So cool, SoCal

When SoCal opened in Neutral Bay late last year, it was really one of the first all-out themed bars to hit the lower north shore. Decked out in a Southern Californian beach style with bearded and floral-shirted hipster staff at every turn, SoCal has certainly hit a chord with the themed-bar-starved locals, who flock to the upstairs and half outdoor bar and restaurant through the week and especially on weekends.

Cocktail samples at SoCal, Young Street, Neutral Bay

I'd been to SoCal once before for a quick margarita in warmer times, enjoying the casual outdoor terrace vibe amid some very dressy groups of girls. The venue's fitout and music does well in transporting people to another place, far away from the thoroughfare that is Military Road.

As does a fun cocktail list which we sampled parts of at a recent SoCal Social event. Misbehaving foams were the name of the game with a fun, flirty and citrusy orange-red tequila cocktail by bar manager Joe Worthington.

Crab and sopressatta tostadas

Given its proximity to Mexico, the Southern Californian theme sees a Mexican tinge through the menu including plenty of tequilas on the back bar and a unique Californian slant to the wine list.

The food started with a bang and a crunch with a board of tostadas delivered by chef Zac Smart himself. Crunchy chip circles were topped with a zingy, flavour-packed combination of two of my favourite things: crab flesh and sopressata salami. Rich yet moreish, this really was the ultimate tostada and a good sign of things to come.

Chicken sliders: marinated chicken breast with avocado and chorizo

Sliders make a menu appearance, along with fellow-everywhere buddies tacos and quesadillas, but these aren't your average mini burgers.

Maybe it's been a while between sliders for me but I loved the juicy chicken fillet with avocado on the little toasted burger bun although the chorizo didn't really register.

Frisco Pisco cocktail

The sliders were paired with the Frisco Pisco cocktail – a jalapeño chilli-infused Pisco shaken with egg white, elderflower liqueur, lime, sugar and muddled cucumber and perfectly garnished with a touch of cracked pepper.

Seared salmon with broccolini, chilli and coriander salsa verde

To the more substantial share plates, we had the delightfully seared salmon with broccolini, the crunchiest sweet potato crisps and a smashing chilli and coriander salsa verde.

It was perfection with the salmon just a little rare in the middle, and matched with Dry Creek Fume Blanc from California's Sonoma region.

Slow roasted lamb shoulder with faro, freekeh, quinoa and kale

Next was the slow roasted lamb shoulder - itself a very 'now' protein offering served on a superfood medley of old grains faro, freekah and quinoa with diced kale, topped with an enlightening gremolata of chopped parsley and citrus zest.

This was pretty much the ultimate new take on a rustic dish that fits right in with modern Australian cuisine and was paired with Bliss Pinot Noir.

Scotch fillet with chimmichurri

And if that wasn't enough red meat pleasure, our final shared savoury dish was a very rare scotch fillet steak, sliced to share, with tangy chimmichurri that could go well with really any protein though I would have been happy to have the steak on the grill a minute more.

Mushroom and bean salad

The steak was served with Dry Creek ‘Heritage’ Zinfandel, also from the Sonoma region, and a mushroom salad with plenty of beans and spinach.

Chocolate, pistachio and tequila brownies with chipotle cream

The night finished on a high of several kinds, especially the fudgey chocolate, pistachio and tequila brownies served with a squizz with chipotle cream. While I'm not a dessert person, if there's a sweet I can never resist at least tasting, it's a brownie.

Espresso martini

The decadent brownie was matched with an equally rich salted caramel espresso martini of Ketel One vodka, Galliano Ristretto, salted caramel and espresso (decaf on request for those who can't sleep after espresso martinis). Garnished with a crumble of honeycomb chocolate, this is definitely a great dessert cocktail with both a sugar and caffeine high.

The people behind SoCal (and Bondi Hardware and The Botanist) are spreading their brand of casual but fun cool all across Sydney and for Neutral Bay locals, it must be so cool to have SoCal in the neighbourhood.

Food, Booze & Shoes attended the SoCal Social as a guest, with thanks to Pendulum Communications.

