At the height of the drug war in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas in Mexico 400 people were murdered in 2005 and 2006. This year, the count is 50 – still higher than the city I live in today, Aurora, Colorado – a bit smaller in population where 27 people were murdered last year.
But this story is not about the murders in Nuevo Laredo but how through these scary times of drug wars, every time I visited my family in Laredo, Texas, we’ve always crossed the border to dine at La Paisana, a restaurant that serves only a few dishes and many only on certain days.
If you’re looking for white table cloths and napkins, candlelit tables and waiters in tuxes, don’t go to La Paisana. You’ll get Formica table tops, plastic covered chairs, blaring Spanish language television playing soap operas and delicious, genuine, good old home-cooked flautas and tostadas. Melt-in-your- mouth enchiladas stuffed with queso fresco topped with potatoes and carrots, accompanied with perfectly ripened slices of avocado and refried beans are served only on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. And they are a must have as far as I am concerned.
Most of us ordered half enchiladas (2), half flautas (2) with ternera (beef), topped with sautéed onions cooked in oil and vinegar. I ordered the flautas medium fried. The other choices are soft (like soft tacos) or traditional.
The prices were great before but after the recent devaluation of the Mexican currency, the prices are amazing (you should say cheap): $4.34 for enchiladas, $4.72 for flautas and $5.02 for tostadas. The prices on the menu are in pesos – after all it is Mexico.
It was Christmas Eve without tamales – our normal tradition and I was with my family: my brother, sister-in-law, two nephews, and one nephew and
his wife. The restaurant was closing at 7:00 and we arrived at 6:00. We were the only customers in the restaurant. And we commented how perhaps this would be our new early Christmas Eve tradition – La Paisana in Nuevo Laredo as long as it’s Tuesday, Wednesday or Friday.
Taqueria La Paisana is located at Camargo No. 1122 in Nuevo Laredo. Their telephone is (867) 712-7440. From the US dial 011 52 (867) 712-7440
