Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a media dinner at Milagro Cantinas on Mercer, one of three locations in the city.  The dinner, which included tastings of several “authentic” dishes on the menu was courtesy of foodie PR company, Butter PR.  I have been to Milagro several times in the past, mostly to its uptown location on Yonge and Lawrence, and enjoy the restaurant immensely.  However, this event was different, as each dish was paired with a different beverage.  We also had the chance to try more items that one would typically be able to do at a regular dining experience.

Trio of salsas

First up were chips and guacamole, along with three salsas.  While the guacamole isn’t anything too special – it’s something I always order at the restaurant – I have to say that I will definitely try the salsas.  The three that came with the course were: Charred Tomato and Chile de Arbol; Chile Chipotle and Morita & Tomatillo and Chile Serrano, Tomatillo and Fresh Lime.  While there was definitely a bit of a kick to all three, they weren’t your boring, old runny plain red sauce, either.  I have to say that the tomatillo and fresh lime was my favourite.  With the chips and dip, we were also served two little shot glasses.  One was alcoholic – the Milagrito “ven a Mi” mezcal reposato, a very strong drink that is similar to tequila.  To wash it down, we were also given a shot of regular orange juice.  I was actually unable to finish the entire shot – it was much too strong for me.

Sope Plazero (left) and Tostadita de Pulpo (right)

Second were two appetizer plates.  The first was a Caesar salad (a more traditional one with larger leaves of romaine – large enough to require cutting), followed by the Tostadita de Pulpo (a crisp tortilla with octopus and chipotle ceviche – an item that I have not seen on the regular menu) and Sope Plazero – a corn masa base, with pork carnitas, warm tomatillo-serrano salsa and crema.  While the pork was good, the base was a little bit soggy at the centre, as if the meat had been sitting on the wrap a little bit too long.  The drink that the appetizer plates were paired with was a beer that was poured over lime juice and served on a salt rimmed beer mug.  Interesting taste, but I’m not sure if I can be too honest as I’m not really a beer girl.

Pierna de Cordero

There were three items in the main course, all served family style, with four people to a full portion.  However, due to a peanut sensitivity, I was only able to try two of them – Cochinita Pibil, an ahiote marinated pulled pork, with pickled habanero onions and fried plantains and Pierna de Cordero, a braised lamb shank in chile guajillo and mezcal sauce.  The third was a mole chicken.  All three mains were, as standard with all Milagro main dishes, served with a plate of tortillas.  Each of the mains was paired with a small glass of wine, two reds (for the first and third mains) and one white, from Spain and California.  While I typically prefer white over red, I found the white, a 2009 Tempranillo from Puerta de Alcala Crianza in Madrid, a little bit too sweet.  The California wine, a 2010 Syrah from McManis Family Vineyard in San Juan (paired with the Mole Poblano that I wasn’t able to eat) was very good.

Flan de Queso al Caramelo and Natilla de Cajeta

Dessert?  So decadent!  We were each given two small portions, one of Flan de Queso al Caramelo (cheese flan with burnt sugar sauce) and Natilla de Cajeta, a creamy custard with goat’s milk cajeta and bruleed sugar.  Though many of my dining partners seemed to like the custard more, I have to say that the cheese flan was the better of the two.  I’m not big on things that are on the sticky side, which the custard had!  But maybe I was expecting more of a crème brûlée sort of dish, which the custard clearly wasn’t (despite its hard top).  The dessert was paired with Cazadores Añejo, a white oak barrel-aged tequila.  It wasn’t bad, especially if you like tequila, but I personally found it (like most tequila), a bit too strong.

The event was great as it gave media the opportunity to try several different dishes, even though they weren’t items that were new or off menu.  If I were to recommend anything, it would definitely be the Tostadita de Pulpo and the Pierna de Cordero (braised lamb).

Milagro has three locations in Toronto – uptown on Yonge, just north of Lawrence, Mercer Street and one on Queen, just west of Bathurst.