I came across Salsa and Agave Mexican Grill last month. However, it took me a long time before I could actually check it out. During the first few visits, the restaurant was too crowded during the lunch hour and I didn’t feel like waiting. So I moved on to the other restaurants nearby. A few days ago, I had launched another Cheap Appetite mission in an attempt to conquer this Mexican restaurant. Instead of visiting during the lunch hour, I had waited at the office until 1:15 pm before I headed out for lunch.

By the time I reached the restaurant, I was really hungry. But soon I realized that my patience had paid off. A couple of patrons were leaving when I walked into Salsa and Agave. So I rushed to the empty table by the window before anyone else could take it. A few minutes later, a waitress came by with the menu and small bowls of complimentary tortilla chips and salsa.”

Salsa and Agave Mexican Grill offers both affordable and pricey selections on the menu. Obviously, I chose one of the cheaper options: Milanesa Torta (Mexican Sub Sandwich with fried breaded beef – $7*). Other Tortas selections are Pollo (roast chicken), Carne Asada (grilled beef), Carnitas (soft pork), Jamon (ham), and Chorizo (Mexican sausage) were priced at $6. For $1 extra, you can add cheese to the Tortas.

I nibbled on the chips and salsa while waiting for my order. The chips were ok but the salsa was way too mild for my taste. But since they were free, I gave them a thumb up anyway. Ten minutes later, the Milanesa Torta was served with a small pile of pickled Jalapeno pepper on the side. The Mexican sub was smaller than a foot-long Subway sandwich and it looked sort of plain. But don’t let its appearance fool you. The sandwich had a bit of a kick (possibly Chipotle of which I am a huge fan) in each bite. Even then it was still too mild for my liking. So I added most of the pickled Jalapeno onto my sandwich. The baguette had a lovely crispy crust. However, I was a disappointed by the fried breaded beef because I thought it was going to be crispy as well. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case. But I am not an expert on Mexican cuisine. Who knows, the fried breaded beef  might be perfect the way it was.

The Mexican sub came with the mustard spread on the top bun. Normally, I love the yellow stuff on my sandwiches, but I didn’t like it on the Milanesa Torta. The flavor of mustard overpowered the mellow, smokey flavor of the chipotle . The chiffonade lettuce, cubed tomatoes and onion added crunches and helped balance the spicy flavor of the chipotle and the pickled jalapenos.

Overall, the Milanesa Torta was quite delicious, especially with the added jalapenos. On my next visit, however, I’ll ask for extra chipotle and no mustard on my Torta. And since the breaded beef isn’t crispy, I’ll go for the Carne Asada (grilled beef) and save myself an extra buck.

Salsa Agave’s Milanesa Tortas: ©©©1/2

Salsa Agave is located at 1205 and 1223 Pacific Boulevard Vancouver, BC (T) 604.408.4228

Note I: There are two Salsa and Agave restaurants a few doors away from each other on the same block. The restaurant at 1223 Pacific Boulevard appears to be the original location and is listed on their current website. I visited the one at 1205 Pacific Boulevard.

* According the menu on Salsa and Agave website, the Milanesa Tortas is priced at $8. But the price of Milanesa Tortas at the 1205 Pacific Blvd (as of February 24th, 2011) was $7. I’m not sure why.

©2011 Tana Kosiyabong and CheapAppetite.com™. All rights reserved.

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A few days ago my coworker Tania proposed I embark on a Cheap Appetite mission to Chronic Tacos, a new taco joint that recently opened around the corner from our workplace. Although she hadn’t tried it yet, she thought it looked promising and I should give it a try (as her lab rat). That same night, my friend Grant also mentioned about this joint. So now that I’d heard about it twice I was very curious. “What’s up with this place? I’ve gotta check it out,” I told myself.

So on my lunch hour the next day I strolled down to West Broadway at Yukon and into Chronic Tacos. When I got to the taco shop – which looked more like a sport bar – a long line of patrons had already formed in front of the counter. It was hard to believe that they’d only been open a week. As I was waiting in line, more and more people kept coming in.

