Hey Hombre! Soy adicta a la comida Mexicana…

When I was growing up, I struggled to see the appeal of Mexican food. To me it was just nachos and tacos which came from packet mixes and jars, with heaps of cheese, sour cream, over-cooked mince and were pretty much just the lazy teenager’s parent-free meal option. I did partake in the occasional nacho bowl alongside jugs of beer at Uni, but otherwise, Old El Paso left me cold. Mexican went down the bottom on the list of preferred cuisines. Slowly, over the last couple of years, things have changed…

The first seed that got planted was probably when I found the Vegan Quesadilla recipe in Skinny Bitch and decided that maybe Mexican food didn’t have to be the sludgy cheese & sour cream-fest that I thought it was. This became a semi-regular meal option for me because it was so easy. The combination of tortillas, kidney beans, avocado, salsa and vegan cheese was way too exciting, and given I generally had all the inside ingredients, I just had to get tortillas from my local grocer and bang, instant comfort food.

Then I discovered the Vegie-packed bowl at Salsa’s in Westfield Doncaster after a pole session with one of my besties. She was raving about Salsa’s and after I tried this menu item, I was sold. It had frijoles, onion & capsicum, broccoli & zucchini, salsa, salsa fresca, guacamole, coriander & lime rice and I just ordered it without cheese or ranch sauce. Amazing. Pretty much everything you look for in a Vegan meal – carbohydrates, protein, good fats, vegetables and enough food to actually fill you sufficiently.

Vegie packed bowl at Salsa's

Living in Richmond with a guy friend meant plenty of weekends scoping out pre- & post-drinking semi-healthy meals. Taco Bill lured me in with fishbowl margaritas and the Vegetarian Combinacion but after I stopped eating dairy completely, they had much less to offer. Ensalada Verde with a side of frijoles and corn chips with salsa is pretty good for a light meal, or build your own with sides of tortillas, salsa, frijoles & guacamole, unless they have the Vegetarian Fajita on the specials board. That sizzling plate is boss. We ended up going to Taco Bill and Mexicali Rose (a slightly further but better quality option) for work lunches and I started to come around.

Vegie packed Burrito at Salsa's

Meanwhile, a new restaurant opened in Melbourne called Mamasita. No bookings, just rock up and hope to get a seat – but the wait is worth it! A few of us went to try their quesadilla and the well-priced meals and amazing food impressed us greatly, their traditional Mexican menu meant Old El Paso was left well behind in distant memories and replaced with Tostaditas, real Tacos with all sorts of fillings and amazing ‘Comida para la familia’, plus proper Mexican beers and heaps of Veganizable menu options. In fact, last time I went with my brother earlier this year, the waitress was sad that she hadn’t known ahead of time that I was Vegan to offer extra appetiser options. Bless!

Tostada's at Mamasita

In Adelaide I was already seeking out somewhere to get some Mexican flavours while I was over for a conference, and fell in love with Zambrero. Basically, I walked in and they were playing Dashboard Confessional and when I told the server that I’m Vegan he said “no problem!” and told me everything I could and couldn’t eat, wrapped me up a huge burrito and I sat quite happily enjoying a lunch beer and burrito with my happy face on. Then I realised I was hooked… I started searching for a “Fresh Mex” place near me and campaigned Salsa’s to open a store near my house in Richmond. It happened, after I moved to Camberwell. D’oh.

Naked burrito at Mad Mex

But I found Mad Mex, an awesome place to get a ‘naked burrito’ near work (I sit and enjoy a Jarrito soft drink and perve on hot tattooed skaters, it’s Windsor, come on), Salsa’s is still near the studio that I train in, and Taco Bill is near my house in case I really need a fix. But Mamasita is definitely a must-visit when anyone is here from out of town… or just because.

Vegie fajita at Taco Bill

Now, I’m quite happy to admit that Mexican cuisine is my favourite, especially since my previous favourite, Japanese, is so heavy with seafood products and Buddhist Japanese cuisine is a lot harder to find… so that is part of the reason why I’m more interested in travelling to the US and Mexico now than before, when I was all about going to Japan and eating for two weeks and why I love reading all of your blogs about Taco Trucks (hola, Seabirds!), empanadas and cornbread. Plus, playing the computer game Grim Fandango has left me obsessed with Dia de los Muertos, which doesn’t help. I’ve even realised my salads get pretty Mexinspired too…

I was trying to get photos for this post but there are so many pictures of burritos and Mexi-salads and vegie bowls it’s getting silly. Yes, my name is Ceri and I’m a Mexi-holic.

Salsa’s – www.salsas.com.au
Taco Bill – www.tacobill.com.au
Mamasita – www.mamasita.com.au – 1/11 Collins St, Melbourne, ph: (03) 9650 3821
Zambrero – www.zambrero.com
Mad Mex –  www.madmex.com.au

Also… Trippy Taco on Smith St, which I haven’t listed here because for some reason I had no photos… it’s all Vegan and it’s amazing. They even have Vegan dessert quesadillas. Go.