Desperado

Desperado: Mexican Rest & Bar
570-C Sargent Ave
Tel: (204) 415-2870

March, 2011

Although I’ve never been trained by the CIA nor the Cordon Bleu, and my articles may be little more than the ranting of a ravenous rube, I have a solid food background which started as a babe under the roof of a chef. Through my life, I absorbed tomes of culinary literature and expressed countless hours of practice. Although I’m well versed in many genres of culinary cultures, I admit that my runaway weakness lies in Mexicanood. While thousands of Manitobans flock to Mexico to escape the ice-covered tundra in winter, my experience with Mexico limits to lumbering the streets of Tijuana, rocking back rotgut tequila.

While everyone I know lauds the authentic and maligns the ersatz, I can’t honestly tell you what’s real Mexican and what’s Taco Belled. I don’t know the differences between burritos, enchiladas and tacos—but I know what tastes good and what’s a sham. For this review, you’ll have to put faith in that alone as I certainly don’t have the experience or knowledge to assess Mexican cuisine.

My experience with Mexico sits confined to dilapidated buildings lining busted up roads, television portrays Mexico as a lively and colourful country that bursts with energy and excitement. I suspect the truth lies somewhere in between but Desperado certainly shows off its décor in vibrant and vigorous colours. The lively Latino music completes the dynamic dining room.

There isn’t much of a selection in wines so we opt for the homemade sangria. This delicious concoction comes perfectly balanced—not too winey and not too fruity. The Desperado painstakingly cubes the citrus into tiny chunks for maximum interspersing of flavours. Deceptively light, this beverage can leisurely lull you into a lost afternoon of lounging.

We start with taquitos for appetisers. Essentially like little Chinese spring rolls, these fried tortillas taste a little bland on their own, having your choice of beef or chicken exclusively as the stuffing. They come with sour cream, guacamole and salsa as accompaniments in jazzing them up.

I use certain foods as benchmarks against restaurants. For dim sum, I use the shrimp dumplings and for sushi, I use the California rolls as quintessential staples that must be made well. My companion mentions using salsa as the measuring stick for Mexican foods and I can’t think of a better standard. As boring as bottled salsa is, great salsa is equally easy to make. Good salsa starts with large, fresh chunks of tomatoes, fresh herbs and a nice zing from chillies; what you add afterwards makes salsa great. Desperado indeed makes a fine salsa with crisp and zesty vegetables. I’m not sure where you find fresh tomatoes in Winnipeg in spring, but their source yields good products. The guac could use more and larger chunks of avocado, and both can come more generously. We only have a little dish of each and for dippers like us, we prefer bowlfuls of sides.

In continuing my education on Mexican food, I learn that the stuffing essentially remains the same (with some variation) and the naming of the basic foods determines the covering type and cooking method. The burrito comes with a flour tortilla, stuffed with either beef or chicken and refried beans with cheese and scallions. We choose the chicken, which comes darkly seasoned and flavourful, although it’s a little lost in the pungency of the beans. Melted cheese and scallions is a common Mexican finisher and why not—it’s a delicious combination.

The enchilada uses a corn tortilla, and here we try the beef option. The spiced cubes of beef have a nice earthy base, which fit in well with the stuffing standards. Again, the dish tastes more complete with the salsa and the guac. Finally, the taco comes wrapped with a corn tortilla as well, but the stuffings include lettuce and tomatoes. With our tacos, we ask for ground beef instead of cubed beef. Again, the good fundamental ingredients contribute to a good final end product. Any of the meats taste wonderful with any of the wrappers but my favourite is the ground beef in the taco—the extra vegetables add an extra facet of texture.

In the end, I haven’t learned if Desperado’s food is authentic Mexican or Canadianised Mexican, but I did learn that it’s solidly good food and a great way to spend an afternoon. I’ll have another glass of sangria with my taco please.

***½ /5

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