Tacos, down Mexico Food & Liquor way

It's pretty impressive that in the space of just a few of years, a craving for tacos can now elicit a number of Mexican restaurant suggestions in most inner Sydney suburbs. I remember a time when I only knew one venue – a dingy space in Kingsford – but choice is aplenty now.

Tequila at Mexico Food & Liquor, Randle Street, Surry Hills

It was an interesting decision to morph what was previously chef Warren Turnbull's already 'casual' District Dining in Surry Hills into the more casual Mexico Food & Liquor, but the decision has proved worthwhile, with nightly crowds packing into the lavishly decked out Mexican venue.

No wall is free of Mexican paraphernalia: from wrestling masks to vintage photos, which really works in getting patrons into a tequila state of mind. On that, there's a crazily extensive menu of 100% agave tequila with pages of bottle pictures in each Blanco, Reposado and Añejo categories.

We sampled a clear Reposado straight, which warmed rather than burned with sweet vanilla top notes.

Queso fundido with broccolini, black olive powder, corn bread

On food, we started with a tempting-sounding cheese fondue: a shallow dish of a pale melted cheese mix sprinkled with a savoury powder of black olives and served with lightly-cooked broccolini and a very moist, crumbly corn bread.

Our waiter also recommended an additional side of soft tortillas for dipping, noting that the broccolini and corn bread were never enough to mop up the somewhat bland, watery cheese mix.

Pickled vegetables

I like how Sydney restaurants are embracing pickles as they’re great appetisers, healthy and quite fun in their diversity.

The stout glass jar here was stuffed full with cauliflower, large chillies red and green with some bite, beans and carrot sticks – all crisply pickled in a just-tart enough pickling mix.

Pork, fish and beef tacos

There are main dish options on the menu, but we were down this way for the tacos. I was most looking forward to the pan fried fish taco, served as a mostly boneless fillet with a gribiche sauce, spicy chipotle mayonnaise and a red cabbage coleslaw – the latter being the perfect vegetable addition to every taco, I think.

The slightly chewy beef skirt steak had the most fantastic char flavour, complemented with a zingy salsa and fried onions.

Braised pork belly with pomegranate, spiced cabbage, sesame

Not to be outdone, the pork belly taco featured a fabulous Korean-style kimchi salad of very spicy cabbage and sesame seeds, with pomegranate for sweetness to combat the heat. The sticky, sweet and tender pork belly was worthy of being its own featured dish.

Chocolate, orange & pink peppercorn mousse, Abuela’s sweet biscuit

For a shared dessert we opted for the chocolate and orange mousse which was topped with more whole pink peppercorns than we could pick off.

The mousse itself was a light, airy rendition with good citrus flavour, though completely overpowered and even jarring whenever one of the many peppercorns got in the way every mouthful.

While the extensive tequila menu is all 100% Mexican, the food at Mexico Food & Liquor seems to have more of a modern and perhaps Australian fusion touch to it, but it's more than made up for with the decor and fantastic fiesta atmosphere. And as for for some great tacos, do come south of the CBD, down Mexico way.

Park it at Cantina Mobil Bar & Garage

There's a new amigo on Glebe Point Road, with one of the Sydney food trucks putting down (more) roots in a bricks and mortar outlet.

Cantina Mobil, a food truck known for its travelling tacos, has opened a second shopfront in Glebe (its first is in Darlinghurst).

The bar at Cantina Mobil Bar & Garage, Glebe Point Road, Glebe

On a strip that seems to be seeing lots of change, Cantina Mobil Bar & Garage is a fun and colourful addition marking the third Mexican offering within a few blocks of Glebe's main road.

But with Cantina Mobil's reputation, vibrant renovation and a dedicated bar housed in a truck-like structure, it's injecting a lively, devil-may-care, and potentially rambunctious, spirit to the neighbourhood.

Cantina Mobil Bar & Garage store front

The multi-functional space is so named as it features a front bar as part of the restaurant and has a garage, or parking space, for the Cantina Mobil food truck on its days off and after hours, out the back just behind the outdoor dining area.

Colourful wall murals

Frozen margaritas

At the launch night a few weeks back, a Monday night started appropriately with frozen margaritas from the 'van' bar, hosting a good hit of tequila, fresh lemon zing and a liberal salt rim.

