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 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 Saturday 5 to 11 pm. No reservations. 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
Sunday
Earth Bloor West
2448 Bloor W, at Jane, 416-763-2222, thinkglobaleatlocal.ca. If you’ve ever eaten at Globe Bistro or Globe Earth – now rebranded Earth Rosedale – you’ll know what to expect at the latest west-side outpost of this eco-minded mini-chain. The massive former sports bar’s menu, ambience and service (locavore, downtown chic and smooth respectively) are virtually identical to its siblings’. Whether sleepy Swansea is ready for it is another matter entirely. Best: to start, baskets of house-baked scones and croissants spread with house-made preserves the Chef’s Brekkie, a runny-egg-topped skillet of house-made baked beans studded with Tamworth suckling pig and boudin noir blood sausage the Swine & Dine – three eggs, six kinds of pork including double-smoked bacon, maple crackling and Quebecois creton and “lots of toast, no salad” eggy vanilla brioche French toast finished with Riesling-soaked Niagara cherries, candied walnuts and Devonshire cream free-range omelettes stuffed with whipped 100-mile Ingersoll Dairy ricotta ‘n’ chèvre. Complete brunches/lunches for $35 per person (dinners $65), including tax, tip and a cocktail. Average main $14/$22. Open for brunch Sunday 11 am to 3 pm. Reservations accepted. Licensed. Access: four steps at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNN
Kinton Ramen
51 Baldwin, at Beverley, 647-748-8900, kintonramen.com. And you thought getting into Guu was difficult! This Baldwin Village spinoff of the relentlessly popular Church Street izakaya shifts the focus from tapas-like bar snacks to massive bowls of Japanese noodles, to the point of obsession. Little wonder lines form outside the 30-seat sweatbox half an hour before it opens. And be prepared to get stuffed: leaving anything other than an empty bowl is considered bad form. Best: to start, deep-fried boneless chicken wings in hot sauce fiery cabbage kimchee dense deep-fried tofu in Kewpie mayo the only mains, meal-in-one bowls of soup based on four “secret” broths – shio (salty), miso (soybean paste), shoyu (soy sauce) and spicy (lighter fluid) – swimming with astonishingly firm fresh noodles, caramelized roast pork shoulder or fatty belly and various toppings, including soft-boiled eggs steeped in sake, seaweed and raw grated garlic for the unconventional, ramen topped with Swiss cheese, frozen corn and Thai basil in miso broth spiked with butter. Complete meals for $18 per person, including tax, tip and a lemonade. Average main $10. Open for lunch Sunday 11:30 am to 3 pm. No reservations. Licensed. Access: one step at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNNNN
Lahore Tikka House
1365 Gerrard E, at Highfield, 416-406-1668, lahoretikkahouse.com. After eight long years, the Taj Mahal of Little India is finally complete… well, almost. The rabbit warren of trailers where diners used to eat has been replaced by a chaotic open-air dining room furnished with picnic tables that spills onto a 400-seat patio tented in billowing sari fabric and lit by fairy lights. Best: slashed whole red snapper tikka, smoky from the charcoal-fuelled tandoor, skewered with lightly charred turmeric-tanged onion, potato and tomato aromatic minced lamb kebabs lemon-scented aloo gobi rich with waxy spuds and al dente cauliflower yellow lentils and pulverized spinach palak dahl vegetable biryani with chickpeas, crunchy cauliflower and carrot butter-brushed naan tossed with sesame seeds house-made almond kulfi ice cream squeezed-to-order sugar cane juice. Complete meals for $20 per person, including tax, tip and a glass of freshly squeezed sugar cane juice. Average main $9. Open Sunday noon to 1 am. No reservations. Unlicensed. Access: barrier-free. Rating: NNN
Three Speed
1163 Bloor W, at Pauline, 647-430-3834. Better known as the Communist Daughter’s bigger sister, this Bloordale local features ex-Swan chef Jane Ferriss’s card of comfort food classics on one of the best backyard decks on the west side, cool tunes on the jukebox guaranteed. Best: to start, the muffin du jour, cornbread jalapeño or chocolate chip banana, say the inevitable Benny, free-range poached eggs in hollandaise over beer-braised brisket and Portuguese cornbread a spicy hash of pastrami, spuds, onion ‘n’ cabbage, topped with over-easy eggs baked eggs in a mushroom-miso broth swimming with portobello and cremini sides of smoked Steelhead trout to drink, strong French-pressed I Deal Coffee blend by the Bodum. Complete brunches for $22 per person, including tax, tip and a pint of Three Speed lager. Average main $11. Open for brunch Sunday 10 am to 3 pm. Licensed. Access: barrier-free, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNN
