Before I moved to San Francisco, I was not that big a fan of Mexican food. You see, in Michigan where I grew up, the Mexican restaurants were not very good. You would almost inevitably have to make some sacrifices. The food was done in a very American style. Basically, it consisted of grilled meat, fatty processed cheese, Flour tortillas, and refried beans. Although cheese, meat, beans, and tortillas are important ingredients in Mexican food, There is a definite difference between authentic Mexican cuisine and Americanized, or Tex-Mex food.
A few years ago, I went on a vacation to San Diego with my family. While we were there, we thought it would be fun to cross the border into Mexico since it was such a short drive. We just went over with our rental vehicle without even thinking twice about what we were doing. It was only much later when discussing the trip with some friends that I learned how lucky I was not have gotten into a fender bender in Tijuana — especially since I didn’t have Mexican car insurance coverage before crossing over.