Fifteen minutes later, it was my turn to order. Since this place was named after tacos, I figured it would be wise to roll with that. I ordered two fatty tacos; one on a soft corn tortilla with deep fried Tecate beer battered shrimp, and one crispy taco with Carne Asada (marinated grilled steak) — each priced at $3.29. Other choices of meat (for the same price) are Pollo Asado (marinated grilled chicken), Carnitas (slow cooked pork), Al Pastor (spicy marinated pork with pineapple and onion), deep-fried or grilled fish, and grilled shrimp. Chronic Tacos also sells veggie Fatty Tacos for $2.89.

I had to wait a few minutes while the crispy taco and beer battered shrimp were deep-frying. Once they were cooked I moved along to the next station in their taco assembly line, where I could choose anything to top my tacos; veggies, guacamole, salsa, you named it.

As far as I saw, the staff here were friendly and knowledgable about their menu, although they did look like motorcycle gangsters. You’d think plenty tattoos were part of their job prerequisites. It was fun to see these tough guys cooking in the kitchen for a change.

Once the tacos were assembled, I sat down and tried my best to keep the photo shoot as short as possible. In my mind I kept thinking about the deep fried shrimp which would be less and less crispy with every second I delayed eating them. “That’s it. Enough shots already!” I told myself as I put the stupid camera down.

Not wanting to waste another second, I grabbed the soft tacos with crispy shrimp and popped it straight in my mouth. Fortunately, the deep-fried shrimp batter was still somewhat crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The contrasting textures of the crispy shrimp and the corn tortilla were a heavenly combination in my lucky mouth. The hot sauce was hot, but not tongue-burning. The fresh salsa and hot sauce lifted up the flavor profiles a few more notches. On the table, there were 3 extra bottles of hot sauce in case what they added in the assembly line wasn’t enough.

I was on cloud nine while I alternately switched back and forth among the 3 hot sauces and sometimes combined them all together. My favorite of the three is the Bandito Gringos which made of vinegar, habernero peppers, jalapeno peppers, red japanese chili peppers and a few other ingredients.

Then I moved on to the crispy taco which miraculously stayed crispy after all that time. The Carne Asada (marinated grilled steak) was deep-fried with the taco shell — which predictably was much better than grocery store taco shells. The only complaint was that the shell did closed up while being deep-fried. Even when the assembled staff tried to pry it apart without breaking it, there was still limited space for the toppings. So if you’re looking to fill up your belly, I recommend you go with the soft corn tortilla tacos which allow more room to pile up the toppings.

The grilled steak was cooked well-done as a result of being deep-fried with the shell. However, it was still beefy and the tender texture contrasted well with the crispy shell. With the 3 bottles of hot sauce at my fingertips, I was, for a few minutes at least, the happiest man alive.

Judging from the size of the corn tortilla, Fatty Tacos is not authentically Mexican. It is more similar to Tex-Mex, or, in Chronic Tacos’ case, Cal-Mex (the original restaurant of this fast food chain is located in Newport Beach, California). Two fatty tacos are more in quantity than 4 La Taqueria authentic Mexican tacos. Although Chronic Tacos’ Fatty Tacos are slightly more expensive, you also get much bigger portions.

I must say that it’s really unfair to compare authentic Mexican tacos with the Tex-Mex styles. There is a time and place for everything. All I know is that after my first visit, I can foresee myself chronically addicted to Fatty Tacos in the near future.

NOTE: Other than Fatty Tacos, Chronic Tacos also offers variety of Mexican dishes including Burritos, Tostada Bowls, Tortas (sandwich like dish made with fresh talera bread, refried beans, veggies, guacamole, salsa and your choice of meat), Nachos, Quesadillas, etc. Chronic Tacos also serves breakfast, a kids menu, and most importantly, it also has a liquor license.

