When I come across a Latin restaurant, my fingers get tingly and I’m ready to whip out my phone. As a Latina of mixed Mexican, Peruvian, and Colombian heritage and a purveyor of the importance of authenticity, I love sharing my passion of eating good food while engaging online in the discussion of food expectations that most Latin Americans have when they go out on the town to eat. These expectations always come down to answering one thing: how close is this food to what it “should be”? For example, let’s discuss the taco. We all know what tacos are. You’ve got a random tortilla, some meat in the middle, and maybe you’re going to sprinkle some cheese and veggies on top and call it a day. Delicious! Agreed. But to a self- respecting Chicano, that’s not a taco. That’s a trip to Taco Bell (where I have my go- to menu items just like everyone else). If we dissect the taco further in terms of expectations, I would check to see that this tortilla is made from corn. I would look to see how the meat is prepared (in strips! or cubes if you really want the “al pastor” style), and cheese would be staying far away from this taco. Cheese is for the burritos. Remember, lettuce and tomato belongs on the taco, not inside the burrito. Remember. Of course, everyone grows up with different twists to their cultural food, and everyone’s Momma, or abuela (sorry, Google, breaking the language rules), cooks differently. In turn, people will use their own criteria to decide whether an establishment claiming to serve a specific ethnic food is doing just that.I don’t claim to know everything about Mexican, Peruvian, or Colombian food. But, I know what’s worth looking for in different places claiming to serve this food after living a lifetime of trying different places and talking to Latin friends who grew up in the States like I did. It’s important to me to share my gourmet observations with others hesitant to get their hopes of authenticity up too high when searching for a place to eat. So, feel free to check out my reviews on Google Maps letting you know if that Colombian empanada is as beefy as it should be or if the chef of the Peruvian lomo saltado confused the vinegar bottle with the salt and went a little overboard (we know where the flavor should be coming from). And if the authenticity of culture doesn’t matter to you, keep reading anyway! I’ll at least tell you if the food is good.
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