Café Mercadio Latino
219 Henderson Highway
667-4272
Rating: *****
Price range: $7.50 – $9.95

To say that I liked this little family-run café would be an understatement. I loved it.

Café Mercadito Latino is as lovely as the Central American family that runs it. At the front of the house is the most colourful, clean, and well-organized Latino grocery store I have ever seen.

In the back is a quaintly cheerful café that serves fresh, tasty and authentically Salvadorian cuisine.
I sampled two combos: Combo #9 ($8.99) of three Salvadoran enchiladas with various toppings and Combo #4 ($8.75), a pupusa with two tamales.

The tamales were moist and flavoured with Alguashte, a deeply rich spiced floral seasoning. For me the star of the hour was the pupusa. A food that originated in El Salvador, this toasted corn flour pillow is stuffed with cheese, refried beans, and pulled pork. I will definitely dream of pupusas tonight.

Even though El Salvador is a small country, we all know that good things come in small packages.