I’d like to start off by saying I’m no restaurant reviewer. In general, I like to describe my experience at a restaurant, or with a recipe, and let readers make up their own minds.

I’m making an exception here.

Hidden in a strip mall on the outskirts of the massive Vaughan Mills Shoping Centre is a small restaurant called La Taquizza (28-3175 Rutherford Road in Vaughan, 905-669-2277). Run by a family from Mexico’s Jalisco area, the faux stucco may not fool you into thinking you’ve traveled to hotter climes, but the authentic food surely will.

An accidental find, this gem even wowed one of the biggest critics of Mexican food I’ve met in the GTA, my sister, who has lived, studied and eaten her way through much of Mexico.

While you’ll find the traditional taco and burritos on the menu, you’ll also find spectacular, spicy soups that are not to be missed. And the serve yourself station of homemade salsas ensures every dish is as hot, or not, as you like it.

Our waiter (also the owner) may have been joking when he said his mother was in the kitchen, but I highly doubt it. The service may not be perfected yet (they seem eternally short-staffed), but it was genial and never left us waiting too long.

The food is fresh and tasty, and I’ll certainly be returning for another Sopa de Frijoles or Sopa Azteca and an order of Totopitas, homemade tortilla chips served with guacamole. Plus their Tres Leches (three milk) cake is to die for. Yum.