Verde Limon in Riehen is small shop, only open couple days a week but authentic direct imports
El Sol in Allschwil is wholesaler but also sells to public and online, www.elsol.ch
If in Zurich, suggest you stop by El Maiz right near Zurich main train station. They have refrigerated tortillas for sure, great selection of salsa and hot sauces, and even hand-made frozen tamales in corn husks if you are lucky.
This is Switzerland, so food may be Mexican but prices won't be
added note: since you are in Basel, try stopping by restaurant "Tacoteca" in front of Markthalle tram stop, a couple minute walk from Basel SBB station. They speak English, have several types of bottled sauces, and will probably sell you some if you ask.
I think (but stand to be corrected) that the OP was referring to real Mexican tortillas. Which are very much not made from wheat and present in none of the major stores.
I am from Ocean Beach. I have searched long and hard to find the SoCal style in Basel. Head to Claraplatz, hit the ethnic foods market at the northwest end on Claragraben, I think it's called Aggarwal. They have a small latino section. Buy your tortillas there, or make your own with the maize they sell. They sell black beans and chips as well. For San Diego taco shop hot sauce, you need to make your own. Buy a bag of dried Guajillo and Chile de arbol. I follow the OB Nati's recipe. 3 or 4 chiles de arbol per 1 guajillo, soak em in warm water, drain and seed, then blend with salt to taste. Super easy dude.
So corn flour tortillas? Smaller and normally used for Carne Asada Tacos? I have seen them packaged at El Maiz, and as Tom said above, I have seen Masa flour there as well.
And the flour tortillas they don't have. They do, by the boatload in Lost Angeles, but only some imported junk at Coop. Same imported ones they have in India - where you pay Swiss prices for lousy American recipe, but made in India, tortillas.
I'm not sure you could get exactly the same thing, because the best ones are hand pressed by las bonitas chiquitas. You could get a press like Tom said:
Steaming the packaged ones for about 15 seconds brings them back to freshness.
you could write it how you did, but then you'd really be emphasising the 'bonitas' part - i.e., refuting someone's statement that the best ones are made by ugly little girls.
Anyway, enjoy your tortillas... and thanks for the info, you've inspired me - i'll have to pick up a big sack of masa flour next time in Zürich.
For your California Burritos buy the flour tortillas you can get in any turkish section. They are called DURUMs and much better tasting than any of the cardboard old el paso.
Co-op (large one in Sihl City) has white flour "piadinas" that are in the refrigerated section near the pasta that are honestly very good and in my opinion better than most tortillas...they are very large as well and could be used for burritos or quesadillas. One problem is the refrigerated Co-op piadinas are made with lard....not sure if you are ok with that.
Let me just say don't waste a penny on ANY Mexican restaurant in Switzerland. My husband and I have tried them all and none were worth anything and on top of that, it's considered exotic food so,they charge you a fortune. Save the money and make due at home. Old El Paso is sh#%, so try to get a family member to mail you some spice packets from home. I'm also a San Diego native.
I am in agreement with you wife of a swiss. The few that we have tried have not been worth it at all. I am also a southern California native so I know real Mexican food...and we have yet to find a good Mexican restaurant in the Zurich area. Although I have made some yummy Mexican good at home for my family.
I think I posted this anecdote before. I went to a Mexican restaurant in Zuerich, ordered chips and salsa. They gave me a basket of barbeque flavored tortilla chips and a bowl of spaghetti marinara sauce. It made me homesick and sad.
Umm then you have never had them made for you. There is really no difference from one industrial made brand to the next. But made to order is like fresh bread, which it it is actually, nothing compares to fresh bread, baked. And no is doing that here. What El Maiz has, from last time I was there, was industrial bits pumped off in Germany. This kind of stuff and the El Pancho is what is available because there isn't a great enough demand yet for tortillas on a whole.
I have my own cereal grinder so I can make my own flour. Having worked in Tex Mex, Mexican, and traveling thru Mexico, I can tell you if you have tortillas straight from the hearth, one their own, they bury any topping added to them, especially here in CH:
