Maíz

Review

There's corn, baby

Slobber. Drool. Trenz. Tacos, baos, banh mis, pitas, they all taste great and have made a global career for themselves. And not just because - specifically in the case of tacos - the recipes are simply so great, combining the fruity fire of the chilies with the dark aromas of the braised or grilled food, the fresh herbs, the creamy beans and the bright lime. Touching the food is only frowned upon in our culture, and only for the last 200 years; in most parts of the world, touching the food is just as much a part of the sensual pleasure as smelling and tasting it. It is also making its way inexorably here: of the eight courses on the Mraz & Son menu, at most three can be eaten with a knife and fork.
But now to the tacos: Monika Sims lived in New York and Los Angeles for 27 years, was a set designer for Hollywood productions for 15 years, fell in love with Mexican cuisine early on, and when a friend opened a restaurant in New York where she made the tortillas herself from corn, the idea became more and more concrete: back to Vienna, make something like that too. Tortillas - if made from corn - are not just corn flour mixed with water. No. You have to use a process called nixtamalization, which means soaking the corn kernels in lime to break them down. Monika Sims' Maíz does this overnight in a large pot, after which she washes the Austrian organic corn and puts it in a mill (which Mexican taquilleros would not be happy with, but she was prepared to compromise in view of EU certification), which grinds it into a dough called "masa". This is then put into a press and onto the hot plate, where it is baked into tortillas. There are three fillings every day, one with seasonal vegetables, one with pork ("birria"), albeit always seasoned differently, and a special one made from beef or lamb, for example. For the time being, Monika Sims is still dreaming of a "cabeza", a taco with grilled head meat. There are between twelve and 15 ingredients in her sauces, which made the pumpkin taco fruity and fresh and the pork marinated with ancho chilli complex and delicious. The specialty that day was "Al Pastor", roasted pork with pineapple (1 taco for € 2.90, 3 tacos with totopos and salsa € 11.50). Although it has to be said: The flade is best on its own. Speaking of which, Ms Sims hopes to be able to process corn of different varieties and colors next season. She already has a farmer who grows her tomatillos - green physalis - which she uses to make green salsa that she sells in jars. Summary: The most authentic taco store Vienna has ever had: they even make their own tortillas here. Maíz 5th, Schönbrunner Str. 32, tel. 0677/624 65 335, Mon-Fri 11.30 am-3 pm,

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