Hidden Gems

I live in east-end Saskatoon, and to my delight, two new restaurants have opened in my neighborhood recently.

On Boychuck, La Bamba Cafe. The food at this little mexican cafe tastes like it was teleported from a family dinner table in Mexico. Totally authentic. They give you tortilla chips with that delicious, choppy, fresh salsa that is SOOOO much more delicious than the stuff you get out of the jar here. They hand-make their tortillas behind the counter with this roller contraption. I definately recommend the strawberry daquiris.. they make them out of real fruit, not some powder mix. And when I was there, I ordered sopes, delicious shredded chicken with lettuce, cheese, and sour cream layered in tortillas. Was far too full when I left.

Inside the restaurant, it's bustling, they're making the food right behind the counter, there's mexican music playing, it's a bit noisy- maybe not somewhere you want to propose, but a good date place because of the food. There are a lot of places to get decent Mexican food now in Saskatoon, but this is definately one of my favorites because of the authenticity... I mean, the owner's momma is behind the counter cooking up the recipes she made her whole life. 

La Bamba is open from 11:45 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday and Sunday, and 11:45 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Address: No. 3 - 1025, Boychuk Dr.

Okay, second spot- was just brave enough to try it for the first time last night... Spicy Bite on 8th Street, right behind the Petro Can on Acadia. It's described as Pakistani soul food, and I was a bit unsure, because to be honest, I didn't know what kind of food they eat in that part of the world. Obviously, it's similar to Indian cuisine in a lot of ways, but you can also see African influence in it. But you know what they say- eat where the nationales eat. You want good Chinese food, go where Chinese people eat. So I was happy to see that a ton of Pakistani-Canadians were there, mostly getting takeout- and it was 7 o'clock when we got there.

I ordered a vegetable samosa, and tandori chicken tikki. Jer ordered butter chicken with rice. Both were so good. Nothing was overly spicy, though I did request an order of plain yogurt at one point when I realized that some spices sneak up on you. For the more adventurous, there's things like goat curry on the menu, which Jer wants to try next time. It's not the most romantic place inside, but like La Bamba, you go for the food, not the decor. Spicy Bite is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week, at 3401 Eighth St. East

I would definately encourage people to go give both of these new spots a try. I can't wait to go back.