Manitoba’s appetite for Mexican food is creating opportunities for a new generation of local restaurant owners and chefs
IF you had a hankering for a taco in the 1980s, you were likely tucking into a large platter — complete with rice, refried beans and a generous glob of sour cream — at Chi-Chi’s Mexican Restaurante.
While the menu was undoubtedly Americanized Tex-Mex, it was many Manitobans’ first taste of south-of-the-border dishes. And they ate it up.
At one point, Chi-Chi’s on Maroons Road was the largest freestanding restaurant in Canada, with seating for 400 people looking to indulge in complimentary baskets of warm tortilla chips, smothered enchiladas and chimichangas, the chain’s most popular dish. Located across the street from Winnipeg Stadium and Winnipeg Arena, the Polo Park locale was a hot spot for pre-game crowds tipping back cheap beer and margaritas. The Regent Avenue location was equally hopping during the happy-hour taco bar. And no doubt, most Winnipeggers celebrated at least one birthday there, serenaded by lively, clapping staff, while being served the restaurant’s signature deep-fried ice cream.
When Chi-Chi’s closed its two Winnipeg restaurants in the early ’90s, it left a burrito-sized hole in restaurant goers’ heart and a legacy that makes it one of the top spots people still wish would return to the city.
The rumour mill is stirring up something as spicy as picante salsa — it might.
Chi-Chi’s reopened last October in St. Louis Park, Minn. Michael McDermott, the son of chain founder Marno McDermott, struck a deal with Hormel Foods, which owns the trademark, to revive the beloved brand.
“Chi-Chi’s is back stronger than ever,” McDermott said in a statement. “We’re bringing back the food, energy and fun that people love, now with a fresh twist for a whole new generation.” The brand’s rebirth was built hand-in-hand with its fans as more than 2,000 people invested $2.3 million through the restaurant’s crowdfunding campaign. It notes there are plans for a second location in Minnesota and possible future franchise options.
McDermott was noncommittal about Chi-Chi’s returning to Winnipeg and Canada.
“Not at this time, but that could change,” he said.
But while Manitobans wait to see whether the chain makes a comeback, local businesses have been serving up Mexican-inspired food for decades.
While Chi-Chi’s left us hungry, Carlos & Murphy’s has filled stomachs and become a fixture in the community with its Tex-Mex for 40 years.
Nick Diacos and his sister Jennie started the Osborne Village restaurant in 1986, filling a gap for local Mexican-style dining. Great staff, affordability and a vibrant atmosphere paired with comfort-focused cantina fare have drawn generations of Manitobans, making it one of the city’s oldest standalone establishments.
“We don’t take that lightly,” says current owner Daniel Henry, who bought Carlos & Murphy’s just over five years ago. “We are a lot people’s watering hole after work. A lot of people had their first date here. It’s an institution and people love it.”
Their massive menu, which has remained relatively untouched for the past four decades, features 100 items, including their famous nachos, Carlos Wings and hearty enchiladas and burritos.
But while Carlos & Murphy’s still sells countless chimichangas, Henry recognizes that tastes are evolving. While growth in Mexican cuisine in Canada is largely driven by quick-service restaurants (QSRs) — brands like Taco Time Canada and Chipotle Mexican Grill continue to expand their footprints — there is a notable appetite for authentic options. Travel, the internet and food-delivery apps have expanded people’s understanding and appreciation of the complex sauces, slow-cooked meats, corn tortillas and fresh toppings that define traditional Mexican food.
MANITOBA has also been enriched by a growing, diverse population that brings heritage, traditions and culture, broadening local culinary horizons for the better.
Cristhel Pipper, co-owner and chef of La Taqueria Mexican Street Tacos, came to Winnipeg from Veracruz, Mexico, to visit her daughter, but ended up falling in love and launching a taco food truck.
It’s the simplified version of the former professor’s story, who is now focused, alongside her husband Lyle Jackman, on operating a bustling restaurant on Ness Avenue and a high-demand food truck.
