yea, it might be that when you get used to the Americanized-ethnic food (I'm not saying that all Mexican food in Wisconsin are "Americanized"), it tastes weird when you taste the real deal...
Yes, there are undoubtedly more ace Mexican places in LA than probably anywhere in the US, just due to the sheer numbers of places. 1000 places seems very low. There are probably that many taco trucks alone in LA county.
But you guys are missing the point. From seeing both sides of this conundrum, I've come to feel that the stuff at the taqueria-type places in the Midwest may actually be more "authentic" in general than the stuff in the West. And I've eaten Mexican food everywhere. So what if I'm not Mexican? I know what to expect. I've been to Mexico countless times and I only eat where the locals eat, usually off of the street, because I'm too cheap to pay for gringo food anywhere. And I try and eat at every Mexican place I can in my own city. And comparing the Mexican food you had at home to the food at a restaurant is ridiculous. Everytime I ask a Mexican in LA where the best place to get Mexican food is, the answer is, "At my mom's house, gue!" That doesn't help me if I don't get a formal invitation.
Someone quoted something a while back that the further you get from the home country, the less real the food is. This is totally true, but it doesn't only apply to geographical proximity. East LA is closer to Michoacan than Eau Claire is to Morelia. However, many Mexican folks running restaurants in California and the SW have lived there for a long time. The owners are a long way from the way they were back in Aztlan. Not only has their cuisine picked up non-Mexican influences over time, they've developed new ideas just through innovation. That happens with any cuisine. Cooks like to evolve. Heck, people here are talking about burritos like that determines the authenticity of a Mexican or Salvadorean place. The burrito we know and love (the big log of meat, beans, and rice wrapped in a massive tortilla) doesn't exist in Mexico. That was developed in California. If a place in Mexico serves a "burrito" (and not many places do), the item you get bares no resemblance to what they're gonna serve you in the Mission or in LA. The Mission-style burrito is no yardstick of authentic Mexican food anywhere.
There are a few places like Chicago that have had large Mexican populations for years, but, in the Midwest, most of the Mexican population are fairly recent arrivals and have not had much time to assimilate and absorb Midwestern influences. In a sense, they're closer to the home country than the Mexican-Americans down in Chula Vista, who are 15 minutes from the border. I'm sure in 20 years, there will be some sort of upper Midwest Mexican food variant that will incorporate cheese curds, a fried pork tenderloin, masa, cilantro, and al pastor somehow. (I just came.) But today, the stuff they're cooking in their restaurants near the meat packing plants in IL, WI, IA, etc., is the food straight out of their villages back in Mexico. Most white hicks in those small towns aren't ready yet for the stuff they're serving and the proprietors haven't yet tweaked their menus to cater to said yokels. If you're "brave" enough to go try those places, you can get a real deal Mexican meal without having to go to California or Mexico. Sure, there are also plenty of Mexican places in the Midwest that cater to whitey, but you find places like that here, too, despite the massive numbers of real places. (Hello, Juan's.) But you can usually spot those places from a mile away, whether they're in CA or Dubuque.
Mexican Food>Limited Edition Jay Reatard 45s
Anyone tried the Pupusas at that place across from West Oakland BART? They are great!
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