Grocery Question

Mexican food is somewhat popular in Europe, but I don't think as much as in the United States. So, I can't speculate as to the availability of Mexican products in European markets. But, you can probably find a Mexican restaurant in Berlin and in Madrid -- although, remember, the food of Spain is completely different from Mexican food -- in fact, even the word tortilla in Spain does not mean those corn or flower tortillas you eat, but a kind of potato pancake.

I would think that bringing bottles of salsa and cans of refried beans in your luggage would be pretty heavy, and the salsa bottles might break.

Personally, I would just give up on this idea and see if you can find a Mexican restaurant, for an occasional meal.

Cindy, I can only speak for the Normandy part of your question and this pertains to all of France in my experience which is that the only refried beans, tortillas and salsa you see there will be the items you unwrap from your luggage. You may find the boxed hardshell corn tortillas if you're lucky, but that's it. We have stayed many, many weeks in total all over France in self-catering lodging and are usually dying for some spicy food we can make ourselves but it's tough sledding. I'm sure there are specialty stores that carry what you need but the usual large grocery stores do not. In my experience.

On our last trip to Europe, we tried a few Mexican restaurants...in London and Germany...they were horrible! I don't want to waste time and money on that again. And yes, I know that Spanish food is completely different from Mexican food. My family is Mexican and Mexican food is something we eat often. I don't have a problem throwing a couple cans into our luggage if we can't get it there. I could probably even make the refried beans and salsa from scratch, but I've never made tortillas and have no desire to start now.

We had excellent Mexican food in Berlan some years back (1997), but I don't remember the name of the place. But if you Google "Mexican restaurants Berlin" you'll see quite a few. Viva Mexico is one that gets great reviews for being authentic. I don't know if this is where we went or not.

Anyway, you probably would do well to take along some corn tortillas, dried pinto beans, and some spices and things that would give you the most flavor punch in the least amount of space. When my son lived in Italy and couldn't find decent Mexican food, he had me mail over a can of chipotles in adobo sauce, a few small cans of Ortega jalapenos, some Herdez salsa (which comes in a can) and some dried chiles. Nothing in glass. He combined these with fresh tomatoes and other produce available there, plus chicken, etc. for a real feast.

I actually did find a section of Mexican food (Old El Paso brand---my least favorite) in a grocery store in Madrid. It was very expensive, but they had the basics, like frijoles refritos, enchilada sauce, etc. The funny thing was the labels were all in English.

Most grocery stores here in Berlin have a small and basic Mexican/TexMex shelve. Most tortillas I've seen are flour though.

A warning with regards to salsa, spices, and Mexican restaurants: Mexican food in Germany is like Italian (or German) food in the USA -- it is (sometimes heavily) modified to appeal to the tastes of the host country.

Germans generally don't like spicy food, and have a low tolerance for hot dishes. This is of course quite a difficult task for Mexican cuisine, so you should think of it more as "German food loosely based on Mexican themes."

If you expect it to taste authentic or want to cure homesickness you'll be most likely disappointed.

Carrefour (like a French Wallmart, but with much better food) usually sells some Mexican food. I ate at a Mexican restaurant once in Germany. I'm not a huge fan to begin with, and the offerings here were pretty bland.

Cindy, if you really can't do without a Mexican meal, then take the ingredients with you. You really don't want to have to take the time out of your siteseeing to go to one store after another searching for ingredients. Think of it this way--you'll have lots of room for souvenirs in your luggage on the flight home! Have fun!

In places like Berlin, your best bet is to find a produce store catering to the ethnic population, whether Turkish or African, and there you will find lots of beans, great hot peppers, harrissa sauce or ajvar. I sometimes substitute the very flat Middle Eastern breads for tortillas. They look like wraps. You should be able to find similar stores in Spain, don't know about Normandy.

Or you could look at it like an adventure, just take a 4 week break from your comfort zone of food and eat the foods of each of these countries. It is the best part of travel.

Cindy,, refried beans and salsa are heavy to pack,, I think you should really rethink your need of them. Its not that food thats the issue, its the food you want is tinned/jarred,, and frankly I wouldn't waste the packing space and weight on it. You can survive with Europeon food for 4 weeks,, really, you can.

