You were the best thing ever to come to Taco Bell. Let us all have a moment of silence for the cheesy gordita crunch. 'cause I can't find a Taco Bell that sells them anymore. Can you?
-pH
Posted by Rotar Mode (Member # 9898) on :
I'm not sure if it ever even came to my Taco Bell.
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
I thought that was a promotion about five years ago, at least around here it was. Never tried it, just saw comercials.
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
Mmmm, crunchweezy. Or was it crafelty?
Posted by Libbie (Member # 9529) on :
quote:Originally posted by pH: You were the best thing ever to come to Taco Bell. Let us all have a moment of silence for the cheesy gordita crunch. 'cause I can't find a Taco Bell that sells them anymore. Can you?
-pH
WHAT?
NO!
I NEVER GOT TO TRY ONE!
I NEVER GOT TO TRY ONE!!!
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
Oh no! I weep for you. 'tis better to have loved and lost...
-pH
Posted by Altáriël of Dorthonion (Member # 6473) on :
Eww, Taco Bell...
Why do people think that is actually authentic Mexican food?
Hey, pH, come hither and I shall cook you one that was even better than Taco Bell's.
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
You just want me in your house so you can take advantage of me!
-pH
Posted by B34N (Member # 9597) on :
Ha, I misread the title of this thread and was completely confused. I thought it said church not crunch.
I had odd visions a of some mystical church revolving around Taco Bell! Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
Never had one. I like chalupas but I cannot have one ever because there's not a taco bell near me and I have to stop eating stuff that tastes good and has fat. *Eats cookies*
Posted by Altáriël of Dorthonion (Member # 6473) on :
quote:Originally posted by pH: You just want me in your house so you can take advantage of me!
-pH
You know you want me, baby. There is no escaping my bombastically mexican love.
Posted by Samprimary (Member # 8561) on :
quote:Why do people think that is actually authentic Mexican food?
Taco Bell is authentic Taco Bell food.
Myself, I mourn the passing of the cheesy crunchy grilled stuft burrito. Not that I could eat anything that delicious anymore anyway. Perhaps it's for the best.
Posted by Baron Samedi (Member # 9175) on :
quote:Originally posted by Altáriël of Dorthonion: Eww, Taco Bell...
Why do people think that is actually authentic Mexican food?
Why do you think anyone thinks it's authentic Mexican food? Have you ever seen the people in a Taco Bell? Do they look like they're in search of a cultural experience?
It's cheap, greasy and edible. Mystery solved.
Posted by ricree101 (Member # 7749) on :
I agree with Baron Samedi, I'm pretty sure that nobody actually believes that there is anything "authentic" about taco bell. That said, in my experience it is pretty much the same price and speed at pretty much any small mexican restaurant you can find, and the food is quite often better. I'm not sure why people don't just do that instead.
Posted by B34N (Member # 9597) on :
quote:Originally posted by ricree101: I agree with Baron Samedi, I'm pretty sure that nobody actually believes that there is anything "authentic" about taco bell. That said, in my experience it is pretty much the same price and speed at pretty much any small mexican restaurant you can find, and the food is quite often better. I'm not sure why people don't just do that instead.
Very true, taco bell is expensive for the portions they give you. I can spend the same amount at the local Tex/Mex joint and get way better food and is just as quick. When I lived in DC there was even a Tex/Mex place that had a drive through and the best Carne Asada (sp?) in the area! Ummmmm, darn there's no little hungry Graemlin licking his lips to show hunger, but now I want some Tex/Mex! Posted by GaalDornick (Member # 8880) on :
Oh man, I loved the Cheesy Gordita Crunch. I would sometimes order two of them when I go there. At least they still have the Zesty Chicken Border Bowl...
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
They're still selling them at Taco Bell in Tujunga. Come visit us in Sunland-Tujunga, and I'll buy you one...
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
quote:Originally posted by Libbie: I NEVER GOT TO TRY ONE!
Me neither. I'm not upset, though.
