Be forewarned, they DO NOT serve tortilla chips. What you will receive is the most glorious bowl of pickled carrots.

Whenever we go to Portland we always stop for lunch, both ways.

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thelaceonmolagsballs@reddit

La Tarasca is delicious. Better Mexican in Portland for sure but is doesn't disappoint and for the area is a stand out! Love that place.

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revjor@reddit

I don’t drive and am in Seattle. So I can’t really give a variety of recommendations.

For Tex-Mex, Plaza Garibaldi on 1st and Denny is great. I go to the truck by my place for lengua tacos.

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ArkansasTravelier@reddit

I believe it, I think the main reason Tex Mex is considered less healthy is because flour tortillas and mounds of cheese and sour cream.

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GeauxCup@reddit

Tex mex - what most Americans generally regard as "Mexican" - tends to be unhealthy.

(Most Americans - if prompted - are aware that what we call Mexican is far from actual Mexican. But if my buddy says - "let's grab Mexican" - 90% chance it's more texmex.)

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Nefarious_Turtle@reddit

Not any moreso than any other popular cuisine. And probably less than some.

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YoungKeys@reddit

I think most Mexican dishes in the US are unhealthy just due to portion sizes. American Mexican places also tend to love using cheese liberally

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While that doesn't help modern diet trends have really wrecked our idea of what is healthy. If it isn't super low calorie or contains carbs, fat, dairy, meat, fruit, salt, flavor, etc. Modern diet trends usually view it as unhealthy. Which is a problem for Mexican food since that list is its main source of ingredients.

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evergreengoth@reddit

That depends entirely on how it's prepared.

Depends what you order

Mexican food is not inherently unhealthy.

Mexican food in chain restaurants in the U.S. is going to be unhealthy, but nearly all food in chain restaurants in the U.S. is going to be unhealthy. I’m talking about the combo plates beloved of a certain segment of U.S. and Canadian society, with tons of cheese and sour cream melted over everything, tortillas fried hard in lard, enormous burritos the size of a baby’s leg, etc. Tex-Mex tends to be like this. Cal-Mex tends to be a little less caloric but chain Cal-Mex is still a gut bomb (and places like San Diego with the fries in the burritos don’t help).

I think that's where the perception comes in. Any food at a restaurant is probably going to be less healthy because they want it to taste good more than anything.

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Deep-Hovercraft6716@reddit

I think the unhealthy part is eating at a restaurant because they want their food to taste good so they use lots of salt and fat and give giant American size portions.

And eating at a Mexican restaurant is the most common way lots of people eat Mexican. And I mean, I don't think people who make quesadillas at home really think of it as feeding Mexican.

So that's where the perception that Mexican is unhealthy comes from. Eating Mexican at a restaurant. Where that's probably true.

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_HeyGFY_@reddit

Authentic Mexican food, no. A lot of it is fried, but we don't have much room to talk. We deep fry things like Oreos and ice cream and butter.

Fast food places like Taco Bell are a different story. All the preservatives and additives make it unhealthy.

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Curmudgy@reddit

Looking at the Taco Bell ingredients list surprised me, as they don’t have as much in preservatives as I expected. The sauces seem to be the main offenders. I generally just get the vegetarian items, and the tostada seems fine except for sauces (assuming the alternatives to MSG, namely disodium guanylate and inosinate, are ok).

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-Moose_Soup-@reddit

Why is everyone in this thread acting like "authentic" Mexican food is super healthy compared to Tex Mex or Americanized Mexican food? Mexico is one of the fattest countries in the world, they have a higher obesity rate than the US. I'm guessing they didn't get to be that way because their food is somehow healthy.

Nothing really, just wouldn't call it healthy. But I think there's a gap between healthy and unhealthy where a lot of food reduces.

Well, I was talking about Mexican restaurants in the US, but OK. Most food made at home is healthier than restaurant food, in general, though. Certainly the Mexican food I would make at home is usually healthier than what I would get in restaurants. But neither has huge amounts of sour cream or cheese, unless you're making Tex Mex cheese enchiladas.

You'll eat a lot more cheese and sour cream on the typical baked potato.

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Fae-SailorStupider@reddit

Yeah the massive amounts of cheese is typically what takes is from okay to not healthy lol

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Head_Razzmatazz7174@reddit

Not that I'm aware of. I mean, Mexicans have been eating it all their lives, and they thrive on it.

raccooninrepairmode@reddit

Depends on who makes it. Taco Bell, certainly not. Tamales and beans made with lard, definitely not. But us Mexicans thrived for centuries on a healthy diet of beans, maize, squash, and rice.

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Low-Restaurant8484@reddit

Not really

Ponchyan@reddit

Lots of lard and starch = unhealthy

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jedooderotomy@reddit

Kind of. I don't think most people think "unhealthy", but few of us would think it's healthy.

Keep in mind, the vast majority of Mexican food in America is Mexican-American food, along the lines of Tex-Mex. And there may be big differences between what all the restaurants are serving versus when we make, say, tacos for ourselves at home.

