Barbecue is supposed to be served on paper plates, washed down with Kool-Aid or Coke, and found in restaurants dingy enough to prove their authenticity yet clean enough that you don’t fear for your health.

It’s time to stop branding every tortilla-based dish created as “Mexican” and show a little respect. Much of what we’re served in stateside Mexican restaurants would hardly be recognized in Mexico. Foods do cross over international borders and state lines, and truly “authentic” cuisine is difficult to define anymore, but c’mon. There’s no reason to lump together distinct culinary traditions like Mexican, New Mexican, Tex-Mex and Cal-Mex.

Nursing It Back

Little Sir Dan, sat with his hands, aloft over keyboard with a frown. Along came his boss, and with a crumpled note he did toss, asking “Hey, we doing a Chowtown?!”

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