A tad pricey, but here’s a chic place to swipe at your taste buds
Mark Laba
Province
Owner and Chef Luis Montalvo shows off two of his mouth-watering creations, Pollo en Mole (left) and Sopa Azteca at the El Barrio Restaurante Latino. Photograph by: Gerry Kahrmann, The Province
El Barrio
Where: 2270 E. Hastings St.
Payment/reservations: Major credit cards, 604-569-2220
Drinks: Fully licensed
Hours: Tues.-Thurs., 5 p.m.-9 p.m., Fri., noon-11 p.m., Sat., 10 a.m.-11 p.m., Sun., 10 a.m.-9 p.m., closed Mon.
I’ve been watching a lot of Dora the Explorer with my kids lately because I’m too cheap to take a Spanish class. I figure in another 10 years I’ll be able to say, “Boots, do you see the magic rocks that will help us cross the troll’s bridge to the magic banana forest?” fluently. Unfortunately that doesn’t help me much in my line of work, ordering off the menu in Mexican and Latin American restaurants. I mean it’s not often you find Dora throwing back tequila shooters before getting down and dirty with a plate of frijoles, huachinango sarandeado, cuitlacoche and ropa vieja. Those words just don’t show up in the cartoon nor do you ever find Boots nursing a mescal hangover.
Still, I decided to put my rudimentary language skills to the test as Peaches and I hit this Mexican restaurant where the Spanish was flying out of diner’s mouths as fast as it takes your average tourist’s skin to burn under a Puerto Vallarta sun after imbibing too many margaritas and falling asleep on a mid-day beach.
Up front is a classic bar area with high stools around small tall tables all done in a rich dark wood that makes you want to reach for the Pledge. The back of the room is the dining zone with tables and chairs that can only be described as Legion Hall chic, the chic part being that you’re surrounded by bright red and yellow painted walls and archways along with a smattering of colourful art instead of a pull tab machine and the high drama of a meat draw. Nevertheless the joint was boisterous with lively music over the airwaves, happy diners putting back tasty Mexican cooking and the margaritas, martinis, daiquiris, vino and cervezas flowing freely.
I wilted at the first Spanish words on the menu but knew enough to differentiate between fungus and flan. We began with two appetizers — patas bravas ($9.75), which, if my Spanish serves me well, means brave potatoes that will burn you with spiciness, and a prawn dish done up with garlic, tequila and lime. Both were very good and hats off to the cook who whipped up these crustaceans, which were perfectly done, tender but firm like the lips of a mermaid beckoning you onto small, crispy garlic rocks.
For entrees I took on a nice piece of Grade A steak marinated in pineapple and lime juice served with rice, frijoles volteados, which are Guatemalan-style refried beans, and a fresh salsa ($17.95). Peaches went à la plancha, meaning grilled on a metal plate or skillet. Her dish was poultry marinated in chipotle for a wonderful smoky, sweet finish and came bedded down on a mass of onions and green and red peppers ($14.95). My steak was of the thin variety, common in Mexican cooking and the grill marks seemed to run with rivulets of pineapple and lime juice, adding a nice zing to the lightly charred flesh.
All in all a pleasant experience, although a bit pricey compared with other Mexican eateries. Still there are intriguing entries like Pollo Cuitlacoche, made with a black fungus that infects corn and visually is about as appetizing as gangrene but considered a delicacy, as well as some less daring but nevertheless satisfying fare like salmon in tequila green salsa, chile relleno or the great shredded beef ropa vieja.
As for my Spanish, well, Dora is too advanced for me but I have learned one phrase — “Swipe, don’t swipe”– which comes in handy when, say, your spouse is trying to steal your tres leches cake while you’re checking the b-ball scores on the TV.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
Wrapping sunshine in a tortilla.
RATINGS: Food: B+ Service: B+ Atmosphere: B-
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