The Real Mexican |
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Andale, andale, arriba, arriba, arriba!
Having spent my formative years in Mexico, I was delighted beyond belief to find that not only was a shopping mecca opening down the road, but that it included a branch of Wahaca, a restaurant modelled on Mexican market eating. As rather feeble European immigrants in Mexico in the 1970s, we were constantly warned of the perils of the local water and of the dreadful gut-rot, Moctezuma's revenge, that would occur if we didn't exercise due viligence. So our first few years in Mexico were spent avoiding the water (although we never descended to the depths of some of ex-pats who used Coca Cola to brush their teeth), soaking salad vegetables in some solution that promised to zap any nasties and suffering annual bouts of week-long illnesses that went by the name 'Amoebas'. Thankfully, over the last 20 years tastes and imports have broadened and it is possible to eat like a Mexican in the UK. Many restaurants purporting to be Mexican really offer more of a Tex-Mex cuisine, but Wahaca struck me as being the most authentically Mexican restaurant I have been to. For our main course, as there were so many dishes we wanted to try, we took the easy option of having the Wahaca selection. This was a very generous selection of 3 pork pibil tacos (fantastic), 3 spinach and feta tacos (6/10), 2 huitlacoche quesadillos (if I were Michael Winner I would say 'historic'), 2 mackerel tostadas (not my fave), 2 chicken taquitos (more Michael Winner 'historic') accompanied by green rice and beans. The beans were sublime: I would happily eat a huge bowl on their own. I made a slight error when I underestimated the heat of the Habanero sauce and splashed a generous portion over my tacos. Its label boasted it was the food of the devil and it certainly burnt like hell. I loved Wahaca. I would like to try visiting in the evening: I should imagine it would be a lively venue with all the Tequilas on offer and the buzzy music. And I might have another go at cactus, seeing as it is on the menu. Caroline Villiers November 27, 2008
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