Little Mexico, Samba Café, Delissimo Delicatessen, Kebab City
There’s a restaurant we’ve grown quite fond of in downtown Auckland and not just because of its name. It’s called Little Mexico Cantina & Tequila Bar, and the food has a more international, gourmet taste than the more basic, spicy Mexican food we were accustomed to eating back in Guaymas, Mexico where we lived and taught for a semester.
Jose, the owner, who’s ancestors are not from Mexico but somewhere in the Middle East, is an affable man who treats you like an amigo (friend) the moment you enter his beautifully faux painted/decorated restaurant that features warm wood floors and golden/brown hues and red table tops. Low-level lighting adds to the location’s cozy ambience. He had originally wanted to open another Middle Eastern restaurant, but the owner of the space he now rents at 31 Wellesley Street West in Auckland said, “How ‘bout Mexican? We already have a Middle Eastern restaurant a few doors down.” Being a businessman, who owns several other eateries in town, Jose said, “Why not!” And so Little Mexico was born.
Jose, the owner of Little Mexico.
Alicia and I first came to Jose’s place just after my meeting with an elementary school principal on the North Shore. I can’t say our lunch was celebratory. After all I wasn’t offered a teaching job. In fact, I felt a little bit down after that particular meeting as the principal I talked to asked if I had any New Zealand teacher training. She seemed concerned when I said I didn’t. (Note to foreign teachers looking for work in New Zealand. If you don’t have New Zealand-training, you will have a difficult time getting a job. In fact, you will probably not get registered by Teachers Council, which is key to getting a teaching job in NZ. I’ll address this in a future Talklander NZ.) Interestingly enough, I haven’t heard from this principal since; I assume she found a New Zealand-trained teacher to fill the position that was open. In light of my less-than-satisfactory interview, I thought having lunch at Little Mexico would lift our spirits and our palates too. It did.
Open for lunch and dinner, Little Mexico’s main dishes include enchiladas, burritos, fajitas and tacos, all presented on a plate in gourmet fashion. The menu even boasts a Little Mexico Burger, served with chips, for people like myself whose favorite foods are burgers and pizza. If you’re really hungry, you can order starters, including nachos, bean dip, or a salsa dip platter served with fresh salsa, tortilla chips, sour cream and guacamole.
Fabulous Gourmet Spanish Dishes!
During our lunches at Little Mexico, Carolina, who’s from Brazil, is usually our waitress. She speaks with us in Spanish/English. Alicia always has a glass of Chilean red wine and I order ginger beer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlI3X4cEfHo&feature=related . On one visit, Carolina took us on a tour of the very small kitchen that turns out the melt in your mouth Mexican food. I asked the chef if I could take his picture, but he was too shy for that.
Artfully decorated, charming Little Mexican restaurant.
Another restaurant we’ve frequented is Samba Café http://www.sambacafe.co.nz/ , and it’s Brazilian. The colors of the walls (one is pumpkin orange, one of my favorite colors) pop when you enter the big square space that’s both serving area and dining room with a big picture window that lets the outside light stream in. In the back and up a set of stairs is the kitchen where fragrant food aromas linger. Up another set of stairs is a second floor that is a bar/stage and additional dining area for patrons. It’s open for happy hour from 5 pm to late Tuesday through Sunday. Monday through Friday lunch is served from 11:30 am to 3 pm. Every Saturday from 12pm to 4 pm a special Feijoada e Caipirinha (black bean and meat stew) is served.
Brazilian fast food - without the fast food taste!
One of the co-owners of Samba Café is Cicero. A native Brazilian, he’s imported the best of Brazilian food to 466 Queen Street in Auckland. “Part of Brazil in Auckland” boasts their website and stepping into Samba Café is like visiting Brazil without the long flight and need for a passport.
Alicia and the owner of Samba.
At Samba Café it’s a serve-yourself proposition from heated trays with a variety of Brazilian entrees and side dishes, including sucos duces e acai and polenta (boiled cornmeal), prepared by chef Ana Paula. Your lunch is paid for by the kilogram! So, if you’re really hungry and don’t mind paying for additional kilos, pile your plate high; otherwise go light on your stomach and wallet by ordering the restaurant’s fresh salad. Once you’ve gone Brazilian, rice and beans just won’t be the same. Many of the menu selections are influenced heavily by traditional cuisine from Southeastern Brazil (Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuisine_of_Brazil .
Hot, fresh ingredients - every day!
If you happen to be walking through Queen’s Arcade in Auckland, you’ll surely stop to look inside the window of Shop 32, aka Delissimo Delicatessen, located at 34-40 Queen Street. There’s a pile of freshly made sandwiches sitting on a tray just inside, waiting for hungry customers to order them.
Zan, co-owner of Delissimo.
Zan and Iva, originally from Eastern Europe, owners of Delissimo Delicatessen, will meet your gaze and warmly embrace you with their smiles. They’ll invite you into their little shop and encourage you to check out the freshly made pastas and pot pies and salads. You’ll close your eyes for a second and smell the wonderful food that they and their small staff prepare daily in a tiny kitchen in the back of the shop.
Delicious European sandwiches and salads!
A blackboard on the back wall announces the specials of the day. On one occasion, Alicia ordered a German potato salad and I had a salami and provolone cheese on ciabatta bread sandwich that tasted as delicious as it looked in the window.
What’s unique about Delissimo Delicatessen is that you feel as if you’ve been transported to someplace in Europe as you dine at tables just outside the delicatessen which is sandwiched between other shops selling clothes, cd’s, jewelry and kitchenware. It’s a great place to relax and people watch.
Alicia and I enjoyed a late lunch one day, and the staff of Delissimo, along with Zan and Iva, was eating their lunch at an adjacent table. They acted like family and made me love this little restaurant, open for breakfast and lunch, even more.
Alicia enjoying an incredible potato salad for lunch!
There are a multitude of kebab places in this Kiwi city, but the one I happened upon one day is Kebab City, adjacent to Show Girls. Located at 51 Customs Street, the manager, Sam, gifted me with a Java Joe sign, which I plan on framing some day. Java Joe brand coffee is just one item on this restaurant’s menu. Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Kebab City sells a lot of chicken kebabs and also fish and chips. You’ll find hookahs http://www.hookahhookah.com/hookahhookah_com_-_store2/home.php also on the menu. So, if you’re inclined, you can stay while after eating a kebab, and indulge in a flavorful smoke.
Sam and Alexi of Kebab City, a place for flavorful food and hookah smoke.
If you’re looking for a light snack and a flat white (that’s what they call a latte coffee here in NZ) stop in at one particular Esquires Coffee Houses (a chain of coffee places that are as ubiquitous in Auckland, NZ as Starbucks is in Seattle, WA) at 33 Lorne Street (Shop 2). Vimesh is the gregarious manger there and he’ll treat you like an honored guest in his establishment. While you’re drinking your coffee and eating a muffin or sandwich, you can take advantage of free Wi-Fi and check your email as well, which is what Alicia and I have done many times. We’ve been to other Esquires Coffee Houses in town www.esquirescoffee.co.nz , but always return to Vimesh’s place because of his hospitality.
Auckland is certainly the city of culinary creations, including those great food courts I wrote about in a previous Talklander NZ. It’s not a matter of when to eat as it is what and where to eat. Just like Alicia and I, you’ll find your favorite restaurants if you’re in Auckland long enough. And it’ll be easy to return to the same eateries again and again, just as we’ve done, but from time to time be bold and adventurous and try a new place to eat. We/you will rarely be disappointed.
Written by Joseph A. Haviland
Edited by Alicia Frank Haviland
Copyright 2009
Adventures Abroad 