sew hungry

Last Friday I attended my first Sew Hungry food truck rally in Hamilton with Seema. I was pretty surprised by how busy the event was. Food trucks lined Ottawa Street and each had a line-up, plus a crowd of people waiting for their orders. We had to skip the Dirty South truck because of its long line (and because I was trying hard to get Maxwell to sleep in his stroller and the sidewalk was jammed!) and moved on to Buster's Sea Cove for lobster rolls and fish tacos. Both were tasty, but I'm sure I could have eaten about three of those small lobster rolls (but not at the $13 a pop they were going for)!

The most surprising bite of the day was El Gastronomo Vagabundo's asparagus (perfectly cooked) topped with a battered poached egg (nice and runny), candied bacon, tarragon emulsion, ramps and dukkah. We couldn't believe there was barely a line-up. 

Another surprise came from the homemade meat pie Seema and I scarfed down from a local church mainly to get a table and chairs. When you have two babies in tow, $8 for a seat and a tasty meal seems like chump change.

We all really wanted to try the food from The Big Chief, a new Hamilton food truck that specializes in First Nations cuisine, but unfortunately, they were sold out by the time we got to them. 

It was great to see how popular Hamilton's food truck scene has become and a nice way to spend a sunny Friday afternoon.

rebozos

As someone who loves tacos and good Mexican food, I've had Rebozos on my radar for a long time. Last week I was finally able to cross it off my list.  

I mostly came for the lengua (beef tongue) tacos. Beef tongue may sound scary, but, if cooked properly, can be the most tender piece of meat. It's the perfect cut for tacos. 

I also tried one of the specials of the day: chicharron in salsa verde tacos, basically pork skin simmered in a tomatillo salsa. The chicharron was mega-porky and gelatinous in texture—definitely not for everyone, but I thought it was pretty tasty.

And finally a chorizo tostada. Crumbled Mexican sausage, refried beans, shredded lettuce and sour cream on a crunchy tortilla. A little hard to handle and messy, but a nice mix of crunchy, spicy, cool and creamy.

With so many good taco spots opening up shop downtown (La Carnita, Grand Electric, Seven Lives), I probably wouldn't make the trip all the way up to Rebozos, but those tongue tacos did inspire me to try to make my own. I'll be posting about that experience soon.

Rebozos

126 Rogers Rd.

seven lives tacos

I came across Seven Lives tacos while strolling through Kensington market in search of bread and cheese. More akin to a takeout counter than restaurant, it's hidden within the shared El Gordo space on August Avenue. Seven Lives specializes in fish and seafood tacos, but have options for non-fish lovers too. I really wanted to try the ceviche, but it was sold out. Since I have a hard time passing up on tacos, I settled on two for the road (though there is a back patio so you can sit down and eat). 

The condiments: lime wedges, pickled red onions, salsa verde and red salsa. The salsas were really flavourful and I topped my tacos with both.

The baja fish taco came with a freshly battered, deep-fried piece of fish tucked in doubled blue corn tortillas, then topped with cabbage, fresh salsa and sour cream.

The camarones a la diabla came with plump shrimp and peppers on corn tortillas topped with melted cheese, fresh salsa, shredded cabbage and sour cream.

Messy (in the best way) and made with fresh fish and seafood, these tacos were mighty satisfying. Now I have another reason to hit up the market more often. You can follow Seven Lives on Twitter to find their daily menu.

Seven Lives

214 Augusta Avenue

mexitaco sunday

It was Sunday afternoon and I was in the mood for tacos. I decided to give Mexitaco a try. 

Two Jarritos to start...

...along with an order of guacamole. Unfortunately, there were too many overcooked tortillas.

Tacos al pastor for me (I love the combination of pork and pineapple)...

and chilaquiles (fried tortillas cooked in tomatillo sauce and topped with sour cream and salty feta-like cheese) for Joe. Mexitaco's version came with a huge flat steak and refried beans. The chilaquiles themselves were pretty good, but I'm definitely a bigger fan of Senor Chipotle's in Guelph.

Overall, an ok meal. Nothing really stood out to me and I probably won't rush back anytime soon, but at least I tried somewhere new. The next place I'll be heading to when it comes to tacos: Rebozos. I hear they do a crazy good tongue taco.

