I found myself in Outremont recently lining up for Terraza Luz, a weekend-only back-alley taqueria pop-up owned by Mexican-born chef Juan Lopez Luna and sommelier Lindsay Brennan.

It’s tucked behind the couple’s main restaurant, Alma, recently voted the best Mexican restaurant outside of Mexico by the prestigious Mexico Gastronomic Guide.

Alma means soul in Spanish, and there’s no doubt that there’s plenty of it here. The establishment, nestled on a sleepy residential street in a quiet neighbourhood, offers traditional Mexican cuisine inspired by Quebec products. The focus on Catalan wines throws a little bit of Europe into the mix.

This isn’t a restaurant review, although having grown up in restaurants, I pay attention to almost everything when I dine........

© Montreal Gazette