Saturday
La Carnita
501 College, at Palmerston, 416-964-1555, lacarnita.com, @la_carnita If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Grand Electric in Parkdale must be particularly chuffed. So what if both taquerias appropriated the formula – trendy tacos, hard liquor and harder tunes – from Big Star Tacos in Chicago? Smooth service and the lack of a lineup most nights make the somewhat higher prices that much easier to stomach. Best: owner chef Andrew Richmond’s signature In Cod We Trust fish taco of battered wild Atlantic cod, pickled red cabbage and tart Granny Smith apple lashed with lime, crema fresca, spicy tahini-like Voltron sauce Pollo Frito with southern-style fried chicken in peanut mole sauce dressed with pickled napa cabbage and tomato salsa deep-fried avocado with black beans and peppery chipotle sauce house-made chorizo with pickled red onion and sharp cojita cheese, all on fresh La Tortilleria tortillas tongue tostadas topped with grilled pineapple and beet sprouts in hot sauce halved avocados stuffed with ripe mango, toasted pumpkin seeds and Hostess Hickory Sticks fashioned from deep-fried plantain tortilla chips dusted with powdered ancho chili sided with chipotle-spiked chicken liver pâté charred corn on the cob slathered in yogurty crema fresca and anejo cheese paletas – Mexican popsicles – in flavours like key lime pie coated with crushed graham crackers, and salted dulce de leche with crushed chicharrón. Complete meals for $40 per person, including tax, tip and a pint of micro-suds. Average taco $5. Open for dinner Saturday 5 to 11 pm. No reservations. Licensed. Access: one step at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNNN
Como en Casa
565 Yonge, at Wellesley, 647-748-6666, comoencasa.ca Is this the best Mexican grub in town? Not by a long shot. But Carlos Rios’s low-key cantina in the old Pita Break space makes up for the missing glitz with low-prices and dishes made from scratch. Like Agave and El Sol, fast food this ain’t. Best: grilled white flour tacos stuffed with sweetly shredded chicken, beef or pork or grilled veggies as well as cheese, lettuce and tomato bountiful burritos stuffed with tomato-tinted rice, creamy refried beans and roasted corn and a raft of fixings slow-braised adobo chicken in tangy tomato sauce house-baked empanadas. Complete meals for $10 per person, including tax, tip and a soda. Average main $6. Open for dinner Saturday 5 to 9 pm. Unlicensed. Access: one step at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNN
Rebozos
126 Rogers, at Boon, 416-658-5001, rebozos.ca Off the eaten track, this modest taqueria take-away located in owners Teresa Medina and Indalecio Marroquin’s living room is worth a dining detour. Just don’t come expecting Tex-Mex rice and refried beans with everything. Rebozos’ straightforward tacos, tostados and quesadillas are the real deal. And muy caliente! Bonus: weekend specials. Best: fresh La Tortilleria’s corn tortillas stuffed with sweet dry-rubbed pork marinated in hot-hot-hot adobo chilies, tender-sweet slow-roasted pork shoulder carnitas, or pork cochinita pibil slow-cooked in orange juice, yellow achiote and cumin enchiladas in either tangy green poblano or semi-sweet mole for the hungover, pozole, a slightly greasy spice-fortified goulash thick with pulled pork and starchy hominy kernels and garnished with chopped iceberg lettuce, raw onion and oregano. Complete meals for $12 per person, including tax, tip and a Mexican soda. Average main $3. Open for dinner Saturday 5 to 10 pm. Unlicensed. Access: five steps at door, washrooms on same floor, minimal seating. Rating: NNNN
Sunday
Grand Electric
1330 Queen W, at Elm Grove, 416-627-3459, grandelectricbar.com, @grandelectric TO Now that ex-Black Hoof chef Colin Tooke’s super-hot Parkdale taqueria has more than doubled in size with the addition of a 40-seat patio, scoring a no-reserve table should be twice as easy. Wrong! But show up at 6, get on the list and come back in an hour or so – no problemo. Friendly and efficient servers ensure the feeding frenzy never wanes. Best: vibrantly spiced soft-shell tacos stuffed with sweet pulled pork belly topped with grilled pineapple salsa shredded chicken kicked with árbol pepper and pickled red onion deliciously braised beef cheeks dressed with buttery avocado and hellaciously hot jalapeños fried slices of mild queso over roasted poblano peppers Baja-style fish tacos with crisply deep-fried tilapia finished with radish and red onion lashed with crema and lime shareable plates like chunky tuna ceviche piled high tostada-style on deep-fried tortillas remarkably tender rings of deep-fried calamari drenched in a Sriracha-like hot sauce Chicken Frito, a heap of marvellously messy deep-fried chicken parts doused in a five-alarm sauce thick with fresh coriander, brown sugar, chili pods and funky nam pla to finish, Mason jars of key lime pudding. Complete meals for $40 per person, including tax, tip and a cocktail. Average main $10. Open for lunch Sunday 11:30 am to 4 pm. No reservations. Licensed. Access: one step at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNNNN
Mexitaco
828 Bloor W, at Shaw, 416-537-6693, mexitaco.com Decked out in minimal south-of-the-border kitsch (sombrero count: three), this brightly lit taqueria might not impress the Scaramouche set, but it will bowl over the budget-minded with its traditional takes on Mexicali cuisine. Best: as the name suggests, tacos – lime-scented tortillas layered with strips of grilled steak, pineapple-marinated shaved pork or spicy sausage garnished with raw red onion, fresh coriander leaf and house-made hot sauce Gringa, a folded and fried flour tortilla stuffed with pork and lotsa mozza’ and, like most mains, sided with yellow achiote rice and textbook refried beans to finish, chef Patricia Morales’s deeply delicious flan, a denser, sweeter bread pudding than custard to quaff, Sidral Mundet, a heat-cutting apple soda. Complete dinners for $35 per person (lunches $25), including tax, tip and a cerveza. Average main $12. Open Sunday noon to 10 pm. Licensed. Access: one step at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNN
Tacos El Asador
690 Bloor W, at Clinton, 416-538-9747 As its name suggests, the grub here is an El Salvadoran interpretation of Mexican street food. Although the funky taqueria’s minimal decor – screaming-yellow walls hung with folk art, a few flags, three TVs of varying vintage permanently tuned to the sports channel or a Latin American soap opera – and uncomfortable picnic bench seating aren’t conducive to hanging around, the family-style service is always warm and the made-to-order wraps more so. Best: humongous plates piled with thin pan-fried steak, mild tomato salsa, refried beans, rice studded with corn kernels and red pepper, and a salad of cucumber, multicoloured pepper and avocado crisp tacos stuffed with lime-tenderized chicken, beef or pork pupusas layered with cheese and bean-and-squash purée and topped with red and white cabbage slaw as well as sliced onion, jalapeño and chili salsa house-made horchata, a creamy shake of sweet rice, pulverized peanuts, vanilla and milk. Complete meals for $15 per person, including tax, tip and an imported Mexican beer. Average main $7. Open Sunday 2 to 9 pm. Licensed. Cash only. Access: one step at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNN
