Mexican

[John Whiting]

Rachel, didn't realize that you were here! Thanks for pointing up, yet again, that upper-class food around the world has always been as complexly interlocking as, say, banking. One need only pay a little attention to the spice trade in the middle ages.

I don't quite share your oft-expressed acceptance of mass-produced food, but your continuing analysis of the interlocking interdependence between "peasants" and the multinational food industry faces squarely up to perhaps the most important unresolved paradox of food -- indeed, human -- history.

[sandra]

there used to be a really good one, Si Señor in Soho, but it went out of business

That would be the one that put a helmet on your head and blew a whistle while you necked those god awful tequillas. hmmmmm, i thought it was really bad mexican, then again I have never tasted good mexican at all so not too sure what a good one would be!

Si Señor once did a lunch for the AGM of the Guild of Food Writers, in which they knocked themselves out doing the very best they could -- no comprises with popular taste. It was generally agreed among those several members who knew Mexican rather well that it still wasn't very good.

Well, considering the Mexican Embassy staff, including ambassador use to eat there regularly, and hold functions there, as well as me (Mexican) and we all quite liked it, I will have to say I am puzzled by your statement - maybe the fact that I knew what to order and to order it from my friend who was the owner had something to do with it, but I still think it was quite good - the helmet tequila thing was a gimmick to bring in the customers, and don't think you are not going to find that in Mexico also...

Fact is, it would be way too expensive to open a Mexican resto in London, I have looked into it, just getting ingredients flown over every week, 2 days, would mean the dishes would have to be quite expensive, even for a high end mexican - also, as was mentioned before, the Mexican community is very small, would be difficult to find staff/customers...

[Adam Balic]

Bah, what do Mexicans know about Mexican food in comparison to the Guild of Food Writers?

[Katherine]

thank you! where did you find that? might be useful to have in my kitchen.

It looks like it was on the back cover of Cook's Illustrated magazine. I went to their website, but it doesn't seem to be one of the ones they have on sale there.

I did, however, find this one

and I have linked it to the page where it is sold.

[John Whiting]

Bah, what do Mexicans know about Mexican food in comparison to the Guild of Food Writers? 

Come on, I'm talking about people who lived and cooked in Mexico for years.

[Suzi Edwards]

thank you! where did you find that? might be useful to have in my kitchen.

It looks like it was on the back cover of Cook's Illustrated magazine. I went to their website, but it doesn't seem to be one of the ones they have on sale there.

thank you katherine :-)

i think it might look quite nice next to the two chilli plants i bought yesterday.

that said, they'll probably be dead by the time it ships. i am a better cook than gardener.

[Matthew Grant]

I'm rel;iably informed that the chilli plants that you can buy is garden centres and supermarkets are jalapenos (courtesy of the network support guy sitting in the corner)

I have a plant that is now in its second year and is producing a healthy supply of chillies that have an excellent falvour but no too much heat. Next year I am going to try growing Thai chillies - apparently you can get about 200 chillies on one bush!

[marlena spieler]

try the cool chile company, though i believe they are the company who sell their chiles at the borough market.

for fresh, including tomatillos, try micheal michaud whose company is called peppers by post. he's in the southwest somewhere......if you have no luck looking him up, ring the food programme or vegtalk on bbc radio 4 as they'll have his details on their files. his tomatillos are great but expensive. he also does poblano and anaheim chillies among others. i have found poblanos and anaheims at harrods in the past but haven't looked in a long while.

i truly do not thing that any restaurant in britain serves good mexican food. in fact, i don't know of any restaurant in europe that serves good mexican food, but i can assure you that i've had some really really horrible mexican food in london. and don't even ask about southsea...........

[Jaymes]

Had a friend that went to live in Germany. Of course, it was only a matter of weeks before she was crying for some good salsa.

So I sent her my salsa recipe, and a packet of jalapeno seeds. They grew great outside in pots on her balcony during the summer, and gave her lots of good peppers. The ones she didn't use, she froze.

In the winter, she moved her pots inside where they continued to grow, although they didn't bloom.

But the following summer, she cut them back, fertilized good, put them back outside where they continued to produce.

