Well, the first time he cooked some for his wife, Lori Ash-Root, she asked him to marry her. I didn't feel like asking for his hand in marriage when I dined last week at Diego's Mexican Restaurant in Courtenay, but the food was great. I have loved this kind offood for as long as I can remember.The Mexican meal I ate at Diego's was as good as I can remember having — even in Mexico. No doubt this is because the Roots are passionate about serving food they have made themselves from natural ingredients.
In fact, the only thing on the menu that they don't make themselves is the appetizer I started with. I couldn't find any cherries in the Cherry Bombs, but that didn‘t matter because they were excellent jalapeno poppers. When the Roots say on the menu the Bombs are deep-fried to perfection, they aren't kidding. Quickly sizing me up as a guy who loves to eat, Donnie recommended the Quatro, the No. 4 combination plate, one of nine combination plates. The Quatro centrepiece is a massive shredded beef chimichanga, whose immaculate pastry reminds you of Beef Wellington. Donnie said the secret is to keep the oil in the deep fryer extremely clean. Lori said they donate their used oil to a man who runs his vehicle on it. She said he tells the Roots it’s the cleanest oil he gets from anybody,
The chimichanga in the Quatro was accompanied by two cream cheese chicken enchiladas, rice and refried beans with some melted cheese sprinkled on top. Caramba! I tried to finish it, but fell short, not because l didn't love it but because of the generous serving. Speaking of generosity, when I mentioned that my ailing wife was sorry she couldn't accompany me, Lori whipped up a Tres (No. 3) combination plate with two chicken enchiladas to take home. One thing my wife missed at home was the salsa bar, a selection of four home-made salsas with four different levels of spicy heat. I had fun with that.
Things on the menu l didn't try but which sounded good include Diego's Aztec Nachos, three kinds of tostados, all-day breakfast burritos and Diego's Famous Fish Tacos. People react badly when fish tacos are first suggested, Lori said, but they completely change their minds once they try a taste, she added. "I had never heard of a fish taco untll l met Donnie," she recalled. "I thought that sounded kind of weird, But ... they’re wonderfully delicious. They're addicting."
There is no Diego. Lori thought of the name, which is a natural considering Donnie is from San Diego. His parents owned a restaurant, and he learned much about cooking from his mother. He learned about cooking Mexican food from the maids at home, knowledge he used to open a Mexican restaurant in Orlando, Fla., where he said his fish tacos became famous.
Why is he so passionate about Mexican food? "lt's so fresh and there are so many flavours you can get out of the simplest ingredients," he said, admitting a good command of Spanish is not mandatory to cook excellent Mexican food.
Donnie met Lori while in the Valley visiting an aunt and uncle, a retired chef in Black Creek Now the Roots operate a modest-sized restaurant, seating only about 20 people *(see note), but serving some delicious wholesome and satisfying meals
Dlego's, at 5268 Cumberland Rd. *(see note) in Courtenay is open Mondays to Fridays from 11:30 am. to 7:30 pm.