So my cousin is opening a Mexican restaurant in Oz...

windthrown

My crazy cousin in Sydney is planning on opening a franchise Mexican Restaurant chain in one of the suburbs there.

Question: Do Aussies like Mexican food?

Just wondering...

Eric Frei

I dont. we have a Motezumas chain here, cant stand it especially that crap wine they flog, what's it called, sangria.

__________________

clementine

Never tried Mexican, none here that I've seen, Sangria originates in Spain doesn't it?

Good luck to him in Oz!

__________________
Meddle not in the affairs of dragons - for you are crunchy and taste of chicken!

Gunslinger

Good Mexican food is delicious. Operative word being good. Bad Mexican is just, well...bad.

windthrown

Hmmm, one Aussy reply, one Portuguese reply, and one from New Jersey. So far the Aussies are winning with one negative vote. Interesting. I hope that my cousin is not going to lose his shirt in this deal. He was rather optimistic about it at my cousin's wedding.

Sangria is a Spanish wine cooler blended with fruit. Not usually on the menus here. There are millions of Mexican restaurants in the western US. There are also tens of millions of Mexicans here now as well.

I just got back from a trip to California, and there the Mexicans are completely taking over the state. Or taking it back from the US... it used to be the Republic of California, and before that it was a part of Mexico, and before that a part of Spain. Before that it was home to the Native American Indians. It seems that of late, all the Native American Indians are part of the growing Greater American Casino Tribe. There is a gambling casino on every Indian reservation in the US west it seems. I passed at least a dozen of them on my trip to California.

windthrown

The name of my cousin's Mexican restaurant franchise is Zambrero. Seems that it was started by a medical student. They are only located in Oz.

Drouin Tree Service

Probably go ok in Sydney,I dont mind Mexican/Texas food as long as theres a rack of ribs and some chilli con carne.

Best of luck to them make sure to let us know where and i might drop by.

__________________

Drouin Tree Services | Excavator Hire - Drouin and SE Gippsland | Landclearing Melbourne

Nebula

Mexican is good, good mexican that is. Not a lot of the shit you get here where they just drown everything in loads of cheese which is not mexican at all. Nothing beats a good chimichanga

My friends own a mexican restaurant near me, They are actually American themselves well he is she is a resident of the States.

They travelled Mexico lots and have got the food down I reckon really good food, their portion sizes are shrinking though, what ever they do Scott tell them to make portion size American size, thats what I loved about the states you are full when ya leave a restaurant the way it should be

Steve Tipton

A good mex restaurant should do well in Sydney. There was a good one near us at Sylvania for many years. It closed down, I don't know why, it always seemed busy. Let us know when it opens and where it is and I'll give it a try.

Never heard of that chain. We have Taco Bell (very ordinary) and Chlli's mex diner (never tried one).

Thai and Indian seem to be the most popular here.

Good luck with it!

__________________
Heightmaster

Steve Tipton

Just googled Zambrero
Results, none in Sydney, just one in Canberra, Aussie Capital, about 200 miles SW of Sydney.

__________________
Heightmaster

windthrown

Yah, evidently they are opening them in Perth, Adelaide, and Melbourne. My cousin lives in Sydney, but I think my mom said that he was opening the one in Adelaide so maybe they are moving south. Supposedly its a vacant lot right now; it still has to be built. He is an Amurikan, his wife is an Aussy. They have a kid now (he has a family here in the states too, two kids with his first wife stateside).

They have an interesting menu from the looks of it (Zambrero - Fresh Mex Grill), including a lot of lamb. I can tell you from personal experience that lamb is NOT traditional Mexican food. I have been all over Mexico myself. I had lamb there once, at a swank place that prided itself on getting fresh lamb and beef from Australia. You do not want to eat lamb or beef from Mexico... it is horrible. My brother had a steak there once and it was the worst cut of meat I have ever seen. When in Mexico, eat chicken. It is what they eat most, although hamburger joints are common down there now.

Lamb in a mexican food place sounds good though, 'cause I love lamb. So I presume that this chain will be Aussy accented Mexican food, like Taco Bell is American style Mexican food (it has little resemblence to any food I ever had in Mexico). Traditional western Mexican food has a lot of black beans and rice, with chicken and corn tortillas being common. Mole is a specialty, as are tamales and chille rienos. I never saw a burrito, chimichanga or enchillada served in southern Mexico; they are more northern style Tex-Mex like tacos and tortillas. Tacos are common at fast food places there though. Quesedillas are common there (plain fried corn tortilla with cheese inside it). Corn chips are everywhere in Mexico, along with various types of salsa. Flour tortillas used to be uncommon in Mexico, but they are more common now with NAFTA and the US wheat lobby pushing up sales. Tortillas made from Masa (ground corn and lime) are still a staple there and up here. The barrios here in Oregon have a lot of the 'traditional' poor Mexican food, most of which I will not eat. Of late goat meat is really popular. They also eat stuff like trype and pigs feet (menudo). They also eat werid cuts of meat and their butcher shops cut meat completely differerent than I am used to. Not for me.

