Enchiladas Suizas to start and then two scoops of ice cream. Always at Vips. "It's the cleanest restaurant in Mexico" my grandmother Blanca used to say and she was referring to any branch. Strong statements if we take into account that Vips is/wasa chain with hundreds of cafeterias (I can't find the data at the time but today there are around 270 throughout the country). The idea came from a friend whose official name has always been "El Gato". "El Gato" was dedicated to installing industrial kitchens? and he had told my grandmother Blanca that the Vips kitchens were impeccable, she bought his story.
My grandmother and my brother
Enchiladas Suizas from Vips
My brother and I would go to Vips with my grandmother when my parents went out to eat on Sundays and the three of us would be alone. My grandmother liked it because it was close to the house, it had parking, the kitchen was the cleanest in Mexico, the ladies were nice and always impeccable and well dressed. And the enchiladas suizas were delicious. I never saw her order anything else. Why rehearse with a menu when you know exactly what is going to make you happy. What did my grandmother like about enchiladas? It was easy for me: what she liked was the cream, the industrial quantities of cream topped with melted cheese. I ask my brother how much he remembers and among his comments I am left with the very good observation that for the Mexican, if something has cream and cheese, it must be Swiss.
Swiss Enchiladas from Vips
But what exactly are enchiladas suizas? Here is the most technical definition I could find:
Encyclopedic Dictionary of Mexican Gastronomy
Swiss Enchiladas
A dish made with corn tortillas stuffed with chicken, covered with green sauce and topped with manchego cheese. The green sauce is prepared with some sesame seeds and cream; traditionally three are served with plenty of sauce in a metal dish or any deep dish for gratin. The adjective Swiss is applied to them because the dish contains cream and lots of cheese, and Switzerland is famous for its cheese and dairy products. These enchiladas were invented at the beginning of the 20th century in the famous Sanborns cafeteria chain, whose first store is still located at 4 Madero Street, in the Historic Center of Mexico City, in the famous building known by the people of Mexico City as "el Sanborns de los Azulejos" or "la Casa de los Azulejos".
Source: Larousse
So even if they weren't the originals, my grandmother's love for her Enchiladas Suizas and Vips didn't discriminate against branches, but she did have favorites. The number one favorite was the one at Revolución and San Antonio. Actually, what my grandmother liked about going to eat at this particular Vips was that the visit always marked the preamble to an afternoon of bullfighting at the Plaza Mexico. I know that nowadays the subject is not popular but I was born in a bullfighting house. My grandfather was a judge in the Plaza Mexico, and my uncle, who later became a Viking, was a bullfighter first. A visit to the Vips on Revolución meant an afternoon of bullfighting and, for my grandmother, that was happiness.
My uncle Juan (center) who was first a bullfighter and then a Viking.
The Vips team also includes my parents, with whom I remember most of all the visits to Vips de Lilas. For a rather long period of time, we had our Sunday family meals there. What would my parents like to eat at Vips? I guess, besides the Enchiladas (my mom is also a big fan of this nice Swiss-Mexican alliance), it was ideal because there was something for everyone, it was not too expensive, and after eating the unbearable teenagers -that is, me- could leave the table and go look at magazines, which was really the only reason why I loved Vips, or Sanborns, I didn't care.
Enchiladas Suizas from Sanborns
On the other side of the spectrum was the Sanborns team. This team is currently headed by my uncle Juan, who due to logistical reasons -this is the Viking, who has lived in Oslo for more than 30 years- does not have the opportunity to visit this establishment except on rare occasions when he is visiting. My uncle Juan has always liked to make breakfast appointments at Sanborns, it is a matter of tradition. And that's how I remember since I was a child: when the Norwegians came to visit, there was always a morning when my uncle Juan, dressed in pants, shirt and jacket, would go to Sanborns for a very formal breakfast.
Sanborns' Swiss Army Rings
Also on the Sanborns team is my brother who claims that the best Swiss enchiladas are served on a white and blue plate. And an old family friend, Alejandro Elguezábal. I must have been about ten years old when we suddenly started frequenting the Sanborns with him. I remember him as if he was the oldest person I had ever seen. He had big ears, always wore sackcloth and smelled of clean clothes. The reason he stayed on the Sanborns team was simple: the food never made him sick. In fact, he claimed, the food was so good that no old man ever got sick and that is why the lounge at the Palmas branch of Sanborns, which overlooked the Tecamachalco ravine, was always full of seniors, as we call them today. Their enchiladas suizas, which in this case are the originals, are reminiscent of salsa verde but in a version that is kind to someone suffering from gastritis or just landed in Mexico City.
What about me? Which ones do I choose? None of them. I have to confess that since I was a child I have had a phobia of dairy. My biggest nightmare is cream and melted cheese so I never ever tried them. But that doesn't matter, as I said before, for me this plan was the opportunity to spend an hour looking at magazines and I liked nothing better. But that story is for another tale.
If I had to choose, I'd go for the Tecolotes from Sanborns and the Vips soup.
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