Giovanni’s Mexican Food

Giovanni’s is the little Mexican/​Italian counter inside the Johnson Creek Market. It’s a separate entity from the Johnson Creek Market itself, so I have listed it separately here on Unilocal.
I was directed to this place by a food-​writer acquaintance of mine as having some surprisingly good Mexican food, and after close to a year of forgetting that this place was even on my radar, I finally made it down to this odd corner of Portland for a try.
I found the falling-​apart sign out front that simply said «Italian and Mexican Food,» a combination that’s been intriguing me for quite some time. Legend has it that this guy worked in the kitchen at an Italian place, and has since combined his skills learned there with his home-​style Mexican cooking. His offerings range from the standard Mexican fare (tacos, burritos, tortas, chile rellenos, etc), to Italian (Spaghetti and Meatballs) to convenience store cuisine (a hot rack with jojos and fried chicken).
I inquired with my usual «what’s the best thing here?» and got the standard run-​around «everything’s good here, depending on what you like» answer, so I settled on a carnitas burrito. The tortilla was heated on the grill but the carnitas were heated in a microwave, which was a bit of a downer. I guess they’ll stay more moist that way, vs drying out on the grill, but I’m generally averse to microwaved food. It just seems to change the chemistry of the food. The micro’d innards were added to beans and rice on the heated tortilla to make up a pretty decent sized burrito that cost me somewhere in the $ 5 range.
The burrito itself was ok, nothing amazing. Everything is made in house, which I appreciate, and the base burrito definitely had a good flavor in that sense, but there was nothing really stand-​out about it… except for the salsa. All of the salsa options (a mild red, medium green, and hot red) are made in house, and the hot red is a habañero/​chile arbol mix that’s got a very spicy edge, but that great sweet habañero flavor balanced by the chile arbol. This salsa blew me away, and turned what was otherwise a 3-​star burrito into a 4+ star experience. The salsa was so good I contemplated asking him if I could purchase a to-​go container full of it.
I consumed my burrito in the little seating area in the front of the Johnson Creek market, which is definitely a no-​frills convenience store seating area. My beverage came from the fairly-​decent selection offered by the Market. Overall, the ambiance is nil, but that’s kind of what you’re looking for here.
This little gem is in one of the least-​expected places, and I’m glad I was tipped off to it. Well, sort of. It leaves me with a bit of a dilemma. Like I said, I wasn’t that impressed by the canitas burrito overall, but the salsa made a huge impression. I guess I will have to go back and try the other menu options to see what else carries a spark in this little kitchen. The quality of that hot sauce is promising.
Overall, an interesting find. Nice owner, great salsa, decent burrito… if it were closer to my house, I’d partake more often.