Mexican Food In Berlin

Mexican Food In Berlin

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http://travel.nytimes.com/...eads.html?ref=dining

Saludos,
Anonimo

May 26, 2010, 9:23 AM

Post #2 of 46 (5325 views)

Re: [Anonimo] Mexican Food In Berlin

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Well, OK, Anonimo, since you had the nerve to bring up Mexican food in urban areas of Europe, Dawg is reminded of "Mexican" food in Paris. Now, when one thinks of ethnic food in Paris, one thinks of food from various Arab countries or West Africa or Vietnamese food among others and there are many hole-in-the-wall places to enjoy these very good ethnic foods in that city but I can only think of one Mexican restaurant and that is located near the family home where we stay when in Paris near La Defense which is a subterranean metro and RER (suburban high speed rail) stop with a grand arch and huge shopping mall on top. There must be 100 or more eateries in that mall but the one I speak of is called TEQUILA and they proudly advertise on the restaurant exterior perhaps 50 to 100 brands of tequila straight from Mexico (where else) plus " Mexican" food.

Well, in the first place, the French don´t typically drink a lot of hard booze and certainly not tequila so if one patronizes this joint one is treated to the miniscule shot of tequila (typical of the Paris bar with those upside-down pastice bottles) or an absolutely terrible (so called) "margarita" with not enough tequila to compromise a fly and these drinks come at a tremendous cost. The French are great cooks but you don´t even want to consider the possibility of ordering Mexican food there as the concept is unheard of so skip the food altogether. The NYT article Anonimo mentioned referred to salsas made with a tomato catsup base in Berlin in the old days if you get my drift.

Because we knew of this dirth of decent tequila and Mexican food in Paris at an even remotely acceptable (or any) price, we took two bottles of my favorite; Herradura Blanco, with us on a flight from Guadalajara to Paris via Chicago and, I swear to God, they were going to confiscate the tequila at O´Hare because we, having not flown through the U.S. in nearly a decade, had no idea we could not carry liquids on board with us and, thus, had had the temerity to try to carry that expensive tequila on board in our cabin luggage rather than risk it in the stored luggage below where it might be broken and ruin our clothes. I must say that the airline personnel at O´Hare were sympathetic (even a hardened airline employee has difficulty throwing out fine tequila) and helped us box the tequila after I plaintively begged for mercy but things were hairy there for a while.

Whatever any of you do in Berlin, never order Mexican food or drink in Paris unless you have just withdrawn 500 Euros from the nearest ATM.

Incidentally, various members of our French family really enjoy Mexican food and drink we prepare at home for them whether in Ajijic or San Cristóbal and they have also enjoyed many restaurant meals in Chiapas or on the southern coasts so it´s just a matter of experience.

(This post was edited by Hound Dog on May 26, 2010, 6:10 PM)

Manuel Dexterity

May 26, 2010, 10:05 AM

Post #3 of 46 (5316 views)

Re: [Hound Dog] Mexican Food In Berlin

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My daughter recently relocated to Europe. On a visit to Munich last month she encountered a small grocery that carried a small selection of Mexican products. Among them were bags of Maseca masaharina. She excitedly envisioned preparing fresh tortillas or sopitos etc. until she asked the price. The Maseca which goes for around 7 pesos a kilo here was priced attractively at 10 euros.

The same sticker shock occurerd when she spied a small fresh papaya that only cost 12 euros.

(This post was edited by Manuel Dexterity on May 26, 2010, 12:05 PM)

May 27, 2010, 9:36 AM

Post #4 of 46 (5273 views)

Re: [Manuel Dexterity] Mexican Food In Berlin

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Did she tell you the price of the limes there....not bad either. We also could not find any of the great chilies we have here.

Manuel Dexterity

May 27, 2010, 12:40 PM

Post #5 of 46 (5256 views)

Re: [Vichil] Mexican Food In Berlin

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She hasn't mentioned limes yet. She did say she purchased just 4 chiles serrano because of the price where she was accustomed to filling the bag with several handfuls here.

She has also statred a small chile crop of 7 different varieties in clay pots.

