It probably feels like a moot point to tell any Sydney-sider that we’re in the throes of a love affair with Mexican food. It seems everywhere we turn, there’s Mexican food here in Sydney. New places pop up, some better than others, some more authentic than others. Mexican food is easy to do badly. I can recall one recent awful meal at one restaurant where our soft tacos were swimming in half a centimetre of water and the beef was completely bereft of flavour. Thankfully we had forgotten to bring a camera on this impromptu visit and that ended up being a relief. But there are some that are trying harder than others.

Mexico Food & Liquor sits where District Dining used to. It’s the newest restaurant for District Dining’s chef Warren Turnbull who started off his Mexican love with a version of Mexico in Auckland in his native New Zealand. The colourful wall with murals and fresh flowers ushers you in and a comely skull beauty looks down at you from her perch above the greeting station. No inch has been left unthemed and the walls are covered with picture frames, deity figurines, Day of the Dead artwork and Mexican movie posters. And if you’re waiting for friends because you’ve turned up early, that means lots to rest your eyes on and ponder.

At Mexico, there are no bookings for lunch or dinner. Dinner I understand but lunch time is usually a time pressed affair for most so on this Friday I worry about us getting in and out in a timely manner. Combine that with the fact that nobody is seated until all guests have arrived and I’m already a bit stressed. I sit at the bar surveying the various tequilas, apparently there are over 80 premium tequilas in total when suddenly I feel a hand on me. It’s Buxom Wench and Silver Fox. A few minutes later, we’re being led to the outer section which looks down onto busy Central station on Chalmers Street.

Jarritos Mexican soft drinks $5 each

The menu is easy enough to negotiate with a neat list of food on the left hand side while the remaining two thirds of the menu is taken up by drinks. The prices are reasonable and portions are said to be on the smaller side although we’re told they’re “sharing sizes” (which I’d interpret as larger serves so I don’t quite get that). We start with Jarritos, Mexican soft drinks in alarmingly bright neon colours. Even though the colours look startlingly artificial, the mandarin does actually taste like mandarin (unlike say Fanta that doesn’t taste like oranges). We also tried lime and pineapple which weren’t bad but the mandarin was the most like the actual fruit. I know, who expects that a soft drink tastes like the fruit? What can I say, I live in hope

Salsa roja, house made corn chips $6

The restaurant is busy and it’s about twenty five minutes until we get our first bites of food. First to arrive are the house made corn chips with a salsa roja. The corn chips are crispy and thin and the salsa isn’t bad although there doesn’t appear to be much heat, spices or garlic in the salsa roja at all. The menu states that the hot sauces on the table are added to give heat although with chilli such an integral part of Mexican cuisine, I do wonder why it isn’t just included in the food.

“Do it yourself guacamole”, warm flour tortillas $8

The DIY guacamole comes out in a little jar and you are supposed to squeeze in some lime and mix it up which isn’t really DIY as it is really quite made up already. The four warm flour tortillas are warm and very soft and we spread them with the guacamole. It’s not bad but it too hasn’t got a lot of flavour so we add some of the salsa roja and chilli sauce on the table.

Caramelised lamb soft taco with pomegranate, chilli, pepitas and Jalapeno mayo $7

The three tacos arrive next, each in a enamel covered metal bowl. The first one we try is the caramelised lamb soft taco with pomegranate, chilli, pepitas and Jalapeno mayo. The caramelised lamb is quite caramelised an almost a little burnt in parts and the chillis and pepitas add heat and crunch.

Black bean crema, eggplant pico de gallo, zucchini, queso fresco $7

I must admit that my favourite taco was the vegetarian one filled with black bean crema, eggplant pico de gallo, zucchini and queso fresco. The combination of flavours and textures was perfectly balanced and moreish.

Tomato, chipotle braised pork taco with lime, radish and grape $8

We chose one of the specials with pulled pork in a tomato and chipotle braise and this was paired with line, radish and halved grapes. Overall it was a nice enough combination although the eggplant taco above was still the pick.

