Any Mexican Updates?

[Hallie]

I was having my favourite moan tonight with some workmates about hankering after good Mexican and not finding it.

I bought some corn tortillas from the Chili Company (or whatever they're called) in Borough Market on Saturday but they just didn't taste right, even when filled with grilled marinated fish and salsa.

What's the latest update? Any hope of a real Mexican place opening? Any rumours at least...?

Help me out here, I'm desparate.

[circeplum]

hallie -

have no idea what it's like, but just opened is destino in swallow st. it's supposed to be 'south american', but seems to be mostly mexican: ceviches, quesadillas, tostaditas, moles, tacos, fajutas, chimichangas and enchiladas...

7437 9895

if you check it out, let us know!

m

[Hallie]

This sounds like it could be promising - however, I'm slow to get excited about things like this as in the past they've always failed to impress

Have they replaced Down Mexico Way which was/is also on Swallow Street?

I worry slightly about the term 'South American'.

[pepep]

ceviches, quesadillas, tostaditas, moles, tacos, fajutas, chimichangas and enchiladas...

'Mole' sauce - that's the key to a good Mexican restaurants and differentiates it from Tex-Mex. Mole Poblano is chicken in chocolate sauce would you believe and it's very tasty and spicey. Think about it - chocolate is NOT sweet in it's original form, it's bitter and sperb in a sauce.

Amazingly they do a great, and authentic, Mole Poblano in the Mexican Restaurant in Epcot at Disney World!

[marlena spieler]

for the fifteen years i've lived on this island getting good mexican food to the folks out there has been a particular passion of mine. i wrote several books on the subject, and tried so hard to get more info out there, did a buncha stuff on radio 4 until they stopped showing interest in the subject.

my experiences with mexican food in london range between not very good and really really terrible. in the latter category we had a breast of chicken that was so soft as in marinated in something mightly powerful to reduce the flesh to consistency of cotton wool.........in a mole that was basically cadburys with chile added. to a few okay salsas at si senor which is no longer there (did a whole food programme tasting using si senor salsas once).

i've pitched television series on mexican foods, consulted with supermarkets on what to put in their range of products (did they listen?) and have been standing in line to promote an importing company that represents several really excellent mexican products but seems stuck in limbo at the moment.

at one point i even looked into opening a mission- style burrito place but was talked out of it by powers that be.........

anyhow, have i given up? well yes. so i have no answers. except that i might be giving a mexican demonstration or two over this winter, perhaps in conjunction with SLOW, so i can post it when and if it happens.

and ps: the only way to get nice warm corny tortillas the way they are meant to be (and not the kind at the cool chile co which is a very nice company anyway) is to make them yourself: buy the masa from cool chile or bring it yourself back from states. no need to worry about having a tortilla press or patting them out, i recently saw an old woman making tortillas by making a ball, placing it between two piece of plastic then smacking the top with a heavy frying pan.

marlena

maybe we should make a uk based mexican eating club? My carnitas can make a grown woman (me) weep, all the better stuffed into gooey quesadillas.

[pepep]

Excellent and informative post Marlena. But the problem is not cnfined to the UK. Going 'Mexican' seems to be the mode in Germany and (!) in Italy. But these are basically 'how many tequila slammers you can drink in an hour' kind of places.

Having said that it's not great in the US either! Yes, I agree, there are excellent restaurants there but you really have to look for them, which is why I put the little tip about 'mole poblano' being on the menu. Considering the vast size of the States there are relatively few that have 'real' Mexican food.

You sound a real connisseur Marlena so let us know when you find your valhalla in Europe. A few tips in the US of the very best would not be amiss either.

[Hallie]

Marlena,

First of all, keep up the good work. I am totally convinced that ours are not lone voices calling out for quality Mexican food. I know a number of people who want it and especially with so many more people travelling on holiday to Mexico, I predict the interest level will grow.

The loss of Si Senor was a blow to all of us who used their fairly good fare to satisfy our cravings.

I was speaking to one of the women at the booth at the Cool Chilie Co. on Saturday and she expressed a similar dismay at people's seeming lack of enthusiasm. I believe that its more a case of people not knowing what's available and associating Mexican food with binge drinking - the same stigma applied to kebabs and curry (though look at how popular those are). I'm starting to think that what we need in London is for some enterprising soul to poach a good Mexican chef from somewhere in the US or Mexico or for someone to approach a reputatable large Mexican chain in the South Western US to extend their franchise to London. I know, I know, an outlet of Acapulco or El Torito is not ideal but its a big jump up from what is here at the moment. At least these people would have the capital behind them. Ideally, I'd love to be able to enjoy healthy Southern California style Mexican food (a la Baja Fresh) in London with its fish tacos and lard-free black beans - but at the moment I'm up for virtually anything.

I would love to make my own corn tortillas but unfortunately I hardly have time to make my own dinner, let alone my own salsa anymore.

Also - YES! I would be very interested in joining (or helping to start) a UK Mexican club in London. Keep talking....maybe we can get some others on board...

Andy?

[dellis453]

There's a fantastic mexican deli based in Edinburgh that does mail order - the owner has written a book too about his adventures and how Lupe Pintos came about. Can thoroughly recommend the produce and the book! (He also stocks, Creole, American and other produce)

www.lupepintos.com

[jhlurie]

Really, the key to getting good Mexican food in any part of the world is to invite some Mexicans to come live there. Preferably from Puebla, Mexico, which apparently turns out many of the best cooks.

Trite, but true. You don't want to walk in and see an Irishman over the counter.

[marlena spieler]

yeah, i think we need to invite mexicans to come live in britain. they can all live in my house in hampshire!

meanwhile, we need to all share any goodies we can find.

Lupe Pintos in Edinburgh is pretty good, that is, in the variety of chilies they stock and stuff but with all the

cajun and other american things they stock the really real mexican stuff (such as good tortillas) are just not there.

Once you could get tamales by phoning the mexican embassy in london and talking to the ambassador's chauffeur who made them once or twice a week that sort of thing. then he went into his own business but i'm not sure exactly what it was cause when i called it was a problem, there were problems......and in the end i had to head back to the kitchen with my corn husks and do the one thing i'm just not good at in the kitchen.........(making tamales, my downfall is that i try to do it with olive oil and other healthful fats, a bad idea)

there used to be a mexican cultural group in battersea who could rustle up a mariachi band at the drop of a sombrero or bowler hot, whichever you prefer..........i still think about what event can i plan that i can hire a mariachi band, though i'm not sure now how to find them............

about mexican food in europe, i always say there are two things you can be sure to find in europe: mexican restaurants (everywhere, even in athens) and you can be guaranteed to find a bad mexican restaurant...........

dodie, the woman who owns cool chile company is terrific, by the way, and probably the woman you will chat to if you hang out at the cool chile stall. before dodie there were NO dried chiles and very little mexican ingredients at all.

marlena

ps: last week i made posole from dried hominy hand-carried back from California

[Hallie]

yeah, i think we need to invite mexicans to come live in britain. they can all live in my house in hampshire!

meanwhile, we need to all share any goodies we can find.

Lupe Pintos in Edinburgh is pretty good, that is, in the variety of chilies they stock and stuff but with all the

cajun and other american things they stock the really real mexican stuff (such as good tortillas) are just not there.

