One of the things I miss most from the US is Mexican food. Maybe it’s really Tex-Mex, but regardless, I miss the spicy salsa and the unlimited baskets of warm crispy tortilla chips, the quesadillas, fajitas and tacos. Two years ago on one of my first visits to Freiburg, Andy took me to meet two of his friends at a Mexican restaurant, and I was horrified. It was NOT good. It was one of those panicked “am I really moving here?” moments. Obviously I chose my love for Andy over my love for good Mexican food, but it left a salsa-shaped (does salsa have a shape?) hole in my heart.
Where are the Mexican restaurants?
I have since started playing with salsa recipes so I can have decent salsa from time to time. I also started looking around to see what other Mexican restaurants Freiburg has to offer. In Atlanta, it was hard to drive more than a mile or two without passing a Mexican restaurant of some variety, even if it was a chain. There was one across the street from my apartment. But because Germans typically don’t like spicy food, and there aren’t a whole lot of people moving here from Mexico, there just aren’t many options here.
There was a halfway decent place in the food court we frequent, but we walked by one day last year and noticed it had been converted into an Afghan place. Oddly enough it was run by the same guy. I’m willing to bet he is from neither Mexico nor Afghanistan. There was another place Andy knew of but it closed before I ever had a chance to see it.
So I decided to do my own review of the three remaining Mexican restaurants. It took a little while because I can only subject myself to so much bad Mexican food in a short amount of time. I cry a little inside each time the “spicy” salsa turns out to be completely void of heat, or my meal, regardless of what it is, comes with corn in it, because apparently corn equals Mexican. (Note: The following photos were all taken with my iPhone. Bad Mexican food does not deserve the good camera.)
Mexican Restaurant #1: Enchilada
This restaurant is across the street from the popular Mexican place, which means you instantly know you’re NOT in the popular one. We tried the popular one first, but there were no available tables. Enchilada is about twice the size but only had maybe three occupied tables.
They had several different types of salsa on the menu, which I thought was unusual but promising. I asked the waiter to get me the spiciest one they had. Mild grocery store salsa in the US has more spice than this stuff. I can’t imagine what the lower spice ones must have tasted like.
For my meal I ordered a chicken quesadilla. It looked decent enough when it arrived, although there was a surprise lurking inside when I opened it up to add salsa and guacamole. First I saw corn, which sadly I expected but really shouldn’t be in a quesadilla. But then I saw something green. Were those green beans? Yes, yes they were. They put GREEN BEANS in my quesadilla! WHY?!
Mexican Restaurant #2: El Bolero
I’m really not sure if this place is trying to be a Mexican restaurant or just generic Latin America because they have flags from every single Latin American country hanging on the walls. They also have hamburgers, flamkuchen (a local specialty similar to pizza), pasta and other non-Mexican-like food on their menu. But about a third or so of their menu is tacos, burritos, fajitas, etc.
I’m not a fan of burritos. But one night we met friends here for dinner and they already ordered by the time we arrived. One of our friends ordered the burrito, but it looked nothing at all like a burrito. So I decided to give it a try.
Basically it’s fajita style chicken, onions, peppers and mushrooms (I have them leave off the mushrooms) with some kind of yummy Mexican-ish seasoning wrapped up in a flour tortilla. It comes with a side of potato wedges and a little tub of decent salsa. While not the same as what I’d get back home, and inaccurately named, this is by far my favorite Mexican food in town.
Mexican Restaurant #3: El Gallo
This is the popular Mexican restaurant. It’s also the one Andy took me to two years ago that has forever tainted my image of Mexican food in Germany. They’re always crowded at dinnertime, and even on a Tuesday night when we showed up, we had to share a table with someone else because nothing else was available.
The waitress brought us a tiny bowl of chips and an even tinier tub of completely liquid salsa. We only ate two or three chips before I took this picture. The salsa wasn’t great but at least it had a slight kick to it.
Since I already knew from past experience that I didn’t like their version of a quesadilla, I decided to try tacos this time. When the waitress brought our food, I thought for a minute she got the wrong order because the first thing she put on the table was a ceramic pot. It contained the chicken for the chicken tacos, covered in a layer of cheese, and it had been baked in the oven like a casserole or something. Then she gave me an empty plate, a bowl of guacamole and pico de gallo (not that they called it that) and a basket with flour tortillas.
