Generations of families have been feeding our cravings for crisp beef tacos, creamy cheese enchiladas and green-corn tamales for decades. These are families who cook the same food as their mothers and grandmothers — a menu is inspired by the cooking of northern Mexico and southern California.
Such is the case at Little Mexico Cantina in the heart of Steveston. Marcia and Peter (he is the chef) Ureta and daughter Eva all busily prepare, shop for the freshest ingredients and do whatever else needs to be done to keep this popular little eatery's customers happy and coming back.
Since 1993 the Uretas' family-run restaurant has been a Richmond destination for homestyle Mexican food and good service at reasonable prices.
The place gives a sense of being in a dusty Mexican town. The inside decor is bursting with multicoloured sombreros, piniatas, a few murals of Mayan heads and jungle scenes adorning the walls. Add to that some Spanish music wafting through and you get a real flavour of Mexico.
Inside and out, this place was a bevy of activity.
Upon arriving, my guest and I were served the signature salsa and chips, complimentary with every meal. Try as I might, I couldn't stop dipping into the salsa (Mexican restaurants always give you way more chips than salsa don't they?) I was ready for a lime margarita (made with fresh limes, says Marcia) and it was just what the doctor ordered, cool and delicious.
"I have seasonal fruit margaritas and now we have a watermelon margarita," says Marcia.
My guest started with the zucchini strips, breaded and deep fried. They were a little greasy for his palate.
I opted out of an appetizer as my mouth was salivating at the thought of the soft-shell seasoned-chicken tacos with all the fixings - cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream and salsa. I wasn't disappointed, they were delicious. My partner gave five-stars to the smoked chili tiger prawns ($14.95) marinated in butter, garlic sauce, seasonings and chipotle chili pepper, sauteed with onions, bell peppers, tomatoes and zuchinis served on a bed of Spanish rice.
You might want to start with Ureta's specialty Broken Sombrero "straight from the chef's pan and not for those counting calories" ($5.95) or share the same taquitas, three corn tortillas stuffed with spicy beef. It comes with hot salsa and guacamole (homemade and delicious) ($6.95).
Marcia says customers come back for their flavourful enchiladas and fajitas.
"Peter makes all the sauces and dips from scratch," says Marcia. "He makes his own Mexican sausages, chorizo."
The bar is chock full of Mican beers such as Sol, Pacifico and Corona and some aged tequilas. The restaurant seats about 45 inside and 40 outside. Reservations are recommended on weekends. (Photo by Ian Smith, Vancouver Sun)
One step into Little Mexico Cantina and you might think you've entered a cosy family restaurant in a small Mexican town. The ceiling is a fiesta of authentic sombreros and pinatas of all shapes and sizes, the walls and counters are adorned with knick knacks and cactus plants, and Spanish music gives the quaint Steveston restaurant a real Mexican flair.
Forget about dieting for a while and whet your appetite with Little Mexico Cantina's special entree: Broken Sombrero, a family favourite which consists of crushed corn tortillas blended with eggs,onions and a special blend of spices.
"The key to this dish is the nice minty sauce," says owner/chef Peter Ureta.
Each morning, bright and early, Ureta prepares his sauces, salsa and refried beans from scratch.
Since 1993, Ureta has been serving up his authentic Mexican cuisine, inspired by his grandparents.
"I was born and raised in California but spent my summers with my grandparents who taught me old-school Mexican cooking," says Ureta.
Besides the usual Mexican fare -such as the chimichangas, fajitas and taco salads - a new dish, the Three Amigos, has become a daily craving for many of his regulars. It's a palate-pleasing mix of three enchiladas, one cheese, one chicken and one beef, each with a different sauce - spicy verde, red and mole.
"The mole sauce is a homemade blend of peanut butter, tomatoes and Mexican chocolate," Ureta says, adding people have to taste it to see what a wonderful marriage of flavours it is.
Straight from the chef's pan, you might also want to try the Mexican pizza. Chock full of chorizo, feta and Jack cheese, onions, tomatoes and mole sauce, it's not for the carb counters.
The restaurant's success is a family affair. Ureta's wife Marcy and daughter Eva scour Steveston markets for fresh produce and fish.
"My daughter serves, cooks, does the books and pick-up orders," says Ureta.
Holiday season's fast approaching with all the subtlety of Rudolph strapped to the roof rack of a 4X4. So my thoughts turn to escape from people and credit cards run amok. Some folks slug it out in the malls, I dream of whacking pinatas down Mexico way, a popular past-time down south at holiday time. Since that's not in the cards for this family, 1 consoled myself with a journey to this Mexican eatery out near the briny shores of Steveston. Took along my brother-in-law, the Parking Lot, and his wife, Langley Lil.
