RESTAURANT REVIEW - MEXICAN EATERIES
Monday 22 August 2011
Jonathan Ross devoted the opening chapter of his book “Why Do I Say These Things” to the ‘joys’ of Mexican food he experienced on a trip ‘South of the Border…’. As you might imagine, Mr Ross pulled no punches and in his inimitable way was fully descriptive of the follow up, or should I say follow through, results of having eaten a Mexican lamb delicacy which involved the meat being wrapped in a banana leaf and buried for three days before cooking……..
My mission down Mexico way was more delicate, nay mundane, in pursuit of the rise and rise of the Mexican Grill on our fair shores. Mexican is the new Thai, which was the new Chinese, which was the new…… Anyway, with a Tequila in mind and my Senor in hot pursuit, we took off to try the Burrito/Fajita/Taco connection around town. It is street food by any other name – eat in some places, or take out. For the uninitiated, there are instructions on assembling your Burrito and, in some cases, how to eat this torpedo with dignity – head on - or sideways like a nun eating a banana! A Burrito is basically a tortilla ‘pancake’ wrap of unleavened flatbread filled with rice, pinto or black beans, grilled steak or chicken cubes, shredded beef or pork, topped off with mild, or eyewateringly hot, chipotle pepper salsa. You can add extras – sour cream, cheese, guacamole…..the ends of the tortilla get tucked in so it looks like a fat grey roll …hence ‘Burrito’ – ‘little donkey’ - a real stuffer….a bit of a Billy Bunter’s delight!
Boojum on the Millenium Walkway have their service counter just inside the door so you might have to queue outside which is not great sans the Mexican sun! Brendan had Burrito Barbecoa - shredded beef (€6.45) - and I had the Burrito Bowl with chicken (€6.45) – all the fillings in a ‘salad box’ sans the tortilla and with a double whopper of guacamole 75c extra – the best bit for me. With the chicken fairly minimal, and the eat in area fairly packed, we sat outside, which was pretty bleak with a couple of the chairs broken. Pablo Picante in Baggot Street is in a veritable corner kiosk but we liked it better – smiling faces and good grub. The Burrito and BB here were €5.95. In fact this Donkey Kong Burrito weighed in on my kitchen scales at 16 oz ! Tolteca on Upper Baggot Street is the latest uber cool Mexican hot spot. With sleek décor and long communal tables, Tolteca is more expensive with its Burrito Barbacoa €8.50. Basing their concept on the very successful U.S. Chipotle chain’s animal friendly policy, Tolteca’s beef, pork, and chicken, are sourced from Irish free range farms. Vegetables, where possible, are organic, and everything is made in house including the chips, salsas, and guacamole. We chowed down in house on Tacos (€9) – three crispy tortillas, with tasty cubes of medium cooked beef, and the Chicken Bowl (€8.30) which had good flavoured chook.
We really liked Cortina in Dundrum Town Centre with its friendly staff – great cocktails – tasty food - dairy free, wheat free, and coeliac menus. Plus plus - their Salsa and Tortilla chip starters at €4.50 offered free unlimited refills of which we availed liberally with Guacamole, plus a Margarita (€8.75) for me and a Brooklyn Summer Ale (€5) for Senor. He then had a trio of Quesalidas (€7.75) from the Botanas – Mexican style tapas selection - grilled flour tortillas stuffed with three cheeses, refried black beans, chicken, served with salsa and a creamy drizzle, and a portion of sizzling roasted red potatoes (€3.50). Both proved really good value as they qualified for the Siesta Menu mid afternoon deal at €9.95 for the two. Chipotle Shrimp (€15.95) was a good helping of prawns grilled in a sweet smokey sauce on a decent bed of healthy diced courgette, with a timbale of lime rice, salsa and lime. We really liked the vibe here.
Choose it –don’t lose -it’s a wrap! Arriba, Arriba!