It was around Thanksgiving last year that Eat the Strip reader Diodora suggested we head to Orleans to check out a Mexican takeout joint specializing in tortillas and salsas.

Happy to see new Latin American food options springing up across the city, we made a note to check out Tortilla Maker. We finally got to visit the spot almost a year later, on a Sunday following scattered showers. I was greeted by two employees working behind the counter. The walls were painted bright yellow and green. Other customers chatted with the employees in Spanish—a good sign that indicated to me the food was probably going to be quite authentic.

Inside the glass counter were lots of containers of fresh salsas, guacamole and tamales. On the other side of the L-shaped counter is a menu with hot food available for takeout. I order chicken and guava tamales and chicken and beef tacos. I scan the bags of in-house tortilla chips, tempted to buy a few to take home along with the mouthwatering sauces. My order is ready within 10 minutes.

Miguel Angel Jiménez Reyes opened the family-operated business around a year ago. While the family wasn’t there the day I visited, their website said the homemade salsas are inspired by their “great-grandmother Carlota Silvestre Cornejo’s own original recipes, passed down for generations.”

“Tortilla Maker was also born of the desire to preserve the ancient method of making nixtamal tortillas, preserve their unique flavour and aroma, expand their popularity and promote maize consumption in Canada,” it said. From what I’ve gathered, nixtamal is a process of cooking corn in an alkaline solution that makes it tastier and more nutritious.

The warm food was smelling so good, I decided to sample some of the dishes in the car.

I bit into the tacos first. The tortillas were like two little clouds. Soft and spongy, they soaked up the juices of the tender meat. The fresh cabbage and vegetable medley provided a nice crunch. No salsa was needed as all the ingredients were incredibly fresh and flavourful. I could have eaten the tortillas on their own.

The tamales are some of the best you can currently find in Ottawa. The chicken tinga had a gooey centre with a very satisfying salsa verde. The guava tamal was probably the most unique tamal I’ve ever had. It featured a red guava paste that was sweet and complemented the cheese well. Not usually one to enjoy a sweet and savoury combo, I found it worked rather well in this dish.

I paid a total of around $20 for the tacos and tamales. The food was excellent—not too heavy—and my wallet didn’t take too much of a hit. All in all, an excellent Sunday outing.