by SARAH MUSGRAVE

Central American cooking can be counted on for simplicity and satisfaction. You can expect lots of meat, a side of rice, some greens and a bowl of salsa. What more do you ever really need in life? Oh yeah! A bottle of cerveza to wash it all down.

El Amigo

Located in Little Italy - or should that now be Little Latinoville - El Amigo is a casual corner diner that serves up homecooked Salvadorian favourites at modest prices. There’s enough variety on each plate to make appetizers unnecessary, but try pupusas, a snack made of white corn flour hand-shaped into pancakes and fried up with various fillings like pork, beans and cheese. They’re served with a jar of pickled cabbage called curtido and a bottle of tangy salsa. To start, you can also get dense, golden tamales or a helping of fried yucca. Carne asada (grilled beef) is the centrepiece of two of the very manly Salvadorian house specialties, served with broth-simmered rice topped with chorizo sausage, fresh tomato and onion salsa, salad, a pool of black beans and mild cheese. Along with pollo encebollado (chicken with onions), other enticing items include Spanish-style casseroles like seafood paella and Mexican-inspired meals such as tacos, burritos and enchiladas. No smoking, by the way.

Address: 51 St-Zotique E.; Phone: 278-4579; Hours: 11am–11pm every day; Price: $14/person without tax, drinks or tip

Taquería Sol y Luna

This place is all about tacos, all the time. Against a bright, cheery backdrop, choose from more than a dozen variations of this Chicano chow, most of which are presented four to a plate, open-faced on soft corn or flour tortillas. The ingredients inventively juxtapose smoky and sweet, tangy and creamy, or spicy and mild. Recommendations include nopalitos con queso, made with cactus, tomatoes, onion and cheese; tacos al pastor, topped with a refreshing combination of marinated pork, onion, coriander and pineapple; and pibil, consisting of shredded chicken, achiote chilli sauce and red-tinged pickled onion atop a layer of black beans. As an accompaniment, opt for Mexican rice studded with vegetables, or a plate of black beans. For starters, there’s freshly mashed guacamole or tortilla soup. To drink, try the cloudy, cinnamon-tinted agua de horchata or the ice-tea-like agua de tamarindo. The not-too-sweet pay de queso ends it all on a satisfying note.

Address: 5701 Côte-des-Neiges; Phone: 739-1616; Hours: Mon–Thurs 11:30am–9:30pm; Fri 11:30am–10pm; Sat 12:30–10pm; Sun 4:30–9pm; Price: $10/person before tax, drinks or tip

Irazu

This charming little Costa Rican kitchen cooks up homey fare in an unrushed atmosphere, with friendly service and a karaoke machine to boot. Grilled meats are all over the menu, from pollo (chicken), bisteca (beef) chicarron (pork), salchichon (sausage) to seafood soup and all manner of other pescado (fish) and camarones (shrimp) dishes. Start with a hearty appetizer called vigoron, a hot and cold dish originally from Nicaragua. It’s made up of marinated white cabbage, tender chunks of yucca cooked to a potato-like texture, and pieces of fried pork. The meat is all browned on the outside, for a great crunchy and chewy effect. In the main course called carne casado, a delicious slab of steak is married to all sorts of other elements like fried egg, rice, dusky black beans, potatoes, salad, and plantains. Also worth sampling are the fajitas, the shrimp with garlic and that old Latino standby, arroz con pollo.:

Address: 1028 St-Zotique E.; Phone: 279-0027; Hours: Tue–Sun 5–11pm; closed Mon; Price: $12/person before tax, drinks or tip