I prefer to consider "authentic" to be the pre-Columbian cuisine, which rules-out wheat flour tortillas.
That said, the wheat tortilla has now been around in Mexico for 500 years, which is plenty of time to integrate a component into a regional cuisine.
Still, Mexico is the birthplace of corn. It has a dazzling variety of corn that nourished the indigenous people for thousands of years prior to the arrival of wheat in Mexico and so I think it's more exciting to learn about than the wheat-based versions.
Authenticity is a silly thing anyway. A lot of the most “authentic” foods are a lot young than we’d think thanks to the new world veggies mixing with old world cattle.
Like nobody wants authentic precolombian italian beat sauces or south east asain cuisine without peppers, and the potato and everywhere.
I think it's pretty solidly in the Tex-Mex category, which is so much more popular in America than actual Mexican food that "Mexican" is better considered a casual alternative to saying Tex-Mex. If you actually mean authentic Mexican, you should probably specify that, or even better, name the specific region. It's normal to see a restaurant advertised as Oaxacan or Yucatan, for example.
One thing I think people need to understand is that 'Tex-Mex' should not be considered a goddamned insult. Texas has a deep history with it's relationship to Mexico, and Texas is fucking huge.
To put it in perspective, go look at a land size comparison of Texas and the entire UK. Texas is bigger. On it's own.
So to expect it to not have it's own culture and it's own cuisine is stupid as hell. Now, if we want to discuss which we prefer... that's a different conversation.
And to ask me if I want to live there? The answer is a resounding "hell no."
I would say more California than Tex - Tex Mex has heavier emphasis on fried foods. The company is headquartered in California. It looks like the owner got most of the inspiration in San Francisco, and then moved to Colorado.
I mean the same way Taco Bell is Mexican, Olive Garden is Italian, or any American Chinese food is Chinese. It’s not “food from that area” but instead “food that reminds you of that area.” That’s how American culture works. People say America has no culture because everyone brings their own. Well, this is American culture, a bunch of food that’s not from the places your family is from but food that might remind you of those places.
That said I personally would consider it Mexican-flavored American food along with Taco Bell, Taco Time, Taco Del Mar, etc. That said when I say “I feel like Mexican food tonight” I’m thinking of Mexican-flavored American food because you simply can’t get Mexican Food in America as readily.
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