Mexican Archives - Page 4 of 4

In Downtown

TacoFino Cantina Food Truck: Taco, Taco, Taco

July 29, 2011

Tacofino is another new food truck hitting the streets of Downtown Vancouver. Located on Howe Street and Robson Street. Tacofino originated from Tofino, BC thus their name Taco”fino”. They have spent the past 2 years operating on the island, but has finally made their way here.

When you are strolling around the Vancouver Art Gallery, try spotting this large orange truck. There will also be a huge line up during at lunch, so you really can’t miss it.

Tacofino specializes in fresh fish baja-style tacos. All you need to do is go up to the window to order. They also have daily specials as well, which as located near the cashier.

Their usual menu features the Fish Taco, Tuna Ta Taco, Pork Gringa/Bean Gringa, Black Bean Taco, Chocolate Diablo Cookie and their Lime Mint Freshie. All for under $10.

They also have a cooler filled with water and different varieties of Jarritos Mexican Soda. These are some really really good oh so addicting sodas.

I stick with my usual Pineapple Jarritos. It has an amazing flavour that no other soda company can capture. I find it funny how the bottle says “Naturally/ Artificially Flavoured Soda”, so what is it really? or is it a combination of both?

If you are also wondering how you are going to open the cap of the drink, they have a bottle opener to the left of the cashier.

Tuna Ta Taco ($6.50 each) is my FAVORITE taco from the truck. Be warned, this is a messy messy taco to eat. If you are wearing white, beware!!

This taco has seared sesame albacore tuna with a subtle wasabi ginger mayo, cabbage, mango, salsa and seaweed salad on top. The ingredients are very flavourful and the tuna is just so fresh! All the elements blend together nicely to create the ultimate taco.

I do find this taco a bit pricey, but once you take a bite, its so addictive!

The Pork Gringa ($4.50 each) is another treat as well! It has spicy braised pork, sour cream and salsa in a quesadilla tortilla. Depending how crisp they can get the quesadilla, it can also get quite messy. Remember, white shirts be scared!!

Their pork is very flavourful and not too spicy. I would definitely order this again!

On another lunch here, I ordered the Fish Taco ($4.50 each). It has tempura cover ling cod with chipotle mayo, cabbage, and salsa. I personally did not take a liking to this taco since the pieces of fish had too much tempura batter. It was very hard to fully enjoy the flavour of the fish. Everything overpowered the fish and the main ingredient did not shine through.

Overall, I really love this food truck for their taco offerings! Such amazing quality and it’s something you need to try!

Words of Wisdom:

Tuna Ta Taco + Pork Gringa + Jarritos = Best meal!!
Really busy during lunch
Can get messy
If you get 2 tacos, you will be paying close to $10
Closest Skytrain: Granville Skytrain

We Rate Tacofino Cantina:

Website:

www.tacofino.com

Twitter: @TacoFinoCantina

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/TacoFino-Vancouver/157314964322202

Vancouver

In Four Beakers

Vallarta’s Mexican Restaurant: Amazing Hole in the Wall

June 8, 2011

M has discovered that Vallarta’s Mexican Restaurant has one of the best Mexican foods in Vancouver. A few months ago, M wanted to take me here, but then as the girl I am, I scolded him for taking me to a crappy looking place. We made it to the parking lot, but went elsewhere. It’s my human nature to deter away from scary looking places. After actually trying this place out, I think we have fell in love with their food.

A small family owns Vallarta’s Mexican Restaurant and they cook all their foods in house. They don’t make a large amount of their items, so when it’s gone… you won’t be able to get it till the next day. I tried ordering the Camaron Burrito and the Horchata, but nope… sold out.

Looking at their menu, there were lots of mouth-watering items. Most of the items are between $8 and $10, which can be seen as slightly expensive, but their portions are really large!

We started our meal off with Jarritos Soda ($2.50). This is a popular soft drink in Mexico. This was my first time trying it and man….if American pop can taste like this…I would be one fat girl right now. It’s so good and makes you want more!

We tried the Pineapple Jarritos and Grapefruit Jarritos. Both are great choices!

M ordered the Carnitas Burrito ($10.99). It has pork, rice, beans, onions and cilantro wrapped in a flour tortilla. It is covered in cheese and red sauce. This is not your small taco from Taco Time. Taco Time cannot even compare to the amazing taste of this burrito. It is large and you will be full. The pork is beautifully roasted and is very flavorful and tender. Totally worth the price!!

I ordered the Cheese Quesadilla ($8.99). I really was not expecting much since Cheese Quesadilla sounded very small. When it arrived, it was pretty large! They even had a lot of cheese inside the tortilla! Adding the sour cream and the salsa made this SO good! Never knew such a thing could taste so good.

They also have hot sauce if you want to add a kick to your meal.

Overall, great place for Mexican food. If all Mexican food tasted like this, it would be my next favorite cuisine. Too bad I have a hatred for beans. Vallarta’s Mexican Restaurant has a good deal for what you get. Try not to be like me and judge this place based on their décor.

