Are the combination plates universally numbered at all Mexican restaurants?!
Is it coincidence -- or is she right?!
Answers:
Part of that could be, how many are using the same printing company. Part of it could also be how many shop each other, phone-photo copy the menu and just duplicate it...if it works at one place, just copy it and use in yours. Especially if you're in the same market, why make it confusing for your customers.
What I find really interesting, both the Italians and the Mexicans, have a great talent for taking the exact same ingredients, and packaging it in 20 different ways, for us to fall in love with only the exact way we like it. Pasta...more ways than I want to take the time to list, all made from the exact way things, but my wife only likes it regular...I like angel hair or thin...go figure. Taco or tostado, one is folded and the other lays flat.
If she goes to Mexican restaurants all belonging to the same franchise, like going to different McDonald's in different places, then the menus should be uniform, otherwise no. I've been to many Mexican restaurants with different numbers. However due to the limited varieties of food, I find the content of all Mexican menus very very similar.
What you are describing are Taquerias, which are more "Mexicanized fast food" than actual dining. Meals are numbered in order to facilitate the ordering process, most of these meals are not made to order, with the food being prepared hours in advance.
mexican restaurants are notoriously unhealthy and lack creativity as far as there food goes so it would not surprise me
Pure coincidence!!