Los Comales, 346 Richmond

[rousseau]

Was driving by and decided to stop in. And we were glad we did! This place is run by a lovely Salvadorean woman, and has been open for four months. It has really nice and authentic Mexican food with a few Salvadorean items thrown in for good measure. If you hate Tex-Mex for the heavy, greasy slop it is, like I do, then this place is a treat. Highly recommended.

[manny_santos]

I shall give it a try!

[rousseau]

Ate here again tonight after a leisurely drive into London. The food was excellent. I heartily recommend Combo Uno for $12, a mix of a Mexican chimichanga, a Salvadorean pupusa and one other thing I can't remember the name of. My wife had one of the $8 sandwiches with fries and a salad. Sandwich is "torta" in south American Spanish, and this one had pork and pineapple with a yummy sauce in it.

I highly recommend this place. They also have a lunch buffet on Tuesdays and Thursdays, apparently all of the old Spanish-speaking women come out for it, or so the owner told me.

One other thing: London has a twice monthly Spanish magazine and what appears to be a daily Spanish-English newspaper, both geared to the Hispanic community. Like...wow. The owner of the restaurant said there were lots of Colombians in London now. And another thing: did you know there's a Mexican consulate in London?

Like...wow. I had no idea.

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by rousseau

Ate here again tonight after a leisurely drive into London. The food was excellent. I heartily recommend Combo Uno for $12, a mix of a Mexican chimichanga, a Salvadorean pupusa and one other thing I can't remember the name of. My wife had one of the $8 sandwiches with fries and a salad. Sandwich is "torta" in south American Spanish, and this one had pork and pineapple with a yummy sauce in it.

Just be careful ordering a "torta" in Mexico if you want a sandwich - in that country, that refers to a cake.

Originally Posted by rousseau

One other thing: London has a twice monthly Spanish magazine and what appears to be a daily Spanish-English newspaper, both geared to the Hispanic community. Like...wow. The owner of the restaurant said there were lots of Colombians in London now. And another thing: did you know there's a Mexican consulate in London?

Like...wow. I had no idea.

In addition to the Spanish magazine there are actually TWO Spanish newspapers, although neither of them are daily - I think one is weekly and the other is every two weeks. I've have heard from within the Latino community that there are about 20,000 Latinos in London, about 8,000 of which are Colombian.

I am not sure of the size of the Mexican community in London - certainly it is smaller than the one in Detroit, likely the largest one in this region - but last year they celebrated Mexican Independence Day (September 15th) at Museum London, and this year they are holding Cinco de Mayo celebrations at the Covent Garden Market. I don't know if they did that last year because I was out of the country at that time. I had no idea there was a Mexican consulate in London.

By the way, in Detroit's Mexicantown (located right at the end of the Ambassador Bridge coming from the Ontario side of the river), Cinco de Mayo is a much bigger deal than in Mexico itself.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by manny_santos

Just be careful ordering a "torta" in Mexico if you want a sandwich - in that country, that refers to a cake.

Actually, no. Torta means cake in some south American countries, but not Mexico. A torta in Mexico is a sandwich. I've spent a total of five months in Mexico, and the "torta cubana" was always a good, quick choice in the bus stations.

Torta
Regional variations in Spanish

I had no idea there were so many Spanish speakers in London.

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by rousseau

Actually, no. Torta means cake in some south American countries, but not Mexico. A torta in Mexico is a sandwich. I've spent a total of five months in Mexico, and the "torta cubana" was always a good, quick choice in the bus stations.

Torta
Regional variations in Spanish

Aha, you're right. When I thought of South America I thought of Colombia, where I guess it does refer to "cake". I just knew it meant different things in Mexico and Colombia.

Originally Posted by rousseau

I had no idea there were so many Spanish speakers in London.

I don't know if these numbers take into account people like me who speak some Spanish but are not Latin American. But you can count me in as a speaker of Spanish as a second language I suppose.

[MolsonExport]

the wife visited...apparently very good. hope to try meself soon enuf.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

the wife visited...apparently very good. hope to try meself soon enuf.

Go, already!