We've put together a list of some of the most Americanized Mexican foods that somehow got lost in translation and are still not consumed in Mexico.
This bar-food favorite was served by a restaurant's maître-d after a group of women—wives of US soldiers stationed at nearby Fort Duncan—wanted to eat but discovered the establishment had already closed for the evening.
Nachos
While many common Mexican components, such as rice, beans, meat, salsa, and guacamole, are used in dishes like burrito bowls and taco salads, they are not at all inspired by the cuisine of Mexico.
Burrito Bowls & Taco Salads
The word "fajitas" first appeared in print in 1971. Although they were made using components from Mexico, most people living south of the Rio Grande would have found them to be strange.
Fajitas
The translation is "chili with meat," but this stew of ground beef, tomatoes, beans, spices, chili peppers, sour cream, and cheese is 100% fugazi, even though you might think it's Mexican food.
Chili Con Carne
Burritos in the US have gotten out of hand and are now about the size of a newborn child.
Burritos
The white, complex, tangy cheeses of Mexico that temper the heat of the chiles are nothing like the bland yellow cheese loosely produced from cheddar that is frequently dubbed "queso."
Queso
It was the year 1922. Arizona's Tucson is where it is. The owner of a restaurant called El Charro, Monica Flin, unintentionally slipped a pastry into a deep-fat fryer. The chimichanga was invented in the situation.
Chimichangas