While her mother would never let her cook at home, Pipper’s nanny would sneak her into the kitchen to learn the regional dishes of Veracruz, which emphasize fresh-grown ingredients, lighter sauces and slow-cooked meats.
Making authentic Mexican food is a true labour of love. When the couple first opened their food truck in 2011, Pipper would start her day at 2 a.m., roasting beef and pork inside Classic Billiards’ kitchen during off-hours. Jackman would swing by later to load everything into the car before delivering it to the truck, where Pipper would prep and plate.
“We laugh because I’d always have my back to the customers cooking, so all they would see is this white guy serving authentic Mexican tacos to them,” she says.
Today, Pipper is in their own restaurant’s kitchen — still early, but 5 a.m. now — alongside a co-chef who hails from Mexico City. Jackman claims their signature dish is the Yucatan-style cochinita pibil tacos, while Pipper argues it’s the birria with red salsa.
Whatever you order, it’s guaranteed authentic—literally. In June, La Taqueria was awarded the prestigious Mexican Gastronomic M Seal. This official distinction is presented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Mexican Academy of Gastronomy for serving 100 per cent authentic Mexican gastronomy, preserving traditional cooking techniques and honouring Mexico’s rich cultural heritage.
While Pipper appreciates praise from her local patrons, there is something extra special, and validating, about this recognition. “Who would criticize me more than a Mexican?” she laughs, noting it fuels her to continue teaching customers about the flavours of Mexico. “If someone asked me to do Tex-Mex food, I’d say ‘over my dead body.’ My ancestors would be rolling over in their graves.”
Luckily, Manitobans have plenty of places to get schooled.
- Led by Peruvian-born chef Roberto Cano Rodriguez, Berto’s Taqueria recently opened a new location in Windsor Park. Cano Rodriguez started cooking his Mexican street tacos out of a ghost kitchen in Tommy’s Pizzeria before opening a physical location on Main Street (which has since closed with the new spot). He has won Taco Week with his suadero tacos, which features slow-braised brisket confit crisped on the grill, though the seasoned barbacoa remains a constant crowd favourite. Vegetarian note: try the mushroom chipotle tacos; you can thank us later.
- Rigoberto and Betty Calderon-Villaseñor transitioned BMC Market from a Mexican product store into a full-blown taqueria in 2011. Across the restaurant’s two locations, Betty pays homage to her grandmother’s Michoacán recipes by hand-making thick corn tortillas, pressed to order and topped with fresh salsas and slow-roasted meats, including their signature, tender barbacoa.
- When Sargent Taco chef and owner Carlos Bosque moved to Winnipeg nearly 20 years ago, he couldn’t find the tacos he loved from back home in Mexico City, so he made them himself. Out of this small shop comes big-flavour street food, featuring classics like vibrant al pastor tacos and specialties like the quesabirria – corn tortillas stuffed with melted cheese, tender beef, fresh cilantro and onions, served with a side of savoury birria broth for dipping.
- If burritos are your thing, chef-owners Marvin and Mayra Dubon dish up hefty portions at JC’s Tacos and More. The regular burrito — a 12-inch tortilla stuffed with rice, beans, your choice of meat, lettuce and house-made pico de gallo — is easily enough for two, though they also offer a shareable El Señor option. The “more” on the menu includes Marvin’s Salvadoran specialties, like pupusas and empanadas.
- You might be surprised to find that some of the most authentic Mexican flavours lie outside Winnipeg. Winkler offers a few options (we don’t have space here for a full history lesson on the connection between Mennonites and Mexico), including Flavours of Mexico. Owned by the Rodriguez family, the restaurant/store boasts a massive scratch-made menu, featuring fresh salsas and sauces you can buy by the jar to take home. Or, pop out to Portage la Prairie for Mole Guacamole’s namesake signature dish: mole guacamole enchiladas, tacos and empanadas served with homemade chips and salsa.