Upstairs dining space

The corridor

While there's a small upstairs dining area in addition to the shopfront tables, the partying happens out in what's essentially the backyard.

Through a narrow but brightly decorated corridor, pass the stainless steel brightness of the kitchen before reaching the backyard, which has the carefree feel of a friendly backyard get-together.

Nachos and tacos

The menu is short and sharp at Cantina Mobil Bar & Kitchen, probably mirroring that of the food truck for consistency and stock management reasons.

But with the favourites in tacos - soft or hard shelled, burritos and nachos all making an appearance, the menu's brevity isn't too much of an issue.

Hot chilli sauces

There are a few hot chilli sauces that seem to be the Mexican standard around Sydney now, all available on request at Cantina Mobil Bar & Garage, although I rarely feel the need for them with fairly straightforward taco combinations.

Chipotle beef taco

We started with soft flour tortilla tacos filled with slow cooked, softly pulled chipotle beef; a welcome change from the porcine pulled meat version.

Shredded iceberg lettuce, corn kernels and guacamole filled the taco alongside the beef which was spiced with adobo chilli sauce, while queso cheese and a vivid chipotle mayonnaise topped off the taco, served singularly in a serviette lined plastic basket.

Beef nachos

The Cantina-style nachos on offer also featured the chipotle beef as a filling, with lashings of sour cream, chipotle mayonnaise and guacamole obscuring the pinto bean mix and tomato salsa.

While I don't have anything against supermarket corn chips as such, the superior quality crunch and natural flavour of the round ones served by Cantina Mobil make them even more addictive to snack on continuously.

Pinto bean taco

The vegetarian pinto bean taco had most the same fillings as the earlier beef taco, with tomato-stewed beans in place of the meat and just as much fun and flavour.

Sangria bowl

As a launch party treat, along with the margaritas, there was a great big punch bowl of sangria; an unexpectedly drier version than I've ever tried or made, and better for it

Sangria

There was fruit aplenty in the sangria, and perhaps a touch of dry sherry making the difference that lemonade never will.

Tequila shots and sangrita shooters

The night ended, as nights out with friends do, with tequila shots and fabulous sangrita chasers of tomato juice and lots of other healthy ingredients that quell the potent taste of tequila.

Locals and diners won't be going to Cantina Mobil Bar & Garage for an authentic and gourmet taste of Mexico - they'll be flocking there for a place to park themselves while having simple and filling Mexican food and drinks, and Mexican good times.

Food, booze and shoes attended the Cantina Mobil Bar & Garage launch as a guest.

Beach Burrito Company: Mexican beached in Newtown

Last year had to be the year of the burrito and taco in Sydney: from the fast-sprouting popularity of "healthier" Mexican fast food chains, to pub menus and dedicated Mexican restaurants decked out in Dia de los Muertos Day of the Dead style.

Beach Burrito Company is a chain that falls into the latter category and its Newtown outlet pumps with music that matches the colourful and somewhat dark, macabre wall murals celebrating the dead.

Monteith's pear cider at Beach Burrito, Bedford Street, Newtown

Unlike a majority of the Mexican food chains, Beach Burrito is a licensed venue which offers a couple of frozen margaritas and an interesting list of beers. The pear cider isn't terrible but probably not the best match to the cheesy Mexican fare.

Chilli fries

There's no pretending when it comes to the chilli fries - there is nothing healthy about it. Not-quite crisp potato chips come smothered with a generous helping of cheese and beef mince chilli with beans that's spicy really only where there are dried chilli flakes.

Sour cream and a rich, smooth mixture of avocado guacamole round out the rather large small-size basket of chips that's about a meal on its own.

Prawn and mango quesadilla

The sour cream and guacamole also accompany the quesadilla, which is a sizeable and particularly cheesy option covering half a large white plate.

Corn chips on the side add crunch and interest to the flat tortilla filled with prawn pieces and sweet mango cubes, while the pico de gallo tomato and coriander salsa contribute much needed freshness amid all the melted cheese.

Mucho burrito

The muscle man sticker sealing the foil wrapping of the Mucho Burrito gives an accurate indication of what's within.

It's a bit of a monster meal-and-a-half, filled with almost every meat on the menu, rice, beans, cheese and more; enhanced with a beer and some of the fiery hot sauce options on the tables.

