Continuing the UK hijack…
Wahaca’s a sit-down dining chain that’s making it’s way around the UK. To use US terms, it’s more Cali-Mex than Tex-Mex. I’d say there food would be considered above average in the US. Wahaca’s made it to Manchester and Liverpool so I’m sure Birmingham’s on their list.
For take-out, the American chain’s Chipotle and Chilangos are both reliable and have strong footholds in London and are expanding.
There’s also a bit of a hipster Mexican movement happening in London. I don’t know where the hipsters hang out in Birmingham, but there’s a good chance that neighbourhood will have an El Pastor equivalent fairly soon.
So if you’re looking for good Mexican in Birmingham, be patient, it’s coming.
Or hop on the train down to London and give Ella Canta a try.
Mexican food isn’t that popular in Latina America, either. For most of us, Mexican food is tacos and enchiladas and we don’t really see them as anything special.
Here in Peru, some sandwich places offer “tacos” and “enchiladas” which, while good, offend Mexico as a nation. So much so that when Peruvians go to Mexico and eat taco there, they don’t like them, they aren’t what we’re used to. People are somehow more familiar with tex-mex stuff.By the way, Taco Bell is on its third try at Peru, having failed miserably twice before.
Right–as I mentioned above–in Colombia if you get a burrito at one of the “Mexican” stands found in the food court of most shopping centers, it will be some bizarre thing that has nothing to do with Mexican food. Same with the other items.
And I’ve eaten a lot of terrible Mexican food in the US: greasy and with stodgy tasteless burritos. And I’ve had great Mexican food too. But if the existence of the bad restaurants enables one to make blanket statement then do I get to say the same about the US?
I lived in China for five years, and while I couldn’t get everything I needed at a Suguo across the street, I was able to get everything I needed for making most homemade Mexican food, as opposed to carnitas, which are never made at home, or other non-at-home foods. Between the German Metro store, the western stores, and online, global trade made it pretty easy to eat in China what I ate at home, which was primarily Mexican food and American food.
I was acquaintances with the guy that owned the local Mexican restaurant (because expats all go to the same two western bars, of course), and when I told him his food sucked, he didn’t say anything about matching local tastes, but lamented that he couldn’t get all of the correct ingredients, which is B.S.
Not 100% on point, but my Salvadoran-American college roomie has lived in small town England for over 20 years. There is no masa or masa harina or any number of other Central American ingredients to be had for many miles around. When I have gone to visit her, half my suitcase has been filled with things like that.
No. Because you’ve “had great Mexican food too”. I have not yet. Or at least not since I think it was 1987. In a restaurant long gone.
It might be possible for there to be great Mexican food here. The person I was questioning was saying there was, and never did get back to me as to where this was.
I’d like to. It sounds as if some suggestions in this thread might lead me to something, which seems to be more London based, somewhere i tend to avoid (even if working nearby).
Existence of bad restaurants does not allow that blanket statement. Never having found good ones does. You’ve found some (I’ve found lots in the US when there, and never had a bad mexican meal in Vegas for instance).
I’m starting to think the Europeans-don’t-do-Mexican-food thing is nothing much more than a cultural “who knows?” than it is a correctable, concrete set of factors.
You can also try this method, which is deep-fried in lard, just not in the vast quantity carnitas usually are. That said, I have a friend from Michoacan who makes enormous portions of lard-fried carnitas at home for parties, so it is certainly possible to make at home. Make sure you have a good ventilation system or do it outside (I do all my oily stuff in a wok or Dutch oven set on a gas grill outside.)
We’re just back in México after 3 months in Milan where our daughter lives. There isn’t much of a Merxican community there so it was very hard to find ingredients to prepare Mexican food. Canned chiles such as chipotle or jalapeño were available but fresh jalapeños,serranos or poblanos were not to be found. Maseca brand harina de maíz was available but the first bag we bought was made in Italia and was a much inferior product. A small store in Torino, owned by a Italian-Mexican, carried the Maseca (along with other products) from Mexico which produced a far better tortilla. We found some substitutes that produced a passable product but the difference to our palates was noticeable. We had better luck with cheeses than other ingredients. But we did have a nice time hunting down different sources. Of course the friends of our daughter that were invited over were thrilled with finally tasting authentic Mexican dishes. Several of them mastered the art of tortilla making and had ordered a tortilla press online. And the store in Torino ran out of Maseca! My wife also filled the freezer with many different dishes from mole to cochinita pibil, chilaquiles and huevos rancheros plus many varieties of sauces.
Our daughter is an executive for the Italian food emprium Eataly and travels to the different Eataly locations throughout the world. Here are a few of her recommendations for Mexican food in Europe.
There is a taquería in London called simply Taquería. And for more upscale a place called Ella Canta. She also heard good things about a place named Mestizo.
In Stockholm a taquería called La Neta.
In Copenhagen try Sánchez, Hija de Sánchez Cantina or Hija de Sánchez Taquería.
She has yet to find anything to recommend in Italia, France or Germany.
And none were as good as what her mamá prepared in Milan!
I guy I’ve known casually for years opened a Mexican Restaurant in Hungary, about an hour SW of Budapest. He used to own and run a couple of casual bars/restaurants in Cozumel. It’s been interesting watching his missives about trying to find ingredients, train staff, etc. I liked his places in Cozumel, and I expect that he’s doing his best to recreate his menus at the new place. Not the greatest Mexican food I’ve ever had, but certainly not bad.
So, if anyone ever happens to find themselves in the neighborhood of Székesfehérvár, Hungary, check it out and report back please. Ask for Chad.
