Route 66 restaurant played vital role in rise of Mexican food

The Mitla Cafe, marking its 75th anniversary on Route 66 in San Bernardino, Calif., played a crucial role in the rise of Mexican cuisine in the United States and the Taco Bell restaurant chain, according to a new book by Gustavo Arellano.

Arellano’s book is titled “Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America.” It will hit bookstore shelves tomorrow.

In a new article in the LA Weekly, Arellano wrote about the Mitla Cafe:

It’s a roadside classic befitting Route 66 […] with a counter, big booths and a menu serving Cal-Mex at its best: the type of place whose platters are buried in yellow cheese, then drowned in meat gravy; where everyone is Chicano and speaks English; and the television is tuned to basketball and soccer while Vicente Fernandez roars on the jukebox, followed by New Wave classics. […]

While all the dishes excel, the best-sellers are the hard-shelled tacos, fried upon order, bursting with ground beef, hiding under a blizzard of shredded cheese and lettuce. It’s a refreshing take on the meal, one light-years away from the prefab mess America has worshiped for nearly two generations — and yet it’s the taco Glen Bell stole, the one that set him on the road to create Taco Bell, which just celebrated the 50th anniversary of its first outpost opening in Downey.

He knew the taco was about to explode. Mitla was just across the street from his Bell’s Burgers and Hot Dogs, so Bell would eat, return to his stand to sell food, then spend late nights after closing time trying to decipher those mysterious tacos. […]

“He used to come over here all the time,” says Irene Montaño, whose in-laws opened the restaurant in 1937. She’s in her 70s, a feisty field general commanding the waitresses. “My father-in-law would say Mr. Bell kept asking about the tacos, how he made them, and so my father-in-law finally invited him into the kitchen to teach him.”

Does Montaño feel cheated that Mitla’s tacos spawned a worldwide industry? She smiles — she’s of a different generation, one that doesn’t easily lob insults or engage in jealousy. “Good for him,” she says, repeating it. “He was a self-starter, and he did push those tacos.” She smiles again, and walks into the kitchen.

Arellano drops other fascinating tidbits in the article — the taco can be traced back only to the late 1800s; that the Mexican Revolution during the teens sent refugees into Southern California and their cuisine; and that the first popular Mexican restaurant in SoCal was  Cielito Lindo, in 1934.

Here’s a video about the Mitla Cafe:

(Hat tip: LA Observed)