Looked like I'd get to whack some pinatas after all, since they hang from every inch of the ceiling in this place, or at least stuff myself like one. Chanuka pinatas suddenly seemed like a good business sideline to me. I could stuff 'em full of driedels and matzoh balls.
This joint oozes festiveness, finished with one of the craziest wall murals I've ever set my peepers on. Huge Mayan heads and jungle scenes in day-glo colours like a miniature golf course backdrop with a psychedelic edge. Owners Peter and Marcia Ureta run the show along with daughter, Eva. Peter does the cooking and Marcia and Eva take care of the hospitality.
Started with an order of garlic-dry ribs ($6.95), soon to be a regular feature on the new menu being printed as I write. Tasty beef pieces, bulbous bodies rubbed down with garlic and a bit fatty for pure flavour ooze. And don't forget to try the taquitos ($6.95), those crispy, cylinders of deepfried delight, stuffed with a tangy shredded beef, bedded down on lettuce with salsa and gua-camole on the side. There's also a very savoury quesadilla lineup ($8.95) with chicken or, my favourite, chorizo, beautifully pressed like a drycleaned shirt but much tastier, and the unusual hybrid snack, chicken thumbs ($6.95). The day chickens grow thumbs will spell the end of the human race. First they'll knock over all the KFC outlets, then heaven help the rest of us. Luckily these are just a version of chicken fingers, thicker slabs of breaded chicken breast served with a honey-mustard dip.
Took a break over a couple of Dos Equis and an amazing margarita before beginning the main chowdown. For me, the special ofthe day, homemade beef tamales ($12.95), with silky masa dough blanketing the spicy shredded beef, steamed in a corn husk and finished with a blend of ranchero and red chile sauce. The Parking Lot backed his belly up to the chicken chimichanga ($9.95), a dish whose name I still can't say without feeling ridiculous. Stuffed with refried beans, cheese, poultry and homemade green-chile sauce, then beautifully grilled in a tortilla wrapping to get all the ingredients mingling. The spicy pork version is equally delicious.
Langely Lil opted for the house specialty, the Broken Sombrero ($9.95), a poetic title for this mysterious dish that makes me think of dusty roads dotted with cacti and iguana roadkill. This creation with its highly guarded spicing is anything but. Built from corn tortillas softened to a pasty consistency, mixed with chile sauce, eggs, onions and seasonings, it's highly addictive. Also offered in a smaller, appetizer version.
For crustacean lovers, there's savoury smoked chile tiger prawns ($14.95), sauteed with garlic, bell peppers, zucchini and dusky smoked chipotle chiles oozing over Spanish rice, or try Cancun chicken ($ 10.95), poultry gone wild in yet another chef's secret sauce and seasoning blend.
As an extra bonus, ask for the homemade jabanero salsa.
"You like hot?" Marcia asked me. "Be careful with this stuff. When my husband makes it we have to clear out the restaurant."
Apparently sucks oxygen from the air, not to mention your lungs as you attempt to inhale around the slow-burning effects that creep across your face like a rattler moving through the underbrush. Excellent stuff and, if you give them two days' notice, they'll make you up a bottle of the stuff for $15 a pop. Two hundred and fifty chiles go into the making of one bottle. At this heat level, a dab'll do you so it lasts a while.
In the end, I never did get to whack a pinata but I did manage to eat most of the animals that modelled for them.
The service is near-perfect; our server was not only friendly and chatty but attentive and well-versed on the menu. And the food, well, it would make Mexico proud.
One friend tried the Broken Sombrero, a specialty by the chef who refuses to reveal the method of preparation to anyone - even the servers. The menu describes it as fried tortillas with chili sauce, eggs, onions and special seasoning. When the plate arrived, the smells were intoxicating. After just one forkful, my friend gave the dish two thumbs up.
Another friend ordered a vegetarian burrito and Relleno, a combination that didn't appear on the menu but our server said could be made up anyway. The flavours of the Relleno - a hollowed out pepper stuffed with eggs and cheese then deep fried - melded beautifully.
I ordered a chicken fajitas, which came with four tortilla shells and miscellaneous fillers, including chicken, peppers, onions and sour cream. I was surprised to find the tortillas cold (most places warm them a little) but the meal was tasty nonetheless.
For desert, the three of us shared a Strawberry Margarita Cheesecake (divine!) and Donkey Ears, crispy sweet flour tortillas coated with cinnamon and sugar (yummy!).