Mexican food is one of the most popular food in the world. Also one of the most misinterpreted. There are increasingly restaurants in Colombia that say they offer Mexican food but between an authentic taco and an adapted version without criterion there’s a difference that’s worth knowing about before deciding where to eat.
Why Mexican Food Is Hard To Replay
The Mexican cuisine has a complexity that isn’t always visible at the plate. Behind a well-made taco are decisions about mass, type of chili, cooking technique of meat and combination of sauces. Behind a mole are work hours and 20 or more ingredients.
What many restaurants offer as “Mexican food” is actually tex-mex: the adapted version that came up at the border between Mexico and the United States with more melted cheese, more cream, more generic and less technical spicy. That’s not bad food but it’s not the same.
What Distincts Authentic Mexican Food
- The corn. The true Mexican omelette is made with a mass of nilumic maize, and with wheat flour. The difference in taste and texture is remarkable. A well-made corn omelette has an aroma, structure and a taste of its own that the flour omelette does not have.
- The chilies. Mexican cuisine uses tens of chili varieties, each with a different profile: width, mulatto, pasilla, chipotle and guajillo. Generic chili powder isn’t the same. A restaurant that works real chilies shows it at the depth of its taste.
- The sauces. A genuine Mexican sauce is made with roasted tomato or green tomato, chili and cilantro. It’s not hot ketchup. The difference can be noted at first bite.
- The birdie. That’s perhaps the clearest indicator at this time. The birria is a Mexican stew of re or scapegoat and was slowly cooked with chili and spices. The birdie tacos are made with that meat, with motif and oaxaquan cheese. A well-made birdie has a depth of taste that doesn’t improvise.
What to avoid so as to avoid a disappointment
- Restaurants that use “Mexican” as a decoration. Hats on the wall and living colors say nothing about food quality. The actual indicator is the menu and how each plate is described.
- Fairy tortillas for everything. In Mexico, corn omelette’s the base. The flour have their own but have their own context. A restaurant that serves all of them with flour is taking the easy way.
- Flour sauces. They are felt in the taste and texture. A sauce made at the moment has a freshness that the bottle can’t replicate.
- Gummy with cream. The true guacamole is avocado, lemon, cilantro, onion and chili. The cream is a Colombian addition that changes the plate profile.
Mexican cuisine in 3 Soles Restaurant
3 Soles includes the Mexican share of the menu with birria tacos, village mole, cheesadillas, nachos with their own sauces and ranch eggs at the brunch. They are preparations that respect the logic of origin: mass of maize, chilies with an identity, sauces made in kitchen.
The restaurant is at Chia, at Chia-Cota variant, 25-40 minutes from the north of Bogotá. For those who seek genuine Mexican food in Colombia without leaving the Sabana, this is a concrete reference.
To better understand how to work the birdie at the restaurant, in the article about birria in Colombia there’s a detailed explanation of the plate and its preparation.
If you have little time, ask for this.
To evaluate the Mexican authenticity of a restaurant:
- Beer’s tacos with a console
- Mole poblan
- Nachos with salsa of the house
A complete Mexican experience with 3 Soles:
- Input: nachos or birria appurits
- Heavy plate: birria tacos or village mole
- Drink: Margarita, Cantarito or Tequila’s photo
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between Mexican and tex-mex food?
Mexican food uses nixtamalised maize, chilies with diversity and identity and traditional techniques. The tex-mex is an adaptation that came up at the border with the United States with more cheese, cream and generic spicy. They’re different kitchens.
How to know if a Mexican taco’s true?
The corn omelette, meat with a clear cooking technique (beret, carnites, a tropist), the sauce made at the time and the accompaniment of onion and cilantro are signs of authenticity.
What’s the birdie?
It’s a Mexican stew of re or scapegoat, slowly cooked with guajillo and spices chili. It’s served with an oaxaquan cheese and a wet suit.
Where to eat true Mexican food at Chia?
3 Soles restaurant has birdie tacos, village mole and cheesadillas on its menu. It’s at the Chia-Cota variant, 25-40 minutes from the north of Bogotá.
The mole’s got chocolate?
Yeah, his ingredients. But it doesn’t have chocolate as a whole: the taste is complex with chilies, spices and a profound bitterness. Chocolate brings unmastered depth.
To eat genuine Mexican food in Colombia is possible if you know what to look for. The difference between a well-made and an improvised taco lies in the ingredients and the time that someone decided to invest in doing good. If you have a few questions before you come, Write us here and we’ll be glad to have you.
