I love Mexican food. And it is often difficult to find good Mexican food in Vadodara, where I live currently. A lot of people live under the notion that Mexican food means a farm-ful of spice, which couldn’t be any further from the truth. Mexican can have lot of corn and beans and even some jalapenos, but not all of it is super spicy as many people tend to think.

Mexican cuisine is primarily a fusion of indigenous Mesoamerican cooking with European, especially Spanish, elements added after the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire in the 16th century. The staples are native foods, such as corn, beans, avocados, tomatoes, and chili peppers, along with rice which was brought by the Spanish. Europeans introduced a large number of other foods, the most important of which were meats from domesticated animals (beef, pork, chicken, goat, and sheep), dairy products (especially cheese), and various herbs and spices.

While the Spanish initially tried to impose their own diet on the country, this was not possible and eventually the foods and cooking techniques began to be mixed, especially in colonial era convents. African and Asian influences were also introduced into the mixture during this era as a result of African slavery in New Spain and the Manila-Acapulco Galleons.

Over the centuries, this resulted in regional cuisines based on local conditions, such as those in Oaxaca, Veracruz and the Yucatán Peninsula. Mexican cuisine is an important aspect of the culture, social structure and popular traditions of Mexico. The most important example of this connection is the use of mole for special occasions and holidays, particularly in the South and Center regions of the country. For this reason and others, traditional Mexican cuisine was inscribed in 2010 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

Mexican cuisine is as complex as any other world cuisine, such as those of China, France, Italy and Japan. It is created mostly with ingredients native to Mexico, as well as those brought over by the Spanish conquistadors, with some new influences since then. In addition to staples, such as corn and chile peppers, native ingredients include tomatoes, squashes, avocados, cocoa and vanilla, as well as ingredients not generally used in other cuisines, such as edible flowers, vegetables like huauzontle and papaloquelite, or small criollo avocados, whose skin is edible.

European contributions include pork, chicken, beef, cheese, herbs and spices, as well as some fruits. Tropical fruits such as guava, prickly pear, sapote, mangoes, bananas, pineapple and cherimoya (custard apple) are popular, especially in the center and south of the country. It has been debated how much Mexican food is still indigenous and how much is European. However, the basis of the diet is still corn and beans, with chile pepper as a seasoning, as they are complementary foods.

Despite the introduction of wheat and rice to Mexico, the basic starch remains corn in almost all areas of the country. While it is eaten fresh, most corn is dried, treated with lime and ground into a dough called masa. This dough is used both fresh and fermented to make a wide variety of dishes from drinks (atole, pozol, etc.) to tamales, sopes, and much more. However, the most common way to eat corn in Mexico is in the form of a tortilla, which accompanies almost every dish. Tortillas are made of corn in most of the country, but other versions exist, such as wheat in the north or plantain, yuca and wild greens in Oaxaca.

The other basic ingredient in all parts of Mexico is the chile pepper. Mexican food has a reputation for being very spicy, but its seasoning can be better described as strong. Many dishes also have subtle flavors. Chiles are used for their flavors and not just their heat, with Mexico using the widest variety. If a savory dish or snack does not contain chile pepper, hot sauce is usually added, and chile pepper is often added to fresh fruit and sweets.

The importance of the chile goes back to the Mesoamerican period, where it was considered to be as much of a staple as corn and beans. In the 16th century, Bartolomé de las Casas wrote that without chiles, the indigenous people did not think they were eating. Even today, most Mexicans believe that their national identity would be at a loss without chiles.

Many dishes in Mexico are defined by their sauces and the chiles those sauces contain, rather than the meat or vegetable that the sauce covers. These dishes include entomatada (in tomato sauce), adobo or adobados, pipians and moles. A hominy soup called pozole is defined as white, green or red depending on the chile sauce used or omitted. Tamales are differentiated by the filling which is again defined by the sauce (red or green chile pepper strips or mole). Dishes without a sauce are rarely eaten without a salsa or without fresh or pickled chiles. This includes street foods, such as tacos, tortas, soups, sopes, tlacoyos, tlayudas, gorditas and sincronizadas. For most dishes, it is the type of chile used that gives it its main flavor.

The main contributions of the Spanish were meat and cheese, as the Mesoamerican diet contained very little meat besides domesticated turkey, and dairy products were absent. The Spanish also introduced the technique of frying in pork fat. Today, the main meats found in Mexico are pork, chicken, beef, goat, and sheep. Native seafood and fish remains popular, especially along the coasts.

Cheesemaking in Mexico has evolved its own specialties. It is an important economic activity, especially in the north, and is frequently done at home. The main cheese making areas are Chihuahua, Oaxaca, Querétaro, and Chiapas. Goat cheese is still made, but it is not as popular and is harder to find in stores.

So, coming back to the unlimited meal at Saloni’s. There was a restaurant in Fatehgunj – Hola Mexicana, which used to make great Mexican food, but then, the ownership of the restaurant changed, and then the taste and experience at Hola went downhillm and I stopped going there. There was Fiesta Mexicana which also made great Mexican food, but it was little on the pricier side, and has now been closed for renovation for quite sometime now. So, I found out that the owner of Hola, has opened a new restaurant – Saloni’s, and they were celebrating their one year anniversary, I just had to go and try, I can’t resist good food after all.

