Maybe tomorrow

Restaurant Mañana's authenticity varies from day to day

by SARAH MUSGRAVE

While I was walking up St-Denis on a recent spring afternoon, the sun illuminated Restaurant Mañana's terrasse, reminding me that it had been years since I last ate there. Looking forward to pleasant meals outside soon, I decided to try it out again--and wound up having two very different experiences at this Mexican place.

This first time out, I tried a fantastic enchilada poblana, a chicken-stuffed tortilla with mole negro sauce ($12.95). This type of mole gets everyone excited because it's made with chocolate, but cacao is only one ingredient in the mix of four kinds of chillies and musky spices that create its distinct and complex flavour. My friend's pollo garnachero ($11.95), oven-baked chicken with potatoes, tomatoes, onions and green pepper, was equally delicious and homemade-tasting. You could tell the chef doesn't just have a bottle labelled "Mexican Spice" in the kitchen.

Adding to the atmosphere in this brightly coloured space were two Latino guys at the back whipping up drinks--in our case, a yummy Piña Colada and a Tequila Sunrise. The service was excellent too. Seeing us looking at the heavily ornamented walls, the waiter confided that the place is soon to be redecorated--with even more trinkets!

The next time we went back, on a Saturday night, it was a whole different scene. The same Frida Kahlo paintings, masks and animal sculptures that seemed a little clichéd last time now appeared to be staring with annoyance at the largely college crowd. Gone were the street-cred guys behind the counter, gone were the good tunes, gone was the friendly waiter. The place had been taken over by awkward blonde women attending to the tables.

The drinks suffered too. The Vampiro, basically a Bloody Mary with tequila, was more of a Virgin Maria. Ron Collins, who we initially took to be the cousin of the more popular and preppy Tom, is simply made with rum.

The appetizers were decent enough. The very tasty cactus gratinado ($6.95) is served with melted cheese, garlic and sour cream atop a small tortilla. The eggplant sautéed in butter was homey if maybe just a tad bitter.

The surf and turf plate ("tierra y mar") was not at all what we expected--neither of us realized it would be fajitas ($17.95 including starter, coffee and dessert). A medley is never a good thing--musical ones usually suck--but a medley of meats has to be the worst kind. After scooping the stir-fried filling into the flour tortilla, it was not particularly pleasant wondering if the next mouthful would contain shrimp or beef or, worse yet, both. Also, I'm almost positive I tasted soya sauce along with the peppers and onions. The dish did come with some great guacamole, seasoned rice, and a salad of lettuce and shredded carrot with a creamy dressing. Served with a helping of black beans, the vegetarian burrito ($11.95) was bulging with what I expected to be a medley of veggies but ended up being overwhelmingly eggplant (which, fortunately, I like). The seasoning was great, with hints of cinnamon and allspice in there somewhere. Overall, though, it seemed more Moosewood than Mexico.

As for dessert, the selection is impressive. The pastel de queso ($3.50) was a pleasantly unsweetened cheese pie. The flan mexicana was a slice of custard made more interesting from the addition of citrus flavour.

Mañana has all the right ingredients for a really authentic Mexican meal and there's no doubt they know what they're doing--just maybe not that Saturday night. Do as you would do in a resto in Mexico--choose your timing and your order with care.

Restaurant Mañana

Address: 3605 St-Denis (also 1272 Ste-Catherine E.)

Phone: 847-1050

Hours: 11am until about 11:30pm

Best features: authentic spices, desserts

Vegetarian friendly: yes

Wheelchair access: yes

Alcohol: yes

Credit cards: yes

$18 per person before drinks, tax & tip

Rating: HH 1/2 out of HHHH