| rev:text
| - I think I may have finally found it - my Holy Grail of Mexican food in Toronto - a true taste of Mexico and it's just down the street from me!
After finding out my usual, Mexico Lindo, was closed for Cinco de Mayo (say whaaaa?) I found out about this place that opened only about a month ago and decided to try it because I love Mexican food and had yet to find an ideal place in this city.
The food:
Guacamole is awesome! Better than Lindo's , who cheapen-it-up adding sour cream or mayo - which some people like. Chacho's is Just pure, perfectly ripe avocado with a few nice chunks inside, with some spices, tomatoes and onions for flavour - and served with two delicious hot sauces - red and green (a different kind than what come on the enchiladas, though). The chips were thin and crispy-fried. No sour cream/mayo fillers or store-bought chips here. Worth the $8 - as it comes in two apparently small containers, but after eating one to myself I was almost too fill for dinner. I took the other bowl of guac home. :)
Enchiladas in salsa verde (green sauce): This is how they should be done! Simple and authentic: shredded chicken, folded corn shells (NOT flour - enchiladas are never made with flour tortillas), cheese and crema - so delicious. This is how the food was served to me when I was visiting the Yucatan peninsula, , so yes, I believe this is very authentic stuff. A few pieces of onion on top I kicked to the side as I only like raw onion in my pico de gallo.
My friend had the pork leg tacos, which were much bigger than I thought with almost a double-corn tortilla underneath. I tried a bit of the meat and liked the spices, but I generally prefer steak or chicken. No rice or beans with the tacos but they come filled with more stuff.
People who think the portions are small must be used to a Denny's BIG SLAM brekky every day - cause I was so full I could barely move at the end. Is it a bit pricey? $16 for enchiladas is a bit much, but same price as you'd pay at any place downtown (Hernando's hideaway, Jalapeños - if they still exist),but it was shredded white meat with delicious refried beans and rice. Sometimes, you do get what you pay for. Take the extra walk to this place over Mariachi's on Yonge where they give you either dark meat (yuk) or they give you hunk of black-charred white meat with grisly bits and the price is the same for white meat.
One more note: I wanted to dock a star cause our service was a bit slow. With only one waitress working, the owner was casually chatty with the customers - heard him talking to people about Mexico, Lucha Libres, etc, BUT he should be stepping in, talking orders and facilitating the kitchen's orders when he has only one staff member, one cook and a half-full restaurant (10 tables at least). I've seen good places go down on Kitchen Nightmares because the owners are looking for a social experience instead of a really challenging job working with food (which is the reality of owning a kitchen).
I really hope they keep up the AWESOME, fresh quality of food, because I find after a few months to a few years, a lot of places start cutting corners. Don't do it!
The decor was also nice and not so cheesy as other places - with a nice lack of sombreros and figurines - a fairly upscale look. They were lacking bar service though and only had beer, wine and tequila (and margaritas. Margaritas were $11 so I decided to stick with water). But if you want to get hammered you can always go to red lantern right next door afterward.
I really hope this place stays in business - as it is in the middle of nowhere. But they are surrounded by retirement homes and condos and the only other places nearby are Red lantern and KFC, so maybe they can capitalize on the local clientele. Either way, there is parking at the side and they do take out - which is amazing - and I plan on taking advantage of that.
Viva la Mexico!
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)