CHRONIC TACOS MENU

Chronic Tacos soft corn tortilla Fatty Tacos with Tecate beer battered shrimp: ©©©© 1/2

Chronic Tacos crispy Fatty Tacos with carne asada: ©©©©

Chronic Tacos is located at 382 W. Broadway Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada. (T) 604.709.8226

BUDGET BREAKDOWN:

Remaining Budget: $114.30

Budget Spent: -$6.58 (not included HST)

Budget Available: $107.72

©2010 Tana Kosiyabong and CheapAppetite.com™. All rights reserved.

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My belly is getting big, so my health conscious mode has finally kicked in. Last week, I ate more veggies than I had eaten in the previous six months combined. Hence, this week mission is about me operating a blog under the veggie influence. And just to be clear, I’m not talking about weed here.

I found Budgie’s Burritos over a month ago while I was on the way to visit a friend of mine. When I came back home, I did some research and realized that the burrito joint is vegetarian. Because I’m normally a meat-lover, I didn’t care much to check it out in person. But now that I have been on the boring salad diet for days, a vegetarian burrito started to sound heavenly. So I hopped on to the No. 19 bus, and got off at Kingsway and Main street. Budgie’s Burritos was just a few stores south of the bus stop.

As I reached the joint, I was greeted by a psychedelic Mickey Mouse and a skeleton lady. The street signages pretty much set the tone of what to come. The interior décor is as funky as the exterior. The minty green walls showcase various artsy (perhaps trashy to some) paintings. One of them is the portrait of a naked blue chick. Her boobies were pointing at me the whole time I was eating.

Budgie’s Burritos don’t just have burritos on their menu. They also serve tacos, tortilla soup, quesadillas and nachos. The restaurant named their dishes quite randomly. Henry, for example, is a burrito with tofurkey sausage, rice, beans, cheese, sour cream, salsa and lettuce. Or Johny-O is made of rice, beans, cheese, chipotle sour cream, guacamole, jalapenos salsa and lettuce. I wasn’t sure why they name their dishes that way. My guess would be for the fun factor.

After read through their menu, I decided to go for a 12-inch JameDog Burrito (garlic roasted potatoes, rice, beans, cheese, chipotle sour cream, salsa and lettuce-$8 HST included). But I asked them to “veganize it” by substitute the cheese and sour cream with guacamole (no extra charge). If you order a burrito at Budgie’s, you can choose between whole wheat or flour tortilla; black or refried pinto beans; fresh, green or hot salsa. I opted for whole wheat, black bean and hot salsa.

Shortly after, the burrito was ready to pick up. The burrito looked huge in its aluminum foil wrap. After a couple shots of the burrito, my camera ran out of battery. Crap! All I got was the whole wheat wrap shot. But I didn’t panic. I knew that if I turned it off and waited a while, the battery juice would come back a bit. Sure enough, a few minutes later, I could take another shot before it went dead again. After several attempts of the awkward wait-and-shoot, I barely got all the shots I needed. It wasn’t perfect, but it saved me from going back for a reshoot.

As for the taste test, the first bite was a bit bland. Perhaps the veganized option had backfired on me. A little bit of chipotle in the sour cream would have kick this bland burrito up a notch. Fortunately, there was a hot sauce in a yellow bottle right next to me. So I added it to the top of the burrito. Voila! The boring burrito had surprisingly transformed into the desirable Cinderella. It was so tasty I couldn’t believe it was a vegan dish! The hot sauce tasted just right, not too hot at all. From then on, I added it to almost every bites.

Without the hot sauce, however, the garlic roasted potatoes was not garlicky enough. The mexican rice and black beans were well-cooked but bland. Although the Guacamole was creamy, the hot salsa wasn’t hot enough. Many thanks to the hot sauce (not to be confused with the hot salsa) for saving my meal. I sure will go back there as long as they still have that scrumptious sauce around.

After the whole burrito had relocated into my stomach, I went to the self-served counter and poured myself a refreshing cold glass of water. BAD idea! The 12-inch burrito, which had already filled up my stomach, expanded even further. I wished I asked for the 10-inch one ($7) instead. With the food up my throat, I had no choice but went home, laid down on the couch and wondered when my big belly is going to get smaller.

NOTE: The cheapest burrito on the menu is Mr. Jones. Six dollars for the 10-inch; Seven dollarsi for the 12-inch. All prices include HST.

Budgie’s Burritos–JameDog (Veganized): ©©3/4

Budgie’s Burritos–JameDog (Veganized) with lots of hot sauces on the side: ©©©1/2

Budgie’s Burritos 44 Kingsway, Vancouver, BC, Canada (T) 604.874.5408

For Budgie’s Burritos Menu and Store Hours, click here.

BUDGET BREAKDOWN:

Remaining Budget: $155.47

Budget Spent: -$7.14 ($8 included HST)

Budget Available: $148.33

©2010 Tana Kosiyabong and CheapAppetite.com™. All rights reserved.

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It was a beautiful Wednesday morning so I decided to walk to work. As I passed by Bon Chaz, a new bakery/café on West Hastings Street, I could smell freshly baked buns in the air. Suddenly I felt as if the delightful aroma had transformed into a giant hand; It grabbed me by the arm and dragged me inside. Since I had no breakfast yet, I went along with it.

A friendly staff greeted me as I walked in. She also offered me a free sample. The bun was so soft and delicious I wanted to start my Cheap Appetite mission right then and there. Unfortunately, I had to go to work. So I bought a couple of buns and rushed out the door. Lacking self-control over yummy substances, I shamelessly shoved one of the buns in my mouth as I hurried to the office. “Oh my… Melted French truffle. I’ve gotta come back this weekend,” I told myself.

Saturday morning had finally come. I headed out as soon as I finished my morning routine. Bon Chaz is located next to the Academie Duello (a swordplay school), and opposite to the Church of Scientology. The bakery is also a block west of the Vancouver Herb Museum (in Marc Emery’s Cannabis Culture Headquarters) where psychoactive “herb” and hallucinogens exhibits. Boy, what an “eclectic” neighborhood I’ve lived in!

I arrived at Bon Chaz around 11 am. When I was about to order, I realized I had no money with me. “Dammit,” I swore as I hurried home for the wallet. Fifteen minutes later, I was back again. Now fully equipped with a twenty dollar bill, I ordered a freshly baked French Truffle Bon Chaz ($1.75*) and a cup of coffee ($1.95*). Bon Chaz buns come in three varieties–plain ($1.25*), French truffle, and banana walnut ($1.75*). These buns are a hybrid of Conchas (Mexican buns) and Brioche (French buns). The top crust was covered with a thin layer of crispy coffee cookie. The bun itself was soft, almost cloud like. It was warm and slightly sweet. Once bitten into the melted dark chocolate filling, I was high without any cannabis.

A moment later, the staff also brought me an empty cup and a 16 oz coffee in a French press pot. I was so in awe by what I saw I lost my words. “Is this the $1.95 coffee I ordered?” I asked the staff after I got thought straight. Sure enough it was mine. For the price, all I expected was just a cup of pre-brewed coffee. When she told me to take a seat while she made me a pot, I didn’t expect it was all mine. The organic coffee beans were freshly ground to order. The coffee tasted really good. For the first time, I could taste the subtle sweetness in natural coffee which I never had with the typical pre-brewed coffee. To savor the pure coffee flavor, I drank the first half black. Then I finished off the second half with cream and sugar.

While I was still working on the coffee, I ordered a 12-oz cup of potato, bacon and mushroom soup ($2.95*). The soup was creamy and chunky. Unfortunately it was warm, instead of hot. Although the soup was not quite in the same league as the Stock Market soup, it was way better than average. At about $2 cheaper than those of the Stock Market, they are definitely a Cheap Appetite. The bread was crusty on the outside and soft on the inside. The ground rosemary in the dough added a wonderful aroma to each and every bite.