Once you could get tamales by phoning the mexican embassy in london and talking to the ambassador's chauffeur who made them once or twice a week that sort of thing. then he went into his own business but i'm not sure exactly what it was cause when i called it was a problem, there were problems......and in the end i had to head back to the kitchen with my corn husks and do the one thing i'm just not good at in the kitchen.........(making tamales, my downfall is that i try to do it with olive oil and other healthful fats, a bad idea)

there used to be a mexican cultural group in battersea who could rustle up a mariachi band at the drop of a sombrero or bowler hot, whichever you prefer..........i still think about what event can i plan that i can hire a mariachi band, though i'm not sure now how to find them............

about mexican food in europe, i always say there are two things you can be sure to find in europe: mexican restaurants (everywhere, even in athens) and you can be guaranteed to find a bad mexican restaurant...........

dodie, the woman who owns cool chile company is terrific, by the way, and probably the woman you will chat to if you hang out at the cool chile stall. before dodie there were NO dried chiles and very little mexican ingredients at all.

marlena

ps: last week i made posole from dried hominy hand-carried back from California

Oh a mariachi band - I'd be there if there was a mariachi band playing! The sound of a mariachi is pure musical sunshine.

I'm now feeling a bit homesick after imagining mariachi bands playing while sitting in a patio(and I hate using that term, 'homesick' because England is my home - and has been of my own choice for the past 11 years).

Maybe a Mexican event is what is needed; mariachi band, someone making torillas, lots of food, a pinyta (spelling?), and Mexican dancing. I'm surprised that the Mexican Embassy doesn't put on events like this or that the Mexican Tourist Authority (and I'm sure that there must be one) doesn't do something.

I looked at the Lupe Pintos site and sadly there were no tortillas.

For all of my complaining I can say that at least the interest in Mexican food has increased somewhat in the past ten years. When I first came to Britain it was a feat to find flour tortillas. Now, in every supermarket there is at least a small corner dedicated to tortillas (though not great ones), a variety of sauces, some dried spices, and 'gringo' taco shells. Its a start.

[Suzi Edwards]

maybe we should make a uk based mexican eating club? My carnitas can make a grown woman (me) weep, all the better stuffed into gooey quesadillas.

yes, yes, yes!!!!!!

i would SO be up for this.

[karey]

Red Epicurus-a nonprofit foodie club here in London- is hosting a Mexican cooking class in November--probably the closest thing for now to real Mexican food. Class was so popular that it is now sold out (so there is definitely interest in the cuisine!) but will most likely host another one in early 2004. More info....

http://www.redepicurus.com/calendar.html

[ferdlisky]

See if you can pick up the May 2003 issue of Bon Appetit (the US magazine). The entire issue is about Mexican cooking. I've cooked about a third of the recipes and they have all been incredibly good. There is a recipe for Mole Poblano that takes a while to prepare (OK, three days), but it is so good it's addictive.

[jhlurie]

When I first came to Britain it was a feat to find flour tortillas.  Now, in every supermarket there is at least a small corner dedicated to tortillas (though not great ones), a variety of sauces, some dried spices, and 'gringo' taco shells.  Its a start.

The real question is can you find soft corn tortillas? Not that an overwhelming number of dishes are made with them, but I've always found their presense to be a sign that a geographical area "gets" Mexican.

You've got to be able to make or get, at a minimum, a REAL Taco.

[Gus]

I think the key to this is a decent mexican restaurant. Sure, some people want to try to cook mexican food from scratch (esp on a boar like this), but not many. Certainly not as many as would go to a good mexican restaurant.

The two objections raised are 1) ingredients and staff, and 2) a supposed stigma attached to mexican food (two varieties are recited: the tequila slammers version, or the peasant food version).

In fact, I don't think there is a stigma with mexican food. Certainly not now. The days when are, say, bangladeshi food would have been described as "foreign shite" are long gone. And if there is a stigma, it's at a haute-cusisine level.

Most of all, though, I don't think a haute-cuisine level mexican is needed. What we could do with in London is the mexican equivalent of Tayyab. Cheap, good, authentic foreign food in large portions and basic but pleasant surroundings.

If Tayyab switched overnight to mexican (heaven forbid, because I love Tayyab) it would still be full, despite its not-ideal location (for a mexican, not a pakistani, that is).

People are crying out for good, cheap, wholesome exotic food, but hardly anyone does it. Instead in this country we get shite restaurants and extremely expensive ones that only restaurant reviewers, the wealthy and those having their birthday treat can go to.

