Ah, the age of globalization. It means you can get peanut butter in Berlin, Dunkin Donuts in Prague, and fresh mozzarella in Chattanooga, Tennessee. So you’d think it wouldn’t be asking too much to expect to be able to enjoy a decent margarita in the extremely international city of Zurich. I know there are Mexicans here – I saw some in the children’s parade last Sunday, so I know they didn’t all leave the city in protest of their being banned from public transport.
Despite our optimistic thinking, we have only been able to find marginally good Mexican food in this town (the Swiss seem to be adverse to anything spicier than a carrot), and nothing that remotely qualifies as an acceptable margarita. Our teeny-tiny European freezer can only handle about 3 ice cubes at a time (and don’t even bother trying to buy ice on this continent), so having a margarita night at home is all but impossible.
There’s a Mexican restaurant on Niederdorfstrasse that sometimes brags about its margaritas on placards outside its door, and we have made the mistake of trying them TWICE. I think the first time they were so bad that we blocked the entire experience from our memories (that, or our brains failed to file the memory of the drink under the category “margarita,” given its lack of resemblance to what one would expect). The slightly alcoholic, luke-warm mixture they serve resembles instant lemonade with a couple forlorn pieces of crushed ice floating around. Yucky. Our margarita dreams crushed, we went back to drowning our sorrows in weissbier.
So when someone on an expats-in-Zurich site posted about a restaurant that supposedly had the BEST MARGARITAS IN ZURICH, I couldn’t wait to check it out. Last night we headed out to Casa Loca (Seestrasse 30, Kilchberg), a Mexican/Caribbean restaurant which served decent fajitas and… average margaritas. They weren’t awful, but definitely too sweet for my tastes. At least we got a little amusement out of the menu, which listed plain margaritas as “natur” flavor. Ah, margaritas the way Mother Nature intended them to be.
We actually had better margaritas downstairs at the Coyote Bar, where they offered about 10 different flavors. We liked both the plain and the strawberry basil.
OK, so we managed to find decent margaritas. But the best in Zurich? Only time (and extensive research) will tell. I’m on the case.
I completely feel your pain about the lack of good Mexican food on this continent. I’ve had to settle for homemade sangria.
When Alison was visiting me in Amsterdam I made the mistake of taking her to a Mexican restaurant that I had never been to before. The salsa they served? Was Heinz ketchup with some seasonings mixed in. Sometimes I really miss Los Angeles. Best Mexican food on the Planet, baby.
One word : Prague!
Actually found an awesome mexican place in Prague that made decent drinks.
I gave up trying to find mex food let alone a decent margarita here! Last mex place we tried here the enchiladas tasted like spaghetti sauce. We found out that the owner did his research by going to mex to develop his recipes and only thing he didn’t like was all the spices they use in mexico. Oh brother! I gave up on my search of finding decent mex food. I know what I’ll be having as soon as I visit texas again…
I’ve never had a margarita in my life but there is a place out here in Baden called Tex Mex. Perhaps you’d have luck there. They have killer nachos with real cheddar cheese. http://www.texmex4you.ch/