When Kermit the Frog found El Sleezo Cafe, a stereotypically Mexican joint in 1979’s “The Muppet Movie,” he nervously muttered, “Foreign food … but a man’s gotta eat.” Never mind that the house special turned out to be frog’s legs — such a scene today would go straight to the cutting-room floor and the creators exiled to Cancelville.
Once upon a time, it was permissible to make light-hearted fun of cuisines that were unfamiliar or exotic to film audiences.
