Monday, March 11, 2013

La Mexicana.

mexican food!...  My friend Park recently told me about a new mexican restaurant, so we went to check it out!  I headed over to La Mexicana just after lunch and Park introduced me to the owners, Jon and Alex.  This is the newest of their family's chain of mexican eateries in Toronto, as they also run 3 other restaurants (2 other La Mexicana's and their downtown location, Cocina Lucero). The newest La Mexicana restaurant is on Clark, just East of Bathurst where you wouldn't typically find authentic mexican food. I learned about La Mexicana's history in Toronto, a restaurant their Mexican mother Lucera, started in 1988.  What really caught my attention was how much they stressed using fresh ingredients to make all their dishes from scratch! We were given the menu and the first thing I saw were the Baja Fish Tacos ($16+ tax/tip)- had to try that!  This plate came with 3 tacos with pieces of battered and deepfried fish, topped with cabbage and chipotle mayo.  These taco's also came with a small plate of cheese + gaucomole + pico de gallo, which I loaded onto each taco, adding to the deliciousness! Each plate also came with a heaping serving of refried beans served in a small tortilla chip bowl.
After eating the fish Taco's, Alex insisted that we had to try one of their more authentic mexican house specialty dishes.  I had the Pescado a la Tropicana ($20 + tax/tip)- a fish filet poached in coconut cream with spinach + jalapeno.  This was a savoury dish, with lots of fresh flavours from the cocount and fish!  The fish was the highlight, with simple sides complementing it nicely (Rice/ salad/ refried beans).   La Mexicana is a great new addition in Vaughan and definitely a place to check out for quality, authentic, fresh made mexican food in Toronto! I was also told they serve a Mexican Brunch and on my way out I saw deep fried ice cream being served.  The owner, Alex is also a professional arm wrestler- Mexican Food makes you Strong!

La Mexicana
441 Clark Avenue W 
Vaughan, ON L4J 6W7
905-597-7272