Mexican food again :)

do tell.........

I grew up in New Mexico and J grew up in California, so this is a sore subject for us! I thought I would be ok after living in NY and MD for six years, but at least there was Taco Bell...

We tried one place in Belfast that claimed to have Mexican food. My "veggie burrito" contained white rice and something that most closely resembled ratatouille--aubergine and all. The "salsa" was basically warm tomato sauce. The only possible resemblance it had to a burrito was that it was wrapped up in a tortilla!  I've given up and started just making my own. I have a large stash of NM red chile, and my mom's promised me that when we see them in two weeks she'll trade me green chile for biscuits.  But the upside is that the soft flour here makes very nice tortillas.

I would swim the Irish Sea for some decent Mexican food--although it might be tricky bringing along my homemade salsa...

Yeah, what is it with this white rice in stuff?  I guess I could understand if it was Spanish rice, but it's just plain old boiled rice.  And coming from New Mexico myself, I really have a hard time with the use of black beans in the place of pinto beans.

Caroline,

I tried Cactus Lounge and can attest that it is the closest to home mexican that you can get. There is another place called River plate that is Argentinian that I can also recommend for authentic south american food.

ooooo, dig this, all you NM transplants:

my BF lives in albuquerque & she sent DH & i a housewarming pressie consisting of sopapilla mixes, salsa mixes (dried chiles!!! wooot!), guac mixes, horchata mixes, flan mixes, rice mixes, etc.

she has earned her very own shelf in our cupboard! 

I can't remember who recommended it (thank you, by the way, I mean to say I finally got down there but couldn't remember the thread!) but there is a Mexican food stall in St George's market on Saturdays, and it is very good (for Belfast standards!). The salsa is yummy, the guacamole is good, he makes his own tortilla chips (though I don't think he makes the tortillas), and you can buy corn tortillas from him (and probably other ingredients). It is totally worth checking out - what I like to do is get some salsa, guac, tortillas and whatever from him, and then some fresh meat from the various butchers in the market, for to make dinner at home later that day. Sawers in the town also has some basics for Mexican food, a step above Old El Paso, but be warned, you'll pay through the nose for it.

But as far as Old El Paso goes, I don't turn my nose up at it because I use it as a springboard for making my own stuff. It helps that my folks from home send me various sundries but even without that you can make your own good Mexican stuff here using OEP as a base.

There used to be a couple "Mexican" restaurants in Belfast, where I had my first enchildadas-in-a-bowl experience, but they all went bust. I haven't heard of any new ones opening but maybe there is?

I tried Cactus Lounge and can attest that it is the closest to home mexican that you can get.

Thanks!  The menu looked good when I was checking it out online!

But as far as Old El Paso goes, I don't turn my nose up at it because I use it as a springboard for making my own stuff. It helps that my folks from home send me various sundries but even without that you can make your own good Mexican stuff here using OEP as a base.

I used to turn my nose up at it, but as you said, it's good for basics that you can tart up to your own taste.   After years of hauling masa harina from the US to make my own, and then buying over-priced (and slightly stale-tasting) corn tortillas from Cool Chile Co, I have now discovered that i actually prefer the Old El Paso corn tortillas.   They've got the texture of corn, but are soft like flour... kind of a cross between the two, and i think they're lovely.

Have you tried the Discovery corn tortillas? They aren't easy to find (at least here they seem to crop up randomly and disappear just as), but I thought they were lovely. And I always buy the OEP corn tortillas when I see them, it's a great excuse to make something yummy.

I just read about a restaurant near Bethnal Green called "Red and Green" that's supposed to be quite authentic... I don't remember reading about it on the board... does anyone know of it??

http://www.squaremeal.co.uk/restaurants/london/view/83573/Green_and_Red

I think I've posted some of these before, but this is a favourite topic of mine... so here goes!

I've been to Taqueria owned by Cool Chile and it was FAB: 
www.coolchile.co.uk

The take away tacos looked like a really good value too.  The tomatillo salsa was awesome. They also have a stall at Borough Market and sell lots of nice spices, chips, tortillas, etc there.

Mestizo has been recommended by a friend of mine who lives near London now, he says that it rivals our favourite Mexican restaurant back in Texas and it is owned/run by Mexicans:
www.mestizomx.com

I'd love to try this... its a burrito van!!!:
www.daddydonkey.co.uk

And I have been recommended this place too:
www.elpanzon.co.uk

DH & I are going to be in London for a night next week, so maybe I'll drag him to the burrito place.

The Cool Chili Company stall at Borough Market is excellent - they have the corn husks if you're in a tamale making mood, their salsas are great and they do sell a huge assortment of chili powders, including a Hatch medium red chili powder that's wonderful.

I can't remember who recommended it (thank you, by the way, I mean to say I finally got down there but couldn't remember the thread!) but there is a Mexican food stall in St George's market on Saturdays, and it is very good (for Belfast standards!). The salsa is yummy, the guacamole is good, he makes his own tortilla chips (though I don't think he makes the tortillas), and you can buy corn tortillas from him (and probably other ingredients). It is totally worth checking out - what I like to do is get some salsa, guac, tortillas and whatever from him, and then some fresh meat from the various butchers in the market, for to make dinner at home later that day. Sawers in the town also has some basics for Mexican food, a step above Old El Paso, but be warned, you'll pay through the nose for it.

But as far as Old El Paso goes, I don't turn my nose up at it because I use it as a springboard for making my own stuff. It helps that my folks from home send me various sundries but even without that you can make your own good Mexican stuff here using OEP as a base.

There used to be a couple "Mexican" restaurants in Belfast, where I had my first enchildadas-in-a-bowl experience, but they all went bust. I haven't heard of any new ones opening but maybe there is?

We also got the tip-off about the Mexican stall at the market. We've tried it once and it was definitely acceptable by Belfast standards. (Pinto beans! Green chile!) Brilliant idea to buy corn tortillas from him, though--I might have to do that this weekend. I admit to snobbishly turning up my nose at OEP and Discover corn tortillas after looking at the ingredients. Think he'd sell me some green chile too? That's my number one most missed thing from NM, and has been for ten years. A few weeks ago I actually bought a tin of green chiles at Sawer's or whatever it's called. £2, and they didn't taste like anything.

I bought OEP occasionally in the US, and my dad goes through OEP and/or Pace salsa like water, but it's not the same here. The salsa has sugar, ick, and isn't very hot at all. But once tomatoes come into season I can make my own salsa, which I find vastly better than commercial stuff.

Enchiladas-in-a-bowl?! I think I need to hear about this!

Drat you people and your Mexican food threads--you're giving me horrible cravings!!!

We're in London next Tue/Wed and I just talked DH into going to Daddy Donkey Burritos!  YAY!    Oh happy day!

I didn't realize getting good Mexican food in the UK was that tough.  I've only been to one place and it was pretty good so I guess it never really occurred to me. La Cantina in Southampton.  I know it's not close to where many of you live, but just in case your ever in the neighborhood.

http://www.la-cantina.co.uk/da/11299