Shall we do drunch?

Call it the secret weapon of Slow Food – a revolt against our abbreviated eating habits. Drunch, which some say originated in a France rebelling against the death of the long lunch, is designed to bridge the gap between brunch and dinner. It’s also an echo of the three martini lunch which happily used up half an executive’s working day and was finally outlawed by beancounters and the health police. Going  back a century, drunch is a reminder that once upon a time the eating classes quite literally didn’t stop eating  — from early morning tea to breakfast to elevenses to Hock at noon, lunch at one, tea at four, dinner at 8, supper at ll….

For my first dip into nostalgia, I have to find a place open for drunch. Doesn’t this say everything about the impoverishment of our eatingscape?  Lunch is a rare bird among the upscale restaurants in the city its hours are usually curtailed, so I must go casual. My choice is Chimichanga Mexican Grill and Tequila Bar at Bay and Yorkville,  a spin off from the original at Yonge and Eglinton and with expansive hours –– ll.30 to ll.30 pm daily.

Chimichanga MGTBT is tucked under Grigorian’s, the last outpost of the classical CD in the city, a novel but authentic vision of Mexico, dark and brooding, brick and black walls, oak, tiled floors.  The resto zigzags inwards to a large bar with tables and booths tucked in the corners.

Service is brisk after 2 pm – business is kinda sluggish because people haven’t yet cottoned that drunch isn’t just a weekend event but a workday escape. One of the benefits of timing is that while many of the dishes overlap, we can order off both the lunch and dinner menus.   Anthony’s Margarita is the way to start, tart, salty, bracing and very large. OK so it’s TexMex but listen did the British object to the way the Americans turned gin into a dry martini?

The menu is surprisingly large, a judicious mix of Mexican and Tex Mex. Now I wish I’d remembered to bring along my Cook’s Thesaurus so I can sort out the chilis not only from each other but from the peppers – a chili is a dried pepper and undergoes subtle changes accordingly.

We skip the wild Tijuana wings and nachos as clichéd border bar food. Instead we venture farther south. Lamb consommé with a squeeze of fresh lime is just the ticket for the icy weather outside,  a hot spicy draught. Fresh red snapper ceviche $13.99, is perfectly cooked  in lime juice, but the fish needs something livelier than the avocado-cucumber salsa. I hover over a favourite breakfast, Huevos Rancheros $15.25, three eggs on a flour tortilla with guajillo salsa, pico de gallo, Spanish chorizo,  but then decide on Chili Rellenos $16.75 – the Mexican classic that sets a restaurant’s standard.

The white rectangle of a  plate is dazzling, two large battered ovals of a mild poblano pepper  stuffed with melted cheese, rest in a pool of pink tomato coulis flanked by fat rice grains and a little container (brilliant idea) of refried beans $16.75. Tastes so good too. After that the spicy chipotle shrimp enchiladas $20 are something of a letdown. The shrimp are fresh, large and juicy but they’re overwhelmed by a cheese topping and weighty tomato sauce flavoured with chipotle, the smoked Jalapeno pepper. It’s a clear case of sobre el budín de huevo or as we say in English overegging the pudding.

I realize that true fans of Mexican food can’t get enough of the fixin’s, the sour cream, the guajilla ( fruity chili)  salsa, the pico de gallo (tart condiment), rice and refried beans which are the yang to chili’s ying, but I think an austere enchilada would be welcome. Then very next day, after a knockout tortilla soup ($4.99-$7.99) made with searingly hot arbor chilies,  chef Roberto Ocampo delivers the lightest, most toothsome enchiladas verde, ($9.99-$16.50) shredded chicken topped with a  homemade green tomatillo sauce and melted swiss . He surpasses himself with Tacos al Pastor ($9.99-$14.99), spit-roasted  pork tenderloin marinated in guajillo chilies, fresh oranges, doused with tomatillo salsa.

For the sweet tooth crying out for attention, Mexican flan, the latin version of crème caramel, a custard flavoured with a smidgeon of rum.  And then we cry Ole.

**Chimichanga Mexican Grill and Tequila Bar, 70 Yorkville. Wheelchair access (there’s an elevator in the minimall). Drunch for two, food plus tax $70

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 9th, 2010 at 11:03 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.