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| - I remember back in the day when Mill Avenue was the place to go to eat, party and have a good time. There were movies theaters, plenty of places to grab a drink a bite and do some quick shopping. Well with the development of Tempe Marketplace and the crash of the economy both took their toll on the once beloved street. However some might disagree saying that Mill had lost its college town feel in lieu of a corporate take over. These days most of the corporations are gone and the empty commercial space is being slowly back filled with locally owned businesses, like the new stylish eatery, Canteen Modern Tequila Bar.
Opened by the same owner as my favorite La Bocca Urban Pizzeria, Canteen is located along Mill Avenue across the street from the pizzeria. Inside you'll find a hip contemporary space tinged with a Mexican rusticity like crushed vintage velvet booths and space age lighting elements. If you love tequila this will probably be your new drinking shrine, Canteen has more than 100 different tequilas to choose from. If you prefer your tequila mixed go for one of their expertly mixed cocktails including the blue agave and orange infused desert prickly pear ($6.50), I love a tangy buzz.
In the kitchen pretty much everything is made from scratch on sight, this was apparent after the first bite Mexico City Style Quesadilla ($9). Feathery hand formed masa is formed around roasted chicken then crowned with avocado, radish and a spicy tomato coulis. The quesadilla was so light it was like eating corn flavored air. Simple salads like the Grilled Steak with Romaine ($10) was adorned with cherry tomatoes, avocado and had just enough chipotle vinaigrette dressing to enhance the fresh produce not mask it.
If you want something with more heft order the Carne Asada Torta ($10). At first taste the beefy grilled flavors came bursting through only to meld with the gooey Oaxacan cheese. Pickled red and poblano peppers did an excellent job of cutting though the richness of the sandwich.
Flaky flour tortillas are also made in house and are one of the key components in the varied taco offerings. Fish Tacos ($9) were filled with beer battered fillet and fried until crispy and golden; a layer of spicy slaw completes the ensemble. Oh so light and oh so good but the real show stopper was yet to come. You know how much I love pork, so when I was so blown away by the Slow Roasted Achiote Pork Tacos ($9) that I actually ordered another plate full of three. The melt on your tongue pork was insanely additive and moist that for just a moment, nothing else existed.
Sweets were limited to only a few options but even then I was hard pressed not to order them all. Rum spiked Raisin and Cinnamon Rice Pudding ($6) was warm creamy and made me feel good all over. However the pudding was upstaged but the accompanied sopapillas. These were so warm and puffy; I filled each one with pudding for my own version of a hot pocket. I loved the delightful Trio of ice cream ($6) which included Horchata, Avocado Jalapeno and Chile Mango Sorbet. Though what's not to love, these were all made by our very own Sweet Republic.
I have a feeling if places like Canteen keep opening, the good old days of Mill are just starting to begin.
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