I’ve had the opportunity to go out for lunch with one of my imaginary friends, Mike several times over the past couple of years. Â Yesterday was just such an occasion and we went, once again, to Carlos’ Cantina on St. Paul Street in St. Catharines. Â We’ve been there thrice, now and Amy and I went there once together.
It is a typical-for-downtown-St.-Catharines-sized restaurant. Â There are perhaps 15 tables. Â Today was the first time I’d ever sat in the back area (there were five of us and things were busier than I’ve ever seen them). Â The place doesn’t look like much from the outside, being a fairly modest storefront with a really ugly but memorable sombrero on the sign out front. Â The kitchen takes up the entire right hand side of the front room and as far as I can tell, there are only two people who work there. Â Carlos is the chef and there is also a woman who waits tables and busses (she is perhaps his wife or girlfriend. Â Maybe business partner. Â I couldn’t say). Â The colour scheme is all reds, yellows and oranges and the chairs are serviceable, though I wouldn’t say comfortable.
The times I’ve been there, I have had the chicken chimichanga and the burrito and that’s about it. Â Each meal starts with house-made tortilla chips and three kinds of salsa. Â The one with the metal spoon in it is the hot one, so be aware. Â The chimichanga is a big fried package of shredded chicken in a tasty sauce along with a whole bunch of cheese. Â The burrito is basically the same thing but baked with cheese on top instead of being fried (note: a lot of Mexican food falls into the category of ‘meat and cheese wrapped in a tortilla and baked/fried with cheese’ so this is not a highly specific description of what I had). Â Each is served with a side of spicy rice, beans and salad. Â The portions are about right for a lunch. Â I would perhaps go here and then get dessert someplace if I were out for dinner. Â The prices are very competitive with other restaurants downtown. Â The chimichanga was about $12 and I think the burrito is comparable.
They don’t have any fountain beverages at all. Â Any pop or juice comes from a can or a bottle (they have the small, glass Coke bottles which may or may not be made with real sugar) and they have a pretty fair selection of beer, as far as I can tell. Â I usually get either a Coke or an iced tea (Coke in this case which is why I’m still up at 1:05, writing this post instead of sleeping. Â Caffeine is becoming a serious problem for me).
There was an upholstered office chair in area where we were sitting (which apparently used to have couches and a Nintendo but is now just tables) and a very small girl was pushing it around in circles while her mother and grandmother ate. Â She was very quiet about it, which I appreciated.