A little Jose Cuervo mix never hurt anyone, right?
I crave Mexican food. Out of all the things I miss about the US – excluding friends and family, of course – good Southwestern food is probably what I obsess about and search for the most. That classic and flavorful combination of chili, cilantro, cumin, tomatoes and lime just makes my mouth water. To me, it is husmanskost or home cooking at its finest.
Margaritas and Mexican...Olé!
Always on the lookout, I’ve tried a lot of places, but thus far I have not food good Mexican food in Stockholm. Both guacamole and salsa always seem to end up being flavorless copies of the good stuff to be found in most any city in the US. But like many of my fellow American expats, I keep looking. And I do have two hot tips on some new places to try that come highly recommended by a fellow expat. They may be just another urban myth, but I will check them out. But for now, I can safely say that nothing here touches even Chipotle for tasty Southwestern fast food. Stockholm’s Taco Bar chain does not even compete favorably with Taco Bell, although they do serve beer!
While I keep looking, I regularly make southwestern food at home. We had some friends over for dinner last night and I fixed a mango, tomato, chili, lime and cilantro salad. Robert made steak fajitas and we collaborated on guacamole while MB brought taco beef. And of course, we had margaritas. Yum. I am still thinking about it. Luckily, there are leftovers.
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I was aware of this problem with Sweden so went out for Mexican the night before we flew here from the US. And the food was TOTAL CRAP. It really sucked. The place used to be good, too. Very sad. We’ll just have to make some at home!
Oh, I feel your pain Antropologa! At least you should be able to find a lot of good ingredients to make your own, although it can be hard to find such things as Tomatillos and blue corn tortillas.
I will never forget the night, the first year we were here of a beautiful 45 minute walk through the forest from our apartment at the University to the city. The moon was rising and it was glorious. When we hit the city there were two restaurants right there. I chose the Mexican. EEAACHH!!! Later, I wondered why I would expect there to be a decent Mexican, what 6,000 miles from Mexico. And that perhaps the problem was with my expectations. Of course dividing my time between Sweden and the US I know in two months I can be chowing down at Chi-Chi’s and drinking margaritas that actually have tequila in them. I made a vow then to never go to another Mexican Restaurant in Sweden. Some things always get lost in translation. Good luck in your quest. But I recommend airplane tickets as the only solution. TOM
Oh, very funny Tom. So this means I need to buy a plane to get my Mexican fix? At least Robert has his pilot’s license!
i think Mexican food is best, homemade. that is, unless you are in mexico : ) the comfort food i always miss (when i’m in latin america, that is) is thai or vietnamese. i am craving it right now…
Kezia, I also crave Thai and Vietnamese, but you can get good versions of both here.
i have often found in my travels that foreign cuisine in a country is dependent on the country’s immigration pattern (one of the many benefits of immigration : ). i had good asian cuisine when i lived in europe, too. really good chinese restaurant in luxembourg! the asian immigrant populations, in the latin american countries in which i have spent time, has been quite sparse, and primarily chinese. the restaurants reflect that pattern. large cities have slightly more variety; but, it can be “hit or miss.”
Kezia
Exactly. That is why you can get pretty good Chinese food in improbably little towns in the American West. The Chinese came and helped build the transcontinental railroad in the 19th century. The reason we have good mexican in the US is for the same reason you have to punch 2 for spanish when you make a call. We are just short on mexican immigrants in Stockholm. Now if the US sends troops to Mexcio you never know what might happen to our comfort food situation here. I keep wondering, how is the Mexican food in Australia?
Hi Tom,
Great comments. Spicy food in Australia comes from Asia, not Mexico. Thus Mexican food in Oz is usually not so good!
Kezia, Good analysis and food for thought. (Could not resist that pun.) Interestingly, Chinese food in Stockholm tends to be disgustingly bad. Some of the biggest immigrant groups these days here are Bosnians, Turkish, Persians, Syriac and Spanish. But except for Spanish restaurants, I have not really seen restaurants from the other immigrants. Perhaps they are in the suburbs where these groups tend to reside. It would be interesting to find out.
obviously, i love this topic : ) anyway, it would definitely be interesting to explore stores/restaurants in areas where these communities live, sandy!
other mental notes i’ve made: restaurants rely on who is cooking (always a variable); ingredients change due to new location (expensive to import some ingredients and local ones may simply taste or be different); and often, the cuisine is adapted to how the restaurant’s chef interprets the local palate or chooses to innovate w/local ingredients. a good example is: i had japanese in puebla, mexico last month and there was a lot more fruit and “sweet” flavors added to the rolls (e.g., mango, pineapple) and they added chorizo and ham. they provided a different, sweeter sauce as opposed to soy/wasabi, too. it wasn’t like i was used to in nyc, but it worked for my palate and was interesting. however, if i lived there and wanted japanese food as i was used to, i would need to seek out the ingredients and make my own. it was the only japanese restaurant in town.
what is also worth noting for this blog, and not surprising, is that through my US work/life, i often hear people who have immigrated from other countries share the same sentiments being discussed here. their comfort foods just aren’t the same in the US and they will make it or seek out what is most similar. one of my very close friends who is originally from el salvador refuses to eat most latino food in nyc as she says it is 1. too expensive and 2. better made at home. for her own cuisine, she goes to a small town upstate where there is a large salvadoran community to get food that is reasonably priced and most like “home.”
Sandy & Tom: loved this discussion! it is amazing the “lengths” we will go for food! food is often the entry-point to new cultures and is also one of our strongest connections to “home.” Fascinating, no?
Kezia,
All this food talk has now got me thinking of Cincinnati’s own Graeters ice cream and Skyline Chili. Yum. Not sure when I will be getting either again though. Guess I will have to settle for the Skyline mix.
Oooh, what are your hot tips for Mexican food here? Its Cinco de Mayo, and I don’t own a blender for margaritas!
Anne: These tips come from a fellow American, but I have not been to either place yet:
The mexican ‘fast food’ place is called La Neta – you can find them on the web at:
http://www.laneta.se/contacto
And the new place that is supposed to be a copy of Chipoltes is called Serranos: http://www.serrano.nu/
Ugh I want Mexican food so bad I had a dream that I was eating a spicy burrito with delicious salsa. I was spoiled and grew up half-mexican in Southern California, so I got the best Mex food outside of Mexico. And man, I’m in Japan now for the rest of the month, and I would kill for ANY mexican food. There isn’t even imitation mexican food here. The Japanese girls I talked to have never heard of tortillas/salsa/burritos/etc. I’m going to eat it straight for the first month I’m back home in the US.
Kristina,
Thanks for your comments. I can certainly relate to your pain!
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