As a Mexican, I feel proud of my land and its people. However, there is something that in my personal opinion is the crown jewel of my country, and that is its gastronomy. And no, I don’t mean the so-called Mexican food that you can now find all over the place. I’m not talking about Old El Paso burritos or the ‘delicacies’ sold at Taco Bell, so please, let us leave the Tex-Mex behind for a while, or at least for today.
I close my eyes for a moment and go back to my childhood and teenage memories. Now, I am certain that I can associate every city I have ever visited in my country with a specific dish which has captivated me, or which is characteristic of their cuisine. From north to south, from the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico; some of them are very elaborate, others not as much, but among my favorites are the delicious meat cuts from Monterrey, or their dry meat with scrambled eggs and red salsa, the flour tortillas from “Doña Concha” in the northern region of Torreón, as well as the various cheese types from the state of Chihuahua in the north, or the state of Oaxaca in the southeast, impossible to find anywhere in France. And what about the “pescado zarandeado” that reminds me of the stony beach of Yelapa in Jalisco, or the “chiles en nogada” which not only transport me back to Puebla, but to marvelous adventures in my own kitchen on more than one Independence Day as well. And of course, I can’t leave behind the Yucatecan dish of black beans with pork that my granny used to call “poor people’s food” because when she was young, this was easy and cheap to make. To me, this is one of the most exquisite delicacies I have ever tasted. Of course, I could continue on and let the list become infinite, given that the more I get to know my country, the more I fall in love with its cuisines.
Anyway, let’s carry on…
Personally, I think that when one is far away from their homeland, what one misses the most are the ingredients one is used to cook with, what is typical for one’s household… what one is used to eating, and we generally take it for granted before moving to a new and different place. Fortunately for me, I don’t miss chili and spicy food in my every day diet, but tortillas… I have to say that I do miss them. So, as we have come and gone between our dear beloved Mexico and France, we have carried canned, dehydrated, and sous-vide products. From Spain we brought dehydrated ‘nixtamalized’ corn flour to make masa and we learnt how to work with our hands to be able to create delicious sopes, gorditas, and even freshly made tortillas to accompany the Mexican-style rice with mole that made us feel like we were in a Michelin-Star restaurant – especially when our meals were accompanied by a French wine. This resulted in the creation of new meals that I am proud of being able to produce, thanks to the help of my friends from La Costeña, Mi Viejito, Herdez, and other staple Mexican food brands.
However, part of the adventure is also looking for something and not stopping until you find it, and fellow nationals who we’ve met in this beautiful city we now call home, together with locals, have recommended that we go to various restaurants where they claim real Mexican food is served. And maybe a bit out of curiosity, but also we may had been craving cochinita pibil (a typical dish from the Yucatan Peninsula), or a simple cactus salad, but we headed to number 57 in Boulevard Montparnasse in district 6 towards the well-known Hacienda del Sol. We arrived, and a short, bronze-skinned Mexican server received us. He greeted us in French, but immediately switched to Spanish when we gave him the name the reservation was under. We had a marvelous meal… scrumptious, good typical homey Mexican food that I, to date, am not capable of reproducing in my kitchen due to a lack of know-how, in the case of the barbecue, and due to a lack of ingredients for the cochinita pibil – I have no annatto (achiote). Maybe this is why it tasted even better.
I’m not sure I would be willing to pay 8 Euros for a glass of hibiscus water again, but, it was worth it, since I was able to see so many French people having a good time, experiencing a little piece of the land that I come from, sharing dishes so that everyone could taste what they had all ordered. It was also worth it for having been able to hear a bit of Spanish that sounded similar to mine.
Address: 57, Boulevard du Montparnasse, 75006 Paris, France
Subway Station: Port-Royal (RER)
Telephone: +33 (0) 1 4326.2653
Note: This restaurant has permanently closed.
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