EAT Magazine March-April 2013_Victoria_48_Layout 1 2/27/13 11:25 AM Page 18
eating well for less — by Elizabeth Smyth Monk
Secret Corners A world of eating in Victoria’s hidden nooks and crannies. Tequila House, 3009 Gosworth Rd. at Cedar Hill Road, 250.886.0731 I have a soft spot for quirky, and I have a soft spot for immigrant families in business start-ups trying to share the food of their culture with their Victorian compatriots. The soft spot blossoms into love if the food is fabulous. Good news: Tequila House and I are now in a relationship, which was cemented by my enjoyment of a daily special of mole poblano. Soft tortillas encase shredded chicken and completely absorb the rich, sweet and smoky mole (pronounced mo-lay) sauce, housemade from a mixture of three different chiles—ancho, pasilla and cascabel—and a touch of chocolate. This special was the highest price on the menu at $12.90 and included tortilla soup. Breakfast features either omelettes or chilaquiles with eggs. Try the chorizo omelette; the chorizo is made inhouse and is perfectly seasoned with cumin, oregano, pepper, cloves and guajillo (wa-hee-lo) chilis. Shockingly, the chefs were able to overcome my cynicism about soy protein products, presenting a very tasty soy chorizo seasoned the same way. I know, I know, soy chorizo—it sounds impossible, but they pull it off. Chilaquiles are a Mexican breakfast dish that sounds dull in the reporting but is tasty in the actual consumption. Tortilla chips are softened in a mix of tomatoes and tomatillos, then warmed and topped
with cheese and sour cream—mmm. The only downside was the beans, which were bland (though remedied by two interesting housemade sauces—a mild, sweet chipotle sauce and a morita chilis salsa). As well, churros, Mexican doughnuts, are offered between 10 and 11 a.m. and go well with a Mexican hot chocolate after a workout at nearby Cedar Hill Rec Centre or a walk with the kids. Now here’s the quirky piece: this restaurant is open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. only Monday to Saturday because it is sharing space with Gosworth Fish and Chips, which opens at 3 p.m. There was no signage when I was there, only a month after they’d opened. This may still be the case, so just go to the door bearing a hand-written sign that says “Mexican Food.” There’s limited seating—we’re talking five bar stools and a bench when I was there (a couple of tables were supposedly coming). Really, it’s a takeout place, but I thoroughly enjoyed my lunch in this modest little nook, especially because I walked in to lively Spanish chatter as a group of Mexican-Canadians finished their meals, and I felt, for just a moment, as if I was in Mexico.
Elizabeth Nyland
Pictured left: Freshly made churros and hot chocolate right: Chilaquiles with mole 18
EAT MAGAZINE MARCH | APRIL 2013