Posted by Jhai (Member # 5633) on :
quote:Originally posted by B34N: Very true, taco bell is expensive for the portions they give you. I can spend the same amount at the local Tex/Mex joint and get way better food and is just as quick. When I lived in DC there was even a Tex/Mex place that had a drive through and the best Carne Asada (sp?) in the area! Ummmmm, darn there's no little hungry Graemlin licking his lips to show hunger, but now I want some Tex/Mex!
It depends what you get. If you go for the value menu, you can get an awful lot of food for pretty cheap. Like 1/2 pound burritos for $0.99, at least at our local place. Taco Bell is also the only place open after 1 on weeknights (and the only place open after 2 on weekends), so they get bonus points from this insomniac.
That said, Taco Bell can be really hit or miss. Sometimes the Grade D meat and cheesey goodness are the best thing on this planet - sometimes it's just disgusting.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
I suppose I can get by with the quesidillas again. The CGC was very good though, and filling too. I have also enjoyed the Taco Bell late at night.
Posted by Libbie (Member # 9529) on :
quote:Originally posted by Synesthesia: Never had one. I like chalupas but I cannot have one ever because there's not a taco bell near me and I have to stop eating stuff that tastes good and has fat. *Eats cookies*
I can mail you a Chalupa if you'd like.
Posted by Baron Samedi (Member # 9175) on :
I'm still mourning the loss of the chilito.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
That could work, but wouldn't it arrive cold?
Posted by Libbie (Member # 9529) on :
Maybe I could pack it with foil.
Posted by Ben (Member # 6117) on :
you know, i can go year round and get a cheesy gordita crunch. it may not be on the menu but they will make it if you ask. Always have.
Posted by Brian J. Hill (Member # 5346) on :
It's funny. When I was in France, surrounded by delicious, fresh, high-quality cuisine wherever I went, the only American food I really ever CRAVED was Taco Bell. That's specifically Taco Bell, not Mexican (as everyone has pointed out, TB is nowhere near authentic Mexican.) I can't explain it.
Posted by libertygirl (Member # 8761) on :
Same thing happened with me in London. I craved Taco Bell and Mountain Dew and couldn't find either. : (
Posted by lem (Member # 6914) on :
quote:I'm still mourning the loss of the chilito.
Ditto.
By the way, this thread made me hungry. I went to my local Taco Bell and had 2 steak cheesy gordita crunches. They are still on the menu at my Utah Taco Bell.
Since food is part of our forum title, we should petition for a yummie graemlin.
Posted by Altáriël of Dorthonion (Member # 6473) on :
I guess I was just being misguided by Carlos Mencia...
*Might be offensive, but it's also really funny.
Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
Alas, I too never even got a chance to try it. I mourn for all the cheesey gordito crunchiness that I will never know. Posted by Sterling (Member # 8096) on :
I'm hooked on the grilled stuffed burrito. And mourning for the fajita variant thereof.
Taco Bell retains a soft spot in my heart because it was the fast food of my youth. When we needed to get food and come back to doing something on those never-quite-dark 4 AM Anchorage nights, Taco Bell was there: cheap, filling, and... While I'm not calling it haute cuisine... Tasty.
I agree that Taco Bell is not particularly authentic mexican food. But many of the cheaper varieties of authentic mexican food are also rich in things like lard, tripe, and tongue. Sometimes there's something to be said for the inauthentic, homogenized version.
Posted by cmc (Member # 9549) on :
Only place I ever got food poisoning (or something like it) was at a Taco Bell. After a while, I went back. And I loved it.
In college it was about a 15 minute walk from my dorm and if it wasn't open 24 hrs, it was always open at just the right times. It was inside the convenience store... ahhhh, the good old days...
I stopped eating fast food a while ago, for no reason other than I wanted to stop eating fast food. Taco Bell is still a place I'm up for... and enjoy almost every time...
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
quote:Originally posted by Altáriël of Dorthonion: I guess I was just being misguided by Carlos Mencia...
*was appointed Hater Supreme in the "I Hate Carlos Mencia" facebook group. Wins*
Also, whenever I'm out of the country I lose like a pound a day. And it's not that I don't like the food. I love the food. But for some reason I never eat much of it.
-pH
Posted by Architraz Warden (Member # 4285) on :
RIP Choco Taco (at least at Taco Bell)
I had a friend who worked at Taco Bell, and provided free nourishment all the time. Since then, I have a hard time actually paying for Taco Bell food (it's not bad, it's no authentic mexican or even tex-mex, but it isn't bad).