Words of Wisdom:

Free parking in front
Large portions of yummy food
Suggested – Caritas Burrito, Chicken Fajita Burrito
Decent prices

We Rate Vallarta’s Mexican Restaurant:

Address:

2891 E Broadway
Vancouver, BC

In Downtown

Arturo’s Mexico To Go Food Truck: Awkward Experience

April 23, 2011

Another stroll near Waterfront and I wanted to check out Arturo’s Mexico To Go. I’ve never heard of a Mexican Themed Food Truck, so I look my lunch break to head on over.

They actually have a pretty HUGE food truck. They basically tower over you and you kinda feel like a midget.

Their menu has 5 items – Burrito, Burrito Salad Bowl, Quesadilla, Tacotino, and Tortilla Soup.

I ordered the Burrito Salad Bowl and the Tortilla Soup. The whole time I was waiting for the food, it was super awkward and it seemed like the staff lacked coordination. As one of the staff prepared my meal, this other person was just standing around and you really didn’t know if he accepted the money or was just there cause he wouldn’t look at you or say anything. Super awkward.

When I got my order, they forgot I ordered the tortilla soup, so I had to remind them that I ordered the soup. All he said was “oh” and made it. He said nothing more and I got confused. I shrugged it off and headed up to some outdoor tables near Price Waterhouse Coopers. (Great view of the Inlet!)

The Tortilla Soup ($3) was alright. I expected a bit more from this soup. The cheese was not fully melted and the tortilla was all limp and soggy. The soup itself was a bit spicy and had a really rich tomato taste. Very good depth of flavour.

Next, I had the Burrito Salad Bowl ($7). This is basically the normal burrito but laid out in a box like a platter. To be honest, the name of this item threw me off. I expected more salad since it is called a “salad bowl”. They should probably rename this to be called “Burrito Platter”.

You can choose between their different types of meat – pork, beef or chicken.

I ordered the chicken and it was really tender and flavourful. I was not 100% satisfied because I was expecting everything on top of lettuce. The taste overall was alright.

Words of Wisdom:

Under $10
Great flavour in meats
Decent portions
Close to Waterfront Skytrain
Awkward Service

We Rate Arturo’s Mexico To Go:

Address:

775 West Cordova Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.arturos2go.com

In Downtown

La Taqueria Taco Shop

November 12, 2010

La Taqueria is located near Vancouver Film School and Simon Fraser University Vancouver Campus. La Taqueria Taco Shop offers up authentic Mexican tacos from authentic traditional recipes. All the ingredients used in the tacos are local, organic, and sustainable.

TaiwaneseGirl, CanuckGirl and I were in Downtown and decided we should try it out since we wanted a small snack.

The restaurant is fairly small and can seat about 16 or so people at one time. Most of the items are small snack items, so you won’t really get too full unless you decided to eat everything from the menu…which will cost you a fair bit.

The menu has 12 different types of tacos. The menu had 2 categories : meat or veggies.

The meat ones are $2.50 or 4 for $9.50.

The Veggie ones are $2.00 or 4 for $7.00.

The first taco was the Carnitas. It has pork confit, onions, parsley, and pickled onions.

The next one was the Asada Taco. It has grilled AAA flank beef with onions and parsley.

This is the La Cachete Taco. It has braised beef cheeks with the onions and parsley.

Say hello to De Lengua! It has braised beef tongue.

They also have several sauces you can add to your tacos! The red Habanero sauce is HOT! If TaiwaneseGirl says its hot..probably best to listen to her. I thought I could handle it, but i took so much sauce my mouth started burning. I didn’t have a drink..so the only thing I could think of was to bite into the lime. It was probably a bad idea…since it made the pain more intense. Luckily, La Taqueria had jugs of water on the side!

Overall, the ingredients they used were good, but what we didn’t like the most was how messy it was to eat the tacos. The juices from the tacos keep running, so we would have to wrap the tacos in napkins to prevent the oil from getting on our phones or pants.

Words of Wisdom:

Tacos are small, very drippy
Staff is very nice and willing to help
Limited amounts of seats, hard for large groups

We rate La Taqueria:

Check out their website: www.lataqueria.ca

In Mexican

Chronic Tacos

October 26, 2010

Chronic Tacos popped up a few months ago on Broadway near Cambie. Passing by very often, I always glance at it while waiting for a red light. You really can’t help but stare at the logo because the red and black star give it a grunge look to it. While I was in the area, I decided to try what they had to offer. Plus, tacos are really generally just a cool type of food.

From the outside, you wouldn’t image such modern/bar decor inside. I was surprised. They have lots of seating, so it’s no problem finding a seat.

In order for you to order some delicious tacos, walk to the back of the restaurant and you will see this ordering station. I can tell you right now, I had no idea what I was ordering. I didn’t know where to look to make a decision. In the end, I had to ask the staff what they recommended. They are really nice and loves to crack jokes with customers.

