Those of you who know me best know that I'm not a fan of Mexican food. To me, regardless of the location, it all tastes the same. It's all cooked the same, the menus are identical and its all covered in fried cheese and grease. However, that doesn't stop me from crushing half a pallet of chips and salsa every time I sit down. Mexican restaurants are plagued by a seemingly avoidable issue: Market saturation. Simply put, within any 20 mile radius there are as many as 50 Mexican joints. People say they love Mexican because it's cheap and fast, but that's just because Mexican joint 'A' is hell bent on getting you your Speedy Gonzalez Lunch Special 15 seconds faster than Mexican joint B, C, D, etc. Too many of one business in a given area equals to undercutting of prices and thus quality. There you go folks, your Econ 101 lesson for the day. I would gladly pay upwards of $12 for a burrito if I knew that: A) the beef was above D grade quality and B) It hadn't been sitting in a microwave for the past week and a half. Seriously, think about how many Mexican restaurants are within a 5 minute drive of your house. I can count 4 in my neighborhood alone. And furthermore, I really believe that Mexican restaurants have one CD that they play on a continuous loop. You can drive from place to place and the music they're pumping in sounds exactly the same as it did at the other eatery. Horns, mariachis, repeated use of the word 'corazon'. It's like a Muzak CD mated with a Don Quixote book on tape and played on repeat. For my money I'd gladly take a Taco Bell burrito from the drive through and listen to Led Zepplin on my iPod, but I feel like I'm in the vast minority here. Thoughts?
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