Shredded pork and pickled onion on a homemade tortilla might not sound like much but the succulent treat made my favourites list during today’s tastings at several restaurants in Collingwood, Ontario.

A traditional dish from the Yucatan, the tiny tapa was served alongside a subtly sweet drink made mostly of strawberry pulp. Savoured while sitting in a cushy lounge chair, it was a dish I could have eaten a lot more of and a place I plan to go back to.

This was Frida’s Mexican Tapas Bistro, a restaurant that opened this past September and one of ten stops on the Autumn Restaurant Walking Tour, an enjoyable stroll (or stumble, depending on how you respond to the variety of drinks) to ten venues in the city’s historic downtown.

We started at Dags & Willow, a gourmet food shop with a selection of over 100 cheeses, fine olive oils, truffle honey, smoked trout and other items. There, another quick bite of heaven: grapes rolled in cream cheese and roquefort and encrusted with pecans.

But my very favourite stop was in an old house, off Huronia Street. Walking into Brunello at 27 on fourth is like entering a friend’s home. Intimate seating is arranged in what would have once been the parlour and back dining area of the Victorian home. There, we ate a sausage ravioli in a tangy tomato sauce, creamy with cheeses. The accompanying bruschetta sang with the flavours of olive oil, fresh tomatoes, chunks of cucumber and cheese.

Like the whole tasty day, this treat was but a brief introduction to all the available eating that downtown Collingwood has to offer.