Mezcal in the glass, Mexico on the plate
Restaurant highlights true ‘spirit’ of our North American brethren to south
In Oaxaca a couple of years ago, mescal was active on my husband’s radar — meeting mescal producers and tasting the spirit, with and without worms. (“They pop between the teeth,” he observed, gnawing.)
Mezcal is the artisanal, smokier, sexier kin to tequila, made by cooking agave hearts (the pina) in an earthen pit. Although there is ever-increasing demand, there’s only a modest supply.
If you’ve no plans to traipse around Oaxaca — at one point we met a rabid dog on a roof, barking and foaming at the mouth, demonically wishing to dig its teeth into us — you’ll find a fine mezcal collection at Mezcaleria. There is one on Commercial Drive, and earlier this year a second one opened in Gastown, next door to Nicli Antica pizzeria.
The owners do the traipsing for you and have 70 to 80 mezcals for tasting. Your mezcal education might start with flights, experiencing the differences in products and aging. Or you can head directly to a cocktail like Saved by The Bell, a mix of mezcal, Aperol, dry Curaçao, orange marmalade, lime and egg whites.
But Mezcaleria isn’t a bar. It’s a restaurant first, and chef Mariana Gabilondi draws from different regions of Mexico. The menu can be confusing, as it evolved by accretion.
Mezcaleria opened on the heels of the successful La Taqueria restaurants, operated by the same owners, Ignacio Arrieta and Marcelo Ramirez. They wanted to showcase Mexican drinks, and the menu grew from street foods and homestyle foods to higher-end dishes.
“It’s like a Mexican cantina where people share dishes,” says Gabilondi, who previously cooked at Gowlland Harbour Resort on Quadra Island. “Our hope is people will come, order six dishes and share. It’s all about family sharing, and we try to do it with high-end products and dishware.”
There are “Clasicos” like guacamole and chips, enchiladas and flautas ($10 to $19); there are a few deep-fried dishes with crunchy bits known as “chicharrones” ($18 to $23), and “tiraditos” with raw or rare-cooked proteins like beef tenderloin or ahi tuna.
For taco lovers, there’s a selection of six. I tried the beer-battered seasonal fish taco ($7) which contained a hunky piece of lovely fish. Judging from that, I’d say the tacos are not to be missed.
Queso fundidos are cheese fondues ($21 to $25) served in a stone bowl.
“It’s very much a northern tradition where there are cured, more fattier cheeses. Originally, they just grilled the cheese, then they started melting it in a bowl to mix and layer in other things,” Gabilondi says.
And there are mains ($21 to $32) which are probably better shared because the plates are heaped.
A ceviche — chunks of white fish in a tomato salsa — wasn’t remarkable, but we loved the fish taco. Parrillada de Carne y Hongos, or grilled beef flank with chorizo and vegetables on a hot cast iron plate ($23), arrived frantically sizzling. It was so densely packed with food, I was scared off and nibbled at the hot, grilled tomatillos at the side. A jalapeno cheese crisp that was part of the dish wasn’t included. When I could finally eat the meat without grilling my own mouth, it was flavourful as a good flank steak should be.
Barbacoa de Cordero sounds like it ought to be done on a spit, but it’s steamed. The juices are made into a broth and served with the dish.
“Generally, it’s lamb marinated in a chili base, wrapped in agave or banana leaves and cooked in a pit, but we do ours in an oven,” Gabilondi says. “It’s hard to get the flavours of the pit.”
Gabilondi doesn’t use mescal in her cooking.
“The flavours are so volatile, it can’t be used for cooking. It has to be taken neat or in cocktails,” she says.
For dessert, I really liked the Pan de Elote ($8), a cake made with corn, topped with a scoop of ice cream and served in a small cast iron pan.
Mezcaleria is popular for lunch and brunch as well.