Good Mexican food has been slow to come to Paris. The traditional French palate shies away from spicy or bold flavored food hence the resistance.
There were a handful of Mexican restaurants when I moved to Paris in 2005 but none were authentic or worth mentioning.
Whenever I would return to New York I’d make a beeline to the first Mexican restaurant I could find.
In 2011 Candelaria, an authentic taqueria opened in the haute Marais, and became an overnight hit with lines out the door and its cocktail bar became the talk of the town.
Now that Parisians were beginning to embrace spicy food, other Mexican restaurants opened.
Although it’s been around since 2010, I have had not heard of Bocamexa before. I received a press release from their publicist about some new dishes they were introducing and inquired about a tasting. The publicist kindly invited a friend and me to have a meal.
In 2006 a Frenchman Julien Zattara was studying cooking in Lyon at Paul Bocuse Institute when he met Alejandra from Monterey, Mexico, who was also attending the school. Julien and Alejandra became fast friends after sharing tequila shots and traveled together to attend a wedding in Mexico.
They decided to open a Mexican restaurant in 2006 on rue Mouffetard in the Latin Quarter,serving cuisine inspired by recipes from Alejandro’s grandfather. Expanding their brand and business they started a food truck in 2013, followed by harvesting their own peppers in 2014 to make their own special salsa Gallo, creating their own beer in 2015 and opening a new restaurant on Faubourg Saint Denis in 2016.
My friend and I went for lunch on Saturday at 12:30. The interior with wicker lamp shades,light wood picnic benches and tables, midnight blue tiled walls and vintage black and white photos made me feel as though I was at Mexican café on the beach in Tulum, Mexico rather than on the gritty Faubourg Saint Denis.
My first barometer for authenticity when it comes to Mexican food is the guacamole; if the guacamole passes the test then it’s usually smooth sailing for the other dishes to come. Chunky and not super spicy, the guacamole at Bocamexa passed the test well but the quality of corn chips could have been elevated a notch or two.
Next up was the most popular dish at Bocamexa, Tacos a Pastor. Pastor is a particular preparation of spit roast and marinated pig served with fresh pineapple, and brought to the streets of Mexico in the early 1960s by Lebanese immigrants. The flavor of the little bits of pork were piquant and sweet at the same time and the pineapple was the correct complement to the pork.
We shared a well stuffed burrito with marinated chicken, chorizo sausage and grilled peppers and onions. Again the taste and freshness was authentic, so Bocamexa passed my rigorous tests for Mexican food and came out a winner. I’ll be back soon.
Bocamexa offers gluten free dishes and vegetarian selections.
My apologies for not posting photos of the food, I was so into the food I forgot to take photographs!
127 rue Mouffetard, 75005
95 rue Oberkampf, 75011
84 rue Faubourg Saint Denis, 75010
http://www.bocamexa.com/
All branches open 7 days for lunch and dinner
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Paris is my happy place, and I hope to return in the fall. It's possible that I will crave tacos al pastor while I am there, as I am right this moment, writing from Mexico City. However, I am doubtful of my ability to bite the bullet and pay almost 9 euros for them when I will remember so clearly paying only 38 pesos for 5 of them.
Still, I love them. And 9 euros is actually not so bad for a meal in Paris. Since you are vouching for the quality and authenticity of the food, then maybe...
Posted by: MsNomadica | June 20, 2017 at 03:37 AM