Lamb tacos, anyone?

Steve Tipton

I'm surprised lamb is not traditional Mexican, but in 2 visits to Mexico I never saw lamb on the menu, or at Who Sung and Larry's in Portland either.

Wasn't it the Mex sheep herders who were driven of the range by the big cattle ranchers?

__________________
Heightmaster

windthrown

No, there was a feud between US sheep herders and cattle herders over 100 years ago. I vaguely recall something about it from my 4th grade history class. No Mexican sheep herders that I know of. They ranched mainly horses and cattle. Here is a short history lesson on the subject:

Fueds & Range Wars - Sheepmen vs. Cattlemen

Therrin

Best mexican food I've ever had = in Mexico

Worst mexican food I've ever had = In a Texas airport

Strangest mexican food I've had = Cat meat tacos, in a tiny mexican town (deliscious)

Best mexican meat I've ever had = carne asada seasoned meat from Vallarta.

Strangest mexican drink = in mexico. Take a bottle of Clamato (like a v8, mixed with clam juice). Sip about 1/4 volume out of it, and top off with L'amore hot sauce, squeeze in a lime, then shake rapidly and get it to all mix together.
= Absolutely refreshing and tasty, though you'd never think so if you had to think about it too long before trying it.

Best mexican drink = in mexico, pure agave tequila from a distillery. Tasty!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mexican fast food is only held to certain levels of acceptability, more having to do with the quickness of service, and a relatively regular taste given each time.

Now mexican Restaurants... thats something else. A good mexican restaurant, with good cooks and waitstaff can really be a treat! Especially food made "authentically" and isnt drowned out in cheeses, and sauces. Food that is well made and prepared, and is flavorfull, will bring back repeat business.

That having been said. You say you have one up there named "Montezumas"?
That's the expression we use down here when you've eaten something a lil too spicy for your digestive system, and you have to make an emergency beeline dash to the nearest restroom because "Montezuma" is comin to chase you down and he's about to catch you. You get to savor the spiciness twice. ONce on the way in, and once on the way out. Ahhhhh fine mexican food at it's greatest.

Go Zombreros!!! I'd love to sample some of it.

Drouin Tree Service

Id love to start a "in out burger" franchise in Melbourne it would go alright!

In-N-Out Burger - Welcome

__________________

Drouin Tree Services | Excavator Hire - Drouin and SE Gippsland | Landclearing Melbourne

Nebula

Quesedillas are good too, might have to go get some Mexican tnite.
Better be carefull how I write that might get a load of Mexican porn spam going on here too

windthrown

Best Mexican food I have ever had is a tie; one is at a small taco place in San Diego (in Del Cerro) and the other is a small Mexican place in Encinitas, CA. The place in Encinitas has the best Marguritas that I have had as well (they call them 'Cadillac Marguritas', and they are good). Runner up for best Marguritas is at a place called Del Sol in Ensinada, Maxico. They serve them in a huge fish-bowl size glass.

Worst Mexican food I have ever had was a chicken dinner on the train from Mexicali to Guadalajara, Mexico (cooked in lard, stringey, greasey, a chundering lump of disgusting food).

Weirdest Mexican food I ever had was at the Bar Grill y Bar in San Blas, Mexico. It was turtle meat, tasted like a cross between fish and steak. The owner came up to my brother and I after we ate there and asked if we wanted to see his alligator collection. "Alligator collection?" OK... so he took us to the back of the place and there he had about 5 crocodiles in a large atrium with a pond in it. They were big crocs too. That place also had the worst Margurita that I have ever had. They made them with white wine... (chundering again).

Weirdest booze I had in Mexico was pulque, at a small dark place outside of Guymas, Mexico. Strongest drink I had was called ricia, in a small village called Yelapa. It was made from agave roots, and it was downright hallucinagenic.

The typical reference to Montezuma is called "Montezuma's Revenge", also called 'La Turistas' in Mexico. They refer to getting the shitz from too much bacteria in the food. Worse cases of Montezuma's Revenge are known as the Aztec Two Step, or the Tijuana Two Step. Basically you have two steps from the time that you perceive that you need to shit, to the time that you absolutely have to shit your pants. You need to live in the can for a while with that stuff.

