There, I said it.
Those five little words. Five little words that when used in combination with each other have elicited some of the most passionate responses I have ever received.
There is no position I have had to defend more over the course of my life than this one and this is coming from someone who loves Jesus!
This is how the conversation usually goes. Someone suggests we get something to eat. Someone else follows up with, “How about Mexican?” I respond with “I don’t like Mexican food.”
An awkward silence ensues as everybody in the group freezes and looks at me. They are waiting for me to follow up with something like, “I’m just kidding.” or “Haha, gotcha!”
Unfortunately, such a response is not forthcoming. In fact, I am, as the kids are saying these days, “Deadass.” (What does that even mean? Is someone going around killing donkeys?)
At this point, the conversation usually begins to meander down a predictable path. It’s like everyone has read the “Things to say to people who don’t like Mexican food” handbook and I am their case study. I start to hear things like:
“How can you not like Mexican food?”
“It’s because you haven’t had real Mexican food.”
“There are no good Mexican food places in New York. You need to come to where I’m from.”
This last one is my favorite of all because firstly, am I really supposed to believe that in all of NYC there is not one good Mexican place? C’mon.
Secondly, the people who always pull out that line are either from California or Texas. Surprise surprise. The rivalry about whose Mexican cuisine is better is one that they apparently take very seriously. It’s almost like USC playing Texas in the Rose Bowl. That’s how intense this thing gets.
Apparently, these are the only legitimate contenders when it comes to “real” Mexican food. Ironically, no one ever mentions Mexico in this debate. I have never had anyone say to me, “You need to go to Mexico if you want to get real Mexican food.”
As a matter of fact, I have never had a Mexican chastise me for not liking Mexican food, which I find interesting. If they aren’t that bothered by my aversion to the stuff, why is everyone else?
Here’s the thing though, I don’t think I should have to go to a certain place to appreciate a certain type of food. For example, I love Chinese food. I have had it all over the world, and have had both good and bad Chinese food. The fact that I have had bad Chinese food on any given day in no way influences my desire to eat it again later on. I like it because I like it, independent of any particular experience.
This is something that people who keep trying to convince me to eat Mexican food don’t seem to understand for some reason. You could take me to the best Mexican restaurant in the world and it still not going to do anything for me.
In fact, I’ll go so far as to say that I would rather eat bad Chinese food than good Mexican food. I just don’t like the stuff, and find it amusing that I have to keep apologizing for that.
So there you have it. I have confessed my proverbial sin.
I realize that I am the solitary being on this planet that doesn’t like Mexican food, but I hope from here on out you will all learn to live in peace with me.
If that doesn’t work, then my next best plan is to one day find a girl who shares my dislike for Mexican food, get married, and have a bunch of kids who obviously will be raised to dislike Mexican food. From there we will slowly but surely begin to create a new world order. Don’t say I didn’t warn you…
Featured Image by Marco Verch on Flickr
Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)
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Bryan Mejia-Williams
November 23, 2020 at 5:03 pm
Yall be the main one talking about Mexican food hurting your stomach but yall be eating taco bell McDonald’s, Burger King, and other stuff. I honestly dislike some Mexican food but some of it is actually good. If you don’t like you don’t like it but talk bad about damn use your common sense ppl die for this type of food.
User123
November 22, 2020 at 6:38 am
This has got to be one these rudest blogs about Mexican food I’ve ever read. The last part was completely unnecessary implication of the elimination of ones culture. It’s not for you big deal get over it. However, it’s offensive to Mexican people by saying those kinds of these about their cultural foods. It’s completely uncalled for especially coming from these disgusting comments below. Shame on all of you.
Cindar
November 20, 2020 at 3:35 pm
What’s not to like? THESE…yucky corn tortillas, yucky ground beef, peppers that burn all the taste buds off your tounge so you cant taste anything for a day, raw onions, cilantro, corn, need I go on? No matter where you are from those ingredients pop up in Mexican food. YUCK.
John Clarence
July 13, 2020 at 5:19 am
I was so happy to see all the comments from people disliking Mexican food. I was born and raised in Southern California and as one commenter stated, company lunches always default to Mexican. Happy hours in SoCal do the same. I retired last May and temporarily moved to Guadalajara to save some money. I then moved to Puerto Vallarta when Covid-19 hit and will most likely be here till December. I totally agree that Mexican food, whether it is TexMex or so called authentic is bland, lacking in variety and texturally challenged. Even the restaurants that offer American, Italian and Chinese are lacking because they just don’t taste right. I will be going to Europe once travel is again normalized, and will be able to unashamedly say that I don’t like Mexican food and not have people look at me as though I am from another planet.