Posted by Altáriël of Dorthonion (Member # 6473) on :
I want a Choco Taco too! Don't they have those at Circle K or something?
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
quote: There is no escaping my bombastically mexican love.
Winner.
Posted by Samprimary (Member # 8561) on :
quote: I agree that Taco Bell is not particularly authentic mexican food. But many of the cheaper varieties of authentic mexican food are also rich in things like lard, tripe, and tongue. Sometimes there's something to be said for the inauthentic, homogenized version.
It is reasoning similar to this that makes me infinitely more fond of Americanized™ Chinese food that only superficially resembles the food they would actually serve you in China.
Posted by The White Whale (Member # 6594) on :
For the past three yeras, the only thing I've ordered from Taco Bell was the cheesy gordita crunch. There is no longer any reason for me to eat their ever again.
And I feel that Taco Bell food is to mexican food as Americanized chinese food is to real chinese food. I don't care if it's not authentic, it's just delicious. Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
I love taco bell. But I am under no illusions that it is authentic.
I love real mexican food too, but it can be very hit or miss. Sometimes it's nothing but manteca with a little bit of mystery meat in it.
For those of you missing your cheesey gordita crunch might I recommend a Crunchwrap Supreme? It's like a tostada wrapped in a tortilla and toasted.
(I miss the choco taco too =(
Pix
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
Mexican food is basically just beans, meat and cheese. I mean, really, how hard is it to make yourself?
Posted by Stone_Wolf_ (Member # 8299) on :
Good news people!
Order it anyway, about half the time they will make it!
I used to work at TB and we did that all the time. They don't remove the old stuff from the computer, so they can charge you correctly and it's not as if they don't have the ingredients to make it!
Just ask, heck, it's just a taco wrapped in a gordita shell with melted cheese.
Posted by Architraz Warden (Member # 4285) on :
quote:Originally posted by Storm Saxon: Mexican food is basically just beans, meat and cheese. I mean, really, how hard is it to make yourself?
Carnitas, Tamales, Chile Relleno, and other foods of the Mexican / Latin type would like to disagree with this statement...
Now if you want to amend the statement to cover primarily Taco Bell (read: not Mexican) food, I'll happily agree.
Posted by Sterling (Member # 8096) on :
quote:Originally posted by Samprimary: It is reasoning similar to this that makes me infinitely more fond of Americanized™ Chinese food that only superficially resembles the food they would actually serve you in China.
Thanks to more authentic Chinese food, I can say that I have consumed jellyfish.
And, thank the powers, now I never have to do that again.
Posted by Mathematician (Member # 9586) on :
I had one last night, actually. Taco Bell in Wilmington, Delaware apparently still has them ;-). If you want, I can buy one and ship it to your place.
Posted by Altáriël of Dorthonion (Member # 6473) on :
quote:Originally posted by Storm Saxon: Mexican food is basically just beans, meat and cheese. I mean, really, how hard is it to make yourself?
Ignorance at it's best.
Posted by Glenn Arnold (Member # 3192) on :
Doesn't Gordita mean "little fat girl?"
Posted by pfresh85 (Member # 8085) on :
I don't know if the places around here are still selling them (I take Taco Bueno over Taco Bell any day), but I do know I still see the commercials every few days for the cheesy gordita crunch. That makes me assume that it's still being sold around here. Not sure though.
Posted by Altáriël of Dorthonion (Member # 6473) on :
Not necessarily. It means, "Little fat one." But it's using the female form of it, so it could refer to a cow, a girl, or anything that is also a feminine. As it is, it's just "little fat one".
Posted by Nighthawk (Member # 4176) on :
No, actually, I'd say a direct translation is "little fat girl." Spanish is very gender specific.
Posted by Altáriël of Dorthonion (Member # 6473) on :
quote:Originally posted by Nighthawk: No, actually, I'd say a direct translation is "little fat girl." Spanish is very gender specific.
Pardon me asking, but are you a native spanish speaker? If so, from where?
I'm asking because I just have to disagree with your post.
