Celebrate with tacos and margaritas!
Here's a round up of my fave taco places:
5 Napkin Burger (Miami), who knew a burger place could do fish tacos so well?
Linden Square's The Cottage in Wellesley, MA does a mean mahi taco
Border Cafe in Harvard Square, Boston
Dos Cominos in NYC
Atwoods Tavern, Boston, does a good fish taco!
And if you, like me, enjoy taco night at home, try this tilapia recipe for creating delish fish tacos!!
Location:
Came highly recommended. Didn't know it was a chain. And for someone who spent more than 8 hours at the Met without eating anything, I was, to say the least, starving. The service was top knotch, and because we said we were incredibly hungry they brought out everything in literally 10 minutes.
The rice and beans were unlimited, and we (mostly me) had about 5-6 refills.
The fish dish was spicy just as I ordered, just wonderful. Ah, to have it once more.
Location:
32 Church St., Cambridge, MA
Appearing as though it's the red light district of Harvard Square, this Border Cafe in Cambridge is loud, crowded and welcoming.
The margaritas were STRONG, the nachos crispy and the Cajun/Mexican mains absolutely delicious. Each of us in our party of five enjoyed our round-table meal.
I even spilled a drink on my brother in law.
If you can't have a good time here, there is no hope for thou.
Location:
250 Northern Avenue
Boston, MA
www.temazcalcantina.com
We went to Temazcal to celebrate my BIL's birthday.
It was one of those early Fall September days, so the rain was coming down, and it was a Friday so we did get caught in rush-hour traffic.
On top of this, a few things to note:
Temazcal doesn't take reservations.
They have valet parking which is $20 (!) but you get it validated by the restaurant so it's actually $16 (!). (There will be much usage of exclamation points in this post).
We had to wait at the bar for our table, which was to be about a 45 minute wait. (!)
We had a round of cocktails - the mojitos were served in these giant glasses, with the thick rim, you know the kind, when the rim of the glass fills your whole mouth as though you won't be able to get a sip to drink? And the entire drink had far too much ice for enjoyment.
Then we were seated and given iPAD menus!
My BIL mentioned how unhygienic something like that would be to use - but then again, so are paper/laminated menus as well. They say menus are the filthiest of all.
But I digress.
The light emanating from the iPads were incredible - all of our faces were highlighted in a blue glow, but as soon as we'd all ordered and the iPads were taken away, it was as if someone had turned off a light. We were left to make conversation with ourselves, without the entertainment of swiping through the menu.
The view from the restaurant is quite lovely, and I must say the interior is really nice. Watch out for the slippery floors though - not a friend of a lady and her heels!
Beside us, a table was served with an ENTIRE PIG (LECHON ASADO)! Gross to the vegetarians of the table (and although I don't eat chicken anymore, but do eat bacon - don't ask - I was also not happy to catch the visual).
For the table we ordered the "GUACOMOLE DE LA MIXETA" which doesn't come with chips by the by. Is this not weird to anyone? We then had to order a couple of chip plates.
The guac was AMAH-ZING. And very filling.
I ordered the HUACHINANGO A LA VERACRUZANA (red snapper with plantain mash). It was incredible; the portion was huge and the entire thing was absolutely delicious.
My Mom got the POLLA A LA PERILLA MEXICANA which she loved (surprising, as she's very hard to please)!
Unfortunately those were the only dishes at the table that were good.
This is also largely due to the fact that 98% of the menu is non-veg, and although on the phone they said they'd be able to make any dish veg, our server didn't think so. Thus, the only real veg option was the ENCHILADAS VERDES, which was not a huge hit; the BIL especially did not like it.
The QUESADILLA BOLILlOS (chicken) were average.
The MOLE PABLANO (chicken mole) was served alone without any side of rice or anything. Hard to eat that much mexican chocolate without any carbs, you know what I mean?
Our server, however, was good, and tried his best to accommodate our dietary restrictions as much as he could.
Still, most of the group, aside from me and my happy red snapper, felt like their meals were a huge rip-off in the end. Fancy Mexican is apparently not for this family. Maybe we're just happy with our version of Mexican dinners, with our Uncle Bens Spanish rice and refried beans.
OLE!
