I was once one of those people who was convinced no “real” Mexican food could be found in large swaths of the U.S.

“Too far from the border” was our (let’s be honest) smug explanation, and for a long time it was pretty much true.

No more.

Three SoCal natives had dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Princeton, New Jersey, the other night.

New Jersey is a very long way from Mexico. In 1980, maybe even 1990, what we could have expected, at a Mexican restaurant in central New Jersey, was some pale imitation of the cuisine that could be found in California or Texas or Arizona.

(Which often came from disparate geographical areas of Mexico, but were all authentic in their own regional way.)

But once you got too far north or east … you were going to have knockoff Mexico. Salsa that was too much like tomato sauce. Bland dishes. Make-do ingredients.

However, over the past two decades, the influx of Mexicans into the U.S. has been so dramatic, and so widespread, that it now seems only the smallest and most out-of-the-way U.S. towns do not have their own Mexican restaurant.

The place in New Jersey was perfectly fine. Maybe a bit more than perfectly fine. I had what they called “enchiladas Oaxaca”, which was made with pork loin, and it was ambitiously seasoned and very good.

It was a bit pricey, the whole of it. Mexican can still be a bargain in much of the U.S. (Two nights later, in Southern California, I had a large combination plate, including two carnitas tacos, for $6.95.) Entrees in Princeton were $12 to $15.

But it was good. The salsa was fine and freshly made. Mexican beers were available.

Good Mexican food no longer is the province only of Mexico or Americans living near the Mexico border. It now can be found almost everywhere in the U.S., from the Rio Grande to Canada, from California to Maine. And certainly in Princeton, N.J.