Cinco de Mayo Mexican Grill

*Restaurant is closed*

Sometimes, the most excellent eating discoveries are by complete accident.  Take Cinco de Mayo Mexican Grill for instance.  I would have never visited this small lil' place in North Van if I hadn't got a recommendation from my service adviser at Jim Pattison Toyota (hey that's a free plug...  Jimmy doesn't need a free plug does he?).  She'd been bugging me to try the place out every time I brought my car in.  Finally, I decided to hit up the place for their massive burritos.

I went for their regular sized Barbacoa de Res (shredded beef) Mediana Burrito with a whole wheat tortilla.  The first thing that I noticed was the freshness of all of the ingredients including the vibrant guacamole and salsas.  After stuffing it full of everything (including beef, corn & peppers, refried and black beans, rice and all the salsas), it looked like a chore just to eat it.  With a squeeze of lime and a dash of habanero sauce, the burrito was fresh-tasting and full-flavoured.  Suffice to say, I was full after that.  I ended up taking an order for someone at the dealership and picked up the Burrito Ahogado.  Known as a wet burrito, it was pretty much what I had except for the salsa on the outside and topped with cheese.  Pretty big portion once again.

Lastly, I tried 2 of their Tacos including the Pollo en Achiote (chicken) and Carnitas Michoacana (pork).  The chicken was a definite surprise as it was quite mild, moist and fragrant.  Apparently it was a Mayan recipe using saffron.  The pork was pretty good being tender and not dry.  Hey what do you know?  Real Mexican food in the most unlikeliest of places...  Now I want to service my car more often.

The Good:
- Fresh ingredients
- Large portions
- Super friendly owners

The Bad:
- Limited menu (but could be a good too since they do what they do best)