You have to watch what you eat in Mexico. The water there is full of bacteria, and a lot of other stuff. I have gotten several parasitic infections in Mexico, including Giardia. My brother had amoebic dysentery. My other brother had to check himself into the medical center in Mexico City, after spending six months at the university there.

Steve Tipton

How's the plan goin?

__________________
Heightmaster

Nebula

Sounds like Morocco best thing to do their is just not eat at all

windthrown

I dunno. Last I heard it was still an empty lot that he has to build the restaurant on. We shall see. Maybe I will fly down there this winter (your summer) to check it out.

windthrown

Like Morocco, yes. Or rural China from what I have heard from friends traveling there. You have to eat eventually though. After a month or so down there... well, you need to eat. Good rule of thumb in Mexico is to only eat fruit and veggies that you can peel. Forget eating things like lettuce and salads. If you eat anything that is washed in water and you are asking for it. Even if you brush you teeth in the tap water in Mexico you are in for it. They do not chlorinate the water there, and a lot of rivers there are more like open sewers. Many rivers there smell the same as my septic tank does here. And kids swim in the rivers there... (read: The Turd & Chunder River).

I drank lots of beer in Mexico. Its really cheap there, and its better, because they do not pasteurize the brew down there. One thing that does not need to be sterilized. I also carried a lot of Lomotil (helps to keep your shit together). I managed to quit smoking in Mexico on one trip. I took a carton of Winstons with me there, and ran out after two weeks. So I bought a pack of Hecho en Mexico smokes. Man, they tasted like horseshit. So I quit. One thing also is that after a few weeks in another culture, you start craving food from home. My brother and his then future ex-wife and I went all over Puerto Vallarta one afternoon looking for a ham sandwich. Could not be found. Nada. No hay. So finally we bought a can of DAK ham, a loaf of bread, some swiss cheese and some mustard and we made our own sandwiches in my hotel room.

Eric Frei

The thing about living in Australia is that to go to another country you have to literally go overseas.

So many holiday in Bali (or used to before they bombed us in night clubs thinking we were Americans), and get the Bali Belly.

Just take for granted our systems and care.

__________________

Garry Brockley

thats a spanish drink mate not so much a wine as a sweet alcohol beverage, if you had grown up as a pomme you would have had that quite a few times, as spain is the main holiday spot for brits, personally i love the stuff even when i think of the hang overs and waking up on strange beaches that occured due to too many bottles consumed in the heady heat of the spansh bars ah spanish ladies

__________________

Done it

I used to make a killer Sangria years ago. Red wine, brandy, soda water and some other stuff.

I'd have the reciepe here somewhere, but like everything else it'd take me all day to find it.

windthrown

My cousin Christopher says that his Mexican restaurant is in Adelaide and will open there in about 2 months. The address is:

Zambreros
216 Rundle Street
Adelaide, South Australia

Steve Tipton

Good luck to Christopher.
Ole'

__________________
Heightmaster

tilligerry habitat

Aussies love any good food. Needs to be good though, we are too fussy about too much down here except when our stomachs are involved. Keep me posted as I rather like Mexican!
Where are all these Aussies!
Mery Christmas to all

southsoundtree

Reminds me of a funny story an aussie ex-work mate told his girlfriend. I think she got a job in some Mexican place there. Gavin told her that when he was working in the US, he worked with a Mexican guy, born and raised in Mexico, later to move to Arizona. He told her, straightest face you've ever seen, "Well, I don't know, but Pedro always called them "Gel-a-pa-nos" and "Tor-till-as", but if the restaurant wants to call them "hal-a-Pee-nyos" and "tor-Tee-as", go ahead, but I think Pedro would know.

She believed Gavin and "Pedro", sure as anything.

Cole

theres 3 zambreros in canberra there not bad good ribs ???? the chilli

Therrin

So how's the mexican restaurant going?

I love mexican food! Became oddly, deathly allergic to avacados in the last year or so though =( Which is also too bad, cuz it goes sooo well in mexican cuisine, and I love guacamole.

Mom brought me home a burrito from Baja Fresh (a mexican chain out here) and forgot to ask for no guacamole. I had to get an Epi-Pen outta the bathroom when my throat swelled so far shut I couldnt hardly breathe anymore. Kept pussy-footing around about jabbing the needle in myself and then when it finally shot in (spring loaded) I freaked out an pulled it back out, then freaked out that I pulled it back out and shoved it back in! That epinephrine stuff is like speed. ugh.. nasty.
Clears up the swelling in about 20 seconds though. Breathing is always nice after you cant do it for a while.

Sad times. I sure miss avocado/guacamole!

Still love good mexican food though. Mmmm... and fish tacos!