One doesn’t ordinarily think of New Jersey as an oasis of Mexican food, but that is changing rapidly. As more and more of these restaurants open, they are taking their rightful places as purveyors of a specific and widely-appreciated cultural cuisine. Thanks to their ambitious owners, Garden State residents are increasingly able to sample this true Mexican food right in their own home town.
As immigration spreads across the country, it brings in its wake an intermingling of cultures that were once distinct. Mexican, or Southwest, cuisine is not the same thing one finds in Americanized chain restaurants found from sea to shining sea. Instead, these are legit, mostly family-owned, restaurants that bring a taste of a distant land to New Jersey palates. In these places, pepper does not mean black granules in a shaker. Instead, it means you better be ready for a little bit of fire on the tongue.
It is interesting to discover what other cultures think of as spicy food. As with any new experience, south of the border food can be an acquired taste. Once you have it, however, it is something you want to enjoy time and again. For many years, few people have gone to a restaurant in Hoboken in search of Mexican food, but the trend is clearly reversing itself. Once the word spreads that you don’t have to stick to the same handful of local favorite dining spots, the popularity of Mexican food is bound to spread even faster than it already is.
Try it for yourself at the Orale Mexican Kitchen, https://oralemk.com. For more information, follow us on Facebook.