And as far as the 'heat' goes - the longer you leave them on the plant, the hotter they get. Leave them a nice long while before you harvest. See if that makes any difference.

[Loula]

and don't even ask about southsea...........

I have to ask! Was it Fistful of Tacos? Legendary for selling cheap margheritas to sixth formers... not so great when I tried to 'rediscover my youth' and buy food as well...

[Adam Balic]

Bah, what do Mexicans know about Mexican food in comparison to the Guild of Food Writers? 

Come on, I'm talking about people who lived and cooked in Mexico for years.

Sure, John I've me ex-pats as well. "Roger and I know this simply delightful little place, very authentic". Only kidding, I respect most of the writing that comes from members of the GFW, although I wish the website could be up-graded more often.

[marlena spieler]

and don't even ask about southsea...........

I have to ask! Was it Fistful of Tacos? Legendary for selling cheap margheritas to sixth formers... not so great when I tried to 'rediscover my youth' and buy food as well...

it was some dive that my brother-in-law thought looked good, never mind that I have written lets see, a few books on mexican food and have been known to throw tamale-making parties just for the hell of it (and making a big batch of tamales is a certain kind of hell, but worth it). anyhow, your basic crap de los crap, leathery flour tortillas, horrible fajitas of everything except what a fajita originally was (the skirt of meat over the cattle's stomach), salsa that is sweet and well, not to overuse the word horrible, but well, why waste precious brain space on a hot day like today thinking of adjectives to describe disgusting food?

i once ate a chicken dish in london at one of the restaurants said to be okay; it wasn't. the chicken was in a chocolate sauce, but not a mole chocolate sauce, more a cadbury's chocolate sauce. and the chicken itself was wooly and weird as if it had been marinated in a meat tenderizer which had begun to disintegrate the creature.

on a completely different subject, foodwise, but not heatwise, today was so hot here in the south of britain that i fried an egg on the sidewalk. what do you think of that. and whats more, the yolk got solid, too.

[John Whiting]

i truly do not thing that any restaurant in britain serves good mexican food. in fact, i don't know of any restaurant in europe that serves good mexican food, but i can assure you that i've had some really really  horrible mexican food in london. and don't even ask about southsea...........

And there speaks one who knows, and who proves it over and over in the kitchen.

[Adam Balic]

on a completely different subject, foodwise, but not heatwise, today was so hot here in the south of britain that i fried an egg on the sidewalk. what do you think of that. and whats more, the yolk got solid, too.

I think that the British are strangely obsessed with frying eggs on side walks and car bonnets, when people that actually live in hot climates sensibly stay indoors and leave their eggs in peace (piece?).

[Adam Balic]

i truly do not thing that any restaurant in britain serves good mexican food. in fact, i don't know of any restaurant in europe that serves good mexican food, but i can assure you that i've had some really really  horrible mexican food in london. and don't even ask about southsea...........

And there speaks one who knows, and who proves it over and over in the kitchen.

Yes, yes, I was only joking before. An interesting question is: is it possible to have good ethnic food which is in-authentic, without having to resort to the 'fusion' label? eg. Could a modern Mexican restaurant in London serve a 'Mole of partridge' etc?

[sandra]

i truly do not thing that any restaurant in britain serves good mexican food. in fact, i don't know of any restaurant in europe that serves good mexican food, but i can assure you that i've had some really really  horrible mexican food in london. and don't even ask about southsea...........

And there speaks one who knows, and who proves it over and over in the kitchen.

Nobody is disagreeing with this statement - I was the first one to say it...

Adam, I think it would be possible, in theory, but once again, I bring up the issue of the ingredients, though - I mean - 4 tomatillos for £1?? Fine if you want to make something at home, but not if you are running a restaurant...

I have considered opening a Mexican restaurant (see other threads) but it becomes way too expensive to do good classical food - a taqueria, maybe...

[John Whiting]

An interesting question is: is it possible to have good ethnic food which is in-authentic, without having to resort to the 'fusion' label?