May 27, 2010, 3:20 PM

Post #6 of 46 (5244 views)

Re: [Manuel Dexterity] Mexican Food In Berlin

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When I was in France, in 2002, French friends with whom I was staying asked me to prepare a Mexican meal for them. They had lived in Mexico for a year, had been home in France for two years, and missed the food desperately.

We went to Carrefours to shop.

Avocados from Israel..............too expensive, no way!
Chiles..................................none to be had
Tortillas...............................pre-packaged, texture of cardboard, 8 to a package: 4 euros 50.

It was early spring. Bushels of white asparagus cost almost nothing. We made a French soup.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

May 27, 2010, 4:36 PM

Post #7 of 46 (5231 views)

Re: [Manuel Dexterity] Mexican Food In Berlin

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Good luck with growing the chilies! My cousin brought back all kinds of dried chilies and seeds as well as different Mexican beans and planted them, it just did not work out. Your daughter is lucky to find serranos.

In Paris I searched the markets and found a few chilies the Chinese use at Tangs Brothers, some type of hot chile used by the A.rabs and a type of habanero. That is it.
Most of the tropical fruit do not have any taste and cost a fortune. Avocados are easy to find in Paris and are used quite a lot but they are expensive.
Most Mexican Restaurants in Paris serve bad Tex Mex.

My sister has a Mexican friend from DF who is married to a French man. Her friend comes back loaded with whatever she misses as many many things are not available.
When you get in the provinces the prices and the choices are even worse.

I do not know about German Customs but the French are a joke, last time I went over there I brought with me fresh poblanos, chocolate and mole in plastic containers my Oaxaca friend had given me. No one asked me any questions. The trick is to follow a young pretty girl, the customs guys are so busy trying to get her phone number that the poblanos and the mole have no problems getting in.

(This post was edited by Vichil on May 28, 2010, 6:17 AM)

Manuel Dexterity

May 27, 2010, 5:04 PM

Post #8 of 46 (5223 views)

Re: [Vichil] Mexican Food In Berlin

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She lives near Bolzano, Italy and there is nothing in the markets there to speak of.

Her aunt and uncle will be visiting her next month and my wife already has started acquiring the things on her list for them to take. Luckily she took her tortilla press with her so when she gets the 2k of masa harina she can make some tortillas on occasion.

But I think the thing she misses the most is the fresh tropical fruit we have here in abundance. We brought a crate of mangos back from the beach last week that cost all of 70 pesos.

May 27, 2010, 6:18 PM

Post #9 of 46 (5213 views)

Re: [Manuel Dexterity] Mexican Food In Berlin

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She may get one lousy tasting mango for that price.... I think the limes were 3 for a euro last time I bought some, persian lime only no good little Mexican limes available.
The summer is coming soon over there and she will be able to get incredible peaches, apricots, cherries, plums and in the fall wonderful pears and apples,grapes,chesnuts and many other things at a decent price in season. Soon she will be able to eat great fruit.
She should be able to get great local strawberries and asparagus now.
They eat tunas in Sicily so she may be able to find some up north although It may be a local treat.

(This post was edited by Vichil on May 28, 2010, 6:23 AM)

May 28, 2010, 6:33 AM

Post #10 of 46 (5190 views)

Re: [Vichil] Mexican Food In Berlin

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Coincidentally with this thread, the French embassy in Mexico City published the following on their e-mail newsletter.

A chef from Hermosillo is opening a new Mexican restaurant in Paris in the Montparnasse district near The Closerie featuring the cuisine of Northern Mexico such as chimichangas and machaca. Now, it is encouraging that this guy is from Sonora since the French have no even remote idea what Mexican food is all about. He may have to Frenchify it to be suuccessful.

Vichil is right in her above post and she taught me this about 39 years ago. With summer coming up, Manuelito´s daughter is in for a treat. The fruit in France in season is incomparably delicious. Just watch out for those imports from North Africa and Spain and stay away from Carrefour the French WalMart.

The secret in Paris, Marseilles or Lyon when looking for exotic foods is to "follow the dark skinned people", a colorful way of saying natives of the region the cooking of which one is seeking to emulate. There are many Arab, Caribbean, Indochinese and West African shops in Paris but you have to know where to find them. You go according to the type of fruit you are seeking whether tropical or non-tropical. The prices will be better and the fruit will be better.