At this point I was quite impressed with Bon Chaz and would like to know more. So I asked if I could talk to the manager. Conveniently, Michael Lui–the store owner–was there. According to him, Bon Chaz started from a booth at various Farmer’s markets and events. With great feedbacks, he decided to open up this bakery/cafe. During the introductory period, he intentionally prices his menu items very competitively. Hence the low prices of French press coffee, soup and Bon Chaz buns. Eventually, the prices will unavoidably have to go up. But they will still be competitive within the neighborhood.

Bon Chaz Bun with French Truffle Filling: ©©©©**

Bon Chaz French Press Coffee: ©©©©1/2**

Bon Chaz Potato, Bacon and Mushroom soup: ©©©1/2**

*All prices are introductory specials. All prices are subject to change without noticed. Take advantage of them while they last!

** Rating are based on the introductory prices.

BUDGET BREAKDOWN:

Remaining Budget: $296.79

Budget Spent: -$6.65 ($1.75+1.95+2.95)

Budget Available: $290.14

Bon Chaz is located at 426 W Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada. (T) 604.626.7215. Store Hours: Mon-Fri 8 am to 6:30 pm. Sat 10:30 am to 5 pm.

NOTE I: This coming Tuesday (March 9th, 2010) between 6 am to 8:30 am only, Bon Chaz is going to give away free coffee and buns to all the walk-in customers while supplies last. From 11 am to 6 pm on the same day, patrons can purchase a 12 oz cup of soup for $1.

NOTE II: On my first visit to Bon Chaz, I left the banana walnut bun in my backpack for almost two hours. Although it was still tasty, the bun was not as soft as the freshly baked French truffle bun I tasted on the way to work. Bon Chaz buns are best when fresh off the oven.

©2010 Tana Kosiyabong and CheapAppetite.com™. All rights reserved.

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Last Sunday, I went to the Gastown Blues & Chili 2009. Twenty restaurants in the neighborhood were competing for bragging rights that come with having the best Chili in Gastown. The event was held from noon to 7 pm at the 200 block of Abbot Street as a fundraising event for the Girls Rock Camp Vancouver. Though I’m not sure why they played Blues to raise money for the rock camp, I think Blues and Chili are great together.

Some say chili gives you gas. If this is true, Gastown could’ve been in grave danger. Hundreds of visitor simultaneously releasing massive amounts of gas near the travel stoves could potentially blow the entire neighborhood to the ground. A better case scenario would leave Gastown stinky for weeks.

The event was free admission but visitors had to purchase tickets for Chili samples. The tickets were priced to sell; $1 for a 2 oz cup, $3 for an 8 oz bowl and $15 for 2 oz samples from every contestant. All I had in my pants pocket were $9 and some change. So, nine tickets it was.

The inclusive ticket was a good idea in theory, but not very practical. Less than two hours into it, some contestants were running out of their chilies. By 3 pm, all but a couple of contestants still had some left. Though the ticket station had stopped selling the inclusive ticket before then, I’m not sure how many visitors were unable to use their tickets to the max.

The event was small enough to be contained in one street block, but it was packed with twenty yummy looking chilies. It was difficult to pick, but eventually I went for a 2 oz cup from the Revel Room. Their chili ingredients included 5 kinds of chili peppers (Aji, Habernero, Chipotle, Guajillo, and Pasilla), coffee spice rub and sirloin tip. It was good right off the bat. The chili was moderately spicy. I loved the chunks of sirloin tip a lot. I was, however, having a hard time take pictures of a tiny cup in my left hand.

Then I moved on to the Chill Winston booth. I got the last bit they could scrape out from the bottom of the pot. This chili is better described as Jamaican Jerk Sloppy Joes. I think it was pretty good but I wish it were even spicier.

