Say Cheese: Ode to the #16 Plate

It is nothing short of perfection: a blend of tender grilled pork, a generous portion of melted Monterey Jack cheese and a chopped poblano chile, guaranteed to provide just the right amount of kick.

My mind flashed on this heavenly concoction--and my mouth watered for it--as I read Dagoberto Gilb’s ruminations on the state of Mexican food in the U.S., fare that has become, in his words, “American now.” Having long ago been bastardized by our fast-food nation, the taco is “like spaghetti that really isn’t very Italian,” he writes, “like French bread that isn’t French” (“Taco Bell Nation,” page 24).

Gilb remembers with what seems a mix of nostalgia and nausea the classic #3 combination “at every local authentic Mexican restaurant 50 years ago,” a meal so glutinous that the beans and enchiladas would cling to the plate like Superglue.

My own favorite is not the #3 but, rather, the #16, as described above and served with handmade tortillas at Santa Barbara’s La Super-Rica, a little joint on Milpas Street that the late Julia Child famously adored. I’m not exactly sure if the #16 would fuse and hold fast if you turned it upside down. It’s pretty viscous, though, thanks to all that Monterey Jack.

Menus weren’t always like this. David Hayes-Bautista, director of UCLA’s Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture, says that until the 1950s, Mexican cuisine in the U.S. consisted mainly of red meat and pintos--”almost like Tex-Mex cookery”--because most immigrants hailed from relatively close to the border, and those were the primary ingredients back home. Not a lot of cheese was used.

But then two things happened. First, Mexicans began to stream in from regions farther south such as Oaxaca, where dairy products are a more common part of the diet. In fact, Isidoro Gonzalez, the owner of La Super-Rica, says the inspiration for the cheesy selections at his restaurant are the taquerias of Mexico City.

Second, Mexican food has gotten more and more Americanized over time--heavily processed and accompanied by gobs of sour cream, guacamole and chips.

The consequences are not insignificant. A recent report from the United Way of Greater Los Angeles found that more than two-thirds of the adults in the Latino community here are overweight or obese. Hayes-Bautista, who worked on the study, says the problem is particularly severe among third- and fourth-generation Mexican Americans and, of course, is not limited to those in California. Along the Texas border, he says, “you can tell a Tejano family from a Mexican one” because “the clothing size is nearly double.”

In the end, Gonzalez offers the only course that makes sense, even at a place like his, where all the food is fresh: “Just eat in moderation,” he suggests. When it comes to the # 16, however, that’s easier said than done.