Mexican food in Finland

Note the burrito pictures from Tampere
(see photos here http://picasaweb.google.com/joiao78/Tampere).
where we went to eat at a “Mexican” restaurant. Seeing how different cultures interpret each other’s foodways has long been an interest of ours. Aside from my margarita that was more of a martini, and Joia’s fajita which seemed to be more of a tomato-vegetable soup, the real gem of the meal was my burrito, which was filled with a bag of frozen Chinese stir fry mix, including water chestnuts, baby corn, shiitake mushrooms, and ball-shaped carrots that have been so overcooked that they melt in your mouth like a soggy malted milk ball. All of this was smothered in a salsa which bore a suspicious resemblance to ketchup, and a “cheese sauce” which almost tasted like it contained some sort of dairy product. Sure, you might think, just because it’s unconventional doesn’t mean it’s bad . . . where would Italian food be without the imported tomato, what is Irish food without the American potato? Aren’t highly respected chefs making gourmet foods through such fusions every day, which they sell at exorbitant prices? You might think this, but you’d be wrong. This Finnish-Mexican-Chinese-Ketchup fusion was vicious and cruel, the sort of burrito that erects monuments to itself in military uniform to commemorate its own tyranny. Yes, this burrito deserves to be remembered, but not wearing medals of honor. Tampere ought to construct a great black wall listing the names of its victims. Never forget.

P.S. You can take a peek at more photos of our travels to Rovaniemi and Helsinki:
http://picasaweb.google.com/joiao78