[Aztlan] Mexican cuisine

[smujica]

I lived in Mexico for twenty years and learned about all the wonderful 
regional food Mexico has to offer.   When I came to NC everyone wanted 
to take me to "Mexican" restaurants. I found that most Mexican food 
here, which many people thought so authentic, consisted in iceburg 
lettuce, yellow cheese, dull rice and tasteless beans.  So I wrote a 
paper and powerpoint presentation (use to be slides) FROM CHILES TO 
CHOCOLATE: A HISTORY OF MEXICAN CUISINE which I give at teacher 
workshops and to the general public.  We usually accompany this talk 
with dishes like mole and once even presented them with fried crickets 
from Oaxaca which to my surprise they ate!!!
Sharon S. Mujica

Hube Smith wrote:
> I do restaurant reviews for our local newspaper. Recently, I decided to 
> question the ubiquity of "margarita-mills
> which serve larges plates of overcooked animal protein awash in dull sauces 
> and smothered in melted cheese."
> 
> I'd not encountered anything like these meals in 35 years of work and travel 
> in Mexico and wondered how this odd
> "cuisine" had come to represent Mexico's gustatory life in the USA.
> 
> I closed by suggesting Mexican restaurants reserve a menu page for 
> "classics" from, say, Nayarit, Yucatan, Oaxaca, etc.
> made with fidelity to the originals. This, I opined, might attract Hispanic 
> clients as well as win over some gringos. Failing that, I advised folks to 
> ask what the cooks had made for the staff that day.
> 
> Hube Smith
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Virginia Fields" <ginnymf at yahoo.com>
> To: <Aztlan at lists.famsi.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, June 05, 2007 7:20 AM
> Subject: [Aztlan] Mexican cuisine
> 
> 
>> It is true that Mexican cuisine in all its glory and regional diversity 
>> incorporates numerous Old World ingredients, but I have often wondered why 
>> the cuisine in Mexico is so rich and varied compared to those of its 
>> neighbors.  I think it must be that the ancients were accustomed to eating 
>> very well--most artists are willing to experiment with new techniques and 
>> forms, and great chefs must be equally eager to experiment with new 
>> ingredients.  I think Sahagun describes Moctezuma's daily feasting on 
>> hundreds of elegant dishes, and Mexico is rightfully considered a World 
>> Heritage place as the source of significant foods that have had worldwide 
>> impact: where would Italy be without the tomato? Where would Iowa be 
>> without corn?  Where would any of us be without chocolate?
>>
>>  V Fields
>>
>>
>> ---------------------------------
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>> links.
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> 
> 
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-- 

Sharon S. Mujica
Educational Outreach Director and Maya Program Director
The Consortium in Latin American and Caribbean Studies at UNC-CH and Duke
223 E. Franklin St.,  cb# 3205
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3205
(919) 962-2414,  fax (919) 962-0398
http://www.duke.edu/web/carolinadukeconsortium