Anthony Bourdain says that Americans don’t understand Mexico, and dramatically undervalue it. Excerpt:

Mexico. Our brother from another mother. A country, with whom, like it or not, we are inexorably, deeply involved, in a close but often uncomfortable embrace. Look at it. It’s beautiful. It has some of the most ravishingly beautiful beaches on earth. Mountains, desert, jungle. Beautiful colonial architecture, a tragic, elegant, violent, ludicrous, heroic, lamentable, heartbreaking history. Mexican wine country rivals Tuscany for gorgeousness. Its archeological sites—the remnants of great empires, unrivaled anywhere. And as much as we think we know and love it,  we have barely scratched the surface of what Mexican food really is. It is NOT melted cheese over a tortilla chip. It is not simple, or easy. It is not simply ‘bro food’ halftime. It is in fact, old— older even than the great cuisines of Europe and often deeply complex, refined, subtle, and sophisticated. A true mole sauce, for instance, can take DAYS to make, a balance of freshly (always fresh) ingredients, painstakingly prepared by hand. It could be, should be, one of the most exciting cuisines on the planet. If we paid attention. The old school cooks of Oaxaca make some of the more difficult to make and nuanced sauces in gastronomy. And some of the new generation, many of whom have trained in the kitchens of America and Europe have returned home to take Mexican food to new and thrilling new heights.

It’s a country I feel particularly attached to and grateful for. In nearly 30 years of cooking professionally, just about every time I walked into a new kitchen, it was a Mexican guy who looked after me, had my back, showed me what was what, was there—and on the case—when the cooks more like me, with backgrounds like mine—ran away to go skiing or surfing—or simply “flaked.”

The short essay is well worth reading in its entirety. It’s the intro to an episode of his CNN travel show. Julie and I have been talking about the possibility of going to Mexico this year for a family vacation. I don’t know if she’s ever been — lots of Texans have — but I never have. As many times as I’ve been to Europe, not once have I been to Mexico. If we can find a place that’s affordable and good for the kids, maybe we’ll make the trip this year. I’m not a big fan of Tex-Mex, but every time I’ve eaten “real” Mexican food, I’ve loved it.

Side comment: a few weeks ago, my friend Frederica Mathewes-Green told me she and her husband Fr. Gregory were going to Italy to celebrate their 40th anniversary. My instant response, e-mailed to her: “Oh, the things you’ll eat!” Frederica said she and Fr. Gregory laughed at that, saying, “That’s the perfect Rod Dreher response.” Well, yeah, I guess it is. 😉

[H/T: First Things]