Thursday, September 13, 2018

No Way!

Yesterday, the results of the 2018 Harris Poll were released.  The Harris Poll is a national poll that identifies the brands which consumers most identify with and consider the "best".  Because it is a national poll, regional or local brands aren't really included.  Some might question the "best" label on these brands when there might be local or regional brands that are better.  But it would make sense that the ones most commercial and most widely known would be chosen.  It would make sense except for one category...BEST MEXICAN RESTAURANT.

I would have to STRONGLY disagree with that claim, as would our local TV station.  Having lived my life in Southern California, my experience with Mexican food is based on really good, homemade, authentic (minus the lengua or tripas) Mexican food.  In my travels across country, the norm is that the further away I get from home, the less authentic and the more "Taco Bell" the Mexican food becomes.  In fact, when I lived in New England, Taco Bell WAS where most people got their Mexican food.
While this is not a knock on anyone who likes Taco Bell.  Fast food is fast, convenient, and has its place.  But to claim it's the best Mexican food is insane.  It is barely Mexican food at all, let alone the best.

12 comments:

  1. Oh, how this is making me smile! For I love Taco Bell and really can't stand Mexican food. Or, more accurately, authentic Mexican food hates me. The spices and texture really punish my sensitive gut. So the very fact that I enjoy Taco Bell proves your point: it's not Mexican food. (Follow that?)

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    1. Ha ha ha! I do follow. And I do understand being sensitive to it because there are some strong spices in it. I love that about it though! It's not boring. :)
      I don't personally like TB as a fast food place. We have Del Taco also which is more regional than national which I like better. Again, I'd rather have street tacos or go to one of the many hole in the wall local places that make incredible food, but DT is better in a pinch, in my opinion.

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  2. Can you imagine what passes for Mexican in Ireland then. We are up for it, indeed we are far more adventurous than I would ever have believed as a kid. But with Mexican we are result abused by TV chefs and their books.

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    1. You don’t know what you’re missing! It’s actually something we take for granted here. I probably eat/make some form of Mexican food on a weekly basis. When I travel outside of CA I come home craving it. Yum! :)

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  3. It didn't get the nickname Taco Hell for nothing!

    I am blessed to live in a community with a large hispanic population and probably 20+ authentic "mexican" restaurants. I put mexican in quotes because my favorite of them all is actually run by an couple from El Salvador. There is also a Honduran one that is a close runner up.

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  4. I should add that I hadn't eaten at a Taco Bell for probably a decade or more until a couple months ago when I got a handful of free coupons for one of their meals. I tried it but found it very greasy and generally unappetizing. I threw the rest of the coupons away.

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  5. Well, there's Mexican food and there's Tex-Mex and they can actually be quite different. I'd say Taco Bell's claim to fame is that they're cheap... or at least they use to be. Haven't eaten at one in ages, but even then I would never have ranked it above the "real" restaurants in our small town.

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    1. Oh yes, the two cuisines are quite different. I'm not much of a Tex-Mex fan, as it's not what I'm used to.
      Taco Bell hasn't ever really been on my radar, and then they did that expose on them a few years ago about the "meat", which pretty much turned me off completely.

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  6. OK tell us how you really feel — HA! I saw those poll results and had a similar reaction, as in, Really? While I really like Mexican food, I’ve never been a Taco Bell fan. I’ve probably been in one less than five times. But obviously they have fans.

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    1. I'm the same way with visiting one. I can't tell you the last time I went to one. When I was a kid, all but one of my older cousins worked at Taco Bell when they were in high school and college, but I can't remember every eating at one. For the last few years they have advertised menu items that are so outlandish and don't think I ever will. We have plenty of fast local places that do it much better. I'll stick with them.

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  7. haha! My kids love Taco Bell.. which I agree is convenient and fast and we don't even have to get out of the car.. but no way would I nominate it as best anything.. except maybe fast food.

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