May 5 - Authentic Mexican food in Victoria

Good morning !

Today we mark the first full week of May with our story on what you can do with your lawn (if you have one, of course) to help local pollinators. We also mark Cinco De Mayo with a few local event listings and a profile of one of Victoria's most authentic and underrated Mexican restaurants.

We're also launching a new Monday section in the newsletter, covering the ships you may see visiting the region over the weekend.

— Cam

Today’s approx. read time: 6 minutes

🌡️ Weather Forecast

Today: ☀️ 18 / 7

Tomorrow: ☀️ 20 / 9

Wednesday: 🌦16 / 6

7-day forecast

FOOD

This hidden gem serves some of Victoria's best—and most authentic—Mexican food

In the last few years, Victoria’s Mexican food scene has seen a major transformation. What was once a city with only a handful of Mexican fusion options has evolved into a destination for truly authentic, flavour-packed Mexican cuisine. From handmade tortillas and slow-cooked birria to hearty soups and house-made salsas, restaurants across the city are delivering dishes that reflect the depth and diversity of Mexican food.

Ay Mi Mexico is one of those authentic Mexican eateries in the city, located at the Craigflower Foods Market. Established by the husband-and-wife duo Luis and Amanda Cabello, the eatery has quickly become a local favourite for traditional Mexican street food.

Luis is originally from Mexico City, and his wife, Amanda, is from Edmonton. Luis’s family owned a restaurant, and that’s where Amanda became well-acquainted with more traditional Mexican food such as barbacoa.

Five years ago the couple moved to Victoria, and though Luis has been in the industry for more than a decade, Ay Mi Mexico is the first place of his own and Amanda's first foray into the industry. Their goal: to bring Mexican street food to Victoria, with birria tacos, barbacoa, cochinita pibil, pambazos, sopes, and more.

More details at Tasting Victoria.

⚠️ Capital Bulletin

UV Index high today (7)

More BC Highway Patrol enforcement this month, leading up to one of most dangerous weekends on roads: May Long. 

Victoria Pride Week event dates released, including a new date for the Big Gay Dog Walk (July 1).

Downtown Victoria UPCC is open again after planned power outage shut Urgent & Primary Care Centre yesterday.

Snowbirds are back in Comox, training before their show season. [Facebook]

BC emergency alert test will be May 7 at 1:55pm. 

Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google.

NEWS

‘No Mow May’ may help some pollinators—but experts say we can do more

Over the last few years, a trend of letting your grass grow to bloom in the month of May has taken off, with the hashtag #NoMowMay. The movement, started in the UK in 2019, aims to encourage people to put their lawn mowers away for the month of May in order to provide shelter and flowers for pollinators at the beginning of the seeding season.

More and more Island residents are adopting this approach, whether just for May or as a broader shift. But local biodiversity experts say that this effort—while well intentioned—is not enough to address the growing loss of native species, particularly on the Island. The Garry oak ecosystem, for example, is found only on the southeast coast of Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, and has lost roughly 95% of habitat through urbanization.

By losing this habitat, native pollinators and animals are becoming increasingly endangered. Even if lawns grow long, more growth of non-native plants can give non-native pollinators an advantage over the quickly-disappearing local ones.

Instead of keeping the lawn mower tucked away for a month, conservation scientists would rather see a shift in focus to growing native plants to support our local wildlife—and they’re creating examples for locals to learn from.

Read more at Capital Daily about steps being taken to restore local ecosystems and the steps you can take at home to make your lawn a safe haven for local species.

INTRODUCING…

New Monday feature: What's Offshore

Our sister publication, The Westshore, is joining forces with Capital Daily starting this week. As we merge The Westshore with Capital Daily, we're bringing over one of that newsletter’s most popular features. In What's Offshore, we look into the identity of some of the large ships anchored in the harbour or off the coast.

We'll tell you:

• the ship's name

• its age

• what type of vessel it is

• which country's flag it's sailing under 

• where it left from and/or where it's going

• and often some of its backstory

This roundup won't include small fishing boats, pleasure craft, coast guard vessels, and the other usual harbour traffic—it's about big, noticeable vessels that are visibly visiting. It also won't typically include CFB Esquimalt ships, but if a naval vessel is arriving or departing then we'll list it and include a bit of information about its history and current deployment.

The Monday roundup will consist mostly of the ships that were present over the weekend.

If you take a photos of an anchored ship, you can send it in and we may feature your shot in the section.

