American Mexican Food

I am puzzled by American Mexican food.  No matter what corner of Latin America the food claims to be from, it is always Tex Mex.  Bland blended pinto beans, too much mild melted stringy cheese, tangy but not particularly tasty salsa, tortillas and a little bit of shredded iceberg lettuce to go with your shredded chicken or ground beef. I mean, it's generally not offensive, but it's not much like the tasty and varied foods that we've found in Mexico. 

It's really puzzling, especially given the numbers of Latinx people around.

The only explanation I can come up with is that this is America's version of Canadian Chinese food.  In Canada, every small town Chinese restaurant serves Won Ton Soup and Chicken Chow Mein and Sweet and Sour Pork, because that's what everyone expects Chinese restaurants to have. What the Chinese families that run these places eat at home is irrelevant.   

Similarly, everyone here expects bland Tex Mex burritos and tacos, so that's what Mexican restaurants serve.

The only exception I've found so far was the Mexicajun food at Tia Juanitas in Winnie, Tx (and Beaumont, TX. It's a chain.)  You can get your tacos stuffed with blackened fish or shrimp, or even alligator.  It's one of the few places where we've gotten a nice meal since Austin.