438782 Thu Sep 06 12:33:54 -0700 2007 4 33 Food Media and News 0 2916971 Forwarded this morning by a friend, http://www.salon.com/mwt/food/eat_drink/2007/09/05/taco_bell/ Thu Sep 06 12:33:54 -0700 2007 10039 Melanie Wong 1 2918539 Thanks so much. That is the funniest thing I've read in a long time ... and the responses are even funnier including Dery's response to criticism ... bravo, Mr. Dery. Love the person who wrote " anyone who compares the Crunchwrap Supreme to partial-birth abortion is clearly a person utterly devoid of joy.." Even better was the comment that foodies should be forced to register when they move to town so others will be aware of their presence. That being said, Taco Bell has changed over the years. There is one response about working at TB early on and actually chopping veggies and cooking beans from scratch. This pdf file from the Taco Bell site with the "Ingredients statement" might explain why the taste didn't match the memory. http://www.yum.com/nutrition/documents/tb_ingredient_statement.pdf Chili Beef, Water, Seasoning [Isolated Oat Product, Salt, Chili Pepper, Onion Powder, Tomato Powder, Oats,Lecithin, Toasted Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Maltodextrin, Sugar, Soybean Oil (Anti-Dusting Agent),Pepper, Oregano, Cumin, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Citric Acid, Caramel Color, Cocoa Powder (ProcessedAlkali), Lactic Acid, Natural Flavors, Natural Smoke Flavor, Modified Corn Starch], Salt, Sodium Phosphate.Seasoning: Enriched Bleached Wheat Flour (Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin,Acid), Spices, Food Starch - Modified, Salt, Paprika, Maltodextrin, Tomato Powder, Dehydrated Onion,Powder, Sodium Alginate, Malic Acid, Monocalcium Phosphate, Extractive Of Paprika, With Not More Tricalcium Phosphate Added As An Anticaking Agent. CONTAINS WHEAT, SOYBEAN, GLUTEN Also interesting is the perspective about Taco Bell making Mexican food acceptable and reversing stereotypes about Mexican food that exist to this day. When you were documenting the Salinas Taco Trucks, the reaction to taco trucks in some areas of the country were shocking. The hate and ignorance generated took my breath away. So if Taco Bell was a step in erasing some of those perceptions ... well, good for them. Thu Sep 06 20:44:49 -0700 2007 2916971 10264 rworange 2 2918751 I really enjoyed the article as well... it sort of validated my own research into the subject of U.S. - Mexican Cuisine relations... from a passive participant no less great stuff. In my own research trying to explain how Mexican cuisine became so skewed... I began by looking at 1920's attitudes and found some interesting things: > L.A's oldest running Mexican-American restaurant is El Cholo. Its original name was El Cholo Spanish Cafe.... > Many of Hollywood's earliest stars were Mexican but were pressured by their studios / producers to claim Spanish birth or heritage.... >> Ramon Novarro... the original Ben Hur as well as Mata Hari & The Big Steal >> Luis Alonso had to anglicize his name to Gilbert Roland to succeed (Camille, Men of the North, Cisco Kid) >> Anthony Quinn (Zorba the Greek), Ricardo Montalban, Rita Hayworth...all asked to play down his Mexican heritage Also noteworthy are some of the names of Hollywood movies with Mexican "protagonists"... "The Greaser's Gauntlet" & "The Greaser's Revenge"... both played by Anglo actors "dressed up" Its funny that Taco Bell... which we see as the most insulting expression of our culture could have played a big part in improving the Mexican-American image and paving the way for openness to more authentic cuisine. Thu Sep 06 22:50:26 -0700 2007 2918539 42572 Eat_Nopal 3 2919793 Hi E.N., Do you know the book, _Recipe of Memory: Five Generations of Mexican Cuisine_, by Victor M. Valle and Mary Lau Valle? If not, I think you would enjoy it. Valle's family background is from Guadalajara, but his family has been in Southern California for 3 generations. There is a lot of family history, many interesting recipes, and observations about how attitudes have changed over the years. What made me think of the book in this context is one piece of data the Valles cite, showing the insane prejudices of the past against Mexican food: a newspaper story from the Los Angeles Record in 1899, which tells of a 21 year old shop girl – “a most pronounced blonde” with “beautiful flaxen hair, a pearly complexion and large expressive blue eyes” – who was in a coma close to death. Why? She had eaten a tamale [sic]. Amata (whose health was, on the contrary, *improved* by last night's huarache and tepache :-)) Fri Sep 07 10:13:19 -0700 2007 2918751 21560 Amata 4 2921226 Great reference piece there. Thanks! Fri Sep 07 16:47:32 -0700 2007 2919793 42572 Eat_Nopal