FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 2000. All Rights Reserved

Food by Beth Weisberg It's early evening when a friend and I ramble into the newly opened Destileria Don Ramon Cantina and Taco Grill in the old Garcia's location and order up our first taste of Don Ramon's fare: big juicy margaritas. Purists, however, can choose from 20 different kinds of fine sipping tequilas, and owner Ramon is ready to guide you through the finer points of appreciation. But once we’ve quenched our thirst, having just ended a cross-town walk, we're more interested in food than booze. We ask for the guacamole with tortilla chips ($5.25) to start. It's pretty chunky stuff, with diced onions, tomatoes and cilantro. Cilantro is the Latin-American love/hate herb – lots of people who have travelled south complain about its soapy flavour permeating everything they eat; others love the stuff. As much as I love it, its strong taste overpowers the avocado – not bad guacamole, but I like a subtler variety. So we're chomping away, tipping back a marg and a beer (domestic and Mexican available), enjoying the loose and easy feel of the place. Some regulars enter and yell a greeting across to the staff, a group of personable, laid-back types. The candles glow, what light there is bounces around on the luminescent green walls, and the sound bounces way up to the high ceiling. It gets pretty noisy in here – overwhelmingly so if you are looking for a quiet night out, but great if you're looking for a place with energy. There are only three kinds of entrées: tacos, quesadillas and tortas (Mexican grilled sandwiches) filled with house-made Mexican sausage (chorizo), barbecue pork, sauteed chicken, grilled beef or a vegetarian mix of mushrooms, tomatoes, onions and salsa ($8.95 to $9.95). We settle on a chorizo quesadilla and the barbecue pork taco, and both meals come with refried beans, Mexican rice and homemade salsa. The salsas are completely smooth and delicious. One's a hot, smoky red, one's a tempting green, and neither came glooping out of a jar. My friend's quesadilla is so good that my one-bite sample turns into a whole quarter of her meal. The chorizo and cheese is an irresistable blend, made even better by a generous drizzle of salsa. The barbecue pork tacos are six small soft rounds topped with a mix of diced pork and bits of pineapple. Half the fun of eating these is playing around, mixing up the fillings by adding a little rice on one taco, a schmear of beans on the next. You can easily fill up on just the main course, but if it's soup you want, you can have a sopa de fideos (a mix of tomato, vegetables and noodles) or the frijoles charros (bean soup with bacon and tomatoes) for just $3.25. Dessert is a simple decision: cheesecake ($4.25) or churros ($3.75). We try the churros, a delectable Mexican pastry that's just the slightest bit crispy on the outside and almost custard-like on the inside, all rolled in cinnamon sugar. These are finger-licking good, especially served on a plate drizzled with chocolate and a big squirt of whipped cream. Smokers are part of the blend at Destileria Don Ramon Cantina and Taco Grill (2005 - 4th Street S.W., phone 245-2244). Later in the evening, when the bar feature gets into full swing, smoke might be a problem for some, but we were fine. This is an unpretentious place. They don't try to do it all, but what they do, they do well. And no signs of talking chihuahuas anywhere.

| Back To This Issue Table of Contents | Back To Main Index |