El Cortez - Newage Mexican (Edmonton 30 in 30)

Onto the latter half of my series I go (I believe this is post 23 so far). What was initially a monstrous task seems close to coming to fruition as I continued to dine Edmonton and blog 30 posts in 30 days. Next up is El Cortez, a new Mexican restaurant recommended to me by a close friend. My history with Mexican cuisine is usually quite bipolar with restaurants either serving disappointing Westernized tacos and Quesadillas or incredibly authentic places with tasty meats and fresh salsa. Hopefully this would be the latter!

El Cortez is located just off of Whyte Avenue on 103rd street and 83rd avenue. The initial impressions are positive with a handsome exterior, large signage and lots of windowspace. Interiors are similarly great with a vibe and atmosphere that was part bar and part sit down restaurant. Seating is self arranged, but the waitresses do a good job of noticing new arrivals who quickly usher in menus and drink specials as soon as you sit down.

The menu is unique. Billed as a Mexican restaurant you can see they offer the classic tacos and tostadas. However upon finer perusal you realize that the dishes are new age takes on tacos that try to combine unique ingredients and other cultural influences. For those not wanting a taco or tostada, El Cortez also features a number of mains ranging from the expected roast pork to a puzzling squash ravioli. Intrigued we set off to order!

We quite enjoyed chunky Guacamole + Chips here. Considered a Mexican staple food, this dish had a nice chunky creamy avocado mixture with cubes of tomato and onion finished with a hint of lime. Nothing extroadinary, nothing spectacular, just homey tasty guacamole with toasted pita chips.

This Albacare Tuna Ceviche, on the other hand, was marvelous. Large cubes of fresh tuna are dashingly paired with pineapple, mango and mint cucumber. Finished off with a Jalapeno, this dish does a great job of marrying the sweetness from the mango and pineapple with the heat and spice of Jalapeno. Texturally this dish also works with the silky tuna meat matched by the crisp vegetables and crunch of the peanut topping.

Wanting to try as much as possible, a few of us ordered numerous tacos to share. This Braised Beef Tostado was unfortunately not the strongest horse out of the barn. While the beef was nice and tender, it was underseasoned and overshadowed by the sharp Jicama and beefy tomato in the Pico de Gallo. The green ancho chili jam, the best part of the dish, made a valiant effort to salvage the whole dish but ultimately was unable to unify the polarizing flavours.

Cinnamon Braised Pork Tacos were a bigger hit at the table. The well braised pork was fall off the bone tender and mixed with a nice combination of shredded lettuce and pickled onion. Ultimately it was the spice from the chipotle mixed in with the salty cojita cheese that brought all the ingredients to the fore. Sweet, salty, savoury = delicious.

We went a bit left field in ordering the Steak "Bulgogi" Tacos. Knowing full well that this was fusion cuisine, we held our breathes as we delved into this unique dish. Boy were we rewarded. Thankfully the sweet and slightly bitter bulgogi marinate they used in the meat worked well with the crunchy slaw. Tying all the parts together was the sesame aioli, a nice aromatic Asian style sauce that unified everything into a tasty dance of flavours in your mouth.

Pollo (Chicken) Tostada is usually as safe as you can get in a Mexican restaurant. Unsure what the "encacahuatado" sauce was initially, a Google perusal revealed it as a peanut sesame based chili marinate. Truthfully, the chicken was a bit bland and did not live up to its fancy saucy namesake. The best part of the dish, though, was the interplay between a luxurious, sweet and slightly spicy tropical salsa with the tender slices of chicken breast. The inclusion of purple cabbage adds brightness and a bit of crunch to finish off the dish.

Wanting something more significant, one member of our group ordered the Roast Pork. Slow braised exquisitely tender pork is paired with coconut rice, braised beans and the same tropical salsa used in the pollo tostada. Casting aside the beans and rice as simply ordinary, the key was the contrast between the sweet and spicy salsa with the inherently fatty tender pork. Developing a crust on the pork, the chefs have also imparted a nice bitter char on the exterior of the meat that added a new dimension of flavour and texture, tasty indeed! Pity about the sloppily presented dish though.

It seems that dessert is becoming more commonplace with my current dining companions and while we initially lamented on the El Cortez only having one dessert, we quickly changed our tune after tasting the Warm Ginger Cake. Ooey and gooey, the warm cake had a distinctive ginger flavour that went well with the whipped cream. Fresh strawberries add freshness and sweetness to finish the dessert.

El Cortez is interesting. As if they were creating dishes for the sake of innovation, they have, in essence, strayed away from their calling of authentic Mexican cuisine. Indeed some of these dishes work well (Bulgogi for example) but for each that work there are just as many that did not (Braised Beef). This inconsistency in flavour profiles is troubling and make it difficult to wholeheartedly recommend El Cortez, especially with them being on the pricier side. Nevertheless for anyone looking for a new take on Mexican food or bored of the current options in Edmonton, El Cortez is definitely an option.