• TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    Sidenote, I actually don’t understand the amount of memes I see about Americans saying mexican/tex mex foods give you diarrhoea/ring sting, that doesn’t seem normal at all to me

    Is it a joke about those types of food places having a very lax food safety culture? Is it about US food laws? Is it about Americans being intolerant to spice?

    Maybe I’m stupid but I’ve never really understood what the meme is about

    • GrymEdm@lemmy.worldOP
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      7 months ago

      I think it’s from anecdotes about eating large amounts of Taco Bell-grade beef after late nights out when one’s “gastrointestinal integrity” would be suspect regardless. Edit: In 2008, Taco Bell had a “Why Pay More?” menu that featured $0.79-0.99 items. If you’re paying 99 cents for chili con carne or a 5-layer burrito at 2 am you’re rolling some dice.

      Home-cooked or restaurant Mexican food, on the other hand, is tied with Vietnamese for my favorite cuisines ever.

    • OpenStars@discuss.online
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      7 months ago

      Tbf, calling Taco Bell “Mexican” food is more than a little bit of a stretch (heck, calling it “food” is even debatable!:-P “delicious cardboard substance” seems fine though…).

      The fact that such food products can do that to you without having an ounce of spice in them shows that it is not due to their being “spicy”, but something else. Maybe the high salt content. Maybe the E. coli, who knows? (probably the E. coli does help a tiny bit…:-P)

      • TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        Yeah that’s why I also said tex mex, which I guess is what taco bell is a bastardised version of? I’m not sure

        But I see this meme levied at more than just taco bell, which is why I also said mexican restaurants

        • OpenStars@discuss.online
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          7 months ago

          Salt, preparation, spice if unexpected, beans if same, etc. Somehow I doubt a 5-star restaurant preparation would engender the response shown in the picture, so this is something related to cheap ones. e.g. while I love Chipotle, it is kinda famous for E. coli… :-D It’s a (low) risk I’m always willing to take for that price:-P.

          • MelodiousFunk@slrpnk.net
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            7 months ago

            I used to inhale Chipotle, the barbacoa in particular. Sometime before Covid, all the ones around here went to shit. Less flavor, more salt. Twas a major bummer.

            Edit: rubbing salt in the wound, I just found out that my dinner is reheated Qdoba.

            sigh

            • OpenStars@discuss.online
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              7 months ago

              I am sorry to hear of your loss.:-( Remember when guac was a DOLLAR!?!? Now they cost “fuck you, and your little dog too” money - and yet still Chipotle is cheaper than just about anything similar (the burritos I mean, I haven’t had their guac since Trump was elected).

              img

          • Possibly linux@lemmy.zip
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            7 months ago

            I’ve never heard of food poising from Chipote but then again I haven’t heard of contamination from a restaurant for a while

    • NeptuneOrbit@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      For the average American who loves roast beef and hamburgers, having a meal high in spices and fiber can be a little shocking on the immune system.

      Yes, there are also the strains of taco bell/gas station burrito food poisoning or whatever.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldM
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      7 months ago

      Maybe it’s the prevalence of beans? It’s never done that to me, although I don’t eat Mexican very often since I’m not a huge fan.

    • I_Fart_Glitter@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      I spent most of my life vegetarian and always thought the Taco Bell diarrhea jokes were just people being racist, like with the Chinese food syndrome thing. But then I started eating meat, and had some Taco Bell ground beef. It’s the beef. I don’t know what it is about it, but… yeah.

      Mexican food in general is the only time many US folks eat beans or any amount of spice, so the gas and spicy butthole can have a strong association for that type of person.

    • frostysauce@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      It’s a lazy, juvenile joke with roots in racism.

      Getting intestinal difficulty from Mexican food or Taco Bell is not at all normal to me.