I drive down on the Friday night, during my lunch break at office, I had completely forgotten that it was the last day of their anniversary special 10% discount. I realized that only when the bill arrived. So, I reached there, got welcomed by the owner’s wife and the staff, with a big smile. The owners and his wife are very down to earth, they will refill your glass of water, or bring your food from the kitchen with a smile. Ordinarily, in a lot of restaurants, the owners are never to be seen around, and don’t tend to go anywhere beyond taking your money, that is perhaps the only interaction they have with the diners. The staff and the service and even the owners are very nice, very friendly, very attentive of everything you need, it makes your whole experience of being at the restaurant amazing.

I was just going to begin flipping through the menu, confused what to order, when right on the first page I see, that unlimited lunch and dinner note. The unlimited dinner was just Rs. 250/-. This was definitely a steal. And it would ease my confusion of what to order, where I would end up paying more than double of this any which ways. And, I get to try a lot more dishes at a much lesser price than what I would pay for trying them all individually off their a-la-carte. So, I tell the attendant that I would take the unlimited meal.

The welcome drink arrives, it is a watermelon drink, mostly looks like a squash based drink. It’s sweet, its watermelon-y. There is a pulpy sweet residue at the bottom of the glass, but the drink is a welcome relief from the heat and humidity outside. I definitely request another glass, it’s unlimited right? It’s delicious, a good start to a good meal.

Then I have a chickpea and corn salad. It is super refreshing too. Boiled chickpeas with boiled sweet corn, and sliced onions, seasoned with red chili powder and lemon juice. It was delicious. i loved it, definitely worth second helpings. I could keep eating this to my fill.

The next course is the hot and sour soup. That was a disappointment. It was thick, yes, but it was quite oily and the vegetables were definitely overcooked. I could only sense onions in the soup. All the vegetables were so overcooked that there was nothing to chew, I could just swallow it through. Didn’t like it. To have a thick stock is good in a soup, but overcooked vegetables which are dissolving in the soup, umm, nope, doesn’t work for me. It’s a little too peppery for my taste too. And the oil floating on a separate layer on the top adds to my disappointment.

Next course is a crispy Mexican mix. It is a mix of nachos, some Mexican sauces, some kidney beans and some chopped bell peppers. It is good, has a mild tangyness to it. It is freshly mixed, the nachos are crispy and add that crunchy texture that makes it enjoyable in a blend of smooth sauces and the relief of the kidney beans.

Next we have cheese chilly garlic bread. It has round sliced bread slices, topped with a layer of cheese and sprinkles of chilly flakes on the top. This is super delicious. I have no idea what cheese they use for this, but it is definitely not mozzarella and not the regular processed cheddar either. There is something different about this cheese. It is creamy and slightly, very slightly tart. It is super delicious. I have never had such amazing garlic bread ever. It’s all the magic of the cheese they use. It is the wow in this.

Then we have some cheesy bruschetta. I hate tomatoes and bell peppers but for this meal I let it go and decide to have it. The bruschetta is great, there is a burst of flavor of the fresh cut tomatoes, juicy, tangy and fresh on top of the buttered bread, topped with liquid cheese. It is great. But I am still mulling over the flavor of the creamy cheesy spicy garlic bread. I would have definitely asked for second helpings had I had some time, but I was on a clock, had to return back to work on time, so it was a rush.

Now, it is time for main course. The first dish in the main course in the Mexican Pizza. Two layers of crispy tortillas, sandwiched over a filling of mashed beans and seasonings, topped with chopped tomatoes, bell peppers, cheese and the like. I am not a very big fan of Mexican pizzas, but this one tastes delicious. I like it. No time for second helpings, but it is great.

The second dish in the main course is the Burrito bowl. It is basically all the stuffing of the burrito served without the tortilla. So, there’s rice, there’s tomatoes, there’s onions, there’s bell peppers, there’s beans. I love burrito bowls, and this one is delicious. I was a big fan of the burrito bowl at Hola and now I am loving it here too. Good one, definitely worth second and maybe even third and fourth helpings.

The last course – the dessert. I would have loved to close it with some brownie or some cake. But all they have is ice cream. There are four flavors offered – vanilla, chocolate, mango and strawberry. I love butterscotch and that ain’t there. So, I settle for mango. It definitely doesn’t complement the Mexican meal I just had. The best thing would to close it with something Mexican, like maybe churros. But this is all the choice I have, so let’s go for mango ice cream. It is a standard no-frill mango ice cream, no toppings, plain mango. Good and smooth.

I did ask the owner why the walls were so blank, they are all plain, there is no classy clock, no paining, nothing. It’s totally blank. It feels like a mess sometimes because of that, kills the feel. But they did tell me that it is a work in progress. So maybe it will be covered soon.

The meal is over, it’s time to leave and here’s my report card –

Taste – 8

Service – 9

Ambiance – 7

Value for money – 9.5