The next one was the Gastown Fire House. The firefighters may lack heat in their chili, but many female visitors may disagree. At this point I had had enough of taking photos of these tiny cups I decided to go for the 8 oz bowls instead.

Now it came down to the two big purchases. I felt like I was playing Russian roulette with my money. One unlucky turn and my three dollars went down the drain. Eventually, I chose the Triple Pork and Pineapple chili from Cobre restaurant because I liked the plastic skulls they displayed at their booth.

At first, the Cobre chili was a bit too bland to be named “Chili.” But once I stirred in the fresh, finely chopped onion, cilantro and jalapeno pepper garnished on top, the chili had transformed itself from the ugly stepsister into the beautiful Cinderella of chili. The fresh scent of the cilantro and the spiciness of the jalapeno pepper gave this chili a new life. Chopped onions added extra dimension to the overall texture. Cobre suddenly became the front-runner in my mind.

According to the chef, Cobre chili was made with 3 types of Kurabata (not sure if it’s an alternative pronunciation of Kurobuta) pork – jowl, double smoke bacon, and ground pork. Other ingredients included 5 kinds of dried chili and 2 kinds of fresh chili (on the topping garnish), Walla Walla sweet onions and heirloom tomatoes.

My last chili of the day was the 3 Odd Balls Chili from Wild Rice restaurant. It was made with 3 different meatballs – bison, pork and lamb. The bison balls were flavored with chipotle, roast garlic and cilantro. The pork balls got ginger, scallions and miso. And the lamb balls got shallots, mustard and thyme. It was the Asian, Mexican and Mediterranean melting pot. Other ingredients were white and black beans, charred corn, shitake, cremini, and oyster mushrooms.

Wild Rice’s chili had the most complex flavor profile of all the chili I had tasted that day. It sounded really good on the paper, but fell flat in practice. The chili was actually a mild stew. The flavor profile was too complex for a 2 oz sample. Even with the 8 oz one, I still didn’t feel like trying to identify each and every flavor hidden within this dish. Well… not when I was eating on the street anyway. Wild Rice’s chili would be better off in their upscale restaurant setting.

One thing I really liked about the 3 Odd Ball Chili was that you never knew which meatball you’re gonna bite into next.

After I was done with the food, I came across the voting station where visitors could vote for the People’s Choice Award. There was a monitor displaying how well each contestant did in comparison to the others. “Damn it! If I would have seen this monitor earlier, I wouldn’t have had to play ‘Chili roulette’ all day,” I thought to myself.

At around 3:30pm, the host announced the People’s choice award. The winner was Chill Winston, and tied in second place were Diamond and Revel Room. The Judges’ choice award winner was Deacon’s Corners. The runner-ups were the Alibi Room and Irish Heather. My favorite, Cobre, didn’t even make the top 3.

Fortunately, no tragedy had happened that day. Chili does not give you gas. The undercooked beans do. According to Wikipedia, Chili purists believe that beans do not belong in Chili. In fact, most official chili cook offs do not allow beans. For me, chili definitely has another side effect. It made me feel comforted and mellow. Three hours of food and fun for nine dollars. What more could I asked for?

©2009 Tana Kosiyabong and CheapAppetite.com™. All rights reserved.

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My love for Mexican food started in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was the combination of cheap prices and great tastes that had won me over. The most delicious fish burrito from D’ Leons was priced less than $5. Or an awesome “Big Nacho” chicken at Oso was $6.50 with a free drink on a certain day of the week. They are so good, I still miss them to this day.

After moving to Vancouver almost four years ago, I have had a hard time replacing my two favorites. I’m not talking about the gourmet Mexican food that would cost me a fortune and a half. All I want is just simple Mexican food that won’t blow a big hole in my wallet. Although there are a few affordable burrito chains downtown, the tastes aren’t worth mentioning.