(This post was edited by Hound Dog on May 28, 2010, 6:42 AM)

May 28, 2010, 9:50 AM

Post #11 of 46 (5166 views)

Re: [Hound Dog] Mexican Food In Berlin

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Carrefour, the French Wal-Mart--no kidding! Huge and expensive...

During the six weeks I was at my friends' home, we always shopped at the bi-weekly street market in Voiron, about 40 km from Grenoble. The town where my friends lived is too small to have a street market. It's even too small to have a bakery! We had to drive 9 km to buy bread. I well remember the morning at the Voiron market when the woman just ahead of us bought all of the French strawberries--ALL!--and gave us a snooty sort of 'so there' look as she huffed off with her several kilos of them. All that were left were Spanish berries, the dregs. *sigh*

Fortunately, I live in Morelia, in the heart of the world capital of strawberry growers. This entire area of Michoacán and Guanajuato, from Zamora to Tangancícuaro, from Tacámbaro to Irapuato, is filled with strawberry fields. At my Wednesday market this week, they were selling for 12 pesos the kilo. And blackberries: grown locally, they are as big as the end of your thumb, sweet as sugar, and 20 pesos the kilo. Out of this world.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

May 28, 2010, 10:54 AM

Post #12 of 46 (5154 views)

Re: [esperanza] Mexican Food In Berlin

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Sorry , Carrefour is not considered expensive in France. It is a typical of what we call grande surface or mega store and typical of all the other mega stores, like Auchan , Super U and many others.

If you think it is expensive do not go shopping in the high end stores like Hediard or Fauchon or the farmers markets where it really is expensive.....

The food selection in French super market in France tend to be higher end than the regular US food supermarket but for the rest of the items they are comparable to Walmart with sometimes a little more style but sometimes not depending on their location.

My sister shops at Carrefour in Nanterre and she just told me that the prices there are 30% higher than in the Carrefour in Tours so they are large differences in prices according to location. Nanterre is well known as an immigrant town and had has some low end markets but the part of Nanterre close to Neuilly is also know for its very high end markets. Location . location..

My brother went to school in Grenoble and I remember thinking that prices were high in that town.

Last year while in France, I took pictures of food and the prices at Les Halles in Tours just to remind me of the prices of good food and why I live in Mexico.

The Spanish strawberries sold in France are considered the dregs compared to Guarriguettes and other types like la Mara des bois that resemble the fraises des bois. The most prized strawberries over there are small and very fragrant. I never had any strawberries here or anywhere else that even remotelycompare to them in taste or for that mateer price... The season is very short and the varieties available change every couple of weeks. After that is over , it is back to Spain or the Magreb.

(This post was edited by Vichil on May 28, 2010, 11:34 AM)

May 28, 2010, 12:41 PM

Post #13 of 46 (5141 views)

Re: [Vichil] Mexican Food In Berlin

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Because Morelia is in the heart of Mexico's strawberry country and much of the crop is grown for export, we get most of the 'undesirable' strawberries at our tianguis: the little ones, the so-called over-ripe ones. In other words, the extraordinarily sweet small ones, the ones that are red all the way through (no white, pithy core), the ones that wouldn't last till they got to whatever the export destination might have been for their big sisters. In other words, we get by far the best Mexican berries.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

May 28, 2010, 3:16 PM

Post #14 of 46 (5127 views)

Re: [esperanza] Mexican Food In Berlin

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Because Morelia is in the heart of Mexico's strawberry country and much of the crop is grown for export, we get most of the 'undesirable' strawberries at our tianguis: the little ones, the so-called over-ripe ones. In other words, the extraordinarily sweet small ones, the ones that are red all the way through (no white, pithy core), the ones that wouldn't last till they got to whatever the export destination might have been for their big sisters. In other words, we get by far the best Mexican berries

I don´t think so, Esperanza. The best Mexican berries we have tasted by far in Mexico come from small mountainside fincas around San Cristóbal and are sold in the indigenous market there but only seasonally. You and Judy were our guests there but I don´t think that was strawberry season so I can see why there would be some disagreement among us on the subject. The strawberries grown by the indigenous farmers are incomparable for North America in my opinion but I´m sure the strawberries grown in Michoacan and Guanajuato are wonderful as well.