Imagine: authentic chicken mole with salad, rice and beans, more than you can eat for £10. I'd go every week...

[jhlurie]

Note to Self:

Raise capital. Open Mexican restaurant in London with said capital. Hire at least one Mexican Abuelita to supervise.

[ScorchedPalate]

I'm a California 'expat' living in Seattle, so I really do feel your pain. And having eaten at the horrendous Texas Embassy during my last London trip, I can concur that you'd better be really drunk if you want to make it through a plate of food at most so-called Mexican joints more than 300 miles from the Mexican border.

about mexican food in europe, i always say there are two things you can be sure to find in europe: mexican restaurants (everywhere, even in athens) and you can be guaranteed to find a bad mexican restaurant...........

On the other hand, one of the best, most-authentic Mexican meals I ever ate was at "A La Mexicaine" in Paris, right around the corner from the Centre Pompidou. As I recall, it's run by the Mexican cultural attache's wife (or other female relative). There's a french review of it here, along with address and such. The amusing part of it was that they had a French-style set menu (choice of starters, mains, dessert) complete with a wine list. No beer or tequila (although the review indicates otherwise, so my info may be outdated).

As for authentic supplies, I'm coming to London at the end of November, and I am willing to be bribed into going to the local Mexican-owned bodega for things that I can import without too much hassle.

~Anita

[sandra]

Mexican products in London:

http://elazteca.homestead.com/sp_index.html

This is as close as you can get for now...

[circeplum]

This sounds like it could be promising - however, I'm slow to get excited about things like this as in the past they've always failed to impress

Have they replaced Down Mexico Way which was/is also on Swallow Street?

I worry slightly about the term 'South American'.

yes, it was 'down mexico way'. never was in there, had a rep for booze-up hen/stag parties. but destino just might be a different story.

apart from anything else, it looks absolutely stunning; apparently was london's first ever spanish restaurant in the 20s and retains the original, glorious tiling.

we just had lunch downstairs in the 'deli', open just for snacks and a 'taco' counter??? don't pretend to be anything of an expert on mexican food, but what we had tasted great. chunky guacamole with tostaditos (home made); a soft corn taco filled with fabulous bbq pork and 'latino coleslaw' (seemed to be mostly marinated red onion), a flour burrito filled with seared beef and peppers. best of all were a black bean dip and a divine habanero dip. i could have drunk the latter from its pot.

def. going back to try the full menu.

m

[Suzi Edwards]

ooh. interesting.

on another note, the mexican stall at borough seems to have a fairly good supply of tomatillos now.

[MobyP]

but destino just might be a different story....

Is it the one in Putney?

I might try that tonight. My life is full of boxes at the moment, and no kitchen to be found.

[Suzi Edwards]

i think it's on swallow street, just off regent street.

[bishwells]

Yes, it is on Swallow St. The Destino in Putney is a tapas bar I think.

Just grabbed a taco for lunch, with a Guacamole side.

BBQ pork with coleslaw taco. Not bad, but seemed expensive for what it was. Not as good as a takeaway Soho Sandwich from Bodeans which is same distance from my office, and same price.

Had a quick stroll round, restaurant looked tempting so may head back for a proper lunch.

[Hallie]

Soft tortillas...chunky guacamole...this does sound quite good. I must check it out.

This reminds me of an experience I had about 9 years ago in Leeds at a restaurant that claimed to serve Mexican food. I ordered something that came with guacamole (I'm probably spelling this incorrectly, so please forgive me) and when the plate arrived, there on the corner in a little dish was a pastey, greenish-grayish-white blob. I tentatively sampled the guacamole and all I could taste was salad cream with a few finely diced pieces of avacado mixed in. I notified the waiter that what I was given was salad cream and not guacamole. He took it back to the kitchen and returned with it, commenting, 'the chef says that this is guacamole'. I said, 'guacamole doesn't contain salad cream and its primary ingredient is avacado. This is not guacamole'. The waiter shrugged and said, 'Its guacamole in Leeds'.