Sometimes the best things happen when you are open to serendipitous experiences. When I was making arrangements to visit this relatively new restaurant in the colonias, an English speaking friend of the owners joined our chat. I didn’t know this then, but Ricardo and Margarita’s friend Mike, from Indiana, had discovered this wonderful gem, when they temporarily had a location in Centro. The restaurant with its commitment to well prepared and fresh ingredients, just could not manage the Centro lease rates that keep increasing to the restauranteurs downtown, especially in on Hidalgo. So they moved back to the front of their own home. And luckily for diners, now that they have lower overhead, they are server amazing food at “old-fashioned” prices. Not all of you will remember colonia restaurants like La Bruja, the former rooftop restaurant owned by Ruben or the original set up of Bastos, but I do. These “old fashioned” establishments are what hooked me onto Isla fare and kept me coming back for 20 years!

The restaurant had kept my new friend Mike and his family returning to the island for the last five years and Mike loves the couple so dearly, that he is helping to promote their success. Mike created this graphic sticker that when you scan the QR code, takes you right to the restaurant’s Google Page with tons of info.

Margarita proudly shared that Mike is a big part of their recent success. The way they came up with their restaurant name is that it represents their names in addition to their two sons. I bet they will find a way to include Mike in that moniker too. Mike sat at the next table to us last evening with his vivacious wife and her two sisters. He was so interested in what we do and was intrigued when we shared a couple of hidden gems.

As you can guess, I love talking to other foodies, but I sometimes get off track as I am doing at this exact moment. So…to the food! Freshly prepared ingredients were placed upon on our table containing just sliced cucumbers, radishes and limes. There was also a bowl of pineapple salsa which I jumped at only to be warned by Sue that it was likely laced with chopped jalapeños and very hot! She was right and had I gobbled it, I wouldn’t have had a palate to discern all the complex flavours in the food that we sampled. There was also a matcha habanero sauce, but I stuck to the crema.

When we asked for suggestions, we were guided to the Alambre Mafer, a delectable mixture of red pepper, tomato, onion, cheese and a meat trio of chicken, pork and chorizo sausage! This sauteed mixture came covered with the cheese along side just-pressed maize tortillas.

I loved the savoury mixture so much that I greedily took home the leftovers (sorry Suze)!

Sue and I also split a Pastor Gringa, so named because gringas (not locals) typically order flour tortillas. First they grill a tortilla with ham and cheese and then they add the stuffing of your choice, in this case the bianco pastor that we could smell slow roasted over live charcoal at the door.

The pastor was perfection – I love fatty pork that has been charred and thinly sliced. Pastor was originally brought to Mexico by the Lebanese in their version called shawarma. I first fell for shawarma while visiting Israel and Jordan.

I wondered where all these recipes originated and Mike mentioned that the family originally came from the region of Guerro which is next door to the Puebla region where pastor originated.

The décor is simple and rustic but we were comfortable sitted under a ceiling fan, casually perched onto our stools. As more parties of people arrived, they found chairs and eating surfaces for all.

Ricardo appears to capably do most of the cooking. I was delighted when I saw him literally run down the street to pick up what looked like potatoes for another table. Now that’s fresh ingredients for you! I especially like grilled potatoes in Mexico so I am guaranteed to return to sample the shrimp tortilla dish that I captured a pic of at the next table. Sister Sue says that there is no potato on the taco as potatoes don’t have tails. But I still want to go back to the restaurant and see for myself.

Margarita is the hostess with the mostess, genuinely caring that we caught a cab afterwards as well as chatting to Sue in Spanish. The former, wears earrings that are shaped like heart shaped suckers, so she must be a fun-loving person!

Kath’s quote: “The best hostess is the one who can make her guests feel like they’re at home, even if she wishes they were.”-unknown

Love never fails.

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