Food For The Soul!

i complain! I bitch, I moan and constantly grip about the injustice that seems prevelant in Mary Ol England. However, I can say that since living here I have become very acustomed to broadingin my palete. Yes, I can tell the difference between crap
Champagne, Cavier and Lumpfish Caviar, the difference between French Brioche and standard Brioche. So don't even get me started on Liqour and the Finest of the Brown Ales. Whiskey... The one grip and thing I miss most is Mexican food here in this country. Luckily I live two blocks from Ye Portobello Road and there are two Spanish Deli's that when I enter them I automatically go into cholo mode and start rolling my R's when ordering Chorizo Dulce Picante or whatever for fear that they might give me a diiferent cut ,even less customer service. Since I can make most of my favorite dishes it takes fucking time.

Since being with my Bren has come to love Mexican food. His Favorite, Chicken Mole.. and my recipe will go to my death bed. His Seconf fave that I make is Carnita's ala Cerdo de la fruta cítrica. Now mexican cooking is similar to that of Indian cooking which I have become very fond of. That said Curry is the nations favorite here, Mexican would be a shoe in for a close second. But sadly not. True Mexican takes time effort and you have to stand at the stove with a watchful eye to make the best dishes.

Over the weekend we went to Wahacca in White City. Owned by Tomasina Meyers of 2005 master chef fame. Well it's a step above Taco Bell but not by much. The tortilla chips are rock hard and although supposed to be organic corn used I started to think this bitch must have added abit of concrete to the recipe cause the cut quite tough. The Salsa Verde is crap and bland. visions of my grandmother kicking her ass over this recipe would be a hardy welcome. The hot sauce is mild to behonest and the only real big shame is her gaucamole is weak, limp an bland. For all this woman's study of the street foods in the regions of Mexico, she left out the one vital ingredient to make this recipe work. The culture is missing from the food, no passion or fiestiness. No chile no tamales,nothing. I seemed to piss off two chefs at another Mexican Restuarant called Taqueria on Westborne Grove when I hand my dog a corn tortilla they had just made. She spit it out, as I countered, "My dog wont even it it, so what makes you think i would?" No real smell of home cooking and thats what kinda suck about Wahacca. Especially since the waiters mispronounce some of the dishes. Anytime some dippy posh broad thinks she's cutting edge with an accolade such as a Materchef credit to her belt, trying to make authentic mexican street food, well she's not. I don't care how many sangrita's I have downed with tequilla.. It's not the real deal. Most of thse whom grew up with hoe cooking can tell straight away true mexican food. As with curry houses you can smell the food from the kitchen. An element that Wahacca lacks.. I get the feeling this broad spent her time at resorts in Cancun and Azatlan and never really went near a taco stand let alone a ramshackle mexican restuarant. She gets an A for effort, and a C- for food.


Although Nineteen do some killer burrito's that remind me of the ones I used to by on Hollywood and Vermont at the Car Wash. Cheap and cheerfull. As Wahacca passes Mexican off more like tapas, Meztizzo in Camden do a far better job and a
familiar scent comes from the kitchen and fills the main dinning room. To me always a good sign and alot more intimate than Wahacca. So armed with my recipes & kitchen cullinary skills I head to the kitchen to make my guy a pretty impressive Mexican meal. I do love cooking for him. He'll have to wait for my corn tamales till christmas.... Those take a day to make.