Mexico’s fried chicken $14

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Oh how life changes and evolves. One minute you’re a teenager during the 80′s with crimped hair fastened in a side ponytail, iridescent leggings and an oversized tshirt. Then suddenly you find yourself some years ago, hair curled rather than crimped, the oversized jumper is still there, the leggings have been replaced by leather leggings and heels. And your attitude to a once shunned establishment has changed vastly.

I will be honest, when we were younger, the Bourbon and Beefsteak was not somewhere that we wanted to go. It was notorious for a roughish crowd, underworld criminals and cheap $10 steaks and being open late at night. Cut to 2013, it has now taken on a different identity now called The Bourbon that is about two months old. It sits in the heart of Kings Cross, adjacent to the El Alamein Fountain and the trading hours are lunch, dinner going until 5am seven days a week.We’re dining here one Saturday evening with Dave and his lovely girlfriend Santana who is a nurse slash pole dancing teacher (and even your friends get more interesting as you get older! ).

The head chef at The Bourbon  is James Metcalfe, from the now defunct Etch restaurant. Unlike the Etch kitchen which was tiny, this space features a large open kitchen-perhaps the most open I’ve seen a kitchen as patrons entering the restaurant wander past while some even weave in between the island and the kitchen dodging chefs deep in concentration. The restaurant design is masculine with bright teal seats, dark woods and leather from Sydney based designer Paul Kelly with a Fleur de Lys motif echoed throughout.

So what is the menu like? Well there’s a bit of this (seafood) and that (steaks) but there is also a shout out to a cuisine not often seen in Sydney, Creole or New Orleans cuisine. However purists be warned, these are James’s interpretations of gumbo, jambalaya and deep fried oysters and they’re very good indeed but if you’re looking to relive memories of a holiday or home town there, it may not happen exactly as planned. James visited New Orleans to research the cuisine and and is due for another visit shortly.

The best seats or at least the ones that afford you the best view people watching are unfortunately the ones right near the smoking section. And along with views, comes loud live music every night from 9pm. We’re sitting in the back section of booths opposite the open kitchen which is more conversation friendly but of course this means that any people watching is restricted to the kitchen. When I called to make a booking they were very friendly and asked if we would prefer the smoking section and whether there were any food allergies or if there was a special occasion which left a good first impression.

Crackling $5

Inside the kitchen are trays of pork skin that resemble slabs of toffee. These are ready for deep frying. I’ve had pork crackling at a few places and it’s ok but quite light. This has some weight to it which I like but also a blanket of spicy Cajun spice. I find the spice level on these just perfect and could disappear into a corner and eat a whole bowl of these.

Olives and spiced mixed nuts $5

The olives come in a variety of sizes in green and black and are accented with lemon, garlic and chilli while the spiced mixed nuts are absolutely moreish with the almost sweet spiciness.

Hiramasa Kingfish $11

The Hiramasa kingfish reminds me of James’s time at Etch where fresh fish would be ceviched with tangy citrus and flavours. It’s fresh, pretty and light.

Terrine of pork $8

Made from pig’s head, they had to change the name of the terrine because nobody was ordering it! These four neat little rectangles are topped with a sweet watermelon rind pickle  and  and a creamy garlic emulsion atop a buttery, velvet soft pork terrine.

Bread $12

The bread is a crunchy crusted baguette style bread which is soft and dense inside with a fine crumb. It’s served with chow chow images which is a popular accompaniment to Southern dishes and Hopeful Ranch olive oil. And I know to save a piece of bread for what’s coming up-the crab!

Clam and corn chowder $22

The kitchen was kind enough to portion this into four bowls as we all love to share and I guess they pictured a rather strange scene with us sharing out of one bowl. It’s fortuitous that they did because this is a creamy smooth soup with plenty of sweet, luscious corn and given a briney kick from the clams in their shell.

Grilled Alaskan Crab Clusters 500g for $38

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