Tonight I found myself at a fantastic Mexican restaurant on the corner of Claiborne and Louisiana called El Paisano. The restaurant is definitely a hole in the wall and doesn’t look like much, but the food was VERY good. The last time my friend was there, he said that the gentleman behind the bar described the food as “authentically Mexican”, saying that other New Orleans “Mexican” restaurants were run by South Americans and didn’t cook authentic Mexican recipes. In fact, I was told by a different friend that El Paisano is the only place in New Orleans that serves a traditional Mexican beef and vegetable stew called Cosido (or Cocido).
It is clear that this restaurant, which seems like it hasn’t been around for all too long, clearly caters to the Mexican immigrant community of New Orleans. This was clear immediately upon entering, as a telenovela played on the flat screen television above the bar, where three or four Mexican men sat speaking Spanish, occasionally walking over to the juke box to play some Latino songs.
My friend and I enjoyed a filling (and CHEAP!) meal of tacos and gorditas al pastor.
So, if you find yourself in the mood for an authentic Mexican meal in the company of authentic Mexicans, you might consider heading over to El Paisano.
