La Calavera in Douglas.
Let Pablo Power You Up!
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| Marinated meat slow cooks for 12 hours. Nothing artificial here |
La Calavera, the new Mexican restaurant/takeaway in Douglas, is proving very popular, especially with young people and athletics, owner Shuting McLoughlin told me when I called for lunch during the week. “I’ve been working in Asian all my life but Mexican is lighter and healthier and customers come three or four times a week. The athletes, including rugby players, love our Power Bowl with double the meat and brown rice instead of white to increase the protein.”
There is quite a choice here and Shuting’s husband Ray said they intend to add a fish option shortly. At present, you may enjoy a Burrito, or a Naked Burrito (without the Taco), a Fajita, Tacos (3 small Tacos with 3 meats), and that Power Bowl! And the fillings available include Chilli Con Carne, Barbacoa, Carnitas, and Vegetarian. You may see the details of each filling on the photo of the menu board (at end).
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| Naked Burrito |
I had chicken in my Fajita and Shuting explained that the chicken comes daily from Clonakilty. They have so little storage space here that virtually everything comes daily and the suppliers have no problem doing that because there are so many restaurants and food outlets in Douglas. That means more competition as well!
And it’s not just the chicken. All the meats here are Irish and, on the vegetable side, local produce is used when seasonally available. Read more about their sourcing policy, “better food from better sources” here.
My chicken, marinated in Citrus Adobo (a stock used in Spanish and Latin American cooking to enhance the flavour), was delicious and the peppers and onions that came with it in the Fajita were outstanding as well, a lovely dish, quite substantial too, all for €6.95!
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Soft shell corn tacos. You can have
three different meats and they are gluten free |
Halfway through, I did a swop with CL. She had been singing the praises of the Naked Burrito. I soon found why out for myself. Her filling was the Carnitas, free range pork served shredded and she specifically ordered the beans. Quite a different experience to the Fajita but another delicious combination of flavours and textures. And again, just €6.95.
Shuting and Ray had been studying the ethnic restaurants in Dublin where there are so many compared to here. And they thought that Mexican would be a good fit here in Cork and, with experienced chef Pablo at the helm, La Calavera seems to be going down well. The restaurant space is quite small so there will be a big emphasis on the takeaway side.
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| Fajita. It's big and beautiful! |
You have great choices here, just look at all those bowls in the bar. And another important thing, you can ask for your preferred level of spice. Pico de Gallo is mild, Roasted Chili Corn is medium while Salsa Verde is medium to hot.
Back to those health benefits. I usually advise, always will, that you check those out for yourself. But here are a few points. Essential vitamins and minerals can be found in tomatoes, lettuce, and other vegetables that are commonly found in Mexican food. Protein, from the meats (the leaner the better) is important because it improves energy levels and keeps muscles and tissue healthy. Mexican sauces, such as salsa and chile, contain spicy peppers and that may help lower blood pressure and cholesterol. And those beans can be a good source of fibre. Looks like a good choice and not just for the young!
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| Choices |
And where did they get the name? La Calavera means skull and in this context refers to the sugar (sometimes chocolate) skulls used (often presented to children, sometimes left out for dead relatives) during festivities surrounding the Mexican Day of the Dead also known as the Christian All Souls Day. For more on the practice, see here.
La Calavera
Douglas West, Douglas
Cork
Tel: (021) 489 0011
Twitter: @lacalaveracork
Open
Mon-Thu:
12:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Fri-Sat:
12:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Sun:
12:00 pm - 10:00 pm
The demand for information on new restaurants is, as almost always, reflected in the most popular posts on this site. The list, by the way, is calculated on hits on posts published since 30th November 2015 and is ordered by the amount of hits. That makes the performance of Republic amazing as it was posted just a couple of weeks back. Not all newcomers though as the likes of The Farmgate Cafe and Bunnyconnellan demonstrates. And not all restaurants either as there is room too for the guerrillas of The Sharp Knife. And not all food either: Youghal's Munster Brewery makes the list.