Location:
444 Spadina Avenue, Toronto
Cost: $7-10 for an entree
Ah, the Red Room....takes me back to my university days...when "dining out" meant spending less than $5.
An item on the eclectic menu will set you back about $7 - 10 and the portions are decent enough to split when you order a few items.
That's what a bunch of us did one snowy Friday night after work.
The chicken quesadillas, wings and spring rolls are good (it's so dark in there that there's no way you can get away without using flash). Also, the service is slow, but that's not what you're paying for.
Spring Rolls
Wings
If you want an atmosphere that allows you to feel years younger (relatively), and a meal that won't cost an arm and a leg, the Red Room is a great place.
Location:
140 Cumberland Street, Toronto
Cost: Avg main is $13
www.hemingways.to
In the heart of Yorkville there's a cosy little people (or celeb) -watching pub that has the likeness of some Great-Grandfather's study. Green walls, heavy bookcases laden with old books, equestrian oil paintings lit up with dimmed wall sconces, antique wooden furniture dusty with age ----oh, hang on, that actually is my Great-Granddaddy's study...
I got carried away.
But you get my drift, Hemmingways has the authenticity of an ol' pub that Hemmingway himself might have frequented, but with a menu that's a mash-up of Eastern and Western delights, ie: bruschetta, spring rolls, escargot, Boston Clam chowder, Caesar salads, Greek salads, Tandoori what-nots, roti, pad thai, kung pao whatsits, souvlaki, fajitas....it's a really eclectic menu.
The ambiance at Hemmingways
I had the chicken souvlaki once and it was great; couldn't complain. I did however complain about the wine which tasted like that cloth one uses to wipe up counters...YOU know the one! They even confessed that they had that particular bottle sitting out for a while and opened a new one for me.
Chicken Souvlaki [caption id="attachment_1286" align="alignleft" width="604" caption="Chicken Souvlaki $13.99"][/caption]3.99
Besides that one incident (and I only ordered beer after that night), Hemmingways is quite simply: cosy.
And if you can't make up your mind on what to have for dinner, or if you have picky company to dine with, go to Hemmingways. Lots of food options PLUS beer.
Location:
234 Wellington Street West, Toronto
Cost: $8-15
www.quesada.ca
My friend who'd just moved to Toronto from Calgary treated me for lunch at this place; I'd heard many good things about the food, so I was excited to try it out.
Let me first say though, that I have yet to find a really tasty burrito. Burrito Boyz failed to impress. After three tries and various combinations, it still hasn't wowed. I'm still wondering what the fuss is about. But I digress.
Back to Quesadas...
A narrow space on the corner of Wellington and John which outlines their ordering procedure on the far end of the wall prior to the assembly of burritos.
I ordered a small spicy chipotle chicken (hot) ($5.35) which claimed to be "tender chicken marinated in our own spicy chipotle heat". I must confide...there was no heat in this whatsoever.
The hot sauce helped some...but I still wanted the flavour to come from within the burrito. Is that too much to ask? Thank goodness for sauces!
My friend ordred the Chile-lime shrimp, "burrito in the buff" which is the burrito minus the tortilla. AKA, a salad.
And a Tango Mango Odwalla drink:
Fully packed during lunch, the burritos must be impressing some people. My quest for a tasty burrito however, continues...
Location:
520 Queen Street West,
Toronto
Cost: $4-10
It's definitely NOT a sub. Not sure why they call it one, but one thing is certain, it's so tasty you won't be able to stay away. You'll wonder why you have pregnant-woman-cravings in the middle of the day, and you'll find yourself ditching your friends (who are heading out to Burrito Boyz - stupid them) so that you can savour the goodness that is a New York 'sub'.
Sure, it's a hole in the wall and when you sit down at one of the tables, your world will be slighted tilted..but what NYS lacks in ambiance it makes up for in taste. If you like Gandhi's, you'll like NYS...they're owned by the same person and both share the same great zest for flavour and spice. A NY Sub is almost like a roti of sorts...or a wrap...a wroti, if you will. It doesn't matter WHAT it is...alls I know is that it makes one delicious meal!
The beef burrito/sub/whachamacallit.
The shrimp burrito/sub/whachamacallit.
My ultimate favourite, the chicken burrito/sub/whachamacallit......Oh man, the photographs are giving me those cravings.....I'll be right back!