Cielito Lindo (Authentic Mexican Cuisine in Pickering)

I love authentic Mexican cuisine - we have visited Mexico a few times and the sauces are amazing and lately I've been craving guacamole too. Thank you, Lord, for blessing us with the wonder that is avocado.

If you like Mexican too, I dare you to recommend a Mexican restaurant to me near Agincourt. Taco Bell does NOT count - I have never eaten at Taco Bell but the idea of it grotifies me somehow.

There are Mexican restaurants downtown, of course. I've been to an OK one on King St with tasteful decor, but it is on the pricier side, plus you have pay for parking and face the traffic of downtown T.O.

So when I google mapped Ceilito Lindo, read the great reviews and saw the menu/prices on the website, I was as giddy as a schoolgirl.


Date/time of visit: Fri March 18, 2011 7:00pm
Food: Excellent, spicy
Service: SLOOOOOW to take the order, we sat their for at least 15 minutes without water or nachos; this place is SMALL - only about 8 tables - if we lived closer, I'd probably order takeout. A complete grumpy gills, my hubby was starving and prepared to leave. When our order was taken, and drinks arrived and then the nachos/salsa/guac, we were happy campers. I think it was just very busy, and there was only 1 guy who takes orders and serves, 1 woman who serves, and the cook in the back. And they are kind of quiet and might come off as disinterested. Just smile and say gracias and enjoy the food!
Portions: Big. You may need to request a refill on nachos but no extra charge for that - I think it's not such a bad thing that they limit the quantities to avoid waste.
Cost: Reasonable. Came to $25 per person for 2 people including tax/tip. This is because we had an appetizer (guac) and I had a margarita for Happy Time.
Atmosphere: Small. Lots of great tacky Mexican decor - sombreros hanging on the walls, tons of parrot figurines! Also the music was... Mexican but not my taste. It was not mariachi or anything traditional which I would have preferred. They actually played Achy Breakey Heart IN MEXICAN. With the margarita in me, it was pretty entertaining!
Other info: http://www.cielitolindo.ca/ for the menu. Free parking. Did not make reservations; not sure if you can or not. Was very busy. There were some customers waiting outside--luckily it was pretty warm out.



The food, decor, servers seem very real to me - very authentic. Keep in mind - the focus is on the food here. Do not expect an elegant dining experience.

Ordered:
Margarita - pour moi - yum, they did not skimp out on the booze
Can of Coke - for the hubby - I don`t think you get free refills here, but we didn`t ask.
Guacamole - it was good and enough for the 2 of us, but you don`t get an awful lot - there`s a picture on the website of it - the pestle is huge and takes up the space of most of the bowl
Nachos and salsa come with your meal - we requested more nachos, after I saw others doing so
Tabasco Combo (One beef burrito with spicy red sauce and one chicken enchilada with green tomatillo sauce) - this was my order - yummy, spicy goodness, both sauces were fantastic

Enchiladas (Two corn tortillas with your choice of filling baked with either red, green, mole or spicy Diablo sauce and topped with cheese) - the hubby selected the mole, which was AWESOME - I will order this one next time!
This was a HUGE amount of food for the 2 of us - the entrees come with rice, beans and salad. Next time, I think we`ll order one entree (with mole!) and maybe 2 appetizers, or maybe 1 appetizer and dessert. In any case, I will be dreaming about our next visit!

Tip for this restaurant: If you live nearby, order takeout to avoid the long wait, or probably go on a weekday (not Fri or Sat)--though I may be wrong about this; they might be this busy everyday! It is a small establishment, after all. If you do not care about the wait, just GO already - your taste buds will thank you.

Interesting fact: "Cielito lindo" is a popular song commonly played by mariachi bands. In the lyrics they sing about a cielito lindo (pretty darling) who has a mole next to her mouth. Obviously, the song was written about me! Nyuk nyuk nyuk.

Lin Garden Restaurant (Indian Hakka Cuisine at Sheppard/Pharmacy)

Visited Lin Garden for the "Monthly Restaurant Review" with my work crew.

Date/time of visit:Wed March 16, 2011 12:00pm
Food: Excellent, spicy, garlicky goodness
Service: Fast
Portions: Big
Cost: Cheap. Came to $9 per person for 10 people including tax/tip. Had lots of leftovers - would do without the noodles next time.(Lunch specials available for $5-ish)
Atmosphere: Functional, not fancy-shmancy in any way.
Other info: http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/10/133051/restaurant/Scarborough/Lin-Garden-Toronto for pictures of the menu. Free parking. Made reservations. Was pretty busy, but didn't see any lineup.

Ordered:
2 House Shrimps (fantastic - MUST HAVE - comes with 10 shrimps)
2 Fried Green Beans (fantastic - I think there may be anchovies - really nice saltiness to it)
Chili Chicken (really good and spicy)
Combo Pakora (really good - like giant crunchy popcorn chicken with a great indian flavour)
Sweet and Sour Chicken (good - has pineapple, green bell pepper in it)
Beef Oodles of Noodles (a strange flavour and it's RED - HUGE portion - wouldn't order it again)
Large bowl of steamed white rice
2 kettles of tea
2 pops


Tip for this restaurant: If you're going on your own or as a couple/small group, go up to the counter to pay the bill instead of waiting. Otherwise, you may be waiting for a loooong time.