There are few places as cynical and depressing to me in modern Western culture than the food court at a mall.
Typically these places are populated by fast food chains doling out over-salted, fatty, highly standardized fare in assembly line fashion. The food is just another consumable, targeting people who are already in spending mode.
I’m guilty of patronizing the odd food court now and again, mostly when I haven’t planned the day’s meals well and find myself feeling peckish while shopping. By and large, however, I try to avoid these places and the guilty feeling of conspicuous consumption that they elicit in me.
Lonsdale Quay Market, which has evolved its offerings considerably in recent years to include many retail shopping options, has nevertheless managed to sidestep the big chain food court approach and hosts instead an inspiring roster of food stalls that offer thoughtful, fresh and inspired fare from largely family run, small businesses.
My most recent eating experience at the Quay was at Cilantro and Jalapeno, a combination restaurant and retailer that specializes in the traditional foods of Mexico. Cilantro and Jalapeno’s space is small, with limited seating.
However, as tables and chairs abound at the Quay, take-out needn’t be an onerous affair. On my visit, my wife DJ and I enjoyed the sunshine on the nearby pier with our take-out meal spread across an oceanside bench.
On one side of Cilantro and Jalapeno you’ll find both fresh and packaged Mexican sundries including pickled cactus, assorted cheeses, fresh tortillas, an array of jalapeno peppers, homemade tortilla chips, and a large assortment of dips and sauces, including an absolutely gorgeous salsa verde.
This latter is a traditional salsa made from tomatillo, a small gooseberry-shaped fruit indigenous to Mexico that yields a tart flavour that is ideal for service as a condiment. DJ and I tried the salsa verde with Cilantro and Jalapeno’s homemade tortilla chips, which they sell in small bags for just $1.95.
The chips are delicious, with a stoneground corn richness and conservative application of salt that puts them in a different category entirely from the mass-produced, store bought chips to which so many of us have grown accustomed. In combination with the salsa the chips were sublime, forming part of a formidable duo of ingredients that ranks among the world’s greatest snack foods.
Cilantro and Jalapeno offers a number of traditional Mexican dishes that may not be familiar to those whose experience is limited to Tex-Mex, Baja-style, or California-influenced Nuevo Latino cuisine.
Among their traditional offerings is Caldo Tlalpeno, a soup of spicy, reddish chicken stock, shredded chicken meat, sliced avocado, onions, rice, cheese, crema (a salted, more fluid-like version of sour cream) and lime juice.
Though hearty and filling, the soup maintains an undeniable freshness due to the liberal addition of sour, fragrant lime and fresh avocado. I have not encountered this dish elsewhere in North Vancouver and I recommend it as a nice departure from the everyday.
Next up DJ and I shared a dish called Chilaquiles, a Mexican riff on lasagna comprised of layers of tortilla chips topped with cheese, fresh cilantro, onions, enchilada sauce, and crema. The dish is served as a meal with a generous side of rice, lovely refried black beans, pico de gallo, and guacamole.
For a main dish, I had a chicken chimichanga, a deep fried corn tortilla stuffed with black and pinto beans, cheese, crema, salsa, guacamole, and tender, slowly braised chicken topped with a dollop of chipotle mayo. The dish was overwhelmingly large, but very tasty, the homemade guacamole and coarsely chopped tomato salsa lending a welcome vegetable freshness to a truly rich creation.
For her main, DJ chose a veggie platter, another voluminous dish featuring meal-sized helpings of the sides that accompanied the Chilaquiles as well as a handful of those fantastic tortilla chips.
Cilantro and Jalapeno makes use of a feta-like cheese on many of its dishes, certainly on three of the items DJ and I sampled. Most often, they seem to grate it atop the refried beans. It is a minor complaint, but for my taste, amidst all the fresh flavours on each plate, the cheese is too pungent, almost breathtakingly heady and concentrated.
While this may appeal to some as a sharp contrast in flavours, I am inclined to ask them to hold off on it when I next visit.
I was interested to learn that Cilantro and Jalapeno supplies numerous North Shore schools with healthy, fresh and hot lunches as a means of introducing kids to Mexican culture through authentic food. I commend this progressive initiative and hope that my own children are fortunate enough to participate in such a program at their school.
Our meal of chips and salsa verde, a shared appetizer and two mains came to $42 before gratuity.
Cilantro and Jalapeno is located on the main level of Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver. cilantroandjalapeno.com
Chris Dagenais served as a manager for several restaurants downtown and on the North Shore. A self-described wine fanatic, he earned his sommelier diploma in 2001. Contact: [email protected].
