Congratulations to Bernardo and Carlos for reaching their first year anniversary at Argyll Foods, now also known as Tienda Latina!I first met Bernardo this past January, and was instantly smitten with his little shop on the corner of 99th Street and Argyll Road. You can read the original post here: Mexico on Argyll.

Michael has been ranting and raving all week as celebrations have been taking place at our favourite little shop all week long. There’s been cake! And mango juice!

Today, after joining my hubby for a quickie, a quickie coffee break that is, over at Transcend, I popped in to Tienda Latina to take a peek and see how things have changed for these two men over the year.

Bernardo had a steady flow of customers the entire time I was there.  Many of them  stopped in to chat and check and buy lottery tickets, but they spoke Spanish which made the place very authentic and exotic sounding to my uni-language, Alberta born and bred ears.

They now have a tiny little seating area and a single customer was happily sitting reading his newspaper and eating his lunch. Here’s the lunch menu:There were a few people like myself strolling up and down the aisles checking out the mix of Latino products, which dominate the store. The trusty reliable corner shop stuff is still there, but not as predominate as it was a year ago.

Mexcians must be like me and have issues drinking plain old milk. Here’s a shelf full of things to make milk sweet and delicious (if you find yourself squinting, click on the images to make them bigger). I continue to be impressed at how neat and tidy the place is. Take a bottle away, and I promise you, the remaining bottles will be lined up in perfect symmetry in less than 30 seconds.In the refrigerator section at the back of the store, you will find tortillas galore. I look at these babies and the creative cook in me gets excited and I think of a million things I would like to make with them. Then I get overwhelmed with my mental grocery list, and give up the idea of making a Mexican themed buffet for family and friends and wonder if they have a simple taco kit by Old Elpaso.Tienda Latina now has fresh produce, look at those tomatillos! Look at the those green cactus looking things! (Sorry, I don’t know the proper name. Can anyone help me out?). Underneath this box was a delicious looking box of chile. When I Tweeted about this place, one of the re-Tweets mentioned the chile. It’s worth mentioning indeed. I couldn’t take a picture because the box was down low, and I’m up high and don’t crouch without tipping over.If you are in the market for a mortar and pestle, this is the place to buy it. It’s not those rinkydink models you get at the high end stores. These babies could grind your corn if you put enough elbow grease into it.
Here’s a nice assortment of chipotle, pumpkin seed and guajillo. And last but not least, and a perfect end to this festive week of celebrating Bernardo and Carlos’ first anniversary, is the ubiquitous piñata! So much fun. These hang throughout the store. Feliz Aniversario to Tienda Latina. You have become a beloved part of our community, and wish you much happiness, health and success.

Tienda Latina (Argyll Foods)
9844 – 63 Ave
Edmonton AB
(780) 438-3684