Mexican Food Now Makes Up 10% Of All US Restaurants

No matter what city you travel, it seems like there is always Mexican restaurant. In most towns and cities across America, there is a Mexican restaurant waiting to serve a bowl of tortilla chips and salsa and a margarita. Mexican restaurants are incredibly popular, and almost ubiquitous in the American culinary landscape. But did you know that Mexican food now makes up 10% of all restaurants in the United States?

Yes, about on in ten restaurants across the country now serve Mexican food according to the analysis of Safegraph data conducted by Pew Research Center. But even with Mexican food's overwhelming popularity, there are a few states that have more Mexican restaurants than other states. Unsurprisingly, Texas and California have 40% of the Mexican restaurants in the United States, most likely thanks to the fact that they share a border with Mexico.

But it's not just Texas and California that have a penchant for Mexican cuisine; 85% of all counties in the United States have at least one Mexican restaurant. And the 15% of counties that don't have a Mexican restaurant have a population of only about 4 million combined. And with tortillas now outselling hotdog buns and salsa outselling ketchup, suffice to say that Mexican food has become a staple of U.S. culture.

But why are Mexican restaurants so popular in the United States? Well, for one, Mexico and the United States share a nearly 2,000 mile long border. And a good number of the many U.S. Mexican restaurants are located in towns and cities along the Mexican-American border, especially in states that share a stretch of that borderland like California and Texas. The influx of Mexican immigrants across the United States also contributes the growing number of restaurants serving Mexican food in the U.S., as many Mexican-Americans have opened restaurants that serve authentic Mexican cuisine along with fusion Tex-Mex dishes that blend the best of both cultures.

Of course, it's more than just proximity that brings Mexican food to American tables. Taste can't be ignored. Mexican food includes a wide variety of incredibly delicious foods, including tamales, tacos, guacamole, and nachos, that have become staples in many American diets. Plus these tasty dishes are often served at a low price point, with most Mexican restaurants on Yelp featuring a single dollar sign marker. However, this does not mean that Mexican food is a ubiquitously inexpensive food. Across the country there are a variety of Mexican restaurants ranging from high-end sit-down establishments to food trucks to the much-loved hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurants that are staples within their local communities. The cuisine has even cemented itself among fast food and fast-casual chains such as Taco Bell and Chipotle, which have brought Mexican-inspired foods to an even wider dining base. Ultimately, there's definitely a Mexican (or Mexican-inspired) dish for everyone at every price point. 

Mexican food isn't exactly a newcomer to the American food scene, however. In fact, it's been central to many Southwestern states for centuries as many U.S. states including Texas and California were once Mexican territories, and Mexican food and culture have remained key parts of their unique regional identities.

However, Mexican food really became ingrained in American culture in the 1940s, with the invention of Tex-Mex, a cuisine that fuses Mexican fare with Anglo and American foods. Tex-Mex, for example, often includes cheddar jack cheese rather than more traditional Mexican cheeses and tends to use spice blends as a base rather than fresh peppers. According to The New York Times, Tex-Mex became incredibly popular in the 20th century, especially after the release of the 1972 book "'The Cuisines of Mexico" by Diana Kennedy, which introduced many Mexican foods, by way of an outside voice, to American diners.

And although Taco Bell is more an American invention than a result of Mexican influence, it certainly played a role in the growing popularity of Mexican food in the United States. First opened in 1962 in southern California, the restaurant capitalized on the growing trend of fast food restaurants to blend Mexican food with American ingredients like sour cream and shredded cheese.

But since the 1960s, the landscape of Mexican cuisine has grown to be much more diverse, and much more authentic, with many Mexican restaurants being owned by Mexican-American families who serve a blend of Mexican and Mexican-American cuisine. But no matter which way you shred it, Mexican food is now an essential American food.