More Mexican Restaurants Are Charging for Chips and Salsa. That’s a Good Thing.

There is nothing Texans like to argue about more than food, especially when it comes to Tex-Mex. Everyone knows about the long-standing beef between Austin and San Antonio over tacos. Last summer, hot dogs wrapped in blue-corn tortillas had Facebook commenters up in arms. Another sensitive topic? Whether restaurants should charge for chips and salsa.The complimentary appetizer rose to prominence decades ago as a replacement for the free tortillas and butter Tex-Mex and Mexican restaurants used to dole out. Mass-produced tortilla chips became more widely available in the seventies, and offering them with a side of salsa (house-made or from a jar) turned out to be cheaper in some cases. Chips and salsa soon became a standard, and customers expected them to hit the table before…

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