Mexican food has quickly become a Sydney mainstay, in the land of fast food at the very least. It will be intriguing to see what new food trends arise in 2013 but in the meantime, I'm happy to beach myself at Newtown's little Mexico.

Barrio Chino: A Mexican in Chinatown

I'd been hanging for a revisit to Barrio Chino (Spanish for Chinatown) ever since their launch party in August. Aside from Guzman Y Gomez, this was really my first taste of more authentic Mexican fare, albeit with some fusion; aptly located a few doors down from World Bar.

Gone are the days of corn chips covered thickly in melted cheese and sour cream - save that for a desperate pantry/fridge searching moment. Give me fresh, zingy flavours not laden with dairy and while we're at it, give me some decent tequila that doesn't remind me of my teenage days.

Tommy's Margarita pitcher from Barrio Chino, Bayswater Road, Kings Cross

Tommy's Margarita is the only one served by the jug, so it's the obvious choice for a group. And having met the creator of Tommy's Margarita last month makes it doubly awesome.

The jug, the first of many, comes with a wooden spoon to stop the ice coming out when pouring, and we're provided with half salt rimmed glases also filled with ice.

The margarita mix of El Jimador tequila, lime and agave syrup is fairly classic with with an excellent balance of sweet, sour, salt and that trademark tequila kick.

Ceviche with corn chips

Ordering food at Barrio Chino is super easy; one of everything would be ideal but if you've got a protein in mind, the tacos pretty much sort themselves out.

With the food comes a trio of chilli condiment sauces: one very mild and more lime than chilli; another spicier but manageable; and one that temporarily burns upon touch but doesn't last.

We started with the ceviche of white fish from the botanas snacks section of the menu, cooked and marinated in lime juice.

The Chinese style bowl must have been a play on the name, but the jumble of Spanish onion, avocado, coriander and the occasional bit of juicy mango was just good fun, especially with the house made corn chips. They're nothing like supermarket packet ones and have a real corn flavour about them.

Black bean taco

One of various tacos through the night, the vegetarian black bean taco is served with said protein, a grated white cheese, coriander and a mild red sauce.

All the tacos are served on soft, double layers of corn flour tacos, which essentially means two tacos per serve (with the amount of topping one one serve, you wouldn't be able to fold up the taco to eat).

One I didn't try at the launch and that was simply fabulous was the baja fish; a lightly battered finger of fish served with finely shredded raw cabbage and a creamy lime sauce. Simple but so very satisfying.

Roast corn tostada

But I think the real stars of Barrio Chino are their tostada offerings in the snacks menu. It's surprising, and a little embarrassing, that I can eat so many of these but they have it all: fresh ingredients; winning flavour combinations; varied texture and complete deliciousness.

The roasted corn version features corn kernels and avocado dressed in a mild chipotle mayonnaise, and takes only a few mouthfuls to crunch and devour the sweet and tart flavours.

Tuna tostada

The tuna tostada features a slice of raw tuna, sashimi style, with equally colourful dabs of avocado and chipotle mayonnaise. Another winning combination, though I think the tuna would benefit from being diced, to make it easier to eat it bites.

Pulled pork tostada

Last but not least, the pulled pork tostada is a little heavier than the first two, laden with saucy shreds of tender pork and juliennes of the jicama root vegetable. This is perfect food for sharing, with bottles of condiments flying all over the table with almost each bite.

Chicken Borracho torta

For the bigger appetites, the small-ish tacos may not look quite enough while 10 of them might hit the back pocket a little too hard. There are a couple of more filling options served on soft burger buns, like the chicken borracho.

The soft roll is filled with braised and pulled chicken, avocado, iceberg lettuce and chipotle sauce. While it's tasty, it has nothing on the flavour-packed tostadas and tacos - and sadly no amount of condiments will change that.

The back dining area in Barrio Chino is filled with stimulants such as the beautiful crowds, colourful decorations, loud music and open kitchen. The booths in the front are perfect for pre or post dinner drinking, while it looks hard to nab a seat at the long bar where all the margarita and tequila action happens.

Chinatown or not, I hope this fresh and zingy style of Mexican cuisine is here to stay because BarrioChino is just darn good.