Utterly confused, I began to scoop out the chicken, cheese and veggies onto a soft taco, when I realized the chicken was in some kind of soupy sauce. I began having flashbacks of the awful quesadilla from two years ago, as it too was oddly soupy. These alien tacos had some kind of strange flavor I couldn’t figure out, but it certainly didn’t fit. Somewhere in the middle I discovered two tiny chili peppers, so for two bites, my tacos were spicy. Couldn’t they have chopped up the chilis and spread them out a little?
El Gallo might be the most popular Mexican restaurant in town, and it’s the one everyone mentions with enthusiasm when I mention how much I miss Mexican food, but I will not be returning if I can help it at all. I will also be steering clear of Enchilada. Any place that puts not only corn but also green beans in a quesadilla should be banned. However, I will gladly return to El Bolero for their misguided but tasty burritos. For those of you traveling to Germany, I have heard of good Mexican restaurants in bigger cities, but be warned, it will probably never match your favorite Mexican restaurant back home.
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Tags: culture shock, expat life, Freiburg, Germany, I miss Mexican food
I tasted “Mexican” food in California many times and it wasn’t good. I tell my host I went to Mexico so he takes me Mexican restaurants in US. I feel sick too much cheese and fat! In Mexico, I love real Mexican.
Same is Japanese “sushi” in US which is really not good compared to Japan. They put sauce on it!
Yeah, for the most part Mexican food in the US isn’t the same as Mexican food in Mexico. But it’s closer than anywhere else in the world, and here in Germany what I’ve found barely resembles Mexican food. I don’t like sushi, but I can only imagine how different the real thing is from what people in the US and other places!
If Mexican go to US they write same blog post about you go to Germany!
That’s definitely possible! What we eat in the US is Tex-Mex, so not quite the same as true authentic Mexican food. But most of our Mexican restaurants are run by Mexicans.
I’m not a big fan of Mexican restaurants and food, maybe I don’t know what’s good Mexican food. If you are in Munich give me a call and be invited to check Mexican restaurants in Bavaria.
If you’ve only ever had Mexican food in Germany, you’re missing out! I’d love to try some Mexican restaurants in bigger cities like Munich.
You only have to plan your trip to Munich and let me know
.
Definitely!
‘Bad Mexican food does not deserve the good camera” –> hee hee!
Gillian @OneGiantStep recently posted..A Day At Huay Tueng Tao Lake, Chiang Mai
Thanks Gillian, glad I made you laugh!
Ugh, just devastating and why I’ve never taken the plunge. I go to PureBurrito in Munich which is basically a Chipotle knock off. And I’ll get drinks at Enchilada, but that’s where I draw the line. Miss it so much!
I’d try a Chipotle knock off! And I didn’t realize Enchilada was a chain, that’s weird. I miss it too!
Tim and I both really miss Tex-Mex. We do have one restaurant that is run by a guy from California that married an Italian woman. He gears the food toward his Italian customers and it is different, but tasty. I just think that the same ingredients aren’t readily available.
Jennifer recently posted..Wine Wednesday: Riding the Napa Valley Wine Train
Yeah, I’m sure the ingredients is a big part of it, but also the local tastes. That’s why Mexican food generally isn’t spicy here, because Germans typically don’t like spicy.
I’m in Berlin and even here, there are no good Mexican restaurants. At least I haven’t found one. I’ve even tried one with an actual Mexican owner and chef who told me he would love to serve more authentic food, but if he does, he gets endless complaints about it tasting weird and being too spicy to eat.
Daniel McBane recently posted..Dead Pig Floating in Kathmandu River
That’s so sad! I can’t imagine how that guy must feel running a restaurant that’s supposed to serve food from his own country but he has to drastically change it in order to have customers.
Man, I really, REALLY miss Mexican food. We’re headed home for a visit this summer and we’re already talking about Mexican food.
Kim recently posted..Advice to my 21-year-old self
I’m so jealous! Have some salsa for me!
someday when you come home, we’ll take you to all the Mexican restaurants you want so you get your “fill” of it. At least for a while.
I look forward to it!
Ugh! Green beans in quesadillas is an automatic fail!
It seems like from what I have heard, Europeans really don’t like Mexican food at all… which is so strange to me, because generally they seem to like Indian food, which is known for its heat, so why not Mexican?!? I know a lot of people tend to be really dismissive of food in the U.S., but on this trip, Mexican food has been the one thing we have really missed the most!
Steph (@ 20 Years Hence) recently posted..What We Ate: Shanghai
Thanks Steph! I don’t know, there’s an Indian place in the food court we go to a lot, and there’s a sign in front of it that says “don’t worry, not spicy!” It’s hard to find anything spicy in Germany.
Mmmmmm – Mexican is one of my favs too. In Stavanger it’s overpriced and I can make better at home…
Andrea recently posted..Beer In the USA: Land Of Opportunity (To Drink Great Beer) Part I
I definitely like my own salsa better than anything I can buy in the store or at a restaurant here.
Corn = Mexican. This made me laugh so hard.
Gigi recently posted..Big Small Paris
HA! Good, glad to make you laugh!
The green beans get me EVERY TIME. While I love them, please keep them out of my Mexican food. Ew.
Erica recently posted..Video: Dive Iceland – SCUBA in Silfra
I thought you’d have something to say about this post! Green beans do NOT belong in Mexican food! Thanks Erica!
Mexican is the cuisine I probably miss most from the US and all my experiences finding the good stuff abroad has been similar to yours. Europe is especially bad, I think. Here in Seoul there are enough expats and US military that you can find some decent stuff, but nothing like the US.
Amanda @ Farsickness recently posted..Street Eats: Night Markets in Taiwan
Missing Mexican food seems to be a pretty universal thing for American expats. I’m glad you’ve found some decent Mexican restaurants in Seoul, but it is hard to find the good stuff once you leave the US. Thanks Amanda!
It always sucks soooo much when you’re in serious need of food, longing for something specific and then it tastes like rubbish.
Can really spoil the moment, I think:/
Sofie recently posted..New York, New York: I shall return
Exactly! At least now I expect the Mexican food here to be bad. I don’t mind El Bolero (restaurant #2) but beyond that I just can’t eat it here.
Wow, this is pretty poor indeed. I did laugh when I saw the title of the post, as when we were housesitting in Munich last summer we regularly wanted to cook Mexican food and the supplies at the supermarket were dire. We managed to find some hot sauce and some jalapenos, so we just stuck to making nachos instead of anything more “adventurous”!
ConfusedJulia recently posted..The Fox, Some Mormons And A Chocolate Martini
I had hoped in a bigger city like Munich there would be more options, but it sounds like there weren’t. But you’re right, there’s always a way to make something simple like nachos. We make fajitas at home sometimes, and they’re decent enough.
You’d think someone would get it right by now. You should totally open up your own restaraunt! Good luck in your quest otherwise.
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I think there just aren’t enough people who want spicy food like that. I’d love for someone else to open a good Mexican restaurant in Germany, but not me! I don’t really like touching raw meat, so I think that’s enough to make me a poor choice for a restaurant owner!
haha this post is both incredibly sad and hilarious. There should NEVER be green beans in any Mexican dish!!
I know EXACTLY what you mean. Mexican was the #1 hardest food to find on our RTW trip. We were in Bolivia and ordered “Nachos” and they just brought out like maaaaybe 8 stale chips in a tiny basket and a little side bowl of guacamole that only had 3 tbs in it…. Which is basically the amount I put on one chip alone! That was the first and last time we ordered any Mexican overseas. I was craving it so BADLY when we got home and have been going crazy on it ever since!
Meg from LandingStanding recently posted..50 Ways To Be AWESOME
I’m so glad so many people agree with me about the green beans! I actually had decent Mexican food in Siem Reap, Cambodia of all places, but I generally don’t bother trying in other countries either. It’s not worth the disappointment! I was in the US for 4 weeks last year and had Mexican probably 10 times, so I can imagine how much of it you’re eating now that you’re back home!
The burrito you had at ‘El Bolero’ looks like the ones I used to make when back home, I’m quite ashamed now considering you said it doesn’t look nothing like a real Mexican burrito
I need to try some decent Mexican food at some point.
