La Tortilleria, 72 Stubbs St, Kensington. Phone: 9376 5577

Like so many other folks, we were knocked out to hear about a new Mexican joint in a Kensington back street, dedicated to churning out high-quality tortillas and serving lovely eat-in goodies, and doing both with wide smiles.

Knowing La Tortilleria was bound to be an immediate and surefire hit, we resolved to hold off doing a Consider The Sauce story on it until after the dust had settled.

Bennie and I visited for a nice, sunny Sunday lunch on the verandah soon after, but we – or, rather, I – blew it.

So intent were we on chowing down, we forgot about the all-important chilli sauces and salsa available inside.

So while we enjoyed our food, it’s true to say we found it rather rudimentary.

Returning for a fab mid-week lunch and a somewhat overdue catch-up with very good CTS pal and neighbour Rob turns out to be a wonderful thing.

I enjoy the hell out of Rob’s evident surprise in finding such a brightly and funkily adorned establishment in such an unlikely setting.

It’s a fine but chilly day, so we’re rapt to snag one of the inside tables with no trouble at all, endowing us with a prime position to enjoy our lunch, its cooking and preparation, and the various other comings and goings.

For Rob, this is his first experience with the wonderful bubbles of Jarritos soft drinks.

He goes mandarin and is stoked; I go tamarind and wish I hadn’t.

Consistency is vastly over-rated in my book.

So I’m delighted to report that our guacamole is both smoother and more lemony than the rendition Bennie and I had been served.

It’s delicious, though in this case I find the corn chips rather too gnarly and too much like hard work.

The meatier side of our lunch is equally tasty.

A beef taco ($4.50) each, with the soft tortillas embracing simply beautiful beef still pink in the middle and topped with raw onion and coriander.

Loaded up with chilli sauce and salsa, they’re sublime.

To finish, a $6.50 gringas each.

These are sinfully sexy tortilla sandwiches of pork and gooey melted cheese.

Similarly dressed with the nearby condiments, these, too, get the big thumbs up from both of us.

Everything about La Tortilleria seems so right that we adore it without inhibition.

I’ve heard, though, of queues, so choosing your time to visit is worth some deliberation.

As far as we know, Ms Baklover scooped with the world with her Footscray Food Blog story about La Tortilletia – read it here.