Hopeless Gringo
October 23, 2019 at 7:26 pm
When I was a child, my parents would take us to ethnic restaurants 1-2 times a month. I always enjoyed Italian and gradually learned to like Asian as I grew up, but on Mexican nights, I’d beg to stay at my grandmother’s house, a plea that was sometimes granted. Part of the problem was my family’s favorite Mexican restaurant, which, although somewhat upscale, reeked of unpleasant cooking odors that made me want to barf. I once ordered a cheese tostada, thinking it was just a tortilla covered with cheese and salsa, and almost DID barf when I took a bite and learned there were refried beans hiding under the cheese! Eventually I learned to eat quesadillas and cheese enchiladas, as well as rice-and-(whole) beans bowls, but I never crave Mexican food and don’t ever suggest it as a restaurant option.
Why do I dislike Mexican food? I think part of it is the repetition of ingredients: a chef can combine tortillas, beans and/or meat, rice, cheese, tomatoes, onions, and salsa in ways that look somewhat different, but they all taste essentially the same. Of course the same is true of red-sauce Italian, which I love, so. . .the texture of refried beans and guacamole certainly doesn’t help. If not for guacamole, I may be able to enjoy fish tacos!
I’ve often thought that if I wanted to lose serious weight in a short time, a trip to Mexico may be in order!
Chris Gatto
September 8, 2019 at 3:56 pm
I had the misfortune of going to a taco restaurant. Could not eat anything as Mexican food smells like dirty panties to me! I have tried enchiladas,tacos and empinadas. Do not like spicy food. Don’t judge me. Eat all the mexican food you want! Don’t expect me to eat that nasty, messy slop.
Cole Sultemeier
August 28, 2019 at 2:18 am
I’m not a fan of mexican food whatsoever and i feel like my girlfriend hates me subtly for it. She’s a food lover and always has been a fan of mexican food. I’m just like “Babe, I really dont care for mexican, not a fan of the taste, texture or what it does to my insides afterwards” *Oh real mexican food doesnt do that, that’s what you need*. I dont NEED any variety of mexican food, what I NEED is food i can consistently eat without my intestines dying. Dinosaur Chicken Nuggets for example.
mary
July 24, 2019 at 6:59 am
agreed, it’s messy and gross and smothered in way too much subpar cheese.
Z
July 17, 2019 at 11:07 pm
I actually hate Mexican food. Its mostly one note and just a hot mess to eat. Everything (Well at least a lot of it) is a goopy mess! Although i do have to admit one thing, I quite like those small sized street tacos. Those one-biters are fun and delicious to eat but other than that, its just one nasty cuisine! Thanks for keepin’ it real! 🙂
MeMe
May 21, 2019 at 2:06 am
So relieved to find other people who don’t like Mexican food. It is so bland isn’t it? They like to spice it so the flavours of the spices cancel each other out, sometimes completely unseasoned food has more flavour than mexican. I could probably get past the blandness, the thing I really can’t handle is the fact that so many mexican dishes are supposed to be served watery and TEPID. All the lukewarmish room temperature mush makes me gag.
Expat in Mexico
May 9, 2019 at 7:52 am
Living in Mexico City right now. Most of what you can find just seem permutations of the same basic ingredients. It gets boring very quickly. I don’t hate it, but I have never found myself craving it, or understood the hype surrounding it. There are far superior cuisines across the world with a plethora of distinct dishes, but Mexican is not among them.
Jay Flores
October 24, 2018 at 4:55 pm
I despise Mexican food and have had similar responses to my aversion of it. I have eaten it in Texas, California, New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska and even in Mexico itself…..all of it is pretty gross to me. I will admit I like chips and salsa though, everything else…well it wouldn’t hurt my feelings if all other mexican dishes were never made again.
Ann
October 22, 2018 at 11:39 am
Every company free lunch, company outing including lunch ALWAYS has to be Mexican food. It’s disgusting. Refried beans? Yuck! The texture and flavor is awful. Ground beef that has been mixed with peppers? Yuck! It smells bad, it has bad consistency, and it is not healthy. Don’t be fooled that by adding lettuce to your taco you’re getting something healthy!
Jimini
July 27, 2018 at 7:30 pm
I live in SoCal, have had plenty of authentic Mexican, and don’t understand why anyone would have a strong preference for it. It’s fine for a quick something to eat, but not an interesting style of food. I don’t think that Mexicans would argue with that.
And yes I can totally understand why some people don’t like it – it’s typically pretty bland and sloppy as served.
Joyce Denver
December 13, 2017 at 8:11 pm
I dont like the look the smell the texture spices or any taco or tortilla. I dont like the sloppiness. Refried beans BARF. Cilantro….yuk….even the way they mash avacodos. Its just too much overwhelming flavour that takes over everything…heat….lime….no balance. Give me lightly crunchi vegetables, savoury sauces that compliment.