Posted by pfresh85 (Member # 8085) on :
I'm more inclined to go with Altariel's version. Unattached to another word, it just means "little fat one (feminine)," not necessarily "little fat girl." Paired with a feminine noun, it becomes "little fat (whatever feminine noun)." Of course, most people would translate it as "little fat girl" just because for most people it doesn't make sense to associate gender with other things (the odd part of Spanish and such having gender specific nouns and adjectives and such).
EDIT: I'm not a native Spanish speaker though. I just had four years of Spanish a few years back. That's how I'm basing my translation and how I'm discussing it.
Posted by Altáriël of Dorthonion (Member # 6473) on :
If you wanted to say "Little Fat Girl" you would go with "Niña gordita".
Posted by Altáriël of Dorthonion (Member # 6473) on :
If you wanted to say "Little Fat Girl" you would go with "Niña gordita".
Posted by pfresh85 (Member # 8085) on :
I am in total agreement with you, Alt. I just wanted to point out that there seems to be discrepancy between what it actually means and what many people take it to mean.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
quote:Originally posted by pH: You were the best thing ever to come to Taco Bell. Let us all have a moment of silence for the cheesy gordita crunch. 'cause I can't find a Taco Bell that sells them anymore. Can you?
-pH
Say it isn't so!!!
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
quote: Pardon me asking, but are you a native spanish speaker? If so, from where?
He's from Miami, so yes.
Posted by Nighthawk (Member # 4176) on :
quote:Originally posted by Altáriël of Dorthonion:
quote:Originally posted by Nighthawk: No, actually, I'd say a direct translation is "little fat girl." Spanish is very gender specific.
Pardon me asking, but are you a native spanish speaker? If so, from where?
I'm asking because I just have to disagree with your post.
Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico to a Spaniard father (who happens to be a professional translator) and a Cuban mother, and have lived in Miami for the past 30+ years.
So, in a nutshell, yes.
In this sense, I think the term "gorda" doesn't refer to "fat" but rather "big", but for argument's sake let's put context aside and use a literal translation.
*WARNING* The following use of the term "feminine" and "masculine" refer only to the language syntax and in no way reflect gender preference to any of the products mentioned. Thank you for your cooperation.
"Gorda" is the female form of "fat", whereas "gordo" is the male form of it. Adding the "-ita" makes it diminutive female, whereas adding "-ito" would make it diminutive male.
So, in my opinion, "gordita" directly translates to "small fat female". Granted, it's referring to an arguably femenine product (be it an enchilada, chalupa, etc...), as is the nature in Spanish that every word is considered male or female (there are exceptions, yes; humor me). The only masculine Mexican food I can think of is a taco, and a "taco gordita" is simply wrong, whereas it should be a "taco gordito", but that's arguably irrelevant.
There is no genderless "one" in Spanish, and if so the masculine form is used, but at that point it's personal preference. For example, "someone" or "something" can translate to "algun", "alguno" or "alguna". Which you use is really a coin flip (or a four-sided die, as the case may be).
Posted by Ecthalion (Member # 8825) on :
i am officially derailing this thread by stating....
Tijuana Flats > taco bell
Posted by porcelain girl (Member # 1080) on :
my friends and i always were able to ask for a cheesy gordita crunch even when it isn't on the menu. it's like a secret brotherhood or something.
Posted by Ecthalion (Member # 8825) on :
i brought this up in my spanish class. My professor, who is from Ecuador, assuming that maybe could make a difference in translation. agrees that it should mean "little fat girl"
Posted by lem (Member # 6914) on :
Since this thread has been started I have eaten 7 cheesy gordita crunches. I have had no problem ordering them at my local taco bell. Every time I see this thread I crave them.
Please stop bumping this! It is ruining my healthy and my pocket book.
