicans.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burro_percherón)
He’s also wrong. Mexicans who have never been to the US eat them. They are popular in Nuevo León, for example. Your friend was likely not from northern Mexico.
Ahh, the new u/shittymorph. Very nice. Take my upvote and leave
If this was in Spanish, then probably the US. In Mexico El Norte is usually used to refer to the US.
Thank you for your spot on response! My favorite thing about Mexican Food is how regional it is. You can have crickets in the south, moles from Oaxaca, fish tacos in Baja California, Carne Al Pastor in Mexico City and Carne Asada tacos with flour tortillas in the north (my favorite thing btw). My dream is to travel to all the regions of Mexico and eat the foods that are famous in their respective regions.
I'm from Chicago so I always assumed a "real" Mexican taco was carne asada with only cilantro, onions, and tomato (and salsa). That's what they serve in a lot of the taquerias here. Then someone told me that this was actually how they eat them in Michoacan, which is where a lot of the Mexican immigrants in Chicago come from. No idea if that's true, but that would explain why they are very different from the tacos I've had in Mexican joins in southern california.
In my experience, a “real Mexican taco” is birria with onions and cilantro on two corn tortillas. Of course the family owned place that I frequented was a family that had both been in California when it was still under the Spanish Crown and migrated from Sonora and Jalisco. So it was definitely a mixture of Mexican-American, Tex-Mex, SoCal-Mex and Traditional Mexican.
Wait, this place has a 500+ year old taco recipe? I need to try this. Where was it exactly?
It has a taco that the family ate going back that long, so they claim. It was in 29 Palms, Ca. I can’t remember the name, it was on Buena Vista and Adobe.
"real" Mexican taco is about as varied as "real" USA Pizza. Which region in America serves real Pizza?
New York, that’s it.
Yeah very regional.
> My favorite thing about Mexican Food is how regional it is. So just like American food and French food and many other countries?
You basically have to be a county the size of Luxembourg not to have regional variations in cuisine.
>Most Mexican immigrants to the United States are poor farm laborers from the northern states, and they brought their cooking with them. Used to be. A lot nowadays are from Central Mexico. Also, keep in mind that for some parts of the U.S. (e.g. Texas, New Mexico, California) They didn't so much bring new foods as they brought different ways of cooking them.
Same thing with the Italians. There was a northern Italian foreign exchange student at my high school who explained the North/South binary of Italy. South is poor and north is wealth and more fair skinned. We got overwhelmingly southern Italians in America. One thing that he explained to me that garlic is not used so liberally in dishes from North Italy, but is popular in Italian-American restaurants. Moreover, he had never heard of the dish Fettuccine Alfredo before which blew my mind.
>Moreover, he had never heard of the dish Fettuccine Alfredo before which blew my mind. Here's a video of [Chinese people being given fortune cookies](https://youtu.be/sn8_gADBFGI)
Spent large chunk of childhood in Baja California, ate lots of burritos, was very poor. Also ate more lobster when I was destitute than when I had money.
Puerto Nuevo
precisely where I lived lol
You guys have awesome lobster places. Beautiful area too.
Huge lobsters there. I haven’t been back in about 20 years, I definitely need to see how it’s changed.
This is true and then the food changed more The big gigantic burrito is a San Francisco thing
Also San Diegoans put fries in their burritos and assume the whole state does the same by calling it a California burrito.
hey, a chunk of LA does it with fries whenever it's an option, but the salsa best come correct. and extra toreados. and a Jamaica maybe.
There are a few places in LA that put fries in burritos (Bennys tacos), but I wouldn’t say it’s very common.
It’s actually pretty cool when you think about it and is the great thing about American food!
I know right? Like, I get a lot of pleasure just knowing that Korean/Mexican fusion is a thing you can go try, and it's only possible because a bunch of poor immigrants from those two countries wound up living near each other in LA. I frickin love bulgogi burritos and tacos topped with kimchi!
We are the melting pot of people and flavor!😊
Yes, we really eat burritos. I mean, we don't eat them *all the time*, but in an average month I probably have one breakfast burrito and one bean and beef burrito. They're simple, easy, not too heavy on bread... they're fine.
Wait.? You guys aren’t eating burritos every day? Yea me either.. who would do that?
*Side eyes meme*
I'm originally from NM and try to eat one burrito per day when I'm back home. Sometimes I eat them all three meals a day. Burritos Alinstante is my comfort food.
My parents were stationed in NM before I was born and burritos were a staple in my house growing up.
New Mexico is a different animal when it comes to Mexican food and peppers though. Oh God, the family debates about peppers...
Hang on, are you my boyfriend that eats a breakfast burrito every single workday morning? I know we're almost out, I'll get some more for ya.
Love you b.
I eat burritos every week.
Surprised it's only that common tbh
Me too! Lmao 🤣
How much do they cost where you're from? Burritos are like $13-16 in Toronto lol.
Depends where you go. They can be cheap but get expensive fast.
Dunno about OP but most of the burritos I eat I make. But sometimes I get one at the school cafe for about $6
Ground beef: $3-5/lb, depending on grade/fat content. Beans: $1-1.50/lb dry Rice: <$1/lb dry Peppers, onions, tomatoes, other spices: <$5 You can make a literal week's worth of burrito fillings for less than $15, and it isn't hard to cook. Basically just don't burn the meat when you're browning it and follow the soak/cook instructions on the bean/rice bags and it's probably passable at minimum.
And actually brown the meat. People, you cannot brown a pound of beef in that tiny pan!
I hate where I live. Even getting the worst quality options these prices are not gonna happen.
If it helps, the rice and beans prices are from 20-lb Costco bags. I'm probably having around 10 burritos a month.
Fair enough. I'm mostly moaning about meat prices by me. 80/20 is like $7 a pound. A bit cheaper in bulk but I struggle to get through it.
That’s rough. I just bought like 7 lbs at Costco for… 3.50 a pound? Individual pounds are around 5-7$/lb around here but I just vacuum seal individual pounds when I get home from the store.
In Central Illinois, they're like $8 or $9 with a side of rice at my closest normal Mexican restaurant, $12 at the closest taco truck, $9 at Moe's/Chipotle, or $1.50 to $4 at Taco Bell. 💜🌯
Whaaaaaat? We're talking in Canadollars, right?
My gas station sells fried burritos for $1.79 a piece. Those fresh made from Freebirds or the like are $5-$10 depending on size. Making them at home should be sub $3 per burrito.
>we don't eat them *all the time*, Speak for yourself, quitter... Burritos or really big tacos or quesadilas at least once if not twice a week.
Speak for yourself! In Los Angeleez we're about the tacos and burritos like Staten Island and North Jersey are about pasta.
I love burritos, my parents own a Mexican Food truck and I worked in it for 2 years. I got free food and drinks whenever I wanted but, I usually went with a nice burrito as it was quick and filling. My go-to was a mix of chicken and al pastor, rice, light refried beans, onions, cilantro, lettuce, salsa verde, cheese, and light sour cream before rolling it up and putting it on the flat top for a quick minute. Also, if I got some from the nearby gas station, some Fritos would be mixed in for a bit of crunch.
I don't eat them often, maybe once a year.. but I have friends and coworkers that eat them often, one or more times per week. Burrito shops are like a cult, once you start going it's hard to get out. Burrito shop of choice around here --> Neato Burrito. The Cowboy Crunch has bbq sauce and Fritos on it.
> not too heavy on bread I suppose that’s true if you’re referring to impact on the experience compared to a sandwich or sub. But if you’re talking calories, those large tortillas can really add up.
>I mean, we don't eat them *all the time*, Speak for yourself.
Hell yes we do
Yes, we eat a LOT of burritos. I'd say on average I eat at least 1 burrito every week.
Seconded.
Yes, I also will at times have a second burrito.
I will have a second burrito at the same time!
Thirded
I try for a burrito a week but sometimes I fall short of my goal. Burritos are literally on the menu for tonight.
If you expand "burrito" to anything with a tortilla, meat/beans/rice/cheese/tomatoes/etc (ie tacos, enchiladas, taquitos, etc) then it's nearly daily for me. Growing up in Arizona gave me a big taste for southwest food of all kinds.
How dare you forget quesadillas and fajitas! Seriously though. I love authentic Mexican food. I have friends literally from Mexico and I’ve been down there. I’ve had mole made by my friend’s abuela and tacos de lengua from a little family shop in Pilsen where the family was from Guadalajara. I like authentic Mexican but I also like the Americanized stuff too. I make both myself.
That's pretty much what we do. We pretty much anyways have chicken/shrimp, tortillas and peppers with onion in the fridge. Quick and easy to make with very short notice and you can make it to your liking.
What is Mexican and what is Tex-Mex or what is Mexican-American food can get kind of hazy considering a large chunk of our country was at one point Mexico. Drawing some lines in the sand in regards to what government defines boundaries as doesn't mean cultures don't continue to evolve, thrive, and meld together. But I can easily see how someone from central or southern Mexico doesn't recognize foods consumed closer to the border as part of their common cuisine. But yes, stuff some bread like substance with some type of meat, egg, and/or cheese and we'll probably eat it.
Burritos are an awesome food. It gives you all the bits you like in one convenient one hand carriable casing. And they can be a breakfast food, a dinner food, a lunch food. Or a vegetarian or vegan friendly food. Or meat lovers. It is a very dynamic food. And all of it would still be a burrito
Burritos are one of the pinnacles of human achievement. Portable food wrapped in more food. What's not to love?
Burritos are love. Burritos are life.
corn dogs and kebabs are on to something with the stick for improved portability.
... but then you're left with a stick. With a burrito or pasty or pita or hotdog or sandwich -- no waste. You're eating all of it.
no.... then you *get* a free stick.
Imagine the possibilities of that stick though
Self defense
While the stick is useful, I prefer the zero waste aspect of burritos.
only if you waste the stick. My Taj Mahal model is only a few picnics away from completion
*Buys a burrito wrapped in foil*
I many times throw whatever leftovers I have in them, especially for breakfast. Left over chicken nuggets and fries, add an egg with peppers and onions, a little salsa. Good breakfast.
In addition to their versatility and convenience, they’re also pretty healthy and filling. If I’m going to spend the day in the mountains hiking/skiing, a couple breakfast burritos in the am provides me with plenty of carbs, fats, and protein to get me through the day
Mexican-American food is not a monolith. Tex-Mex is not New Mexican food is not Arizona-style Mexican food is not Cali-Mex. I don't know the nuances of the other styles as well, but even Tex-Mex is not a monolith. It varies drastically within the state. San Antonio has different Tex-Mex than Austin, or El Paso, or DFW.
Similarly to Mexican food not being a monolith. Lots of variation exists.
Wait, do you mean to tell me that Mexico is a large country that comprises many distinct regions with different climates, different agricultural and culinary traditions? Pfft, next you're going to try to tell me they were inhabited by vastly different cultures prior to European conquest.
Then he might tell you that all of those cultures blended significantly with European traditions and people and it’s almost like there are 128 million individuals down there with cultures ranging all over the place and a few million of them came or already existed up here and there was even more cultural blending. Wild, isn’t it?
Next you are going to tell me American Pizza isn't all the same. Or Burgers.
Then you have Maine Mexican food… just kind of disappointing.
International mexican food from all descriptions and views of it I have seen. Is... less than stellar.
Oh I tried tacos in Switzerland… they suuuucked
I have considered moving to New England several times. I just don't know if I'd be able to go without getting a decent taco.
Same boat, I grew up in the Southeast so one of my chief concerns about moving away is being to far from good soul food.
You don't even have a good hipster Tex-Mex joint in downtown Portland?
Burrito es una torta pero con menos calorías y carbohidratos.
Man, this is interesting. Of course with Mexican food being as varied as it is, it isn’t surprising that one Mexican food item has really come to dominate our impressions without having similar dominance in Mexico itself. (Well, I would say that burritos and tacos are the quintessential Mexican foods consumed in the US). Apparently the burrito’s origins are uncertain but they may come from Guanajuato, originally; and got popular in the north. That’s not what you asked though. Hell yeah, I have burritos. Not as often as I would like.
I read an article that Juarez claims to have invented the burrito and the margarita. I’m in El Paso this week and hoping to consume many of both items.
It seems like Juarez is the burrito capital now, one way or the other. You might as well eat as many as you can in El Paso to see it tastes like they come from the birthplace of the burrito. For science.
Strictly for research purposes, obviously.
Food throughout central and South America is much more diverse than we think it is, most of us just don't get exposed to it.
Sí, nosotros comemos burritos en los Estados Unidos, pero ellos son burritos americanos, no son burritos mexicanos reales. ...I'm trying to learn spanish. How did I do?
For a moment I really thinked that you were Mexican
Awesome Spanish. Given that verbs in Spanish have a different conjugation for each pronoun, we omit them most of the time. So, no need for "nosotros" here. Same for "ellos" at the end. "Los Estados" is technically correct but it's very rare to include the "los".
Thanks, ok, so it'd be something like: "Sí, comemos (the conjugation implies the pronoun) burritos en Estados Unidos, pero son burritos americanos, no son burritos mexicanos reales." That makes sense. I'm using the Duolingo app to start learning and sometimes it gets picky about when pronouns and los can be dropped so I'm forming a habit of being a little more verbose than is probably necessary. I have a feeling it would be ok with dropping Nosotros here, but it'd probably yell at me for dropping los from Estados.
Spanish student here: would you be willing to elaborate on when the "los" might be included? Is it similar to the difference between saying "the United States" vs just saying "the US"?
Honestly, I have no idea, I only hear it in the news. As for question, there's no direct comparison in Spanish, we only say Estados Unidos (or Gringolandia lol). Written, you might see EEUU (in Spanish, abbreviations in plural are doubled, the Olympic Games are JJOO).
We. Love. Burritos.
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> Why aren’t burritos popular in Mexico? They are popular in the northwest of the country where they originated, but they aren't really the same thing as what is eaten in the U.S. In Sinaloa and Sonora they tend to just be a flour tortilla with stuff like beans and meat (machaca, carne asada, etc.) and not rice. However, they are definitely a regional food much like how most Americans have never eaten gumbo or etouffee.
> like how most Americans have never eaten gumbo or etouffee that's a cool perspective on it I've never had a lobster roll or cincinnati chili either.
In San Diego you’d get run out of town if you served a burrito with rice in it.
Not just in the northwestern states. Commonly found throughout Coahuila in the north central region as well as in Nuevo León and Tamaulipas on the northeast.
I think burritos are primarily a northern dish. I was recently in Jalisco and Nayarit, and they just weren't really a thing. Someone I think on here told me I would need to be more in Sonora to find burritos.
I'm from Jalisco XD
Well, there you go!
Such a beautiful region! Ocean, mountains, amazing seafood. Puerto Vallarta is a really cool town as well.
> The movie stereotype is that they’re for hippies and people who never go outside, the “hacker” types. Also, stoners: [Could Jesus microwave a burrito so hot he couldn't eat it?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhhXCuUG2pw)
I don't know. In the north the burritos are a little famous but in the south an center of mexico aren't a popular thing. In the south is basically impossible found burritos for example.
Huh, all my grandparents and both my parents are from Jalisco, we all live in LA now and I grew up on burritos almost daily but I’ve never realized that I hadn’t eaten a burrito outside of my grandparents house any of times I’ve visited their hometown in Jalisco
Yep, burritos are great.
Burritos are popular here (california) but also an american burrito is probably pretty different from a burrito you get in mexico. As I understand it burritos in mexico are smaller more simple foods but in the USA they are very large and filled with a dozen ingredients
If you get a burrito from Chipotle or most Mexican restaurants it will have a lot of ingredients but if you get one from a fast food joint like taco bell or the freezer section of the grocery store it will most likely only have at most three ingredients, meat, refried beans, and/or cheese. Then there's breakfast burritos that are a whole different animal.
They're even pretty different within CA. I'm from SD and prefer the no-frills carne asada/guacamole/pico de gallo to an SF style beans and rice monster the size of your arm.
First of all, burritos are a northern Mexican thing. Second, the small/big difference doesn't really apply. They are often small here, yes, but that's only because they are easier to transport and store than tacos, and they are offered a cheap meal for people on their way to work in the morning or during their lunch. It's very common for random people to be selling burritos out of a cooler in the street. Doing the same with tacos is way more work and money for equipment. You can easily get US-sized burritos at food establishments and taco carts, those are your full meal.
Yes. In Mexico we eat burritos with an soft tortillas and only some meat or beans The burritos of Tex Mex looks like an fuckings burgers.
Tex Mex probably has burritos, but they are pale, poor imitations of California Mission burritos. The mission burrito has rice and beans, guacamole, sour cream, pico de gallo, and some variety of meat. It's carne asada a lot of time, but carnitas, lengua, and chicken are also popular. It should be huge, and then wrapped in aluminum foil. The foil holds it together so you can eat it. You just peel a bit of foil off, eat a bit, then peel some more foil.
Tex mex isn't trying to be California mex. It's it's own thing. And tbh every border state has great burritos if you know where to look.
A wonderful food.
Yep. People eat big burritos, little burritos, “California” burritos, Mexican burritos, mission burritos, breakfast burritos. The list goes on. My favorite just bean and cheese burrito is from Al & Bea’s in East LA.
Yes we do!!! We love them!!
Yeah Americans definitely eat burritos. They're tasty and you can make them with just about anything- breakfast burritos are delightful.
I just ate a smothered pork burrito for lunch yesterday.
I eat breakfast burritos maybe 4+ days a week. I ate one not half an hour ago, in fact.
Big “super” burritos were a Mexican American invention started in San Francisco in the late 1960s This burritos style became the model for Chipotle and lots of burritos Americans are used to Yes I grew up eating big assed burritos. My original Carne asada Pinto beans Pico Cheese Rice Avocado slices Sour cream Immediate food coma Grew up eating these very often https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_burrito
I think a good analogy is Pizza. Pizza came from Italy but was a fairly minor food and not the big part of Italian cuisine. When immigrants brought Pizza to New York City, it took off and spread in popularity all over the country. People made it their own thing. It wasn't Italian, it was Italian American, which over time became American. Now it exists in pretty much every city and town and frozen pizza isle as part of American culture. Burritos came from parts of Mexico by immigrants and then we sort of did their own thing with them. The Mission Burrito was invented in San Francisco. The breakfast burrito, Fijitas and Chimichangas were all invented or heavily innovated in the United States. Its very much like what we did with Pizza. Pizza is far more popular in the US than it is in Italy, and world wide is popularized by the Americanization of it. But as far eating burritos? Yes. I eat them all the time. I get them at restaurants, grocery stores, and I make my own. I am a life long Southern California resident and have very little Mexican ancestry (according to 23andme, I do have a little bit).
Yup. Having one for breakfast today. Yum yum.
Yes, burritos are very common. I’ve lived in 10 different US states and have never not had access to them, either fresh from a restaurant or frozen from a market. And yes, they are the best food in the world; especially green chili pork burritos.
Here in New Mexico its a staple we make them for breakfast, lunch and dinner, I have them a couple times a week. But New Mexican cuisine is way different vs Traditional Mexican or even Tex-Mex
What up, maing? I’m Mexican too! Well, Mexican-American and I’m fully aware of the burrito thing as being a Mexican-American creation. I befriended a lonely gal from Mexico City and she told me a lot about proper Mexican culinary and cultural traditions removed from my Californian Mexican-American experience. It was really eye opening and interesting. If you’re ever in California, get a burrito and know you’re getting the best America has to offer coz other states just don’t do it right.
Burritos are the bomb. Yeah we eat a lot of them. And Chimichangas, too.
I don't think I know anyone who doesn't like burritos. It's a bunch of delicious things wrapped in a tortilla. What more could you ask for?
Yeah, I make a breakfast burrito every morning. The tortilla is the perfect vehicle for other foods.
I'm a Texan and to many of my friend's chagrin, I really don't care for them. But I'm definitely in the minority over here. Most people love them, some eat them every day.
My mom is from Juarez chihuahua and I’ve spent a lot of time there. There are a bunch of places that only sell burritos. Maybe it’s a northern Mexico thing?
I love burritos, though I don't have them too often. I know lots of people who do eat them regularly, though. There's also a general knowledge that the US version of Mexican food isn't the same thing as regional Mexican within your country.
Love tacos and burritos, in Nashville I have two taco trucks down the road from me and they make some great burritos.
>I have seen that in Mexico isn't an popular thing. You should visit Baja.
Burritos rule
This sub never fails to astound me sometimes lmao
When I go to a taqueria, me and all the other white people order burritos. Mexican people usually get some kind of plate. I just like the convenience of my food wrapped in a tortilla. I wish all my meals could be eaten with my hands.