Canterbury ... Via Mexico (Sort Of ...)

    Canterbury is the nearest city to my hometown and is an amazing combination of old and new. I've written here before about the Cathedral, which is centuries old and is right in the heart of the town; it's surrounded by a town (and wider city) where a big proportion of the buildings are ancient - and have, despite many changes in planning law along the way, remained original, despite multiple changes of ownership. Even Whitefriars - the massively altered and upgraded new open-air shopping centre - doesn't jar against the old part of the city.

    Despite being a very proud Thanetian, I am very fond of Canterbury; it's a city that is very comfortable in its own skin and makes people very welcome. I've spent the majority of this weekend in Canterbury visiting friends (although I missed seeing the excellent Tris & Han, for which I was definitely the poorer); it's the most sustained time I've spent in the town for quite a while, and it's also really helped me segue nicely into a week off from work and give me some R&R time away from my usual routine.

    My friend and I lunched today in a place called Taco Locos (http://www.tacoslocos.co.uk/canterbury/), right on the high street. We'd originally been planning to play safe and visit Little Italy, but decided to push the boat out and try something new - so Mexican was something we had to try. I've never really eaten Mexican before - Indian, Chinese and Italian, yes - but I'm determined to expand my palate to try new things, so Tacos Locos it was.

    It was surprisingly quiet for a Sunday lunchtime (we arrived about 1pm) - in fact I think we were the only customers at first - but this was the passing public's loss, as far as I'm concerned, because we got excellent service ... and my word, the food was good.

    I know a bit about Mexican food second-hand from a couple of friends who regularly eat at a Mexican restaurant, but I can't pretend to be anything near to an expert - and neither is my friend - so it was with great relief that our waiter was able to take us through some of the options. Both my friend and I went for the taco option - me being a vegetarian, I had the cheese one and veg one and Lynda had the chili chicken - and I was glad I did. I wouldn't have minded mine being spicier, but that's just a personal opinion - and there was a hot sauce on the table that I added to my tacos rather liberally!

    Wow, they were amazing. You can't have any airs and graces whilst eating them (thankfully, I don't have many anyway, so that's alright then) because they're incredibly messy, but well worth the mess - although I was full after eating them, I could have undoubtedly eaten another couple because they were extremely moreish.

    I was briefly tempted by the dessert menu, but had to regretfully decline - my friend and I were on a mission round Canterbury, so had to be heading off - but I could have quite easily consumed all but one of them (and the one I would have missed has nuts in - and I'm allergic - so nothing personal, guys!).

    Seriously, try this place - very nice and very friendly. Shame it wasn't busier, because they definitely deserve to be. Definitely an 8 out of 10 - shame there's not one in Thanet so I can go there more regularly!

    A Mexican lunch on Sunday was definitely an excellent way to round off my Canterbury weekend - except that, as an added bonus, my friend and I swung by the Cathedral and discovered it was free entry ... and being a well-trained author, I will happily take up any offer that is "free". So we had a stroll round the Cathedral, savouring the architecture, the peace and the quiet, almost comfortable knowledge that we were getting something for nothing.

    All in all, I've had an excellent two days in Canterbury this weekend - it's been great to have a change in my routine and do it in a place that's so vibrant and interesting. I can now work on the final edits for my book feeling recharged - and I've not been able to say that for a while!