True Tacos

Tacos have become a vital part of the American culinary landscape for a long time. People love them because of their ease and taste.Kids love  them because they're just fun. This classic started off as other classics, as part of a regular diet.

The dish, as we know,started in Southern California, in San Bernardino, an hour east of Los Angeles. Its' history and evolution was the main topic of an article in today's New York Times' Wednesday Dining section. The piece, expertly investigated and researched by Times regular, Julia Moskin, tells how they were first made in Mitla, a Mexican cafe that has been around since 1937.Here, the tortillas were and still are fried golden yellow and stuffed with spicy beef and blanketed with iceberg lettuce. It's really a Cal Mex creation. There are other Mexican American combos  such as bacon wrapped hot dogs wrapped in bollito rolls along with breakfast tacos (stuffed with Tater Tots) and Mexican hamburgers, pressed into a burrito (filled with pork rinds and beans).

Mitla is also known for inspiring the birth of that American classic fast food Taco Bell. It was in 1962 that entrepreneur Glenn Bell, was to cash in on the fast food craze. Jealous of his fellow Southern Californians, the Kroc Brothers of McDonalds fame. He had a stand across from Mitla and would watch the restaurants take out window garner long lines,Bell got the recipe from the cooks and the rest is history. He then went on to create one of the world's favorite dinners and also introduced the taco to the world.I'm glad he did.

The taco is a relatively healthy staple the wold loves, Thanks to CalMex cuisine it is a tasty reminder of the best of hybrid cultures. It is here to stay , in  so many variations.