Menu review: Doña Cata Mexican Foods / EAT Vancouver volunteer appreciation party

I'm still on a high from last night -- great food and great people do that to you. In roughly three and a half hours, I sampled more than twenty as-close-to-authentic-as-you-can-get-in-Vancouver Mexican dishes and drinks, and talked to people with seriously sweet jobs in the food biz.

The venue was Doña Cata Mexican Foods (5076 Victoria Drive -- it's on 35th).

The occasion? EAT Vancouver's volunteer appreciation party -- and what a way to be appreciated.

Arriving right on time at 5:45pm (the restaurant normally closes at 5pm on a Sunday, so the entire place was reserved just for us EAT! people), I noticed that a lot of people had already arrived and helped themselves to the pitchers of sangria and margaritas laid out on the drink table, where a nice selection of wines and a variety of Mexican pops (including Jarritos, apple pop, and bottled sangria) were also available.

Having made my way through the great majority of these drinks as the evening progressed, I can say that they were all very tasty.

I can't really comment on the alcoholic drinks, since I'm only a social drinker and have limited knowledge and experience to work with, but the margarita was one of the better ones I've had -- slushy and refreshing, and not tasting too strongly of alcohol -- and the sangrias were tasty.

I loved the Jarritos. I managed to try pineapple, mango, grapefruit, and tamarind (the guayaba and mandarin ones were sadly nabbed before I had a chance to pour a sample), and I especially liked the pineapple one, though they were all really good -- the grapefruit was a surprise, since I don't normally like that flavour. I wasn't a fan of the apple pop of another brand. I definitely recommend going for a Jarritos the next time you go out for Mexican food though.

The standout drink was probably the horchata (rice and cinnamon mixed with cold water), which they introduced later in the evening to replace the margaritas. A number of people commented that it was exceptionally good (not too watery or sweet), though the sweetness apparently varied from pitcher to pitcher.

I've only ever had horchata at El Caracol Café, a place just a block down from Doña Cata, at 5190 Victoria Drive. The one at El Caracol had a different texture to it -- more solids in it (I think I remember sucking up actual pieces of grain) -- but I remember it being equally tasty. I'd recommend ordering a horchata if you haven't already tried one before.

Based on the reviews I've seen, El Caracol (and El Caracolita next door, which is run by the same owner and focuses more on Mexican food) are two places worth trying, so if you're looking for "good" Mexican food, the 35th/36 street area is one you might want to check out.

The staff at the restaurant probably don't normally do this, but one of the makers of EAT! was literally slicing the caps off wine bottles with a knife, which made for an interesting show. I tried a Hungarian sparkling white wine and a riesling, both of which were quite nice. I don't think these are on Doña Cata's menu, though.

In terms of food, the restaurant made sure that we were fed, with plenty of non-meat options available on top of their many varieties and versions of meat dishes.

To start, each table was given a small bowl of handmade nachos (I've seen reviews with people complaining about the size of the portions, and actually seeing it, I can understand why). It held probably no more than a cup of nachos. However, besides the fact that those nachos are normally free, you probably wouldn't want to fill up on them anyway, when there's so much more to try.

The nachos are a good way to sample the restaurant's extensive sauce and salsa options (10 different kinds, all homemade), which include "a sweet (and not spicy) Tomate Verde, a very spicy Mexicana (a mix of tomato and jalapeno) and Cacahuate (peanut)". I liked the guacomole best.

Appetizers included two kinds of taquitos (pork and cheese) and refried beans, veggies, and sauce on hard taco shells (sorry, I don't know the name of this dish). They were all crunchy and tasty, and not too greasy.

About half an hour in, they started offering a huge variety of tacos, including lamb, pork, beef, chicken, beans and cheese, carnitas, and cactus. Yes, I tried them all. Yes, my stomach was not very happy with me by the end of the night, but my tongue sure was. :)

I'm not going to use Mexican names for the food, since the staff described them in English to us, but if you're interested, you can check them out on the restaurant's menu.