I do certainly agree with you about the shame that the best fruit and vegetables in Mexico are grown for export and that is disturbing. When the U.S. and Mexico were at odds over the war in Iraq, the U.S. rejected the fabulous tomatoes from Sayula and so, for a while, we got them in the markets at Lakeside as you probably remember.

Such is life. When we lived on Mobile Bay and greeted the day shrimp boats coming in with the fresh harvest, we would drive over to greet the boats but the best shrimp were frozen and flown off from Mobile to Chicago because the Chicago restaurants paid top price for those shrimp. That´s life.

May 28, 2010, 3:32 PM

Post #15 of 46 (5121 views)

Re: [Hound Dog] Mexican Food In Berlin

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Speaking of tomatoes: yesterday I bought a big, red, round tomato at our Superama here, which was loaded with them. The sign said TOMATO BEEF. And...it actually tasted like a mid-summer beefsteak tomato, if I remember that taste correctly. Oh my.

Of course, right next to the BEEFS on the shelf were hydroponics. *sigh*

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Anonimo

May 29, 2010, 1:58 AM

Post #16 of 46 (5092 views)

Re: [esperanza] Mexican Food In Berlin

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"TOMATO BEEF".

Probably worth driving to Morelia for those, but we'll soon be in New Jersey, where I hope the great summer tomatoes are already available.

And, maybe sweet corn. One can dream, anyway.

Buen provecho,
Anonimo

May 29, 2010, 7:03 AM

Post #17 of 46 (5077 views)

Re: [Anonimo] Mexican Food In Berlin

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Probably worth driving to Morelia for those, but we'll soon be in New Jersey, where I hope the great summer tomatoes are already available.

And, maybe sweet corn. One can dream, anyway.

Anonimo:

You just hit one of Dawg´s hot buttons. Things I really miss in Mexico:

* Freshly harvested heirloom tomatoes in organic farmer´s markets as in Northern California plus real organic farmer´s markets one finds there instead of the abastos generated commercial outlets generally represented by local tianguis at Lakeside.
* Freshly picked, incredibly sweet and delicious beefsteak tomatoes sold in highway stands in Alabama and across the eastern U.S. states in late spring and early summer.
* American and French style true fatty pork need for southern BBQ and all sorts of wonderful treats in France. The lean and dry Mexican pork is unsuitable for the food I describe.
* Real well larded prime beef. (maybe it´s a good thing for the heart muscle these last two items are hard to find here)

There was a time I would have added sweet corn but we now find that seasonally at Lake Chapala and in Chiapas.

Interestingly, the tomato season in New Jersey and Alabama starts in late spring but in coastal Northern California starts in September. Must have something to do with California summer fog.

While one cannot compare tomatoes found in WalMart with the farmer´s market tomatoes I mentioned above, WalMart in Ajijic has improved greatly since we left for Chiapas in January. Their produce section has improved tremendously and the other day I found some really good tomatoes and other produce there. Let´s hope that is the wave of the future.

Please note that I said freshly picked heirloom tomatoes. We do get heirloon tomatoes at Lakeside but these things do not travel well and, thus, are never nearly as good as at near the source where grown by true organic farmers.

(This post was edited by Hound Dog on May 29, 2010, 7:09 AM)

ken_in_dfw

Jun 3, 2010, 7:49 PM

Post #18 of 46 (4950 views)

Re: [Hound Dog] Mexican Food In Berlin

La Isla

Jun 3, 2010, 8:48 PM

Post #19 of 46 (4938 views)

Re: [ken_in_dfw] Mexican Food In Berlin

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In Reply To

I´ve never been a big fan of veggies but after reading Ken´s description of his tomato and mozzarella concoction, all I can say is, "Can I come over for some?"

Jun 4, 2010, 7:43 AM

Post #20 of 46 (4915 views)

Re: [ken_in_dfw] Mexican Food In Berlin

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Ah, yes, Dawg. We share a hot button indeed. I just finished off an insalata di caprese comprised of my organically grown, hand-picked Cherokee Purples and Buffalo Mozzarella, dotted with single origin hand-pressed olive oil and balsamic vinegar, with some shreds of basil from my garden, a peench (Southern U.S. measuring term) of pink sea salt and a quick grind of cracked black pepper. Dee-lish!!

