I would bet my life that given the choice between Texmex tacos and European tacos, the vast majority of people raised on authentic tacos would choose Texmex. At least Texmex sometimes accidentally gets authentic flavors by virtue of proximity to the same ingredients.
TexMex tacos are amazing. Authentic Mexican tacos are fantastic. CaliMex tacos are ridiculously tasty. I don’t know what the cuisine is officially called in New Mexico but those are fucking delicious.
Here’s the deal though. There is as much variation inside of Mexico as there is between Tex or Cali. Mexico is a big place. The Yucatan Peninsula is known for taco de cochinita pibil (roasted pork) and campechano as well as fish tacos (yum!). Central Mexico gave us al pastor (spit roasted pork with pineapple), which is probably my favorite authentic Mexican taco. Oaxaca has everything from insect tacos to beef jerky tacos and the best melting cheese outside of Italy. Northern Mexico is a bunch of beef and goat on flour tortillas (I love them too) which is probably why TexMex uses flour tortillas. Baja California has a bunch of fresh fish in theirs (yum again!) or you can get lobster and beans.
People raging about “authentic” tacos never seem to understand how big and diverse Mexico is.
