Chilaquiles
381 Montreal Rd., 613-699-7100, chilaquiles-restaurant.business.site
Open: Monday to Thursday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., closed Sunday
Prices: main courses up to $14.50
Access: steps to front door
Here’s my only regret about putting February behind me: It’s no longer mole month at Chilaquiles.
That’s mole, as in the rich and sometimes heavenly Mexican sauce. It was a special offered on the blackboard last month at the eight-month-old Montreal Road restaurant. Having seen a photo on the casual eatery’s Facebook page of its mole, made according to tradition with chilies, seeds, nuts, bread, chocolate and lard, as it was developing its slow-cooked deliciousness, I was lured to Vanier to give the place a go.
For the most part, I was not disappointed during my recent visits. The humble, cosy eatery, which seats about two dozen people in a festive, multi-coloured room, beneath evocative Mexican tissue-paper decorations (papel picado) and at tables set with flowery tablecloths, keeps its fare simple. But it hits the mark for a cheap and cheerful meal out.
The now unavailable mole sauce stood out for me compared to the more common items on Chilaquiles’s menu. The bulk of that two-pager, on which no item tops $15, offers standbys such as tacos, enchiladas and burritos that swap in a customer’s choice of proteins and sauces.
But even if the dishes here are familiar, the eatery, owned and operated by Mexican expats Fernando Gomez and Soemy and Kelvin Sanchez, won us over with house-made food that was crafted with care and pride. At the risk of stating the obvious, at Chilaquiles, the kitchen knows what the food should taste like — something which can’t always be said elsewhere.
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For example, it is worth ordering tortilla chips and guacamole ($8) here because the chips are made on site and warm. One bite of these chips makes you question why you go anywhere where the tortilla chips are not house-made and warm. The guacamole is good, straightforward and ample, stressing avocado over the acidity and cilantro that I might bump up were I to make it at home.
Chips and guacamole at Chilaquiles
Squeeze tubes of house-made sauces arrive next. “Mild, hot and hottest,” said Soemy Sanchez as she served us the green, red and ruddy brown salsas. All three were distinctive and invigorating, and the latter two brought balanced smokiness into their play of flavours. Let’s just say we made a dent in all of the sauces throughout our meal.
Tacos here are eminently affordable (three for $10.50), traditional and devoid of frills, featuring slow-cooked meats (or for vegetarians, sautéed mushrooms with onions and peppers) usually topped with cilantro and onions. My panels of taco testers liked every specimen that landed in front of them, and especially the slow-roasted pork carnitas and slow-cooked pulled beef barbacoa.
Assorted tacos at at Chilaquiles
Chilaquiles also orders taco dorados (four for $11.50), which envelop their fillings in rolled deep-fried corn tortillas. They were fine, but after those crisp tortilla chips to start, I’d prefer soft tacos.
Deep-fried tacos at Chilaquiles
The restaurant takes its name from a dish of deep-tortilla chips, heavily sauced and topped with shredded chicken (or for vegetarians, avocado and lettuce), topped with sour cream and crumbled, mild, white cheese. At Chilaquiles, the chilaquiles ($14.50) can get a little messy but they are worth the effort because the quality of the chips and salsas speak through the dish.
Chilaquiles and refried beans at Chilaquiles
When the mole was available, we enjoyed its complexities with shredded chicken enchiladas (three for $13.50). And it was our favourite of the items we ordered.
Chicken enchiladas, rice and mole at Chilaquiles
This month has brought with it a new special, the tandem of cochinita pibil and pollo pibil — Yucatan-style pork and chicken cooked in an achiote-and-citrus marinade while wrapped in banana leaves. We tried some cochinita pibil tacos this week and they were tender and full of flavour, albeit bolstered by those squeeze-tube salsas.
Cochinita Pibil tacos at Chilaquiles
I tried both of the soups ($5.75 each) — the tomato-y sopa de tortilla, garnished with crisp tortilla strips, sour cream, cheese and avocado, and the chicken soup that also contained chickpeas, carrots and peas. I preferred the comfort and contrasting textures of the former, especially because I thought the saltiness could have been dialled down on the latter.
Tortilla soup at Chilaquiles
Chicken soup at Chilaquiles
The restaurant is not licensed, but its selection of non-alcoholic beverages, including Mexican soft drinks and other sweet options, is almost daunting. When we expressed our curiosity to Sanchez, she offered and then brought us samples of the Jamaica (hibiscus), horchata (cinnamon-y rice milk) and tamarindo (sweet and sour) drinks, which are available in pitchers for $9.
Dessert options were limited to a flan ($4.50), which was on the dense and firm side but still enjoyable, and cinnamon-y hot chocolate ($3) made to order from Mexico’s Abuelita brand chocolate.
Flan Napolitano at Chilaquiles
Mexican hot chocolate at Chilaquiles
There are other Mexican- and Mexican-themed restaurants in Ottawa that are trendier and fancier. But only a few are as homey, budget-friendly and true to Mexico as Chilaquiles, which at its best can cleanly extract a lot of flavour from simple things and serve the results warmly.
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