Edible Obsessions | La Mezcaleria Gastown

Hey Dolls,

I have two favourite cuisines - Mexican and Italian. I love the two so much that I once put spaghetti in a taco shell and ate it. For those shaking their head, my spaghetti taco was delicious! Since I have yet to come across a Mexican Italian fusion restaurant in Vancouver, I just pick between the two. This time, I went for Mexican at La Mezcaleria in Gastown. Funny thing, my friend and I were heading to Chambar when we spotted La Mezcaleria. Needless to say, we did a 180 and re-routed to La Mezcaleria!

La Mezcaleria did not disappoint with their traditional mexican dishes. The Chefs make a conscious decision to source ingredients locally as well as only using ocean-wise sustainable seafood in all of their delicious creations. Of course, certain ingredients cannot be sourced locally and are imported from Mexico, but they try their best. 

In place of the wine list, La Mezcaleria kept it true to their Mexican roots by offering an impressive array of Mezcals - a spirit distilled from cooked agave hearts - as well as authentic Mexican Tequila - primarily made from the blue agave plant. Definitely check out La Mezcalaria if you enjoy a good shot of tequila or two because they will not disappoint.

Since food is more my jam, I did not get into the Mescals and Tequilas and instead stuck to the food menu. Between my friend and I, we had a mini Mexican feast! I ordered the chicken and chorizo enchiladas classicas. This enchilada was bursting with flavour and smothered in amazing salsa asada, topped with queso (a cheese), onion, crema and cilantro. My only complaint would be that the enchiladas did not come with a side. At other restaurants, enchiladas generally are served with Mexican rice and re fried beans. Mexican rice is delicious, so I was a little bummed that La Mezcaleria did not serve their enchilada with Mexican rice. Especially since enchiladas are very rich and dense, so the rice helps balance the dish. 

My friend went with a Pescado Baja taco as well as the Al Pastor taco. The Pescado Baja was a beer battered seasonal fish finished with salsa Mexicana fresca, cabbage, cilantro and chipotle mayo. The beer batter made this taco a little greasy. I personally do not enjoy deep fried greasy food, but the flavour was good. The second taco, Al Pastor, was pork marinated in achiote, served with diced pineapple, onion, cilantro and lime. I did not try this one, but it looked really good! 

The lights at La Mezcaleria were beautiful against the original brick wall. 

Between the two of us, we also shared a side, the Esquites. This is a traditional Mexican dish of sauteed corn kernels mixed in with gueso fresco, crema, Maldon sea salt and tajin. If you go to La Mezcaleria, I highly suggest getting the Estquites because it was refreshing and really helped balance out the richer dishes. 

I really want to get out to La Mezcaleria with a big group of friends so I can try their infamous Queso Fundido! Its Mezcaleria's signature dish of molten cheese fondue served piping hot in a traditional volcanic stone bowl - a "molcajete." I looked fantastic and it took so much self restraint to not order one for the two of us, but it honestly is just too much for two individuals. But I cannot wait to try this next level chip and dip! 

BYES