Mexitaco

828 Bloor St. W

banh mi boys

Banh Mi Boys has quickly become one of my favourite places for lunch, dinner or a mid-afternoon snack. Not gonna lie, I was a bit skeptical at first about the mixing of Vietnamese, Korean, Chinese and Mexican cuisine, but after my first bite I was hooked. 

Let's start with the kimchi fries. Kimchi and fries may not sound like a good combo, but somehow it works. The crispy fries topped with pulled pork, mayo, chopped green onions and a good helping of kimchi were amazing. Every bite had so many textures and complementing flavours—very addictive. 

The banh mi here are a higher end version of the classic mystery meat banh mi sold on Spadina (which are also tasty in their own way). The lemongrass pork banh mi comes stuffed with juicy grilled pork, pickled carrot and daikon, cucumber and cilantro. It's topped with their Asian bbq sauce and the bun is slightly toasted so it has a nice, crisp exterior.

The kalbi beef taco layers Korean grilled short ribs with Asian slaw, kimchi, pickled carrot and daikon, and cilantro all in an Indian paratha-like shell. This bad boy is pretty messy, but equally satisfying. I like the chewiness of the bread and the meat is perfectly sweet and savoury.

When I first pictured the steamed bao, I thought they would be small two-bite buns, but they're not. The braised beef cheek bao is filled with a good helping of tender beef cheek topped with a sweet and tangy onion chutney and more of the obligatory pickled carrot, daikon, cucumber and cilantro. The bao itself is pillowy soft and hefty enough to hold all that filling.

The restaurant space is pretty small and there's no table service here: you need to order and wait for your food. I suggest going with a friend who can snag a table while you grab the eats. Line-ups are common, but the service is fast and efficient. So glad that Banh Mi Boys is a short walk from my house.

Banh Mi Boys

392 Queen St. W.

fish tacos

I've been craving fish tacos ever since I had Grand Electric's version way back in January. So after a quick trip to Kensington Market for fresh tortillas and fish, Joe and I collaborated to make these crispy fish tacos with red cabbage slaw.

For the fish, we chose grouper. It was dipped in a simple tempura batter and fried until crispy. All it needed was a squeeze of lime and some tangy slaw.

We also made shrimp tacos using the same tempura batter. I threw together a quick pineapple salsa and added a spoonful of salsa verde to each taco to finish them off.

The salsa verde is from La Tortilleria, where we get our tortillas. It's usually pretty mild, but this batch was really spicy—which made it that much more delicious. I cut up some of the tortillas into triangles and fried them for fresh chips.

grand electric

What began as a walk through Parkdale, ended in a spontaneous dinner at Grand Electric. We started with the guacamole and chips. Check out that chicharron!

Spicy squid. Sweet, tangy and spicy. Delicious.

There were six taco options. We decided to try all of them. Round one(from top left): beef cheek, baja fish and spicy arbol chicken.

Round two (from top): pig tail, fried queso and roasted poblano, and pork belly al pastor.

Our favs of the night: the baja fish, beef cheek and fried queso. They were so good that we actually went for round three before lugging our full bellies back home. 

Grand Electric

1330 Queen St. W

tacos!

Have you seen the latest issue of b.a.h magazine? I made tacos. Slow-roasted pork tacos with peach salsa and quick-pickled shallots. They are seriously good. I made them again this past weekend.

This time I pickled thinly-sliced red onion instead of shallots. I love their bright fuschia colour.

My favourite place to get fresh corn tortillas is La Tortilleria in Kensington Market. Made fresh daily, the tortillas are still warm when they're handed to you and only cost $1.99 for half a kilo.

taco time

Most of my Sundays are spent holed up in my small kitchen prepping food for the upcoming week. But sometimes, when I have a busy week and an even busier weekend, things get thrown off track. Which means more dinners out. Like this impromptu Monday night meal at Tacos El Asador. I need to go here more often. I also need to eat more tacos.

Jarritos: tamarind flavour and Mexican Cola

Nachos: Not your ordinary cheese-laden variety, these come topped with refried beans, chunks of ripe avocado, queso, cilantro, jalapenos, sour cream, tomatoes and onions.

Chicharron papusa (a hand-made, griddled thick corn tortilla stuffed with pork)

Al pastor soft taco (marinated pork + pineapple)

Chicken soft taco

Tacos El Asador

690 Bloor St. W