Alimentaria Mexicana Unveils Line of Artisanal Holiday Gift Packages; New Year’s Eve Programming

 

GIVE, AND GET, AN AUTHENTIC MEXICAN TASTE OF PLACE THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

From Christmas through New Year’s Eve, Alimentaria Mexicana Brings the Heat

Seasoned gift-givers know that wrapping up a unique experience trumps basics like socks and ties every time, and this holiday season there is nothing more unique than an authentic taste of Mexico from Alimentaria Mexicana, the newest hotspot on Granville Island. Get everyone on your Christmas list dreaming of palm trees and palapas, thanks to a just-launched line of holiday gift boxes and baskets available from its Mercado retail store. And when the gift-giving is done, all are invited to ring in the New Year with a menu that highlights Mexico’s diversity of flavours.

The line of holiday gift packages available from Alimentaria’s new Mercado includes seven spectacular offerings chock-full of high-quality, locally and internationally sourced artisanal products and provisions, textiles, books and more, that help tell the varied stories of the culinary cultures of Mexico.

The holiday gift boxes and baskets, available for purchase online at alimentariamexicana.com/gift-boxes and in-store, include:

Bring the Heat – $75
The perfect present for those who like it hot. This gift box includes Sal de Chicatana, Vancouver Island Hot Sauce Owl’s Screech, Chile Tuxta, East Van Roaster’s Chili Lime Dark Chocolate Bar, Sriracha Revolver Cilantro Lime Hot Sauce, Chile Tabaquero

A Taste of Agave – $75 (pick-up only)
Get to know the desert plant from which tequila is made, and take cocktails next level. This gift box includes East Van Roaster’s Single Origin Guatemala 70% Dark Chocolate, Two Small Mezcal Gourds & Bases, Sal de Gusano, Sriracha Revolver Beets + Tequila Hot Sauce, Don Julio Blanco (50 ml)

Smoky & Sweet – $85
Give these bold flavour combos that are hard to beat. This gift box includes East Van Roaster’s The Queen Pink Peppercorn & Pineapple Dark Chocolate Bar, Chile Chipotle, Vainilla Suprema, Newfoundland Juniper Smoked Sea Salt, Cuna de Piedra 60% Drinking Chocolate, FUME-eh Smoked Gourmet Mix Olives

In the Cocina – $95
Those who want to serve authentic Mexican fare at home will love this gift box, which includes a Crimson Napkin, White Tortillero, Mixteca Baja Arrocillo Corn, Hoja Santa, Chile Tabaquero, Sal de Pinotepa Nacional, and Chef-Grade Calcium Hydroxide

Mezcal Nights – $160 (pick-up only)
Warm up rainy winter nights with Mezcal’s smoky, earthy flavours and long, toasty finish. This gift box includes Cuna de Piedra 73% Dark Chocolate w/ Mezcal Reposado, Sal de Gusano, Mezcal Decanter, Mezcal Coquito, and 200 ml of Madre Mezcal

Mexico at Home – $175
Everything the home cook needs, this gift box includes The Mexican Home Kitchen Cookbook, Valles Centrales Amarillo Corn, Sierra Norte Zapotec Chuparosa Beans, Red Jamaica / Hibiscus Flower, El Papalote Mole Negro, Epazote, Sal de Pinotepa Nacional, Small Mezcal Gourd & Base, Cuna de Piedra 73% Dark Chocolate, Vainilla Suprema, Taza Cacao Puro, Sal de Chicatana

Maíz Essentials – $185 (pick-up only)
Lovers of handmade corn tortillas and tamales will delight in this gift box, which includes a 21cm Tortilla Press, Mixteca Baja Arrocillo Corn, Ground Heirloom Corn Flour, Totomoxtle/Corn Husks, Chef-Grade Calcium Hydroxide, Sal de Pinotepa Nacional and a White Tortillero

“Alimentaria Mexicana has been a passion project, giving us a chance to celebrate farmers and suppliers from Canada and small south-of-the-border communities across Mexico. We’re grateful it’s been so welcomed by Vancouver,” says Alimentaria Director/Executive Chef/Partner Ernesto Gomez. “We’ve put together these gift boxes and baskets to help share our passion even further — we hope the recipients will enjoy these experiences as much as we loved creating them.”

NEW YEAR’S EVE AT ALIMENTARIA MEXICANA
Once Christmas is past us, look to Alimentaria Mexicana to bring the flavour for New Year’s Eve. Two seatings, at 5:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., will feature a glass of bubbles on arrival and a family-style, four-course menu that includes an array of delicious and culturally deep-rooted dishes.

MENU
First Course:
Guacamole, roasted seaweed, uni
Albacore tuna ceviche, ikura, green aguachile
Salsa tasting with heirloom corn totopos

Second Course:
Mushroom tostada, crispy sunchokes, aioli
Grilled oysters, tarragon butter, fontina cheese
Halibut cheeks beer battered taco

Third Course:
Duck & butternut squash flautas, recado negro crema
Huarache with pork carnitas, coloradito mole
Heirloom corn sope, bone marrow, skirt steak

Dessert:
Mezcal-chocolate cake, pinole

Tickets are $110 per person for the first seating from 5:30 – 8 p.m. and $140 for the second seating from 9:30 p.m. into the New Year, and are available online at alimentariamexicana.com/new-years-eve.

RESERVATIONS
Alimentaria Mexicana’s Cantina is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11:30 a.m. Limited lunch and dinner reservations are available at exploretock.com/alimentariamexicana, with walk-ins welcomed. Please note the patio is available for walk-ins only. The Mercado is open Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. and weekends from 11:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. For more information or to stay up to date on all the latest developments, sign up for a newsletter at alimentariamexicana.com or follow @alimentariamexicana on Instagram.

ABOUT ALIMENTARIA MEXICANA | The latest project for the team behind such award-winning Vancouver restaurants as Fayuca, Nuba and Chancho Tortilleria — Mexican-Canadian Chef and Entrepreneur Ernesto Gomez and his creative collaborators, Director/Partner Darragh McFeely and Chef/Partner Martín Vargas — Alimentaria Mexicana is a multifaceted concept that features a licensed dine-in cantina, corn-focused production and educational space and retail shop that offers the highest quality local and internationally sourced artisanal Mexican food products, provisions and more. Located in the heart of Granville Island, Alimentaria Mexicana is an immersive culinary and cultural experience unlike any other that showcases the time-honoured techniques, traditions and products of Mexican and local artisans in an authentic way that pays homage to their origins. | alimentariamexicana.com

1596 Johnston Street (Granville Island), Vancouver BC V6H 3R9 | 236-521-8440 | Cantina: open Tuesday – Thursday and Sunday from 11:30 a.m. until 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11:30 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. Mercado: open Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. and weekends from 11 a.m. until 7:00 p.m.

Facebook: /alimentariamexicana | Instagram: @alimentariamexicana

Media release and images provided by Allie Darwin, SMC Communications Inc.