Okay. This is a defining moment in Pig Me Up history. There is a Mexican restaurant in London that actually makes a blog-worthy attempt at authentic Mexican food considering the dearth of Mexican cuisine this side of the Atlantic. Now I’ve never been to Mexico, but I did grow up in California eating lots of the stuff in taquerias filled with Mexican workers, so I think I know approximately what’s authentic. At home, I’m a self-confessed Mexican food junkie. Mestizo does a good job. It still needs some work, but let’s talk about the food.
Décor/Staff: Cool. High ceilings, white leather, dark walls, a huge wall of back-lit tequila at the bar, lounge downstairs. Sort of bizarre Aztec art and awful tourism video loop promoting Michoacan. Nice staff all Latin American and happy to speak Spanish and treat you really well if you make the effort. Nice, quick service and no annoying water refilling or interrupting conversation to ask if the meal is okay.
Drinks: We had absolutely FABULOUS Mojitos (£5.90). If they hadn’t been so delectable, I would have been upset by the price. But oh, it tingles on my tongue still. Nice strong fresh mint and lime.
Starters: The corn chips that came with the table were fine, but the salsa was sad. Give me spice!! Or at least an original flavour. Tomatillo salsa, anyone? They have a menu of “antojitos” and tacos. It’s nothing extraordinary and I’m a bit upset they have nachos on this menu because that’s the little tex-mex cop-out I don’t like to see in a Mexican restaurant. We ordered flautas (deep-fried “flutes” of tortilla filled with shredded chicken, covered in some lettuce, white crumbly Mexican cheese and tomatillo salsa (£5.60). Too expensive for what they are, but spot-on tasty. We also got a couple of tamales (steamed corn husks filled with corn masa and some meat). I had ordered pork-filled ones with salsa verde, but we were given chicken-filled with mole. Still good, but tiny compared to the ones I’ve eaten elsewhere, especially considering the price (£4.80).
Mains: A good test of a Mexican restaurant is their mole sauce. Mole comes in lots of regional variations, but of course they had the king of the mole sauces, Poblano mole. It’s a dark brown sauce and includes at least four different types of Mexican chiles, almonds, peanuts, chocolate (plain), sesame seeds… The chicken enchiladas covered in mole were very good. The sauce was a bit too sweet for my taste, but still pretty much on the button, taste wise. I was most impressed that they served black beans on the side, not pinto beans. Major props for that. The rice, I think, was basmati and just boring and white (£12.00). The chile relleno was tasty, but a bit too much cheese (£9.80). Where are they getting fresh poblano peppers from?
We were too full for dessert, but there’s enough on their menu to drag me back every few months. I’d recommend it as long as you steer clear of the nachos and the “Crepas Mestizo”, which looks horrid. I’m a bit offended it’s on the menu. Apparently the same company has opened a burrito place nearby. Worth trying. Total bill including tip: £44 (for two).
Mestizo
103 Hampstead Road
NW1 3EL London
Tel: 020 7387 4064
www.mestizomx.com
(menu is available online)
Monday, February 25, 2008
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Roman Markets 1: Testaccio
I recently had a working trip to Rome and had lots of time off to go grocery shopping. The supermarket near the hotel was mediocre, so I hit some real markets instead.
Il mercato di Testaccio is in the southern part of central Rome, just south of the Aventino hill (Piramide Metro). I’d been there before, but this place is devoid of tourists and has some great specialty shops, so always worth going back. The market is not huge, but has some good quality stalls under a covered square. You can find fruit and veg, all really fresh and mostly local. In February, the romanesco broccoli is enormous and gorgeous. Expect to find pristine radicchio of several types as well as piles of all sorts of greens. Real roman specialties are puntarelle, curly, handcut salad greens often served with olive oil and anchovies.
At a baker’s stall, I bought fresh focaccia and a couple types of cookies. Brutte ma buone (“ugly but good”) are a Roman cookie basically made of a hazelnut meringue. They look a bit like a turd, but taste wonderful. Ideally, they should be slightly crunchy on the outside and soft inside, which means eating them within one or two days of baking. Damn. The other cookies were some sort of marzipan. Yum.
I also bought “transparent” slices of mortadella, cut so thin they melt in your mouth, and prosciutto and a bit of some sort of hard goat cheese. Had I a kitchen, I would have bought some fish. The focaccia, sliced meats and a blood orange were consumed in the Giardino degli Aranci on top of the Aventino, sitting in the warm sun with a view of Rome and a cat politely awaiting a handout.
Where I ate my meal, in the sun, with a view of Rome below.
Check out all of the cool greens and salads to buy!
A close up of huge, fresh, BEAUTIFUL roman broccoli.
Where I bought my radicchio and broccoli.
Fishy fishy. All fresh fish from around Italy.
Il mercato di Testaccio is in the southern part of central Rome, just south of the Aventino hill (Piramide Metro). I’d been there before, but this place is devoid of tourists and has some great specialty shops, so always worth going back. The market is not huge, but has some good quality stalls under a covered square. You can find fruit and veg, all really fresh and mostly local. In February, the romanesco broccoli is enormous and gorgeous. Expect to find pristine radicchio of several types as well as piles of all sorts of greens. Real roman specialties are puntarelle, curly, handcut salad greens often served with olive oil and anchovies.
At a baker’s stall, I bought fresh focaccia and a couple types of cookies. Brutte ma buone (“ugly but good”) are a Roman cookie basically made of a hazelnut meringue. They look a bit like a turd, but taste wonderful. Ideally, they should be slightly crunchy on the outside and soft inside, which means eating them within one or two days of baking. Damn. The other cookies were some sort of marzipan. Yum.
I also bought “transparent” slices of mortadella, cut so thin they melt in your mouth, and prosciutto and a bit of some sort of hard goat cheese. Had I a kitchen, I would have bought some fish. The focaccia, sliced meats and a blood orange were consumed in the Giardino degli Aranci on top of the Aventino, sitting in the warm sun with a view of Rome and a cat politely awaiting a handout.
Where I ate my meal, in the sun, with a view of Rome below.
Check out all of the cool greens and salads to buy!
A close up of huge, fresh, BEAUTIFUL roman broccoli.
Where I bought my radicchio and broccoli.
Fishy fishy. All fresh fish from around Italy.
Friday, February 15, 2008
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