The very first time I tried Mexican food was also in Paris. Thinking back, I've experienced a lot of new things in this city. Movable feast, isn't it! There was one in the Latin Quarter, and another one near Bastille which I went to more often. We liked to dine there sometimes when Dan visited me from Spain. The place was nicely decorated with colourful Mexican style tiles, vases and stuff, with very high ceiling and lofted second floor, a quite good choice when you miss Mexican food while living in Europe, but it's not so good compared to the ones in southern California. There are a lot of Mexican immigrants in CA and it's much easier to obtain the right ingredients to make the dishes. I'm not sure if it's much more authentic because I've only been in Mexico once, stayed one afternoon to visit the Pyramid, and never got to try any local cuisine there, but one thing is for sure, Mexican food in CA is quite good!
For us Taiwanese, Mexican food and Couscous(millet, serve with chic peas, white raisins, Cinnamon powder, vegetable soup and assorted grilled meat, especially good with Moroccan spicy lamb sausages or lamb) are kind of not easy to get used to. Most of my relatives and friends from Taiwan didn't like it when they first tried it. One of the reasons is probably because they cook the same ingredients very differently. For example, the red beans, the Asian way like Japanese or Taiwanese make them sweet as desserts, and the Mexican way is slightly salty, serving with main course. Each time when my sister saw the red beans in a Mexican dish, she made a face. And Dan, although he lived in Asia for almost two decades, he still can't stand any dessert with red bean in it. You see, even for something like food, it seems so hard to drop your prejudice, no wonder there's so many wars going on. Actually, if we just open our mind and try someone else's "strange" stuff, we might find a whole wonderland in front of us!!!
Near Dan's mom's place, there are also two Mexican restaurants which we like the most. One is El Torito, it's like a big chain thing, they have lots of restaurants in every area. The food here is slightly saltier and greasier, but quite good and good value, especially the happy hour, you can have a nice dinner for two including Margaritas for just 10 or 12 dollars. Their blended Margarita is also our favourite, because other places, fancy or not, tend to make them too sweet which suits the usual local palates.
The other one is Cantina, known for healthier, finer food, but also a bit pricier. They have a pretty impressive Tequila list and a very nice outdoor patio. This is the best choice for a nice sunny day, you can have an early dinner with a chilled Margarita or a shot of fine Tequila, and enjoy the evening breeze and a nice sunset.
There's also one just opened a while ago in the nearby wine country Santa Ynez, not far from Solvang. Their food was not too impressive, but the Tequila flyer tasting is quite interesting, you can try from younger, lighter ones to finer, aged ones.
The patio of Cantina
