Warm family memories, great Mexican fare
Two chefs. Two stories. One memorable meal.
Executive chef and owner Vittorio Colacitti has Hamilton connections dating back to the 1800s, including an uncle who had a fruit stall at the farmers market. Colacitti has a passion for cooking delicious food and creating memories for his customers. Colacitti’s own food memories are reflected in his first two restaurants in the city — Born and Raised, and Shaolin — which showcase his Italian, Thai and French cuisine expertise.
Colacitti’s third restaurant taps into the family memories of its head chef, Sebastian Sanchez. Taqueria Marina pays homage to Sanchez’ great-grandmother Marina who, from her small home restaurant, passed on the love of cooking through the generations. Sanchez credits his grandmother with being one of his mentors and he is on a journey to create contemporary versions of favourite childhood recipes.
Taqueria Marina is steps away from Colacitti’s other restaurants, housed at 229 James St. N. Downstairs, Shaolin offers Asian snacks and a loungey, late night scene and vibe. Born and Raised is across the street at 224 James North.
It’s important to mention Shaolin, because from the street that’s the sign you see, barely disguising the name of the previous restaurant in this heritage building.
But once inside the taqueria, Mexico’s culture roars to life in the vibrant colours that pop alongside whitewashed brick walls. Music with a Latin beat enhances the mood. Rotating exhibits of works by local artists add interest to the dining room and the street-facing gallery space. Agave plants grace each table and plates and plating are basic, as if to suggest a street food vibe. It works, letting the food take centre stage.
Mexican cuisine has roots in Mayan and Aztec civilizations, with Spanish, African and Asian influences. Regional cuisines are linked to local conditions and ingredients. They all inspire Sanchez. A “taqueria” specializes in tacos. The menu is somewhat minimalist, but watch for changes in the months ahead, such as special theme nights.
Where possible, ingredients are locally sourced but there are exceptions. The freshly made tortillas start with non-GMO heirloom blue corn sourced from independent Mexican farmers. In the open kitchen, you may notice the stone “metate” that, combined with muscle power, results in the hand-ground makings of perfect tortillas.
Some dishes also feature mole, an iconic Mexican sauce made mainly from dried fruit, spices, pepper, nuts and (drum roll) chocolate. Taqueria Marina imports a special type of chocolate to add to this sauce’s authenticity.
We ate almost everything on the menu (it is doable!), beginning with two sharing plates. The Duritos were large, crisp squares served with lime and “Valentina” hot sauce that leaves a slowly warming glow in your mouth. I could have eaten only these all evening. They are made with a wheat flour, and Sanchez referred to them as a vegan version of pork rinds.
For the ceviche, seabream was cured in a citrus dressing of jalapeno, cucumbers, apple, pomegranate and avocado. This taste explosion was served with taro chips delicately sprinkled with sea salt. All four taco dishes on the menu arrived on one tray and were equally delicious: Calabacitas (summer squash, black bean, salsa poblano — their vegan offering); Mole de Coco (Pacific white shrimp, coconut-cashew mole, salsa verde); Mole Madre (usually short ribs but on this night, chicken, mole, sesame seeds, pickled red onions); Al Pastor (pork jowl, achiote, pineapple).
Mexican food typically features peppers and spices that deliver some heat. Nothing we ate was intolerably spicy but if you’re having all of the taco dishes, eat them in order from less to more spicy. Depending on your tolerance for heat, you could ask the chef to go light on the sauces which, when abundant, threaten to mask the flavours of the other delicious taco ingredients.
It seemed sad to have no dessert, so we dipped into the Shaolin menu. Vietnamese coffee gelato made in-house and sprinkled with grated chicory rocked our tastebuds with flavour.
Naturally, the drinks menu includes tequila and a tempting selection of cocktails. The featured beers are also a good match to the menu.
Service was cordial and wellpaced. While the clientele changed as the evening progresses, a glance at fellow guests signalled “family friendly.”
Sanchez has recently joined the exodus from Toronto to Hamilton, describing his adopted city as raw, free of the pretentiousness he sometimes encountered in our neighbour to the east. In our post-dining chat, he compared the chef ’s life to that of an athlete who prepares under the guidance of others, and then aims for a best performance each day. He says he loves the open kitchen, watching the positive reactions to his food and chatting with diners, so don’t be shy.
Diane Galambos is a food writer who shares stories and recipes at her blog kitchenbliss.ca.