Owner cuts extras, sticks to home-cooked specialties
Mia Stainsby
Sun
Chef Elizabeth Hernandez at Salsa and Agave Mexican Grill near Yaletown. Photograph by : Bill Keay, Vancouver Sun
It’s gratifying to see family-style Mexican restaurants opening that are less and less straight Tex-Mex. Sure, you might find burritos or enchiladas on the menu but, quite likely, there’ll be dishes straight from the supper tables of the people who run these establishments.
Salsa and Agave Mexican Grill opened seven months ago on the edge of Yaletown, an unpretentious restaurant unfamiliar with the publicity machine. On my fourth telephone call, I was able to convince someone to take the time to talk to me.
To be honest, I was disappointed when it first opened because it meant Banano’s, which preceded it, had closed. It was a family-run Venezuelan restaurant that offered up the best arepas. At first Salsa and Agave offered a variety of Latin American dishes but recently realized they had best stick with what they know best — Mexican food.
Salsa and Agave doesn’t disappoint, however. The food is fresh and lively and light; and naturally, one can eat quite inexpensively. The most expensive dishes, full-on entrées, are $13. There are tacos, tostados, rolled tacos (folded, then panfried) and “specialties” like the Alambre (grilled beef or chicken with green peppers, bacon, onions, ham, cheese). I had a nice Aztec soup with chipotle peppers, diced onions, cheese and sour cream and the enchiladas (three on a plate) came with tomatillo or molé sauce. Their chunky-style guacamole with smashed bits of tomatoes is better than most, as is the fluffed rice that accompanies the entrées.
One of their biggest sellers is carne tampiquena (grilled beef with tomatillo sauce, chicken enchilada, rice, beans and peppers). “That is what I eat when I have a chance to sit down and eat,” says Juan Contras, who runs the restaurant with wife Elizabeth Fernandez.
When I visited, the kitchen was out of a lot of the dishes, but that just goes to show it’s a busy place. Salsa and Agave is open Tuesday to Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Last week’s Dining in The Rough said L2 Cafe was located in A-Wear. In fact, the store is now called L2 Leone.
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AT A GLANCE
Salsa and Agave Mexican Grill
1223 Pacific Boulevard, 604-408-4228
© The Vancouver Sun 2008