This is the time of year I become vegetarian.

That hurt, Ken. You are a lucky dude. So, a "peench" is a Southern U.S. measuring term. Tell me; would that be sufficient to season a "mess" of collards down south (oops!, that would be up south from Chiapas)? Incidentally, in Chiapas in the high Jovel Valley many small family or village farms are at well over 8,000 feet and the indigenous grow and are quite fond of "a mess of greens" in season and in the San Cristóbal indigenous market we find collard greens, turnip greens, beet greens, various types of chard and a number of types of greens for cooking we have yet to identify. Interestingly, they don´t eat the roots and feed the turnip roots to the farm animals. Well, they do eat the beet roots but that is another story.

In the indigenous market if you are ever there in season and want to buy a mess of greens, ask for a "monton" as a close approximate measure. It is tradition in that indigenous market to pre-measure vegetables and fruits in buckets of various sizes on display in front of the vendor´s stands and everything is pre-priced the same for all shoppers so one is rarely cheated down there and bargaining is unnecessary and not really welcome unless one is buying in bulk which is a rare occurrence.

(This post was edited by Hound Dog on Jun 4, 2010, 11:04 AM)

Peter

Jun 4, 2010, 9:43 AM

Post #21 of 46 (4903 views)

Re: [Hound Dog] Mexican Food In Berlin

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How does a southerner deal with eating greens without cornbread? Tortillas just don't seem like a reasonable facsimile when it comes to accompanying greens. Is that the alternative, or can you whip up the real thing?

(This post was edited by Peter on Jun 4, 2010, 9:45 AM)

Jun 4, 2010, 10:35 AM

Post #22 of 46 (4891 views)

Re: [Peter] Mexican Food In Berlin

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I often make cornbread here in Morelia. Why not? Cornmeal is easy to find, none of the other ingredients are out of the ordinary.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

tashby

Jun 4, 2010, 11:06 AM

Post #23 of 46 (4880 views)

Re: [esperanza] Mexican Food In Berlin

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Ha!

I had entirely avoided this thread after reading the article that started it because the idea of discussing Mexican Food in Berlin was just, well, unappetizing.

Today I noticed it was still active and wondered what could possibly keep it going. Well, of course. Collard Greens and Cornbread, not to mention a particularly mean-spirited description of a delicious-sounding Insalata Caprese. (That really was below the belt.)

Coming full circle....I know a place in Ajijic where you can get your fill of Schnitzel. German food in Mexico anyone?

*hurl*

Peter

Jun 4, 2010, 1:18 PM

Post #24 of 46 (4862 views)

Re: [tashby] Mexican Food In Berlin

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...I know a place in Ajijic where you can get your fill of Schnitzel. German food in Mexico anyone?
___________

One of the few things I'll admit to being in full agreement with Hound Dog about is the only interesting restaurant we've found in the Morelia/Pátzcuaro area is a German restaurant in Arócutin near Erongaricuaro, Campestre Alemán, one of whose specialties is trout - and have a whole menu page dedicated to their various preparations of trout. Adding to the ambience that is a major attraction to the restful place, their trout comes from their own breeding ponds on-site.

I have a preferrence for their assorted Bavarian sausage platter for 4-6 people. I have tried most of their menu items over time and with few exceptions have found everything very satisfactory, but now prefer to order soup or pasta and have the sausage platter served to the table as the main course with a dessert to follow.

The German immigrants in Mexico have contributed greatly to the Mexican culture from their beer-making to the oom-pah polka beat music with tuba and brass band now so very common in Mexico.

I strongly advise any visitors to the area to have lunch at Campestre Alemán. They claim to be open 364 days a year from 12:30pm to early evening. It is fair to mention they have a very nice playground for the kids where you can get a table very close to supervise them, or very removed from the playground so that it is neither a disturbance nor distraction. It is really the place to go in Michoacán for trout and kraut.

(This post was edited by Peter on Jun 4, 2010, 2:05 PM)

tashby

Jun 4, 2010, 1:58 PM

Post #25 of 46 (4854 views)