"We're bringing our childhood memories to the table, and now people are paying attention," said Erick Rocha, pastry chef at Corima in Manhattan and the all-day cafe Vato, in Park Slope, Brooklyn, where conchas regularly sell out.
The spices are merely a vessel for culture, community, storytelling, and politics. The recipes were so fresh, simple, and seasonal. That's not the version of South Asian food that most people know.
Food trends have never moved faster than they do now. With the power of social media, and particularly short-form video, a food can go from a concept in a lone creator's mind to an absolute phenomenon in a matter of hours.
Oversized burritos are more of a north-of-the-border staple. In Mexico, even in northern regions where burritos originate, they're practical and proportionate. This is owed to the differences between traditional Mexican cuisine and its American-adapted counterpart.
Alemán, originally from Cabo San Lucas, has toured most of South America, bringing his Spanish-language rap to millions of fans. According to Spotify, Alemán is 2026's most popular Mexican rapper. Gera MX, originally started by freestyling on the streets of San Luis Potosí and then joined the collective, the Mexamafia. But it was his co-penned "Botella Tras Botella" that was the first Mexican single to break into the US Billboard Top 100.
A small splash can brighten the sweetness of corn and add a subtle herbal lift. It should enhance - not dominate. Think of it as a squeeze of lime, ever so popular in Mexican food, in spirit form.
Though they were only serving in town for one night, the chefs and staff behind the Mexico City supernova Masala y Maíz managed to cause what felt like a temporary ripple in L.A. dining during their pop-up last week. It reminded this diner that despite the era's current dedication to culinary and cultural boundaries - you should only cook what you know, write what you know - a spirit of mixture and melding can actually lead to something extraordinary, and not cringey, in practice.
The Mexican Pizza has been a Taco Bell fan favorite since it was first introduced to the menu back in 1985 - though it went by a different name back then, the Pizzazz Pizza. In its current form at the fast food chain, this dish consists of two layers of crisp flour tortillas with refried beans and seasoned ground beef sandwiched in the middle, and "Mexican Pizza Sauce," melted cheese, and diced tomatoes on top.
India is a country with countless regional specialties, each with its own history, culture, and unique use of spices. I wanted our guests to experience that variety and feel as though they were traveling across India one meal at a time.
Coriander and cumin aren't direct substitutes. Cumin is more pungent and earthy, so if used in place of coriander, I recommend using about half the amount and adding a touch of citrus zest or fennel seed to restore brightness.