I really wanted to try all the best that they had to offer, so I got the Carnitas Taco, Shrimp Taco, chips, salsa and a drink. This was based 100% off the recommendations of the staff. I was not disappointed.

Looking at the beer battered shrimp, I love shrimp but I am not keen on it being fried. Surprisingly, this was SO GOOD! The staff recommended adding a cajun sauce to it with cabbage. I would get this again! It was like fish & chips…but in this case shrimp and chips. Super unique!

The next taco was the carnitas taco, or in plain english it is pulled pork taco. You can whatever toppings you want on it. Imagine Subway, but 1000% more fresh, real and not processed. I wish I had a better close up shot of this, but I accidentally deleted it.

If you like an extra kick…or several kicks into your taco, they have so many choices of hot sauce. I didn’t try it because I get weirded out by almost empty bottles.They have salt in Corona bottles, but I just found that weird.

I am so glad there were no side of fries. Why have a side of fries when you can have tortilla chips and salsa. The chips were well made, but i felt the salsa could have been better. It was very wet and it could have tasted more fresh.

Words of Wisdom:

Cheap! You can get a decent combo for about $11 or less
Unique flavors… must try beer battered shrimp!
Staff are all super friendly and always helpful

I really enjoyed Chronic Tacos. I felt a bit weird eating all lone, but the staff were really helpful to choose a good meal. Even when I was sitting alone, they asked me how my meal was and we chatted a bit about the business. These tacos are not huge, you could probably eat it in 4 or 5 bites. I was super full with 2 tacos!

We rate Chronic Tacos:

Check out their website: http://www.chronictacos.ca/

In Commercial Drive / Grandview

Red Burrito (Commercial)

September 11, 2010

Red Burrito has always in our sights when we go back to Burnaby from Vancouver. After a long day of work and school, M and I decided today was the day we would walk into Red Burrito and see what treasures lie inside.

After a while of trying to find parking, driving into alleys, scratching the bottom of my car, we found a nice spot right near the restaurant. The pay parking is $2 per hour or $1 for 30mins.

You can never miss Red Burrito on Commercial and 1^st ave because the lit up sign just illuminates. We walked in and I was surprised it wasn’t really gross and dirty. They have some seats inside and outside to eat. I think a lot of the people who order just take out anyways…cause some sketchy people are around.. like hobos.

The menu was quite simple and it’s easily to read. You choose your item, add the meat, type of salsa, and any additional items in it.

M and I ordered the Red Burrito, which I assume is their best seller because that’s the name of the restaurant.

I didn’t really expect much from this place because of the low ratings, but I was surprised at so much food they gave for $6. There was so much stuffing…I don’t even know how they wrapped it up. It still stayed intact which is good. I was just sad they didn’t add cheese and guacamole free of charge….they cost 1.50 more!!! RIP OFF!

They wrap it up in tin foil and then you can unwrap to enjoy the deliciousness that lays inside.

This Red Burrito was FAT! It was so heavy and was stuffed with so many things that I was super full when I was finished. There was the right amount of ingredients inside and worked super well. I don’t know if this is good or not, but I had to chicken in my burrito and it had some nice texture! It was a bit nice and crunchy. I enjoyed it, but does it mean it’s not fresh chicken? Either way I enjoyed it and I didn’t get sick.

If you want a place that give you bang for your buck, go to Red Burrito to have a Red Burrito because you will get stuffed for $6. They just kinda piss me off that they need to charge extra for cheese and guacamole!

We rate Red Burrito:

Check out their website: http://www.redburrito.ca/

In Mexican

Cilantro & Jalapeño

August 29, 2010

My coworker suggested I go try out Cilantro & Jalapeño, which serves Mexican food. I am not a big fan of Mexican food since I hate beans. Nonetheless, I tried it out anyways.

The line up was pretty long so this indicated that this is a popular place to eat at Lonsdale Quay. So, I lined up and took a look at their menu. They had a large selection of Mexican food from enpanades to taquitos. It was pretty cheap since it was under $10 an entrée. The seating is not great, but what can you really expect from a food court.

I decided to have the small quesadilla with chicken. You can choose the type of meet that you want at no extra cost. You can choose from wither chicken of beef. So, if you are not a beef eater, then choose the chicken.
The quesadilla was very simple since it consisted of tortillas, Edam cheese and chicken. Even thought it was simple, it tasted very clean and fresh.

The quesadilla came with 3 sides – guacamole, salsa and beans. The guacamole and salsa were just amazing and fresh! I have never had such delicious guacamole and salsa in my life! You know its fresh because they make new batches everyday! So, you know you don’t get week old salsa sitting in a jar. Everything is made fresh right in their kitchen and you are able to see them make the dishes.

They also have a grocery section to their shop where people can purchase the guacamole, salsa, and different sauces they use for their dish. After eating this dish, I bought their signature tortilla chips and a large tub of guacamole.

If you love the taste of authentic Mexican food which tastes super fresh, try Cilantro & Jalapeno! You will not be disappointed. Remember to try their Guacamole and Salsa!

We rate Cilantro & Jalapeno: