Rant #1,488: Mexican Food

So now we take a look at Mexican food ...

I was introduced to Mexican food in the mid 1970s by my sister.

My mother cooked very blandly because my father had, and still has, an ulcer, so she didn't spice things up much, if at all.

One day, my sister got sick of the bland food, and she decided to make dinner for us--my mom and myself--for one night, and we had tacos.

Honestly, my first foray into Mexican food was not a successful one. I was so used to the bland cooking that I didn't get into this "new-fangled" Mexican food.

The most exotic I would get would be hamburgers and hot dogs. This was neither of them, so the experiment fell flat.

However, just a few years later, I was reintroduced to tacos, and to Americanized Mexican food, through Taco Bell.

There was one right by my house, and prices were very cheap, and the food was decent.

So now, in addition to the usual burger joints, I also went to Taco Bell, and I reintroduced my mother to the food, and she liked it too.

I realize that what Taco Bell brought to America--and it has been very successful in doing this--is Americanized Mexican food.

It is heavy on the beef, and it is spicy only to taste.

Years later, I had real Mexican food in San Diego during a brief stay there, and it was all vegetables, no meat, and honestly, it was OK, but it wasn't what I liked.

During the 1980s, a number of Mexican restaurants popped up, and I ate at many of them.

The food was more authentic Mexican food, but it still was heavy on the beef, and the chicken if that is what you wanted.

It was good, and I liked it, what with the chips and the salsa and all.

I also got into chili, and to this day, I like Wendy's chili, which is as bland as all heck but I think it has a good taste and can be spiced up any way you like it.

I have to say for its mix of simpleness and complexity, Mexican food--or what we call Mexican food--is quite good, and has led me to try Tex Mex, such as what they serve at Chili's restaurants, which is also Americanized, but I kind of like it.

But for quick, fast, relatively inexpensive food, you still cannot beat Taco Bell. It is not as good as some of the other Mexican chains--I have eaten at Del Taco during their brief time in Manhattan, and their food is much, much better than Taco Bell food is--but Taco Bells are all over the place, and people evidently can't get enough of it.

I also enjoy their sauces, and use it not only on Taco Bell food, but also on other things, like hamburgers. 

You might remember a few years ago, they went through a scare where people got sick from the food at their restaurants, and I think it was traced to some bad lettuce.

The one restaurant that was found to have infected food in my area just happened to be the same one that I had just eaten in, and I had no ill effects at all, but it definitely put a bug in our heads.

I know that my family and I stayed away from eating Taco Bell for about six months--my son and myself, my wife does not like Taco Bell, although she does enjoy Mexican food--but we did go back, and have been back ever since.

If they can survive that, they can survive anything, and Mexican food is probably on my personal menu forever.