Here are Sunday's vessels:

Ogden Point: Caribbean Princess, a cruise ship built in 2004 and now sailing for Vancouver under the flag of Bermuda 🇧🇲.

Outer harbour: Nothing yesterday.

Esquimalt: BC Ferries' Coastal Inspiration, launched in 2008, was docked for service. Roald Amundsen, a cruise vessel built in 2019 and now sailing for Vancouver under the flag of Norway 🇳🇴 .

Off the coast of Colwood: Nothing yesterday.

SPONSORED BY THE CANADIAN CLUB OF VICTORIA

May meeting speaker: Ali Nozari, PhD. from RBC Wealth Management

The Canadian Club of Victoria's May meeting speaker Ali Nozari, PhD will talk about cyber scams for seniors

Today’s fraudsters are becoming more sophisticated.  It is more important than ever to protect your personal information when corresponding online and via email.

May 13. 11:45am - 1:30pm at The Hotel Grand Pacific

Deadline for registration is May 9 at noon

Non-members are welcome! Click here for details.

⭐️ Capital Picks

🌱 Plan for plants: Sales to see this month. [Capital Daily]

🌼 Give the gift of creativity this Mother’s Day! Patio Gardens’ Moss Hanging Basket Workshop is a memorable, hands-on experience she’ll cherish long after it blooms.*

🐦 Bushtit birds building nests near Nanaimo. [VanIsleWildlife]

🤝 Now hiring: Payroll and Accounting Officer at The Truffles Group.

Support local journalism by supporting Capital Daily. Become a Capital Daily Insider member today and help bring local stories to life. 

*Sponsored Listing

🗞️ In Other News

Victorian begins 58-day charity cycle across Canada 
Matt Varey, 61, dipped his bike in the water at Mile 0 this weekend before setting off on a 7,500km “Coast to Coast for Cures” journey. He aims to raise $500K for Type 1 diabetes research through Breakthrough T1D, a group he has volunteered with for 20 years. [CHEK]

Bike lane gets birthday party
Yesterday cyclists set up by the bridge to celebrate the city's first fully protected bike corridor, which opened along Pandora on May 1, 2017. It was organized in part by the Clover Point Picnic Club, who held their monthly cyclists’ picnic on the other side of the bridge at Songhees Park before merging with the birthday bash. [Times Colonist]

Victoria Grizzlies gain home-ice advantage with weekend split
The Grizzlies took a game on Fri., winning 2-1 before losing 2-5 on Sat. in Chilliwack. The BCHL Coastal Conference final now shifts to Colwood for games tomorrow and Weds. as the high-scoring #4-seed Grizzlies try to overcome the conference #1 Chiefs.

🗓️ Things to do

🌮 Benjo’s Cinco de Mayo at Benjo’s Tacos: Celebrate this Monday with free agua fresca with every order. From 4-8pm (or until sold out). [Info]

🇲🇽 Cinco De Mayo at Cafe Mexico: The bridge-side downtown restaurant will be open today (it's usually closed Mondays) and has happy hour margaritas all day.

🍸Cinco De Mayo, Hanks Style: The Douglas restaurant offers a feast and margaritas tonight. [Info]

🎤 Trivia Monday at 5th Street Bar and Grill: Test your knowledge and grab a bite. 7:30pm. [Free to play]

⚽️ Canadian Championship soccer: Pacific FC will host Vancouver FC for the national tourney, after the BC siblings tied in league play last weekend. Tomorrow. 7pm. [Tickets]

🧠 Monday Trivia at Christie's Pub by Sixty Watt. 7:30-10:30pm. [Event info]

🐻🏒 Victoria Grizzlies vs. Chilliwack in BCHL conference finals: Tues. & Weds. 7pm at Q Centre. [Tickets]

🐐 Beacon Hill Children’s Farm starts summer hours. 10am-5pm daily, with goat stampedes at 10:10am and 5:10pm. 

👀 In Case You Missed It

Sunday: What keeps Canada democratic—and independent? Craft beer downturn. Mother's Day event preview. Sightseeing buses sold. [May 4]

Saturday: Coolest ice cream in town. Pilot project will pay street community to clean Pandora. Rare memoir found in TC Book Sale donations. [May 3]

Carnarvon Park revamp: Oak Bay council approves $1M for designs. [Oak Bay News]

Wilson's Group sells Victoria sightseeing buses and part of repair facility. [Times Colonist]

Home evacuated over gas leak on Blackwood on Friday. [CHEK]

HarbourCats home opener is on June 6. Tickets are now available.

Sea slug eggs looking like noodles in Royston [Facebook]