Spanish food has come along way in recent years, entering the mainstream in a certain awful tapas chain, but there are also many small restaurants offering small snatches of the continent, and supermarkets are now awash with quality spanish cheeses and pork products. Hopefully mexican will soon shake off the shadow of Old El Paso and come out from under that red tiled roof.
So, forget your fajitas and greasy nachos swamped in acrylic yellow cheese, real mexican is fresh, light and more than that is perfect for the summer months. Living in the wilds of the north, unluckily any culinary advancements that are being made will take some time to travel this far, so on a recent trip to the capital, a friend took me to his regular haunt which i had long been wanting to try.
Wahaca describes itself as Mexican Market Eating, and in a similar way to spanish tapas, it allows you to have lots of smaller dishes, supposedly making sharing easier. I say supposedly, because it was just too good to share.
The Wahaca in Soho was busy on the Thursday night that we visited. i imagine its busy every Thursday night, perhaps every night, given its reputation - 3 other restaurants in London show the signs of a growing restaurant chain, and the very reasonable prices to say we were in central London. The wait meant that we could enjoy the subterraneous bar; the city types that flock to these places for a brief meal after work looking awkward at the table football tables, not a 'sport' that can be played in a suit without a look of 'the dad who tries hard to be hip around his kids'.
The football tables combined with hanging garden furniture and azura blue walls meant you couldn't escape the purposefully relaxed atmosphere of the place, which tried to say 'Mexican food is FUN food'. the hibiscus mojito i had whilst waiting for our table certainly was, and when i say fun, i mean really strong.
Back to the food, and opting for the previously mentioned market food, although larger mains are available, i learnt many things about Mexican food. Firstly a taco, corn, semi circular shaped and strangely yellow in colour is NOT a taco, it is a poor imitation, and Americanised demon of what a real taco should be. A real taco is soft, a tortilla which is folded around a parcel of spicy meaty goodness inside. I had mine with british steak, always nice to see they are still sourcing local produce, with a chipotle salsa.
Ye, i'm not gonna lie, that was pretty good. the meat almost melted in my mouth, so tender with a delicious barbequey flavour.
I also sampled the tossada which was a crisp tortilla, about the size of my palm, with a salad on top, mine came with scallops and shrimp. tasty again, although if i had read the menu key properly i would have known it to be one of the naturally spicier dishes on the menu, and therefore not the best for my weak palette. The taquito was again an unheard of mexican food, here deep-fried, but still tasting light and fresh to avoid any connotations of greasiness. Lancashire cheese and marinated chicken hidden within the crispy folds.
The biggest surprise of the night was the frijoles, which was black beans cooked twice, creating a sort of thick black paste which came with cream and cheese, so it began to resemble very dubious bird droppings. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind beans, but I've never been crazy for them, thought they were the best thing ever etc etc, however these beans really were the best thing ever. The flavour was so rich and felt wholesome. If you go to Wahaca, you must try this.
All this is of course not what many would think of when they hear Mexican restaurant, and hopefully the brand set up by Masterchef winner Thomasina Miers will be expanding out of the capital some time soon.
Or, one better, i'll book myself a trip to mexico and come back with all the skills to set up my own street food shack in the back of a camper van on the grimy streets of Newcastle.
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