Saturday
La Carnita
501 College, at Palmerston, 416-964-1555, lacarnita.com. 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 páté 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. Licensed. Access: one step at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNNN
Grand Electric
1330 Queen W, at Elm Grove, 416-627-3459, grandelectricbar.com. 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 dinner Saturday 6 pm till late. No reservations. Licensed. Access: one step at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNNNN
Rebozos
126 Rogers, at Boon, 416-658-5001, rebozos.ca. Just north of the Corso Italia, 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. 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
Against the Grain
25 Dockside, at Queens Quay E, 647-344-1562, atgurbantavern.ca. With rare exceptions, dining by the lake is strictly for tourists, out-of-towners here for the view and not the deep-fried frozen grub. But this swanky resto lounge – ahem, gastro-pub – at the foot of Jarvis next to Sugar Beach in the new Corus complex breaks that rule with a spectacular patio right on the water and a moderately priced nouveau comfort food card that even locals can appreciate. Best: to share, pulled pork tacos dressed with smoked Gouda, pickled watermelon salsa and avocado crème fraîche pan-seared duck breast glazed with raspberry Frambozenbier over marinated mushrooms and organic mesclun in a citrusy balsamic vinaigrette dressed with amaranth sprouts and deep-fried strips of five-spiced wonton wrapper the house burger, an 8-ounce Ontario Angus colossus finished with beer-braised shredded short ribs, blue cheese, house-smoked bacon and a frazzle of super-thin onion rings thin-crusted Libretto-style pizza topped with prosciutto, Gorgonzola and a salad’s-worth of arugula to finish, banana cream pie. Complete dinners for $50 per person (lunches $35/brunches $30), including tax, tip and a pint. Average main $20/$15/$12. Open Sunday 10:30 am to 10 pm. Licensed. Access: barrier-free. Rating: NNN
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