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Aw, don’t worry about that! Burritos typically have rice and/or beans in them as well as the meat, salsa, and guacamole. I would call this pre-made fajitas. Normally fajitas come to you as a stack of tortillas, a sizzling skillet of meat, peppers and onions, and another plate with cheese, sour cream, salsa, maybe guacamole, and you put them together yourself. If you ever make it to the US, ask people to direct you to a good Mexican restaurant.
Oh I am so with ya. I miss Mexican food so much. I tried it in China recently … not horrible but just so not “right.”
The Time-Crunched Traveler (Ellen) recently posted..10 places you absolutely must visit in China
Such a shame! Well, even if the Mexican food in China isn’t good, I hope you’re enjoying some authentic Chinese food. I’m sure that’s a lot different from what we get in the US!
LOL, I remember my buddy that lives in Germany telling me his best business idea was opening a line of Tex-Mex places that simply “didn’t suck.”
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It certainly would be a good business, assuming he could get enough people to eat there. It would have to be in an area with lots of American expats. I think the Mexican place we ate at in Siem Reap was better than what I can find in Germany.
I don’t know that I would mind corn in my quesadilla, but definitely not green beans! I think what I would miss the most is really good refried beans. I wish I could send you some Mexican food. There is no shortage of it here in San Diego. Your homemade salsa looks delicious.
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Thanks Christy! I guess the corn isn’t so bad, but really anytime someone wants to make something Mexican (Mexican pizza?) they pretty much just put corn on it, and voila it’s Mexican! I’m sure I would be in heaven in San Diego with all the different choices for Mexican restaurants!
These German restaurants look as though they do Mexican food about as well as the Mexicans would do German food. That is, not good at all. My dodgy home made burritos look more authentic than the ones they dished up to you in Germany.
I think a tell tale sign is that if you’re going to a so called Mexican restaurant and it’s not owned or run by Mexicans then you’re probably setting yourself up for disappointment. That said here in Australia in the Dandenong Ranges east of Melbourne right at the very top of Mount Dandenong is a German restaurant called The Cuckoo that has been there for decades. That place is owned and run by German ex-pats and their food and entertainment is very authentic even though they hire Australians to do most of the work for them.
In once went to a fish and chip shop in Melbourne run by some Chinese people. Big mistake. The fish I bought had bones in it and wasn’t battered properly and the chips looked more like fries than chips. Suffice to say they didn’t exist six months later when I walked past their former shop. They should’ve stuck with Chinese takeaway.
Fish and chips where the fish still had bones in it? Yuck! Yes, you’re totally right, you will have better luck getting authentic ethnic food if the restaurant is run by someone from that country. Although, one of the comments I got on this post is from someone in Berlin who said he knows of a Mexican restaurant there that’s run by a guy from Mexico, but he can’t make the food authentic because too many Germans complain about the “weird” tastes and spices. Such a shame.
LOL stumbled on this.
Yeah when I was in the Peace Corps all we did was just wish that we had Tex-Mex the whole time, because it was just such great and unhealthy food and of course loads of delicious cheese and spicy. Any care package must have taco seasoning and bonus if it had rotel or something like a spicy salsa. Even getting ground beef was expensive and difficult. One time even at a restaurant owned by a European in my country of service labeled chips and salsa was potato chips and ketchup (so close but so far…)
Now that I live in China it’s funny because it’s here and actually pretty good (with a salsa bar no less) and the restaurant is always packed with people, but kinda expensive.
Even though it would be a mistake to label it as such it’s not ‘Mexican’ I can defiantly say that it’s Tex-Mex which is kind of like a combination of Mexican and American. Kinda like Cajun could be a combination of French and American food. Or stews from the American Northeast can be quite similar to UK food. Even grits being similar to some African food (sezda to be exact). Yay for diversity in America! All of it being wonderful and now I’m hungry!
This is the food most Americans miss more than anything else when they’re overseas. There’s just no good substitute. I’m constantly trying to decide if salsa from my favorite restaurant back home would actually survive being shipped over here. After hearing about your care package stories, I just might have to give it a try one of these days! Thanks for the laughs!