Inconsistent, and often overly hot, food overcomes attempts at authenticity
Mia Stainsby
Sun
Tacos al pastor and blended lime margarita from Don Guacamole on Robson Street. Photograph by: Jenelle Schneider, Vancouver Sun
DON GUACAMOLE’S
1333 Robson St., 604-569-2295. Open for lunch and dinner, daily.
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Don Guacamole’s, a Mexican restaurant and not, as you might think, a cartoon character, is abuzz. On our first visit, the line-up of six or seven people exceeded our ability to wait. On the next try, we got a table, but the place quickly filled up; most were young Mexican Canadians or language students. The Mexican music, cranked way up, and loud conversations make it feel (a) like a rollicking party or (b) that it’s way noisy — depends on what you’re looking for.
I was stoked by the word on the street about the food — authentic Mexican, finally — and I wondered if Don Guac would knock off Lolita’s South of The Border Cantina as my favourite Mexican place. But Lolita’s is safe. While some dishes were good at Don G., others were muddy and messy with no punctuations of brightness or freshness. There were, however, exclamation marks of branding-iron heat. We went back to try more dishes to make sure we hadn’t just ordered the wrong dishes on the first visit. The verdict is, the food is inconsistent.
Taco chips arrived with three salsas (pico de gallo, salsa verde and salsa roja) and lime wedges. The heat in the salsas and other dishes isn’t amped down for wimpy Canadians.
It’s reined back somewhat, though, according to Ricardo Villasenor Jr., whose dad is one of the owners. “It’s very close to Mexican ‘hot’,” he says. After I scorched my tongue, I felt I had to clear landmines before proceeding, weeding out slivers of red or green.
It’s hard to go wrong with a quesadilla ($10), but what I got was odd. It wasn’t flat, but log-shaped on the folded edge and it wasn’t crisped up on the grill. But on the second visit, I saw someone eating what looked like a much better version– flat and crisp on the outside with an even layer of filling — and I wanted a bite or two or three.
The chicken burrito ($9.50) however, was really good. I wasn’t told, but it comes with “red, green or mole” sauces (I overheard this info at the next table). Mine arrived with the green (tomatillo?) and it was mild with ribbons of sour cream swirled through it. I greatly appreciated the ceasefire from the chili peppers.
The guacamole was lime-forward and needed salt. Nopales con queso (prickly pear cactus pads with cheese, $9.50) was one of the messy dishes, as was a chicken torta (a bunwich, $7.50).
The bun had Wonder Bread consistency and with the moist filling, it went mushy in the mouth. The brochetta of marinated steak, bacon, green peppers and onions ($21) was oily and had little flavour.
However, a flank steak (arrachera, $21) with enchilada, beans and rice was one of the better dishes. The meat was tender and flavourful and the rice, flavoured with chicken stock, was delicious.
Service had its ups and downs. There’s certainly enough staff on the floor to carry the rush-hours and the young Spanish-speaking servers are friendly. I got grumpy, though, with a “mailbox is full” reception on the two occasions I phoned, so I kept redialling until someone picked up. On one visit, our main dishes arrived before the starters; the mains (burrito and marinated steak brochetta) went back to the kitchen and held, I imagined, until we finished our first course.
Villasenor mentioned the parrillada for two or more. It’s like having a mini-barbecue of meats at your table; the sharing dish comes with guacamole, beans, quesadilla and napole con quesa and costs $18 per person.
All I can say is, lots of people like it and wait patiently for a table, but Don G. didn’t do it for me.
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