As I mentioned in my first EAT! Vancouver post, I don't care much for their chicken tacos (they're quite bland), but I love love love their lamb tacos. The others were just okay. But then again, I don't really eat a lot of red meat, so you might enjoy them. The beef and pork ones had chunks of fat in them, which I hate to find in my food. The cactus was interesting -- I don't really know how to describe it. It looked like slices of cucumber the colour of lima beans, and the taste wasn't memorable enough to stick with me.

Cactus salad was offered as well, which I ended up having to eat an entire plate of, since they were overly-generous with the serving. It was not bad -- slick with oil and something different, but I wouldn't go out of my way to try it.

I thought I hated refried beans (ironically, I think they might ruin the taste of Mexican dishes for me), but I didn't hate Doña Cata's. They were actually quite good. But I am definitely not an Mexican food expert.

I also really enjoyed the Mexican rice. And I don't normally like rice.

Besides the lamb tacos and select Jarritos, however, the only things I really loved were numerous alambres they had available. They don't list them on their online menu, but apparently they have 30 different kinds. They had them buffet-style on large plates, on rotation, with about six varieties at a time, but we weren't allowed to serve ourselves -- instead they had someone scooping them into corn tortillas for us. To save much-needed stomach space, I got her to put a bit of each on a plate for me.

Since I hadn't been planning on reviewing the place, I didn't take down any of the names of the alambres, but as this review mentions, three of the kinds include "the Mexicano" -- "a combination of pork, onion, jalapeno ratas, corn and cheese", "the Pinguino" -- "a mix of bisteck, bacon, and cheese", and "the Vegetariano" -- "a combo of mushrooms, onion, tomato, and cheese".

Among my favourites was one that had a mix of chicken, bacon, mushroom, and cheese -- I had seconds of that!

They also had interesting ones that didn't sound too Mexican to me (e.g. "Hawaiiano"). Recurring ingredients included pork chop bits, cheese, pineapple, and mushrooms.

You should definitely order an alambre if you decide to eat a Doña Cata.

Even better than dessert (I doubt anyone would have had any room left for some anyway), the restaurant surprised us with a live performance by a Mexican guitarist. He was fantastic. It really set the mood and matched the restaurant's festive, colourful ambience. A girl at my table even started singing along.

A waiter who jumped in every once and a while with some unique "vocal accompaniment" was equally awesome. We never knew what to expect -- an enthusiastic yelp? A perfectly timed "ow, ow, ow!"? (You had to be there.)

Bottom line: If the guitarist ever becomes a regular performer at Dona Cata (or is he already one?), definitely try to time your visit to coincide with a show.

Between eating and eating and eating -- and drinking and drinking and drinking -- I also met and talked to some super-cool people. If you're one of them, "Hello and welcome!" You're the ones who really made my night. There's nothing I like more than talking to people who love food as much as I do!

The coolest part? Almost all of them agreed to be featured on my Food 'files!

These people have some of the coolest jobs ever.

In the coming weeks, you can look forward to interviews from --

-one of the country's top three wine writers (you know those people who get paid to travel around the world to wine and dine? --- that's her)

-one half of the brains behind EAT! Vancouver (we're talking the boss himself)

-one of the folks behind the World Culinary Travel Expo (how can you resist this tagline? -- "Promoting Global Travel through Gastronomy")

-a chef/caterer who's catered for the movie industry and such Hollywood stars as John Travolta

-the folks who help keep our stomachs happy at some of the city's biggest festivals and events (including Greek Day, the Caribbean festival, and Alcan Dragon Boat festival), by meeting all their cooking show staging service needs

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I want to give a shout out to everyone I met -- thanks so much for your insights into the food scene in Vancouver and beyond. From foodie to foodie, you all rock! And if any readers ask about foods in your realms of expertise, expect an email from me! ;)

Anyone who's tried Doña Cata -- give us your take on the food. I've never been to Mexico or tried Mexican food in the States, so your opinions are likely more insightful than mine. I've heard that it's one of the more authentic places here, though.

Also, share your favourite Mexican places with us -- one person has already verbally put in a request for "the most authentic Mexican food in Vancouver". Tips would be appreciated. :)