Authentic Tasting Tex Mex Food

“Taco USA: How Mexican Food Became More American Than Apple Pie” was written in 2012 by Gustavo Arellano, a prolific food author for the Orange County newspaper OC Weekly. This article originally appeared as an online publication in Reason Magazine. Arellano has written books about Mexican food and its role in the American experience. His writings explain how this genre of cuisine has evolved and transformed as it has spread geographically throughout the United States. Growing up in Orange County California with two Hispanic parents, Arellano experienced firsthand the transformation of traditional Mexican dishes into the tex-mex that most American families are familiar with today. The online news site, Reason Magazine, originally published this article to accommodate to an audience of readers who want to be informed but also entertained by the news. These readers care about what is happening in society but are not considered scholars on the topics presented. Although the readers of Reason Magazine might not have any formal knowledge about food and its role in culture, all of them have experienced the importance of a meal in their everyday lives. The author uses the experience and background of his audience to show them the importance and prevalence of Mexican food in the American culture. In “Taco USA” Arellano uses personal stories, ethnic language, and historical information to show his

Planet Taco: A Global History of Mexican Food by Jeffery M. Pilcher, a Professor of History at the University of Minnesota, provides rather than a history of Mexican cuisine instead a changing of people’s culinary choices by investigating how people’s minds change over the course of decades in the presence of marketing strategies both domestic and international and changing consumer outlooks and tastes regarding foreign cuisine. Pilcher does this by using a seemingly

Which is better, Chick-fil-a or Zaxby’s? This is a popular debate. Some people would argue that Zaxby’s is better because they have better chicken. Other people would argue that Chick-fil-a is better because they have better sauces. They both have their benefits, but which is better over all? In order to find this out we can’t go off of taste because everyone has different taste preferences. We must look at many aspects of both restaurants. Some aspects that can determine whether Chick-fil-a or Zaxby’s is better are drinks, desserts, sauces, prices, efficiency, cleanliness, and the attitudes of the workers.

Mike Anderson’s has been one of Baton Rouge’s premiere restaurants for over forty years. In 1975, Mike Anderson, a former LSU all American football player, opened Mike Anderson’s seafood restaurant with the hope that customers would “leave full and get their money’s worth”. He has been very successful to say the least, now with four different locations. The restaurant boast of its reputation for having the best fried and broiled seafood around town. When asking Michael Pearl, a manager at Mikes for over thirty years, what has kept Mike Anderson’s in business for so long, he said “consistency and excellence, this is a place that loves to make people’s day better” (Pearl Interview). It was remarkable to see a manager who has worked somewhere for thirty years still take pride in his job. After working there for about a year, I decided to finally give it a try. I have to admit, I’ve always thought Mike’s was just another seafood restaurant in south Louisiana, but was I wrong! Mike Anderson’s proved to be a wonderful dining experience. For starters, the quality and taste of the food is superb and it comes at a very reasonable price. Secondly, I noticed the warm and inviting atmosphere from the second I walked in. Lastly and most importantly, what stood out to me the most was the quality of service throughout the meal.

In American culture, we typically center our food choices around american options such as burgers, fries, chicken fried steaks, and chicken tenders. However, I decided to seek out a food from a culture that differs than my American background. I sought out a restaurant that served and Indian cuisine and one that I wouldn’t usually try. I decided Indian for the reason that I love spice in food and the spice that the Indian culture uses in their food should really compliment the food. The restaurant that I found was called Taco Naan, which combines cultures and serves food that cater to Mexican and Indian cultures.

Chick-fil-A shows its dedication to TQM by implementing quality beyond the food. The environment Chick-fil-A provides is family friendly as shown by Chick-fil-A’s providing crayons and Cheerios for free to its customers. This allows families to feed even the youngest of children and entertain children of all ages. Children can be entertained in the playground area and by coloring at the table so parents can relax and enjoy a meal. This returns to the quality of life that Chick-fil-A wants, not for its employees this time, but for its customers. This all goes to show how “Chick-fil-A exemplified the ‘dare to be different’ principle” (Berry, 2000, p. 131).

Throughout all of human history, mankind has searched for the ultimate food. To our enjoyment, in 1950, the world was given the answer: Whataburger. Whataburger has taken the hearts of Americans by storm by by serving classic southern style burgers, fries, and shakes. Despite it’s humble beginnings in Corpus Christi, the franchise now boasts over 750 locations and has even secured the 2016 title of “Best Burger in America”. In an effort to understand why this small burger chain became so successful evaluating this legendary business in three different aspects: price, quality, and customer service.

