Americans Don’t Know The Real Thing

Most Americans live with a perspective of cuisines and flavors that is very far from what is real. Americans grow up eating Mexican food at Taco Bell and think they know what Mexican food tastes like. Americans grow up eating Chinese food from the local takeout joint and they think they know what Chinese food is about. The truth is, real authentic Mexican and Chinese is completely different from the American perspective, and that is a good thing.

I grew up in a New York suburb and wasn’t really exposed to either Chinese or Mexican food. One reason is that my father thought he didn’t like Chinese food, so we never had it. As for Mexican food, it basically didn’t exist in the New York suburbs in the 1960’s. I first experienced Mexican food in the 1970’s when my girlfriend Susan (Now wife) took me to Nito’s restaurant in New York’s Greenwich Village. Her brothers had lived in the village and exposed her to Mexican food. Nito’s was great and became our gold standard for Mexican restaurants. The food was fantastic, but nothing like the real thing.

In the 1980’s I had business trips to Mexico and found out what real Mexican food was like. The fresh seafood and sauces were like nothing I had ever had. In later years working in the Flavor business, we would bring chefs from Mexico up to our flavor labs in the States to expose our flavorists to authentic Mexican flavors. The business for authentic Mexican flavors never really developed, but I learned that I really like real Mexican food.

Our daughter Jennifer and her husband just moved to Albuquerque New Mexico. An exciting piece of the move is the chance to get exposed to authentic Mexican cuisine. Jenn has always been a huge fan of American Mexican cuisine and I have been looking forward to see her reaction to the real thing. To be honest, our first few restaurant experiences with Albuquerque cuisines were, while good, not what I had remembered. A cool part of the move is that our niece Lindsey, originally from New Hampshire, lives in Albuquerque. Lindsey’s husband Oscar, who grew up in Mexico, is a good cook.

Dinner at Oscar’s and Lindsey’s house was a special culinary experience. Getting to enjoy the flavors of real Mexican food again was great and watching Jenn and Ethan experience it for the first time was fun. While the food and culinary experience was great, the highlight of the day was watching cousins, young and old reconnect. Lindsey and Jenn have always had a special bond. Coincidently, the whole crew had gotten together last summer in Westhampton, long before we knew about Jenn and E’s move to Albuquerque. Watching Jenn’s Max (8), Dylan (4) and Hadley (2) bond with Lindsey’s Alyda (3) and Cullen (1) was a gift.

Jennifer, Lindsey, Cullen and Oscar enjoying real Mexican Cuisine

Cousins, Jenn and Lindsey bonding in the kitchen

Cousins Alyda and Hadley, bonding in the play kitchen

Cousins Max, Dylan and Alyda bonding with Lindsey’s guidance

Oscar and Lindsey did an amazing job of presenting an array of real Mexican flavors:

  • Assorted Real Mexican Flavored Chips served with:
    • Drizzles of hot sauce, lime juice and Maggi Sauce
      • There very few condiments that you will see in more places around the world than Nestle’s Maggi Sauce. It is made with Hydrolyzed vegetable protein that is high in glutamic acid (of which MSG is derived). It is cheap and delivers an amazing Umami flavor to countless authentic cuisines around the world.
      • Oscar’s Mexican combination of hot sauce, lime juice and Maggi would make anything taste great.
      • Real Mexican chips on their own, deliver a different flavor profile from their American counterparts. It is amazing how the same brand of snack tastes different in different countries. Mexican snacks have a common chili component. In the Philippines there is a common profile that food scientists refer to as “dirty sock” which comes from rancid vegetable oil. While most of the world wouldn’t like this, it is what the Philippine consumer knows and loves. As the French would say: “Viva la difference”.
  • Guacamole with lime juice. It seems lime juice is everywhere in real Mexican cuisine.
  • Fried fish with a dusting of corn flour and a sprinkle of MSG
      • The key to this dish is in the frying. It really doesn’t matter what type of fish it is. A friend in Memphis with his own fry station in his back yard once told me (Hell you could fry turd and it would taste good).
      • The type of fish doesn’t really matter. Once I was at nice restaurant in Guangzhou The waiter went through a great presentation as he deboned the fish. Making conversation, I asked our host what kind of fish it was. The host gave me a blank look. Then looked at the waiter and then back at me and said it was “Chinese Fish”. No kidding. Oscar’s “Mexican fish” was tilapia. While I am generally not a fan of tilapia. The way Oscar fried the fish, anything would have tasted good.
  • Oscar made two types of Salsa:
    • A red sauce with multiple types of chiles combined with onion and garlic which he simmered for a few hours to condense the flavor and then emulsified with an emersion blender. The result was a rich flavor that had a little kick but was a big hit with Oscar’s Gringo guests.
    • A Pico de Gallo that highlighted by a lime juice profile.
  • Lindsey made a wonderful bean side dish that benefited from blending in onion, garlic, cheese and lard. Adding a little fat is key to delivering authentic flavor
  • A rice dish with chile and tomato flakes
  • A friend of Oscar makes his own tortillas. Oscar reheated the tortillas on an iron skillet
  • A green salad

The meal was fantastic. Watching cousins bond was special. Experiencing real Mexican cuisine was memorable

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