 Alex is editor of the In Your Pocket guides in Poland and has written for The Guardian, The Times and The Observer.
Previous Columns
|
A Warsaw Tortilla Fetish Friday 26th March, 2010
"I like to feel like I’ve eaten a sock full of dynamite, and the mango habanero does that each time"
|
So I guess that’s the end of winter. About ten days ago the snowflakes were the size of golf balls and I was dressed like a giant rabbit. Now it appears we’ve skipped spring altogether and moved straight to summer. I’m not complaining – in about five minutes yesterday I saw seventy four reasons to live in Poland for the rest of my life, and every single one of those was tall, blonde and balanced on skyscraper heels. I feel like I’ve climbed out of a coffin to find I’m in a Hawaiian porn orgy. Life tastes good all of a sudden, and so does Warsaw.
I barely made it out of last week, and that was because of two vile Mexican restaurants that had emergency services on red alert. Poland doesn’t just get Mexican food wrong, it butchers it like Jack the Ripper. Cilantro gets swapped for cabbage, tortillas by toast and ketchup in favour of salsa. Are the Polish restaurants in Mexico City this bad?
Fortunately there is one place that shoots the trend and that’s a veteran favourite of mine, the Warsaw Tortilla Factory. Now I remember this place when it was in Ground Zero, a black chamber in a former nuclear shelter. The location has since changed (Wilcza 46, if you don’t know), and so have the owners, but one thing remains constant: quality. I don’t think there’s a place that does Tex-Mex better, and if ever I’m to have my ashes scattered let it be somewhere by their kitchen. I’m not aware of any other place in Poland that makes their tortillas from scratch, and neither am I aware of another restaurant that gets the salsa this right. I like to feel like I’ve eaten a sock full of dynamite, and the mango habanero does that each time.
You bet they’ve got Poland’s best burrito, but I’ve now found even more reason to give them chunks of pay cheque. The menu – revamped last week – has it all from battered jalapenos to what I’m told are some rather fab ribs, and the changes don’t stall with the food. Lined up are tequila promos, football screenings, bucket of beer nights and live music from Warsaw’s very own Bob Dylan: Lindsay Martell, a familiar name among all who appreciate live music round here.
So it goes without saying you’ll find me in WTF this weekend, though that said I promise to be starting in Kwadrat, a brilliant new bar practically opposite. It’s a bit like going round a friend’s house, at least it would be if your mate had seven tables, and while it doesn’t look like much it’s got a star staff, cheap prices, fast wifi, no attitude and quality lager – how many places get to say that in Warsaw?
|
|