Harvey experienced this a few times. He first opened a Fred Harvey restaurant in Topeka. People immediately loved it because it had good food, it was clean, had great service, and it was at a reasonable price. Soon they became a chain of restaurants. They were about one hundred miles from each other along the Santa Fe Main Line. Harvey wanted the best food that he could get to give to his customers, so he kept his own beef herd, operated its own dairies, and shipped tank cars of fresh water to the restaurants in the desert areas. The menus consisted of thick, juicy steaks, and hot, crispy hash browns. Meals were served on tables outfitted with imported linens, silver table service, and fine china personalized with Fred Harvey’s name. The most popular part of his restaurants are the

In today’s modern and busy world many people have a thirst for saving time on just about everything, even when it comes to eating. Now days people are more likely to eat out rather than cooking a meal at home. Which can be disappointing because family meals seem to be a dying tradition, but for Dentsville residents who have favorable Mexican places such as La Tolteca and Tequila Grill, it is apparent why. Dentsville MD, is a more residential area that only inhabits one place to eat which is a gas station called Cooksey’s store. Which is not the most appropriate place to dine as family, and is far from comparison of Mexican cuisine. It is hard to beat Mexican food. Chinese restaurants have their chicken fried rice, Italian has its lasagna, American has the cheeseburger, and none of them have the delicious chips and salsa. The best part about chips and salsa is that most of the time it is free of charge. Hence, due to these being the only options within the Dentsville area, Mexican comes out on top. So, with Dentsville being located nigh between La Plata and Charlotte Hall. Subsequently, A Mexican craving family is faced with the decision between going

To experience true Tex-Mex cuisine one must visit either a restaurant run by someone of that nationality or a home of someone of those nationalities. Many places try to copy the ways of the cuisine but it is not as authentic as it could be. According to Food Timeline, “The gourmet Tex-Mex “fad” began in the 1970s” (“Mexican”).Tex-Mex foods are know as a combination of many cuisines mixed together.

It is also a place where coaches bring their teams too after games, so you will see people in their uniforms. They serve everyone and treat them like a family. There is a 99% chance that there is a Chili’s in every town I have come across or it is in the nearby town. The chain of this restaurant is crazy and it actually became one of my favorite restaurants. This can be considered ethnic in the sense of their cuisine. The American food served with a Texan-Mexican theme can be served from a burger to chicken fajitas. They serve chips and salsa and also have fries with toppings as appetizers. There is no going wrong when customer come in and want to have the best of both worlds.

The fast food, or quick service restaurant industry (QSR), represents approximately 200,000 restaurants and $155 billion in sales in the U.S. alone, they are one of the largest segments of the food industry (Hoovers, 2011). This segment of the restaurant industry is “highly competitive and fragmented… number, size and strength of competitors vary by region, market and even restaurant. All of these restaurants compete based on a number of factors, including taste, quality, speed of service, price and value, name recognition, restaurant location, customer service and the ambience and condition of each restaurant” (Chipotle, 2010).

Over the last decade, Chipotle is one of the fastest-growing restaurant chains. The company’s commitment to serve fresh food using only natural and organic ingredients, supports local family farms and sources sustainable ingredients from local growers. Chipotle competes against the big fast-food chains, such as McDonald’s and Denny’s. Chipotle found its “Enthusiast” customers by focusing on social media to tell its story. Today, it has over 1.7 million social media fans, yet spends next to nothing on traditional paid media. Because Chipotle is a fast food and less expensive, it also appeals to the “Savvy Shopper” who wants to enjoy fresh food at a bargain price.

The obvious question in comparing two restaurants is which has the better food. The menu at Hy's was pathetic. If you wanted to eat barbecue, you had to choose from only two selections: the sandwich plate and the barbecue plate. The first thing I noticed when the waitress brought out the food (besides her skin tight "Chic" jeans and the apron stolen from long John Silvers) was the extreme lack of barbecue. Both plates had plenty of potato salad, coleslaw, and curly-Q fries, but neither had enough barbecue to come close to filling me up.

While McDonald’s and Burger King have fought over a percentage of the same market share, each company has a unique strategy with which they’ve approached the market. McDonald’s aims to deliver an inexpensive, standard, quality meal with high level of uniformity both in burger structure and in delivery times. Burger King also strives for an inexpensive, quality meal, but focuses on allowing the customer a degree of flexibility in the menu – a goal reflected in their long-time slogan, “Have it your way.” This difference results in distinct objectives for each restaurant that resonate