*sneaks away form work to get my 8th and possibly 9th CGC*
Posted by GaalDornick (Member # 8880) on :
Today I had a Cheesy Gordita Crunch and a Bean Burrito for dinner. Good stuff. Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
I didn't follow Nighthawk's last post, but I will agree with him insofar as the absence of a noun being modified makes "gordita" not an adjective. Further, we do tend to describe people with an adjective only, whereas we don't do things with other nouns. "El ciego" "La vieja" "El gordo" "Un borracho" Ciego, vieja, gordo, and borracho are all adjectives, but without an accompanying noun, it is understood we are referring to a person possessing this trait. And so if I heard someone use the word "gordita" all by itself without any clarifying context, the natural assumption would be that he or she is referring to a fat little girl. However, I will agree with Altáriël insofar as when you order a "Gordita," you are not in any way ordering a little fat girl. The context makes it clear that the adjective is meant to describe the food item.
-o-
It's basically the same issue in JFK's "ich bin ein Berliner" speech. Many people claim that he referred to himself as a jelly donut. Well, not really. It's true (from what I've been told, since I don't speak German) that in German, as in with Spanish, you would not use an article when using a linking verb to describe yourself, so it would have been more correct for him to say "ich bin Berliner," and technically, "ein berliner" is "a jellydonut"; however, in the context, it is clear he is not declaring himself to be a pastry. Likewise, if, instead of saying "Yo soy Cubano," I say "Yo soy un Cubano," I am not, in fact, calling myself a sandwich.
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
You're a sandwich! Wanna make somethin' of it?
-pH
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
What, like lunch? Leftovers?
Posted by imogen (Member # 5485) on :
This thread is also making me crave Taco Bell.
Which is a problem because there is no Taco Bell in my town. I'm not even sure there is one in my country.
I've never eaten at Taco Bell. And yet I still crave it.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
btw, you only think the Cheesy Gordita Crunch is good because you're too young to remember the awesomeness of the beef burrito. But the good news is that you can, as has been mentioned, still order a beef burrito. Even though it hasn't been on the menu for about fifteen years, they will still make it for you if you ask for it.
And chocotacos are of no concern, since they have cinnamon twists.
Posted by Nighthawk (Member # 4176) on :
So, Icarus, have you been away from Miami so long as to be strenuoysly opposed to having any affiliation with Cuban cuisine? For shame...
And I personally think that JFK was a jelly doughnut, and that Weight Watchers and the FDA were responsible for his assasination.
...what?
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
I thought it was a cocktail sausage. Or was that cocktail waitress?
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
Well, no, it's just that I'd rather be a medianoche* any day.
* Hecho bien, con mostaza y pepino entre el queso y el pan.
Posted by Juxtapose (Member # 8837) on :
As long as they keep my southwest steak bowl around, I'm happy.
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
quote:Originally posted by Icarus: btw, you only think the Cheesy Gordita Crunch is good because you're too young to remember the awesomeness of the beef burrito. But the good news is that you can, as has been mentioned, still order a beef burrito. Even though it hasn't been on the menu for about fifteen years, they will still make it for you if you ask for it.
And chocotacos are of no concern, since they have cinnamon twists.
The burritos always have onions. I hate onions. And tomatoes.
-pH
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
No, the beef burrito had no tomatoes. Just beef, cheese, and special sauce. I don't think it has onions. If it does, they're small enough to be imperceptible, but you can ask for them to be left off.
(Do you ever have hamburgers or cheeseburgers from McDonald's?)
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
If McDonalds screws up, I can take the onions off. If Taco Bell screws up, there are tiny shards of onions in every bite of my food.
-pH
Posted by The Rabbit (Member # 671) on :
quote:Very true, taco bell is expensive for the portions they give you. I can spend the same amount at the local Tex/Mex joint and get way better food and is just as quick. When I lived in DC there was even a Tex/Mex place that had a drive through and the best Carne Asada (sp?) in the area! Ummmmm, darn there's no little hungry Graemlin licking his lips to show hunger, but now I want some Tex/Mex! [/QB]
Curious. Around here, Tex/Mex is considered an insult, a way to describe a restaurant that serves highly Americanized mexican style food that's usually overpriced. A good authentic Mexican restaurant would never be called "Tex/Mex".
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
Huh. In my experience, McDonald's uses the same shards of onions in its hamburgers and cheeseburgers. I prefer them, because I find them much less overpowering than whole onions.
