Yup, I moved to an Iowa town with a lot of hispanic representation and was excited that there was a couple mexican restaurants in my area. The one everyone seems to love isn’t THIS bad but its 100% made for white people “mexican” food. Thankfully, the hole the wall a couple blocks away is authentic.
The hole in the wall places are always the best, I think that’s true for most regional cuisines
Honestly, it could be a thousand Iowa towns, but I think you just described Taco Tico in Fort Dodge. Drive thru runs onto the street often.
Cheese is not supposed to look like that…
That’s a melted Kraft Single. At least they removed the plastic first.
Edit: Yes, they’re wrapped in plastic. Please don’t burn it.
That’s not cheese, that’s yellow shrink wrap
What in Sam hell is that even supposed to be? Like what did it say on the menu?
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My experience in Iowa is limited to seeing Cage the Elephant at a casino in Council Bluffs.
Saw music
Got laid
Gambled
Drank
It was alright
What the fuck
This photo reminds me of all the shitty restaurants that put the cheese on top of an omelette instead of inside it. And some of them are even using american slices.
American slices are a food crime in and of themselves already. If it doesn’t even meet the legal definition for being called “cheese”, it has no business going around and pretending.
I’ll make an exception for vegan cheese alternatives if they’re made out of natural ingredients but this shit is literally plastic.
American cheese is cheese according to some links people posted. It is adequate for grilled cheese sandwiches.
I’d argue it’s the best for grilled cheese sandwiches because it stays melted way longer. Other types of cheese I’ve tried get a weird texture when they cool off. I don’t particularly like them anyway due to the macros being garbage and I’m certainly open to suggestions but this has been my experience.
No, legally it used to be called “pasteurized processed cheese product”, although apparently they have replaced “processed” with “prepared” nowadays, likely because it sounds slightly less artificial.
Either way, it definitely does not meet the legal standard to simply be called “cheese”.
It’s called processed because they mix cheese and other dairy products like milk and they can also add whey protein. It’s cheese that has additional processing.
Correct. The “additional processing” also includes the addition of sodium citrate to prevent those different milk fats from separating again in order to ensure a homogenous product.
Sodium citrate is not permitted as an ingredient in any other type of cheese except the “pasteurized processed” ones.
American cheese is cheese. I’m not gonna let the despots at the FDA dictate my perception of reality.
“Authentic” Mexican food = Tex-Mex in many places. This looks like it.
For all the “cheese product” hate in here: it has its place in certain foods. My favorite response I’ve seen to calling it fake with “it isn’t cheese” is “is meatloaf meat?” Same concept. Meatloaf isn’t fake meat. It’s a product made with meat. Just like cheese with emulsifiers added. I think we just have different levels of linguistic classification attachment to different foods. It may not be “a” cheese, but it’s “cheese”. You’re not far off from going after almond/soy/oat milk.
Okay, that’s a reasonable argument. Although meatloaf doesn’t use any chemical additives, it’s traditionally just ground meat, breadcrumbs, and eggs, along with seasonings and spices. And just like the name implies, it doesn’t pretend to be meat, hence the addition of the word “loaf”, which is usually used for bread. It’s a meat product in the same way that American cheese is cheese product.
As for cheese alternatives made from plants, those are not allowed to be called cheese either. They are allowed to wear the names of the cheese varieties they aim to imitate, but it has to be accompanied by the word “style” and never by the word “cheese”, so you get things like “plant-based cheddar style slices” or “dairy-free mozzarella style shreds”.
Breadcrumbs, eggs, seasonings, and spices are all made of chemicals.
The beans and rice bowls look pretty good, although I’ll bet they’re not spicy enough.
The cheese things… I can’t even figure out what’s supposed to be in there.
My guess is pollo fundido. It’s like a chimichanga covered in cheese and creamy sauce.
Those are slices of American Cheese, which is a pasteurized processed cheese food. Not actual cheese.
It makes a nostalgic grilled cheese but whatever is underneath in the pic, it doesn’t deserve that blanket.
American Cheese is processed, however it is real cheese.
https://www.seriouseats.com/whats-really-in-american-cheese
It is also a damn near magic ingredient for anyone that doesn’t have access to pure sodium citrate, and wants a silky smooth cheese sauce that won’t break even when you put it in the fridge and reheat in the microwave. Just make your cheese sauce as normal with whatever cheeses you want. Once you’ve gotten it melted and combined, add a single slice of American cheese. The flavor won’t change in the slightest since American cheese has a fairly mild flavor, but the texture absolutely will change to that perfect nacho cheese sauce texture everyone knows and loves.
I’m down.
