From: Jim Lane

You're right, just like fajitas and a lot of other things thought to be
Mexican. However, burritos have made their way into Mexico because of tourists
and Mexicans returning home that liked them here.

Mexico isn't a homogenous or static culture, any more than the USA is
homogenous or static. Mexico's cuisine has been influenced by every ethnic
group that ever lived there, and the search for "authentic" Mexican cuisine may
lead to great frustration on the part of the would-be gourmet looking for
"typical" regional dishes...

I remember talking to some tourists at a restaurant on Cozumel island and
trying to tell them about how Mexican cooking wasn't all about eating tacos and
burritos and the sort of snack stuff you find Taco Bell...

They were disappointed at being unable to find tacos and burritos and
enchiritos on the upscale restaurant's menu...

But my explanation wasn't good enough, the tourists asked the young Mexican
tour guide what he ate at home, and he replied, "Oh, we eat a lot of tacos..."

I ordered cochinita pibil at the restaurant that day. It was excellent tender
piglet, baked in a banana leaf and smothered in onions, but some of the other
tourists were unwilling to try anything unfamiliar...

I remember one guy ate "pollo al carbon" at every dinner, because he knew what
that was...

I have always searched restaurant menus for the unfamiliar names and ordered
that item, as a culinary adventurer...

Once, in downtown Madrid, I found the only inexpen$ive cafeteria-style
restaurant in the city and ordered "chuletas de cerdo" from the menu on the
wall, without being quite sure what a "chuleta" was. I knew that a "cerdo" was
a pig, though..

The counterperson told me to go ahead and have a seat at a table, that my
grilled pork chops would take a few minutes to cook. My culinary adventures
continue.

The other day, I found a local restaurant that served "costillas de puerco",
and I knew what that was, so I ordered the pork ribs in fiery red chile sauce
and enjoyed them very much, but it led me to wonder why three different dishes
made with pork have such different names...




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