Anyway, though, you can just ask for it with no onions. Since they make everything on the spot, that's not big deal.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
Around here, Tex-Mex also means Americanized, but it would only be considered an insult by a "real" Mexican restaurant. I happen to like Tex-Mex food more, in general, than more authentic Mexican food.
Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
I've always been under the impression that TexMex and Mexican food were two different things. I would assume a Mexican restaurant would be insulted if you called them TexMex, but only because you would be incorrect, not because TexMex is some horrible abomination.
Hmm, fajitas are TexMex, right? A Mexican style dish that originated in Texas. Yet many a Mexican restaurant serve fajitas. I shall start protesting immediately.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
Yeah, I consider them two different things as well.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
Fajitas originated in Texas? Would that be back when it was a part of Mexico, or what?
Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
Nope, after. Some say the first fajitas were served up right here in Houston at the original Mama Ninfa's. But everything I've read and heard puts them in the Texas Rio Valley.
Posted by GaalDornick (Member # 8880) on :
"And I personally think that JFK was a jelly doughnut, and that Weight Watchers and the FDA were responsible for his assasination.
...what?"
That was great.
Posted by The Rabbit (Member # 671) on :
quote:Originally posted by Nighthawk: So, in my opinion, "gordita" directly translates to "small fat female". Granted, it's referring to an arguably femenine product (be it an enchilada, chalupa, etc...), as is the nature in Spanish that every word is considered male or female (there are exceptions, yes; humor me). The only masculine Mexican food I can think of is a taco, and a "taco gordita" is simply wrong, whereas it should be a "taco gordito", but that's arguably irrelevant.
To Nighthawk and everyone else on this thread who has been translating "gordita" literally from the Spanish to the English all you have done is illustrate how completely uselessly and utterly inaccurate literal translations can be. What we need here is not someone who speaks native Spanish, but someone from Central Mexico where this term orginates.
In central Mexico, a "gordita" is a common bread. Its made from corn masa patted out to be ~ 1/2 cm thick and then cooked so that it puffs up forming a hollow pocket. Its a corn version of pita bread. It is usually cut open and stuffed with oil, salsa, cheese and possibly other stuff. The term "gordita" applies to either the bread itself or the stuffed version. With a lot of stretching, one can sort of see the relationship between the Taco Bell version and the Mexican "Gordita" but it takes quite a stretch.
What you've done in literally translating the term is akin to translating "Frankfurter" to mean "man from Frankfurt" in the phrase "I ate a Frankfurter". While the translation could be defended as literally correct, it is in fact just wrong. The word "Frankfurter", like the word "gordita" can have several meanings. It could mean any male gendered item from Frankfurt. It could mean a man from Frankfurt. But in this case the meaning isn't ambiguous, it refers specifically to a type of sausage that was first made by a Vienese butcher who was trained in Frankfurt.
The Taco Bell "Cheesy Gordita Crunch" isn't an ambigous reference to a little fat girl, it is a clear reference to a type of Mexican flat bread. To translate it as "little flat girl, is just plain wrong.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
um, I made it pretty clear in my post that context was everything. Without any context, if you say "gordita," the most likely interpretation is that you are talking about a fat girl.
It pisses me off more than a little when someone disses my Spanish.
Posted by Glenn Arnold (Member # 3192) on :
Wow, didn't think I'd start such an argument.
In "Stand and Deliver" one of the students refers to a girl as "Gordita." She smacks him, or something.
Later, they are going out...
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Well, "my darling, my hamburger" didn't go over all that well either, IIRC.
Posted by The Rabbit (Member # 671) on :
But Icarus, according to my good friend from central Mexico, if someone says "gordita" without any context in her home region, it most likely means corn flat bread and not "little fat girl".
I have no doubt that in your region when someone says "gordita" without a context they most likely mean "little fat girl". Its simply irrelevant. Taco Bell didn't name their "Cheesy Gordita Chrunch" based on the common usage in your region, they named it based on the common usage in my friends home region in Mexico.
My analogy continues to apply. If I were to use the word "Frankfurter" without any context in Vienna, most everyone would assume I was talking about sausage. But if I used the same term in central German where the sausage is more commonly called a "Wiener", most everyone would assume I was talking about a man from Frankfurt.
