Native Tongues is serious about its taco traditions
I’m pretty sure that Native Tongues Taqueria at 235 — 12 Ave. S.W. (403-263-9444) is the only restaurant in Calgary — and for many miles around — that practises nixtamalization.
Despite the odd name, nixtamalization is not some strange cultish behaviour; rather it’s the perfectly legal way in which corn is soaked and cooked in an alkaline solution to remove the outer hull. The resulting kernels are typically known as hominy or posole. In their softened or dried form, they’re ground into masa, a dough that is the key ingredient in Native Tongues’ tortillas.
That’s how hard core and traditional Native Tongues is. Cody Willis, founder and co-owner of Native Tongues with BMEX Restaurant Group (that’s Kelly Black and Jayme MacFayden of Una and Ox & Angela), imports white, heirloom Bolita corn from Mexico to nixtamalize. Each day, he and his kitchen team, led by chefs Ryan McNamara, Scott Beaton and JM Mailloux, turn about 20 kg (35 pounds) of the maize into fresh tortillas to be wrapped around a long list of ingredients.
At Native Tongues, the tacos range from simple veal tongue ($4.50) and frijoles ($3.75) to more elaborate family-style platters of ‘pescado’ — grilled sea bream with sikil pak (pumpkinseed dip), salsa verde, cabbage and avocado ($30), house-made chorizo verde with salsa verde, salsa rojo, onion, aguachile (Mexican ceviche) and avocado ($19) and grilled octopus with peanut and chili salsa ($30). Beyond the tacos, there are some salads — one of nopales (cactus paddles, $10), one of tomatoes and vanilla olive oil ($13) and, of course, a Caesar ($14) — plus appetizers such as shrimp with Gouda and salsa verde ($12) and braised corn with mayonnaise, chili and lime ($8).
Willis became hooked on tacos a few years ago at some of Toronto’s taquerias. That spurred visits to Mexico and further research into — and consumption of — the world of tacos and Mexican street food. Back in Calgary, Willis has been organizing taco pop-ups for the past two years while plans moved ahead with Native Tongues. Now, with his restaurant finally open in the new Marriott Fairfield (along with co-tenant Beltiner Diner), Native Tongues has a permanent home.
And a lovely home it is. Designed by Amanda Hamilton (Rodney’s Oyster House, Anejo), it has the tone — if not the patina — of a true south-ofthe-border taqueria. Give it a few months and it will look like it’s been there for 40 years. The walls have been distressed with layers of paint and layered with Mexican tiles. Framed photos, Mexican decorations and a huge Longhorn skull dot the walls and reclaimed, turquoise-backed office chairs front wooden tables and benches, seating about 70. An open kitchen fills one end while antique lampshades hang in front of a long bar that features mescal over tequila. (A patio is planned for next year.)
The showpiece of the kitchen is a wood-burning Grill works artisanal grill, complete with cast aluminum crank wheels that allow the chef to raise and lower the cooking surface. The grill is set to burn charcoal or locally available birch and cherry wood.
Native Tongues is open daily for lunch and dinner ( but closed in the mid-afternoon to allow for more nixtamalizing). Note: They do not take reservations.
THREE LOCAL CHEFS ON THE MOVE
Big changes are in the offing for Hotel Arts and its restaurants. Executive chef Duncan Ly, who oversaw Yellow Door, Chef’s Table in the Kensington Riverside Inn and the eponymous Raw Bar by Duncan Ly, has left the hotel to open his own place. No specific plans are in place yet, but no doubt the many fans of Ly’s food will be waiting for news on its opening.
Moving over from Heritage Park to replace Ly is the talented Jan Hansen. Hansen has been with the Park for a decade and has overseen the expansion of its food service operation with a huge new kitchen, the opening of the Selkirk Grille and the creation of many new food outlets, including this year’s addition of the River Forth railroad dining car. Hansen says he’s looking forward to the challenges of running three restaurants in two hotels plus all the banqueting done there.
Also leaving Hotel Arts is pastry chef Karine Moulin. The talented Moulin is heading to a posting at the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Resort & Spa in California.
Best wishes to all three chefs in their new endeavours.