Christine Rose
September 12, 2017 at 12:54 pm
I also dislike Mexican food, and also am tired of defending my dislike. The line about “never having had good Mexican” is particularly irking because it assumes I’m too stupid to have thought about that. I know your article is five years old, but you deserve not to feel alone.
Bonnie
July 23, 2017 at 12:29 am
I am years late commenting on this but I just had to say something. I. Hate. Mexican. Food. TOO! I can whole heartedly relate to every single word that you wrote because I have experienced the same reactions and treatment from people my entire life when I admit I don’t like the stuff. I end up feeling like an alien from a strange planet who should be donated to science and closely studied. I have given Mexican food multiple chances, allowed friends to drag me to their favorite Mexican restaurants so I could give tacos another try, have been taken to Taco Bell in the middle of the night after a few drinks, etc. I dislike melted cheese, tomatoes, sour cream, cilantro, salsa, retired beans (when I first tried it I almost vomited- like, just give me BEANS. I felt like I was eating baby food), lime, etc. The only ingredient used in Mexican cuisine that I can actually say I like is avocado. Thank you for sharing this. I don’t feel 100% alone anymore and it’s comforting to see I’m not the only one on God’s green earth who despises Mexican food.
Oh, and Cuban food is a whole different story – yum!
Tee
July 20, 2017 at 11:09 pm
I despise the stuff. I really do. I moved to Texas 7 years ago and everyone out here raves about it. It’s just not my thing. I refuse to pay for food I don’t like so I reject going out with others when they want to eat Mexican food. I was raised in Boston MA and grew up on seafood and italian food. I think a lot of depends on where you were raised.
Jacob
July 20, 2017 at 6:13 pm
Even tho this is almost 5 years late I can totally relate. And I’ve eaten authentic Mexican and still can’t stand it. Besides a few dishes most of their food is super bland to me. And when I tell people they get so offended. But I can totally relate. Italian food is my fav because it actually has flavor. I’m glad there’s other people who feel the same way!
TexMex
July 18, 2017 at 4:26 am
Finally! You are a hero. I get tons of crap from people on this topic all the time. I don’t know why it has become so fashionable to default to Mexican food whenever a group is deciding where to eat. Without fail, every lunch, business or personal, usually involving people aged 28-35 always results in Mexican food. Fact is, it is just the handful of very basic ingredients, overly fried or grilled or sautéed in lard, and is just plain awful. In fact, I’m convinced that no one really “likes” it (just tolerates it), but suggests Mexican food so they sound hip. Mexican food sucks. Italian, Greek, Chinese, American? All fantastic.
Bill Cava
March 20, 2017 at 11:24 pm
The entire east coast of the US is not Mexican food-friendly
Tell me, if you live anywhere from Maine to Florida (native NYer here, now in Fl), when do you EVER see taco stands? Chili joints? I’ve never seen one here.
I’ve always told people from other areas of the country that don’t like Mexican food that if they really want to get away from it, move to NYC. I was born and raised there, and didn’t even know what a taco was until I was 12 years old. There’s so much ethnic food in the city, that there’s no room for Mex. Italian, Jewish, Greek, Chinese and on and on. None of the famous food carts on the streets of Manhattan carry Mexican; there’s no demand for it at all
Thanks for putting up this article, it’s nice to know that others are in the same place with food!
Andrew Bauer
March 4, 2017 at 2:22 pm
Thank you I thought it was just me .. I get the same responses too
Our family love Mexican food and tonight there is yet another family dinner at a ” new” Mexican and all I can think of is eat before I go and lay low and nobody may notice I did not eat .
Iñaki
November 2, 2016 at 2:25 pm
I don’t like most Mexican food either. I was born in Canada to a Mexican mother, and lived 9 years in Mexico, and tasted real Mexican food. While it’s better than abroad, it’s still not something I like. One of the reasons may be that it is very savorous food, and as strange as it may sound, I don’t like flavors in food; I like it simple.
Ug0nna
June 27, 2013 at 4:51 pm
I feel your pain, we should start a support group 😉
Anonymous
June 26, 2013 at 7:57 pm
I myself am Mexican-American, and I, like you, do not like Mexican food either. Similarly, I also prefer bad Chinese food to the best Mexican food. Just don’t let it get to you. Trust me, I also find it annoying that I have to defend my dislike of the food especially considering that I’m Mexican-American.
Neil Johsnon
February 8, 2013 at 1:22 pm
Everybody have the right to choose the right or wrong thing also liking and disliking. I personally like the maxican food very much but my other friend don’t like it. So you information is very helpful for everyone who want to know about it and i hope in future you also update us. mexican.co.uk