On the other hand,, the best salsas are homemade,, and there are tomatoes and onions everywhere,, so maybe just pack a small tin of jalenpenos and a good knife( in your checked bag,, LOL)

Thanks for all the advice. We definitely plan to eat plenty of German, French, Italian, and Spanish food while we're there. We just also want a little homemade comfort food, too. I'll only be cooking for 3 of us, so I think I'll just bring the minimum I can get away with for one or two meals and try to limit the weight to 1 lb per person. I just bought a Kindle, so I've eliminated the need for books...I had 8 lbs of books for myself alone! Thanks again all!

As much as I adore Mexican food, I certainly wouldn't be trying the "Mexican" restaurants in these countries -- but you might get lucky. It's never worth it to me to waste the money and be hugely disappointed.

On taking the food -- I'd skip it and just make the experience of real Mexican food even better upon your return home.

We've actually been able to find some Old El Paso salsa (mild) in the grocery stores in Paris and also in Bruges, but it's always a big surprise.

Going out to eat Mexican food is always the first thing we do as soon as we get back to Texas.

Our experience with grocery shopping is that it can be frustrating and time consuming IF you are looking for specific American style/types of foods. They are packaged different, in different location, and even if they use an English title it is often different than the US. But most labels are in the local language so it makes for an interesting experience. What have I really bought?

Cindy,

Since you are going to be in Berlin, I know of a Mexican restaurant there...located at Savignyplatz in the Charlottenburg district. I know this area of Charlottenburg, but I never ate there, saw that it usually had a good size crowd,(if that is supposed to mean anything), located at the corner of Knesebeckstrasse and Carmelstrasse...somewhere around there, not sure of the exact corner. About a block over is Kantstrasse, walk up on that street and cross over to Bahnhof Zoo, where there is a large market at that train station; you might try there for the different ingredients. What part of Berlin are you staying in?

I agree: except in possible exceptional cases -- i.e., you were lucky to find a Mexican restaurant to your taste -- Europeans do not do Mexican food very well. It isn't their culture. The best Mexican food is in the USA and (obviously!) in Mexico. There are some great Mexican restaurants in Mexico City, and if you want a good mole, visiting Puebla is essential!

A couple of years ago I took a Baltic cruise from London, operated by a British company. One of the so-called "specialty restaurants" on the boat was a Mexican restaurant. We paid extra to reserve a table and eat there. Well, it was weird, bordering on awful. There was not a Mexican to be seen on the restaurant staff. I don't know who the chef was, but he obviously wasn't from Mexico!

Having eaten in many parts of the world, Mexican is my least favourite. The gastronomie of Normandy and Spain is outstanding and German food is much favoured by Americans because of the large portions. Salsa is easy to make - you can`t be serious to consider taking some with you.

Cindy, you can also try South American Restaurants especially Argentinian Grills, etc. We've had some phenomenal food in those. Not sure about Normandy or Berlin, but the Netherlands if full of them. Quite tasty!

Agree with Steve, that Mexican restaurant in Ljubljana serves fantastic, authentic (more so than most Mexican restaurants in America) Mexican food - if a bit on the spicy side.

I actually had some fantastic Mexican food in the Burgundy region. It was where I first tasted mole sauce. The owner's wife was from Mexico City and the recipes were all her family recipes. I haven't had a good mole sauce since then. If it were me, I would bring the beans and tortillas and plan on making the salsa myself. You can actually find fresh jalapeños in Europe and also habañero chilis (aka Scotch Bonnets).

"Cindy, you can also try South American Restaurants especially Argentinian Grills, etc. We've had some phenomenal food in those. Not sure about Normandy or Berlin, but the Netherlands if full of them."

Changing the subject slightly, that also struck me (although in my experience, it is mostly confined to Amsterdam). There is a street off of Leidseplien that seems to have nothing but South American food. Anyone know why South American food seems to have found a home only in this one corner of Europe?

It may have something to do with the BSE scare a few years ago. Restaurants that served beef from Argentina became very popular. Brazil is extremely popular in France and in Germany, possibly due to their soccer fame. I know we have quite a few S.American restaurants in Frankfurt, and Brazilian music and cocktail stands are very popular at any street fest. Tango and Salsa dancing are really big too.