Sal y Limon

People are saying good things about Sal y Limon (as you can probably tell from the banner above), a little Mexican joint nestled between a pizza shack and a bubble tea place in a small plaza on Kingsway and Fraser.  I remember back when I lived in this area another quirky “Mexican” place occupied this spot, run by Indo-Canadians who used donair meat in their burritos.  All my friends hated it but I liked it at the time.  The name escapes me, does anybody remember it?

Anyway, on with the review.  Line up (Sal y Limon is busy) and place your order, then they will call your name when it’s ready.  Now normally I don’t tend to tip at these kind of setups since there’s no “service” to speak of, but there was a tip option on their Interac so I thought what the hey, I pretty much know the food’s gonna be good, right?  I immediately regretted it though; the lady who took my order walked away without a word in the middle of the transaction!  I figured she would come back, but nope, I was left to rip off the receipts myself while leaning over the counter (I’m on a crutch at the moment recovering from surgery), sort the customer receipt from the merchant and then reach further to pin it on their stack.  All the while there were three employees in the kitchen including the woman…you’d think they would have noticed.

Las Margaritas

I think the main reason why L, J and I went to Las Margaritas this day really was to have their margaritas.  L had been raving about them all the time so finally we decided on a day to go.

I do like Mexican food.  After that time at Bandidas, I liked it even more.  Add booze to the mix?  I’m sold!!!

It was my first time here.  It had a very warm ambiance and the time we arrived it wasn’t particularly busy.  The sun was out too!

The main event…we ordered the Large Strawberry Margarita ($9) to share between the 3 of us.  Honestly this really wasn’t enough but we were trying to be responsible that day.

It was very refreshing and there were a good amount of real strawberries in it.  The ice was sufficiently blended and there was just a slight kick of alcohol in it.

They start you off with their homemade salsa and chips.  Apparently they had won awards for this.  It was good.  The chips were crispy, the salsa fresh, but I’m not sure if it’s award-worthy.  Mind you I’m not an expert on tortilla chips and salsa.  I believe refills cost money.

Carlos Cantina

On our last day in Sidney, Victoria, SheShe and I went to a Mexican cantina for lunch/dinner before we had to head to the ferry.  We saw an ad for Carlos Cantina in the local magazine so we decided to go there.

It was a very small, quaint place.  I actually quite enjoyed the decor.  It was a bit whimsical, full of Mexican flavor (or at lease what I think it should be), and at the same time simple.

I especially liked the little hut-roof thing behind the counter.  There’s even a chicken on there!

Bandidas Taqueria

I had drove past Bandidas Taqueria quite a few times and it was last Christmas that I’ve mentioned to L and J that we should try it.  However this visit was with neither of them, but with G, purely because of our mutual love for sangrias.

It was a very casual place, which was funny as G asked me beforehand if he had to dress up LOL.  It was indeed a very hippie crowd, a lot of people in tanks and flip flops.  You also seat yourself.

We started with a litre of red wine sangria to share.  To me it was actually only ok.  I enjoyed the one from Cafe Sevilla (San Diego) much more.  It wasn’t exactly as fruity as I would’ve liked and it actually tasted a bit watered down.  However there are a few other drinks on the menu I would like to try.  Plus they have daily drink specials too.

Taco Luis @ Lansdowne Mall

I think Taco Luis at the food court at Lansdowne Mall is pretty famous, particularily to the students at Kwantlen College (it even has a fan page on Facebook).  It’s with good reason, it has big portions and small prices.  Boyfriend frequented the place during his days at Kwantlen. He must’ve frequent it very very much, ‘cuz the owner knows him by name!

He’s quite a character that owner, always blurting out unsuspecting things…