I apologize if it seemed that I was dissing on your Spanish, that wasn't my intend. My diatribe was against "literal translation" which is one of my pet peeves.
Unless you are translating poetry or jokes in which double meanings of words are important and intended, a "literal translation" which utterly fails to capture the intent of the author shouldn't be called "literally correct", it should be called "wrong".
Perhaps that diatribe was out of place here where people may have simply been interested in the multiple meanings of the word or perhaps even joking about eating "little fat girls" at Taco Bell. To the extent that it was, I apologize.
I don't however think it was irrelevant to point out that among at least one group of native Spanish speaker in one region of Mexico, the word's most common usage was for describing corn flat bread and not little fat girls.
Posted by The Rabbit (Member # 671) on :
quote:Originally posted by Icarus: Around here, Tex-Mex also means Americanized, but it would only be considered an insult by a "real" Mexican restaurant. I happen to like Tex-Mex food more, in general, than more authentic Mexican food.
In most parts of the West, at least most parts where my husband and I have lived (read Montana, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico), Texans in general have a negative reputation and so association of anything with Texas can be considered an insult.
I've never heard of restaurant in this part of the country that advertised serving Tex-Mex food. I just searched in Yellowbook and found 4 pages of "Mexican Restaurants" in Salt Lake City but 0 Tex-Mex restaurants, so I'm not completely off the wall in my personal experience.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
To me a "literal translation" is when you translate something fairly long word by word, and in particular, with no regard for idiom. Now I can see that in this case there may be two competing idioms at work here, but that doesn't mean that Nighthawk and I were translating it "literally," but that we were operating, perhaps, under a different set of idioms. I'm not sure that the literal versus contextual translation issue really is in play at all when the selection being translated is a single word.
I'm glad you didn't intend to dis my Spanish. The reason it came across to me as though you did was the strong wording like "useless," "utterly inaccurate," and "in fact just wrong." Outside of the context of Taco Bell, translating "gordita" as "fat girl" is not "in fact just wrong." It may not be the only possible interpretation, but since most Spanish speakers would likely translate it that way--even if those from Central Mexico would not--it is certainly a valid translation.
I don't think anyone was arguing that Taco Bell literally wanted their menu item to be called a "fat girl." I think Glenn was pointing out a funny aspect of the name, and Nighthawk and I were pointing out that yes, outside of a Taco Bell, it certainly could be (correctly) interpreted that way. It think we all recognized, though, that that wasn't actually what Taco Bell had in mind.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
I'm not saying you are off the wall. But around here we do have restaurants that describe themselves as Tex-Mex. In addition, I would describe any national chain I'm familiar with as Tex-Mex, whether they describe themselves that way or not.
Posted by The Rabbit (Member # 671) on :
quote:Originally posted by Icarus: I'm not saying you are off the wall. But around here we do have restaurants that describe themselves as Tex-Mex. In addition, I would describe any national chain I'm familiar with as Tex-Mex, whether they describe themselves that way or not.
We have alot of very Americanized mexican restaurants around here too, and I know that in many parts of the country they would be called Tex-Mex. But here, Tex-Mex is a slur. No one from this region would call food they like, Tex-Mex. That regional context always makes it seem odd when I hear people from other regions praising "Tex-Mex". I know its just a regionalism, but its still hard for me to think of "Tex-Mex" as meaning anything but "bad".
[ November 30, 2006, 10:56 PM: Message edited by: The Rabbit ]
Posted by The Rabbit (Member # 671) on :
quote:Originally posted by Icarus: I'm glad you didn't intend to dis my Spanish. The reason it came across to me as though you did was the strong wording like "useless," "utterly inaccurate," and "in fact just wrong."
Once again I'm sorry Icarus, as I said before this is a pet peeve of mine which I hope explains the harsh language.
While I recognize that the entire discussion started in a joking tone, until I posted it, no one in this thread had noted that "gordita' also referred to a type of corn flat bread commonly eaten in central Mexico. If I had started a joking discussion of a menu featuring "Americaner", followed with long discussions of how "Americaner" would be most accurately translated as "man from America" but never mentioning that it was also a common name for a Cinnamon roll in many parts of Germany, I would find it justifiable for you to dis my German.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
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