It's very possible to make healthy Mexican food for yourself. The vast majority of Mexican restaurant food, though (like most restaurant food in general) is not very healthy.

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RangerBuzz_Lightbulb@reddit

If you’re ever in origin you have to try Rigoberto's!

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stangAce20@reddit

The ingredients can often be considered healthy, but I guess it depends how tacos/burritos you eat that decides whether is healthier or not.

Also, the quality matters too, for example Taco Bell is technically Mexican, but probably not that healthy overall

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I_Weep_for_Willow@reddit

I think that there's this notion that Mexican food will fuck with your stomach. Beans, peppers, etc... a lot of folks can't handle that stuff.

So, yes. It's sorta unfairly seen as 'unhealthy' because people will think they're making some big sacrifice to eat it. "Oh my God, I ate five tacos, I'm gonna regret that!"

No. Mexican food is similiar to vacation food in that it has no calories and you can eat however much you want.

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Prestigious-Comb4280@reddit

Since I prefer Tex Mex then it's probably very unhealthy. Never should have tried Frito pie in Texas....

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SkyerKayJay1958@reddit

Americaized Mexican food such as deep fried taquitos, chimichangas full of meat and cheese slathered in guacamole and sour cream is. A street taco with a grilled shrimp pickled onions and salsa not.

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rawbface@reddit

Mexican food is food.

Some food is healthy, some isn't.

Tex Mex is not the healthiest because it is heavy on beans, rice, fried foods, and lots of cheese and heavy sauces. You can always tweak it to make it healthier. Order enchiladas and sub a salad for the rice. That's basically what I do.

Authentic Mexican food is heavy in carbs- rice, beans, tortillas, potatoes. But almost every indigenous cuisine is like that because it is filling and nutritious. That doesn't make it unhealthy. A plate of rice, beans, chicken, veggies, and a few tortillas is healthy.

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Gwtheyrn@reddit

Mexican food is considered delicious in the US.

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Jut_Nob@reddit

I promise, most genuine Mexican dishes are heathier than most Americans dishes. I've never had a Mexican dish that made my arteries feel more full than my stomach.

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bradmajors69@reddit

No. Not necessarily. Among the major fast food chains, Chipotle and even Taco Bell are the ones I'd try to go to for healthier options. Similar vibe with local taco stands and burrito places. You can order something that would make a dietician cry, but you have options like lean meats and fresh veggies.

My wife is Mexican, my avocado consumption has gone up significantly so I'm definitely getting my healthy fats in and more fiber with all the beans too.

non_clever_username@reddit

Mexican food is considered delicious and that’s about as far as I (and likely many others) think about it.

Just like any type of food, some dishes are considered worse health-wise than others.

Opposite, relatively healthy for cheap. It’s a great value for the health conscious budget minded folks. I feel “semi-authentic” Mexican food has replaced many people’s fast food over the last 15 years.

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Senior-Running@reddit

I would say in general, Mexican food in the US tends toward highly caloric, due to many of the offerings having a lot of fat. I know that's not really representative of Mexican food as a whole, but you have to keep in mind that most people's idea of Mexican food here is what you can find in US restaurants. Those dishes tend to be covered in cheese or have a lot of animal fat as a percentage of overall calories. That's partly because it's what sells here. It's what we like.

Intellectually I know there are lots of other more healthy alternatives available in many Latin American countries, including Mexico, but those are not well represented in restaurants here.

In the same way that Chinese food is. The average white American mainly eats Mexican food as take out and take out is usually not very healthy.

If you know anything about Mexican food beyond tacos/burritos etc then it obviously includes healthy foods.

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bryanloveslife@reddit

Well, the question just makes me want to say this. It would be wrong to assume any nationality’s food is unhealthy. That said, how do most Americans (non-Hispanic) eat Mexican food? As take out. In that case yes but not because it’s Mexican, but because take out is usually just not good for you. I’m Hispanic not Mexican but in reality at home we don’t stuff ourselves with burritos and tacos, we usually eat humble rice and beans meals, white cheese, some meat, just normal stuff

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Electronic_Gap3253@reddit

I mean…it’s not exactly healthy because how are you supposed to STOP eating chips and salsa once you get started. You can’t.

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BareTheBear66@reddit

With any food, healthy is dependent on a lot of things. The culture in which the food is from is not an indicator to healthy or not.

A burrito for this instance, Can be healthy. But also can be just as unhealthy.

No. Much like other “ethnic” cuisine if you think it’s unhealthy then your idea of it is flawed.

It’s not the best thing you can eat but it’s not like some other lard soaked food out there.

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ChutneyRiggins@reddit

It's funny you mention lard because manteca is used quite a bit in traditional Mexican recipes.

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It’s not considered healthy!

But the way you’ve phrased it, no, I think here it’s kind of considered “standard”, but if you’re someone very focused on healthy eating (which most people here are not), it’s not great. As others have said, chips are standard, lots of fried foods, fats and rice.