I’ve been eagerly awaiting La Taqueria, aka “Pinche Taco Shop”, ever since ScoutMagazine posted about it. If you want to know what “pinche taco shop” means, then read my tweet from a while back.
So since I’m now going to school in the Gastown area, it’s a given that I would drop by for lunch and I did just that a couple weeks ago. Located near Cambie & Hastings, it’s right beside the Vancouver Seed Bank (read, marijuana seeds) and across the street are weed related stores. I chuckled to myself as I imagined all the hungry stoners stopping in for some tacos. The Guadalupe mural outside is beautiful, it just screams “MEXICO” when you see it.
Ordering is easy, meat tacos for $2.50, vegetarian for $2 and 4tacos for $9.50
I know what authentic tacos look like, and they’re small. Well, the corn flour tortilla is small, but it’s how you eat it that makes it filling and worthwhile. I’d tell you how I eat it, but then I’d have to kill you. Or take your food. Either or, whatever works best. So I ordered 4 to start off, with what intrigued me the most.
Pescado, (grilled seasonal fish with pico de gallo). My favorite of the 4, but by no means does it mean that I didn’t enjoy the others, I just enjoyed this the most. Grilled and seasoned perfectly, it needed no additional salsa. In fact, I didn’t put salsa on any of my tacos cause the flavors were bursting in my mouth with every bite. Although I couldn’t figure out what fish this is, next time I order I will ask. Wonder if they’ll use Spot Prawns during the summer?
Tinga de Hongos (sauteed oyster mushrooms in spicy chipotle sauce). The chipotle sauce wasn’t as spicy as I was expecting, but good anyways. Big chunks of oyster mushrooms and tomatoes, this one can get a little messy.
Rajas con Crema (roasted poblano peppers with creamed corn, sour cream & Mexican cheese). This was suggested to me by the owner cause I couldn’t pick. I love poblano peppers especially when they’re prepared as Chile Relleno (such as the ones from Topanga Cafe). The creamed corn provides the sweet, which balances well with the savory flavors of the cheese and sour cream.
Carnitas (pork confit with pickled red onion). I think the pork was slightly salty.
While eating, I was thinking about Dona Cata (Wow, I posted that back in February when I first started blogging!) and how the two restaurants compare. The tacos at La Taqueria are heated up on the grill and thus slightly oily and crunch, compared to the dryer less oily tacos from Dona Cata. Not a big deal to me either way, but to some it may be, who knows? Another thing I noticed was that La Taqueria only had 3 different salsas compared to the many different salsas at Dona Cata. I actually like this, because it means that La Taqueria is more confident (or at least I feel that way) about their topping and want you to eat it as is, not to mask it or overpower it with other flavors. The prices are almost the same, with only a $0.50 for a meat topping at La Taqueria.
Simple cards, and the picture on the back of each is different.
Copy and pasted from Cheap Appetite, here is their full menu of taco offerings. They also have Quesadillas ($4) and drinks ($1-2).
MEAT:
Asada (grilled AAA frank beef with cucumber)
Arrachera (house-marinated AAA canadian skirt beef)
De Lengua (braised pemberton meadows beef tongue)
De Cachete (braised chilliwack pork cheeks)
Al Pastor (chilliwack pork marinated in chile, archiote & pineapple)
Carnitas (pork confit with pickled red onion)
Pollo con Mole (maple hills chicken with chocolate mole sauce)
Pescado (grilled seasonal fish with pico de gallo)
VEGETARIAN:
Tinga de Hongos (sauteed oyster mushrooms in spicy chipotle sauce)
De Picadillo (sauteed ground tofu in chin chin’s secret recipe)
Frijoles Charros con Queso (refried cowboy beans with Mexican cheese)
Rajas con Crema (roasted poblano peppers with creamed corn, sour cream & Mexican cheese)
I obviously will be back to try the whole menu, and I already have but that’s for another post, another day. =)
