Every time I’ve ever eaten authentic Mexican food, it’s really bland. Is this just the way it is? Do I just have bad luck? Genuinely curious.

Look, I LOVE Mexican food, but apparently just the basic restaurants catering to basic Americans, you know, the quesadillas covered in queso, and burritos, and enchiladas, and I can smash a basket of chips and dip right about now.

And I know this sounds ridiculous, but today I ate at a Mexican food truck in town, known for being "authentic" Mexican, and it was super bland. But, it reminded me that EVERY SINGLE TIME I've ever eaten "authentic" Mexican, made by and for other Mexican people, it's always been bland.

The first offense, at my friend's quinceañera, her mom cooked the meal and I remember it not having much flavor, very little seasoning or spices.

A year later at her 16th birthday party, her mom cooked again, and once again, there were no sauces, no seasonings, no spices, no salt.

Then I went on a trip to Mexico, (granted, it was a tourist destination), but we ordered salsa, quesadillas, and tacos, and guess what? The food had very little flavor, (I mean, just look at those pictures). Bland is the only word to describe it.

Bland bland bland.

Then flash forward to today, I tried the food truck and ordered a flautas plate with a birria taco. The taco looked and smelt amazing, but when I bit into it, and you know what? It was bland.

I squeezed some lime on it and dipped it in some hot sauce that came with it, which helped. But the flautas tasted like literally nothing, kind of like paper and flour. The chicken had absolutely no flavor at all.

I feel like I'm losing my mind because the basic Mexican restaurants always hit the spot, (I'm drooling just thinking about a ranchero special). But when I try "authentic" Mexican food, I'm always left wondering where the bold, seasoned, and spicy flavors are?

Is this just what authentic Mexican food is like? Is it always like this, just sorta bland? Am I doing something wrong when I order?

(LET ME BE CLEAR, the food isn't bad. It doesn't taste bad and I'm not judging, it just usually doesn't have a strong flavor, which is why I'm curious. I'm only speaking from my experience).