Mexican Food in Paris

[Varmint]

An old buddy of mine is currently riding in the Tour de France and is tired of the daily food routine. For some reason, he's now craving Mexican food and can't stop thinking about finding a great Mexican restaurant in Paris after the Tour is over. Any suggestions? Name, address and phone number is what he needs!

[Jason Perlow]

How about the Indiana Cafe, the one pictured in this article?

http://egullet.com/?pg=ARTICLE-walsh_excerpt071304

[NewYorkTexan]

I am impressed if someone can complete a stage after having a big Mexican dinner the night before.....

The one place that I know about is:

Anahuacalli

5th arrondissement

30, rue des Bernardins (Maubert-Mutualité) 014 3261020

I have never been there, but my friend who runs our Paris office likes this place and I trust his opinion.

[Robb Walsh]

The Gruyere cheese enchiladas at Cafe Pacifico on Montparnasse were fabulous--but that was 8 years ago, I have no idea if they are still there.

[Varmint]

I actually did mention to Scott that he just ask Lance Armstrong. If anyone knows decent Tex-Mex in Paris, Lance should!

[Muffin210]

You must be a friend of Scott Sunderland!

I am very impressed that anyone who might have ridden with a two-time TdF cyclist is also a forum host on eGullet...all my cyclist boyfriend's riding buddies are sooooo worried about their diets...even though after riding all those hundreds of miles a week, they can probably eat ANYTHING and not worry about gaining any weight!

Anyway, please pass on our eGullet congratulations to Scott for a great job at the Tour...just two more days and he will be relaxing and drinking those margaritas...I bet a margarita will never taste so good!

You're right, Lance Armstrong would be the obvious person to ask about (Tex-)Mex in Paris, but I'd guess Bobke Roll would know some pretty damn fun places too...

[BigboyDan]

"...great Mexican restaurant in Paris...'

You mean, like a "great French restarant in San Antonio", right?

[Louisa Chu]

Sadly there is no GREAT Mexican restaurant in Paris - this is the constant quest of American and Mexican expats. Anahuacalli is accepted as the best in town right now. That Indiana Cafe is disgusting - for the undiscriminating tourists and drunken students - redundant - in the 5th. And that Cafe Pacifico is gone.

Here's a link to Anahuacalli's website - in French.

Allez les americains!

[Forest]

This thread has been silent for awhile, but I'm bringing it back up because I'm going out for Mexican food tomorrow and wondering if anyone has any new input or updates since the last posts. Any new or yet unmentioned Mexican places to try in Paris?

[Ptipois]

Truly there is no Mexican restaurant in Paris that could compete with what you can find in the US.

Anahuacalli is nice but too light on the chili. I also like A la mexicaine, rue Quincampoix, near the Pompidou center, the place is run by Mexicans.

[Felice]

I made a note of a Mexican restaurant that was written up favorably in Zurban last year but never got around to trying it. Recently a friend from California also recommended it, so it might be worth trying.

Hacienda del Sol

157 blvd Montparnasse

[Forest]

Thanks, as always, for the good input. I just heard back from my dining companions and it looks like we will be trying Hacienda del Sol (I do want to try Anahuacalli, as well, but unfortunately I can only fit in one meal a night!)

[Felice]

Thanks, as always, for the good input.  I just heard back from my dining companions and it looks like we will be trying Hacienda del Sol (I do want to try Anahuacalli, as well, but unfortunately I can only fit in one meal a night!) 

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Great, I would love to know how it is because I have been meaning to try it. Mexican food is one of the few things I definitely miss from home. I've been to most of the Mexican restaurants here, including à la mexicaine and and Anahuacalli and while they were both good, they weren't exactly what I was looking for.

[Ptipois]

Great, I would love to know how it is because I have been meaning to try it.  Mexican food is one of the few things I definitely miss from home.  I've been to most of the Mexican restaurants here, including à la mexicaine and and Anahuacalli and while they were both good, they weren't exactly what I was looking for.

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They're too polished, too reasonable, they don't have the gutsiness and generosity of good Mexican food.

To be fair, Mexican ingredients have become hard to come by in Paris.

[Forest]

Okay, just got back and I have to say I really liked it. Ptipois is right that they don’t have the generosity of a Mexican restaurant, but I kind of think they are at least trying to have the gutsiness. I get the feeling that they are trying to stick with actual Mexican food (within reason of getting ingredients) rather than catering to what many consider the French palate of not liking spicy foods or trying to adapt to an international/French audience.

To begin with, I had a margarita, which was good – not the best I’ve ever had, but the best I’ve had in Paris. And, by that I don’t mean it was acceptable, I mean it was pretty darn good! (I’m just picky about my margaritas). The salsa was yummy. It was spicy – not super hot, freshly made. You don’t get a lot – a tiny ramekin of chips and another of salsa. The chips were also good (the chips I wouldn’t rave about, but they were good)

We ordered four entrées. Guacamole (which I liked – chunky, you could taste all the ingredients, maybe not as spicy, salty or citrusy as some would like, but I was very happy with it - fresh, homemade, tasty), chimichangas (a little dry, but good), and something stuffed with huitlacoche and, well, I’ve already forgotten the last one, but I remember liking them all.

I had tamales for my main, which were excellent. The person I was eating with told me not to expect them to be as tightly formed as what I might have had in Texas of Southern California, and he was right, but they were good. The only one of us that wasn’t really blown away by our main was the mole…I don’t care for mole so I can’t comment on that. But otherwise, we were all very happy with our meals. (three Americans who have spent time in Mexico so we’ve had a good taste of both Mexican and Tex Mex)

They brought out some tequila and something else for a digestive for us – I had something kind of herby (tasted very anise-y…again, don’t remember what it was…maybe too much margarita and digestive) but it was very nice.

And the husband/wife team that own and run the place were delightful. I always kind of pause when people use the word “delightful” because it sounds a bit…I don’t know…cheesy or something. But they were very nice - she came out and talked to us for quite awhile at the end of dinner and then he came out and I really got the impression they are making a real effort to serve good, authentic food.

By the way, it’s not a Tex-Mex place, definitely more Mexican, but overall I was really happy with it. But, then again, I’ve heard very little good about finding Mexican in Paris, so I wasn’t really expecting anything great. On a final note, it was very empty. There were maybe two or three other tables full during the time we were there.

Also, I heard (not sure, but someone told me tonight) that a al mexicaine closed a few months ago.

Not the best Mexican I’ve ever had in my life, but overall I was very very happy with it. I haven’t tried Anahuacalli, but the people I was eating with said it is just as good. As always, that’s just my opinion and what made my tummy happy – but I’d say give it a try if you haven’t and you’re craving Mexican.

[Felice]

  As always, that’s just my opinion and what made my tummy happy – but I’d say give it a try if you haven’t and you’re craving Mexican.

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Thank you Forest for such quick feedback. I will definitely try it soon and will try to spread the word, as I don't think many people have heard of it.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Coodinates? Forest, is this where you went?