By Haley Cullingham
This weekend, I somehow convinced three hungover friends to come with me to Dundas and Lansdowne. Why the pilgrimage? NACO Gallery Cafe, a deceptively large space that is at once bar, gallery, cafe, and restaurant, serving up eclectic events to go along with the art on the walls, the delicious food on your plate, and the Mexican cocktail in your glass. The name is taken from a pejorative word for indigenous people, which has been reclaimed by modern-day Mexican youth to mean ‘cool.’
The Food
We were there for brunch, and dug into the Scrambled Naconda, a corn tortilla heaped with black beans, eggs, cabbage, mole sauce, mozzarella, homemade salsa, black beans, avocado and sour cream. The homemade hot sauce, which is worth the trip on its own and way better than anything you can get in a jar, is the perfect addition. We couldn’t stop smothering. The more hungover among us opted for the three quesadillas for less than 10 bucks. Crispy on the outside, soft and melty on the inside, with delicious homemade salsa that you could heap on with a fetching little wooden spoon. We also drank deliciously strong iced americanos, and when our food took a while to arrive because they were slammed, we received kind apologies and free mango spritzers.

The Space
The little storefront just keeps on going, and it was agreed by all of us that it’s somewhere we’d want to live. A high-ceilinged dining area resides beside the stage and big front window, in front of the bar. Strange tchotkes and Mexican idols on one side, the current roster of art on display on the other. Behind that, a cool room with a larger dining area, which leads to a cozy parlour with comfy chairs and a bookshelf. From here, the door to the festive back patio, where they serve ’til midnight.

The Events
They keep it eclectic with dance nights involving everything from dirty pop to French music for lovers to a Brazilian fiesta. Sunday mornings, your brunch could be accompanied by everything from Neko Case to live electro. On Sunday nights, stop by for live jazz. Check their website for full event listings, or drop by and check out the calendar stuck to the espresso machine.