Comal Mexicano

Review

Like oil through my fingers

The lockdowns have changed our everyday gastronomy in many ways. Delivery services experienced a boom that is unlikely to ever fully subside, and street food of all origins became the new gastronomic normal. The taco has also benefited greatly from the need to eat in the fresh air and standing up. Until then, the small corn dough patty with a spicy topping was more a matter for either Mexican ethnic eateries or system restaurants. Great taste, good ingredients and enthusiasm for the cause rarely played a role in the taco. Then came Monika Sims with Maíz, La Ventana and, above all, Maria Báez with her Comal in Florianigasse. I dare say that Maria's tacos were the best thing you could eat during the lockdowns, which is hardly surprising as the woman with the beautiful name has not only run successful restaurants in Mexico and Spain, but is also committed to "real" Mexican cuisine, which is often confused with Tex-Mex in Europe.
Maria's tacos sold like hot cakes, but for no apparent reason the Comal was suddenly closed and people feared that the great chef had moved on. And she did, but only to the fourth district. There was not only a lot more space for guests to sit down, but also to make more than just tacos. The news that Comal was open again spread like wildfire; you need a lot of luck to get a table without a reservation. Because here you get absolutely blissful food that makes the dopamine rush through your brain. Even the guacamole with the totopos and chelada - a kind of Mexican shandy, but much better - is insanely good (€ 8.10). The recipes for the six taco fillings - three with meat, three vegan - remain more or less the same, but the flatbreads have improved, I imagine (€ 3.90 per taco). New are the main dishes, the "platos fuertes", such as lomo adobado, a kind of festive roast pork, spicy marinated with chilli and vinegar and slowly roasted until just falling apart, delicious (€ 21). Or cochinita pibil tacos, an extended version from the south of Mexico with a really good amount of pulled pork inside and an even grander, oily, red marinade that inevitably runs down your face, hands and forearms (€ 21). And where else are you supposed to have a margarita afterwards if not here? Vienna's best taco hut is open again - in a different location - and is bigger, but there is still a scramble for seats.

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