A Texas bishop recently took issue with a New York Times crossword puzzle clue and wrote the editors an open letter to school them on Tex-Mex.
Salsa, taco sauce, is there really a difference? C. Andrew Doyle, the ninth episcopal bishop of the Diocese of Texas, certainly thinks so, as he attested in an open letter addressed to Will Shortz and Robyn Weintraub, who are behind the NYT’s famed crosswords.
Doyle took issue with the crossword written by Weintraub and published on December 29, or more specifically, 58 across. The clue was “Tex-Mex condiment,” and the answer was “taco sauce.”
Doyle took issue with 58 across on several accounts, tracing two different etymological origins of taco sauce, neither of which were in Texas.
“‘Taco sauce’ in Ireland is called “burger sauce” everywhere else,” Doyle said of the first. “‘Taco sauce’ is a mixture of ketchup, Mayo, and sometimes mustard, with a few spices. In America, it’s like what they put on In-N-Out Burger. It’s never put on Tacos.”
He explained that Ireland’s taco sauce has nothing to do with tacos but was named for the original company that first made it: This Awesome Condiment Organization (TACO).
Next, addressing the American version of taco sauce, he pointed out that it had been developed by the founder of the Ortega Chili Company in California in 1897.
To correct 58 across, he suggested changing either the hint to “Cali-Mex condiment” or the answer to “salsa.”
“Condiments for Tex-Mex tacos may include guacamole, sour cream, and grilled vegetables, lettuce, onion, tomatoes, chiles and SALSA,” he wrote.
While Doyle wrote respectfully and dutifully as an NYT subscriber and apparent crossword puzzle enthusiast — he notes that he finishes each in roughly 30 to 40 minutes — his Texan pride came through as he stood up for Tex-Mex cuisine.
He explained that the Tex-Mex food group was created as the result of a mix of people and cultures.
“In our state, an unlikely clash of Mexican and Texas cuisines rooted in a mestizaje of people brought forth the miraculous gift of Tex-Mex. From this cultural mestizo, we have tasted Barbacoa, nachos, tortillas, and burritos, which rose in popularity,” the letter read.