I do think that the best restaurant food is achieved, not when an individual chef decides to open a unique establishment, but when an ethnic community gives rise to dining places where they feed themselves to their own standards and which may then produce ambitious and inventive chefs who are able to enlarge their custom without deserting or destroying their traditions.

Those mayfly restaurants which appear as novelties usually go as quickly as they come.

[Adam Balic]

So no matter your intent or how well researched you are, if you are not from the correct ethnic group then it is not possible to be 'authentic' (which I think is a silly word BTW, by definition nothing is authentic)? Seems rather damning and to some extent, historially not representative.

I assume that many food writers are not of the ethnic group who's good they write upon, yet this is seen as exceptable, so I can see not reason why the cooking of similar types of commited people would also not be 'authentic' and good.

Sandra - I think that opening an 'ethnic' (there must be a better word then that) restaurant could be very difficult, if it was dependent on certain fresh ingredients. I assume that Mexican cooking is very diverse, so would it not be possible to operate in a way that didn't make to many compromises? No Tomatilla, OK, but are the other types of 'authentic' salsa that do not contain tomatilla?

[marlena spieler]

on a completely different subject, foodwise, but not heatwise, today was so hot here in the south of britain that i fried an egg on the sidewalk. what do you think of that. and whats more, the yolk got solid, too.

I think that the British are strangely obsessed with frying eggs on side walks and car bonnets, when people that actually live in hot climates sensibly stay indoors and leave their eggs in peace (piece?).

i know, adam, its mad isn't it! when i was a californian and grew up in the hot hot hot central valley where my parents still live and where they mutter little noises such as : well, its getting a bit warm when the thermometer hovers around 110F which is does every summer. anyhow anyhow, i never cooked an egg on the sidewalk then.

here i am in heatwave britain and not only have i cooked an egg on the sidewalk, but today i'm making toast in the back garden! (the thermometer hit 130F in the sun, and i'm telling you, the toast is looking nice and crispy).

[marlena spieler]

i too have considered opening a taqueria in london, something on the order of the simple places in san francisco: good, straightforward, authentic (-ish) and delicious (very). the huge expensive always convinces me against it.

however, i'm going to be doing a mexican workshop or evening with Slow Food (Britain). venue to be in london. watch this space!

ai carumba!

[Adam Balic]

on a completely different subject, foodwise, but not heatwise, today was so hot here in the south of britain that i fried an egg on the sidewalk. what do you think of that. and whats more, the yolk got solid, too.

I think that the British are strangely obsessed with frying eggs on side walks and car bonnets, when people that actually live in hot climates sensibly stay indoors and leave their eggs in peace (piece?).

i know, adam, its mad isn't it! when i was a californian and grew up in the hot hot hot central valley where my parents still live and where they mutter little noises such as : well, its getting a bit warm when the thermometer hovers around 110F which is does every summer. anyhow anyhow, i never cooked an egg on the sidewalk then.

here i am in heatwave britain and not only have i cooked an egg on the sidewalk, but today i'm making toast in the back garden! (the thermometer hit 130F in the sun, and i'm telling you, the toast is looking nice and crispy).

Marlena - sounds like you have gone native then . It is all of 18.C in Edinburgh (we have the Haar today), heat wave, bah.

One quick question to Mexicans and Mexican experts; Is it possible to buy those Mexican mortar and pestal (forgot the correct name of these) of good quality in the UK?

[Simon Majumdar]

Adam

I used this company in the US to order one for me and I also ordered a Tamale kit for a friends birthday

They were very very helpful

http://www.melissaguerra.com/list.cfm?ct=30

Oh, I think it is a Molcajete

S

Edited August 8, 2003 by Simon Majumdar (log)

[Adam Balic]

Thanks Simon. Do you feel that the size of the Molcajete (7 by 2 inchs) is too small?

[Gavin Jones]

So no matter your intent or how well researched you are, if you are not from the correct ethnic group then it is not possible to be 'authentic'

I recently noticed an array of 'Lloyd Grossman Ethnic Sauces' in a supermarket.

How authentic do you want it?

[Simon Majumdar]

Thanks Simon. Do you feel that the size of the Molcajete (7 by 2 inchs) is too small?

I've never had any complaints

S