Amigos, welcome to Mexico City!
Amigos, welcome to Mexico City! Enjoy all the salsa you can get, try some spicy food, use your hands, use a lot of napkins, and hustle the staff as if you were shopkeepers in Mexico! Have some tequila or try our margarita, but most importantly: enjoy your time here.
The menu of Mexicana restaurant on Bugrashov Street in Tel Aviv starts with this sort of message, which illustrates the easy going atmosphere of this restaurant. And if this invitation is not enough, the Mexicana menu placements specify some tortilla rolling do's and don'ts, while making funny comparisons to the local Laffa bread version.
So we went down to business, and as always, asked for recommendations from the experienced staff. We started with Sopa de Tortilla – a traditional Mexican soup, unbelievably delicious, with a unique taste and delicate spiciness that consisted of ripped chicken breast, vegetables and crispy corn tortilla stripes that enhanced the experience. The soup was served with avocado cubes and cheddar cheese, which complemented it nicely. We then had the Barbacoa Tostada, which is a soft, slow-cooked beef meat, served with frijoles, red onions and sour cream, on a crispy tortilla. A sip of margarita, and we were good to go.
Dos Mexicanos came for a visit – a Mexican tastings meal for 2. Our table was filled with clay bowls with different meat types (vegetarian version available), add-ons and salsas, and of-course, a basket of wheat tortillas and corn tortillas (gluten-free tortillas also available). We started with a taste of meat: barbacoa, slow cooked beef, chili con carne, minced meat with black beans and hot peppers, chicken with mole sauce, and chicken in smoked chipotle with mole sauce. Amazing diversity. We continued with the side-dishes which included frijoles, lime rice and cheddar cheese (dairy is optional here) and tomato salsa, guacamole and blanca salsa made of sour cream and chives. This was a special celebration that allowed each of us to compose our own respective meal while practicing tortilla rolling according to the instructions listed on the placement.
The first Mexican dessert we tried was the famous churros – crispy Mexican doughnuts, hot and tasty, coated with sugar and cinnamon and served with hot chocolate dips and dulce de leche traditional dip. Our other Mexican dessert was the classic flan – delicate caramel cream with an amazing ability to just slip into one's mouth and fill it.
The Mexicana experience was a combination of beautiful new flavors. Lunch deals are offered here on Sunday through to Thursday between 12:00 and 17:00.
But if you just feel like dropping into Mexico for a small taste, you should also try El Taco on Tel Aviv's Yirmiyahu Street. This Mexican snack bar is a new initiative promoted by some of the more experienced Mexican food experts in Tel Aviv. It should be worth it.
