Dona Cata in Vancouver

August 20, 2009
By Kenny

Dona Cata in Vancouver

Truly good Mexican food has always been hard to come by in the Vancouver area. For years it seemed that Las Margaritas or Pepitas were the only Mexican options in the area. Over time the available options increased with the likes of Topangas, Andales and Mi Mexico but I always wondered if the Mexican food here could still get better. With a love for Mexican spices, tortilla and salsa I’ve always been up for trying a different Mexican gem. Doña Cata Mexican Restaurant & Taqueria is located deep in East Vancouver on Victoria Drive and E. 35th Avenue. Open now for three years, the restaurant sports an incredibly colourful storefront yet somehow retains an unassuming appearance.

Doña Cata’s has a fairly intimate setting (read small) offering multiple tables for parties of two, four, and six to eight people. But don’t get any ideas about planning your next big event here, I doubt the place can seat more than 30 people.

Known more as a taqueria, Doña Cata’s specialty is, tacos. Mexican, (specifically from the region of Morelos) style tacos is what occupies most of the menu. For the review we sampled a number of dishes. Two tacos (bisteck and pollo), combo taquero (bisteck, carnets, and longaniza), “Alambres preparados” Doña Cata Special, nachos and of course the lime margarita. You may be thinking, “Holy cow that’s a lot of food”, but don’t worry the review was actually split into two visits.

The two tacos is easily one of the best deals that can be had. Two tacos for FOUR dollars (plus GST) with the option of marinated pork, chopped steak, cured pork sausage, shredded pork loin, slow roasted pork, and chicken or lamb. We chose the beef and chicken. The beef (bisteck) were chunks of juicy sauteed meat instead of the typical ground beef in Tex Mex tacos. The chicken (pollo) was shredded chicken breast, nicely flavoured but a little over cooked this time around.

The Combo Taquero adds a third taco, rice and refried beans. Rice was well cooked, not too sticky, not too hard and with good flavour. The beef taco was the same as above. The pork sausage (longaniza ) and pulled pork (carnets) were both good however given the choice I would have the longaniza in the Doña Cata Special shown below. The addition of cheese and peppers really adds to the experience.

The Doña Cata Special is a blend of the marinated pork loin and cured pork sausage with pepper, tomato, onions and cheese. Like the rest of the tacos mentioned so far these are not your typical Tex Mex tacos. The meat was well cooked and well seasoned with just the right amount of cheese. The Alambres Preparados tacos come with an option of four flour or two corn tortillas. This “dish” can almost be shared between two people with the four tortilla option.

One of Doña Cata’s best features is its sauce bar. It offers eight to nine different sauces and salsas that everyone is welcome to have with their dishes. The bar offers mild choices from basic red tomato to green tomatillo sauces to the burn your face off pureed chili “macha” sauce.

I was a little underwhelmed by the nachos but this was most likely because I’m so accustomed to North American “nachos”. Doña Cata kept the nachos simple with just refried beans, a large healthy helping of fresh chopped tomatoes and sour cream. Where was my greasy beef, jalapenos, olives, green onions and cheddar? Nonetheless, the chips were crisp and I didn’t feel like I gained two pounds when we were done.

Finally what would a visit to a Mexican restaurant be without a margarita. Our choice was the lime margarita and it did not disappoint. Served in a perfectly salt rimmed glass offered a decent amount of tequila kick without being overpowering and a fresh lime finish.