I’m happy to say that I’ve finally found authentic Mexican tacos from a couple of contenders that come very close to the tastes I have fallen in love with. They are from La Taqueria, possibly the newest Mexican Taco shop in Downtown Vancouver (just opened on September 8th), and Don Guacamoles, a well-established, urban-modern Mexican restaurant with a big fan base.

La Taqueria (literally means “The Taco Shop”) is an artsy and down-to-earth, better described as a “Taco Boutique,” mostly for its authentic Mexican taco specialty. It is located next to the Vancouver seed bank on Hastings Street where marijuana seeds are sold. This guarantees an endless supply of hungry stoners nearby. Just kidding. Kinda.

The storefront features a beautiful spray paint mural of Our Lady of Guadalupe in traditional Mexican religious style with a modern color palette (by a local artist, Steve Williams). The interior is small but vibrant with a Mexican color scheme. I feel really comfortable in the space. The owners are very nice, friendly, and attentive to the customers.

There are 12 different taco toppings to choose from (including the 4 vegetarian choices). All meat tacos are priced at $2.50 each or $9.50 for four. Vegetarian tacos are at $2 each. The authentic Mexican tacos are quite small compared to their large North American siblings. A normal person would need about 4 tacos to fill up. For budgetary reason, however, I will settle for two.

On my first visit, this place was already packed with customers. And they had just opened the day before. (I seriously need to learn how to promote my blog from them.) I ordered two tacos – Carnitas (pork confit with pickled red onion) and Pescado (grilled seasonal fish with pico de gallo). I also splurged on a Jarritos, Mexican tamarind pop, another $2.

Once the tacos arrived, I felt like I had finally reconnected with my long lost friends. They are by far the best tacos I have eaten since I moved to Canada. The fish was fresh and the pork confit almost melted in my mouth. The intense Mexican flavors were having a fiesta on my tongue. I got so distracted, I forgot to analyze the food in detail. All I remember is that I was still thinking of the tacos the next day. The tamarind pop was just ok. The fizzy bubbles did obscure the tamarind flavor.

La Taqueria offers 3 different salsas and two kinds of pickles – Chile de Arbol, Chipotle and Verde, and Red onion and Jalapeno pickles – at no extra charge. You just have to help yourself. I’m totally in love with the Chile de Arbol salsa, a traditional Mexican sauce that is very popular in Mexico. The shop also offers natural, free-range meats, organic produces, and wild, sustainable fish, locally sourced when available.

The next day I went to Don Guacamoles for dinner. (It was a busy day for my wallet. Earlier that day, I had to go back to Donburiya to finish my review on the new additional noodle menu.) Unlike La Taqueria, Don Guacamoles is not a “Taco Boutique.” They have wide varieties of Mexican food to choose from. But today, I will only focus on their tacos. In fact, a few tacos, or a bowl of tortilla soup is pretty much all that would fit my budget. The rest of the menu would put my wallet in a coma.

Don Guacamoles’ interior is uninspiring. It looks just like any other upscale Vancouver chains – Earls, Cactus Club, etc. I couldn’t help but wonder if they all use the same interior designer. Ironically, all of them are really popular among the locals.

There are 7 choices of meat on the taco menu. All tacos here are priced the same as La Taqueria. So is the size of the tortilla. However, vegetarian, and fish tacos are not available on the menu.

Once seated, I ordered a Carnitas (slow roasted pork) and an Arrachera (flank steak) taco. The waitress reminded me that the tacos were tiny. Perhaps I was being too paranoid but I sensed a hidden agenda behind her friendly reminder (something along the line of “You’re kidding me. All you’re gonna have is just two tacos?”).

First came a tray with free tortilla chips, pico de gallo, chipotle salsa, and salsa verde (green sauce). The pico de gallo was a bit mild. I had to add some lime to bring it to life. The chipotle sauce was pretty good. The green sauce was just ok. When my order arrived, I was quite impressed by the amount of meat on the taco. But it trailed behind in the taste test. Don’t get me wrong, their tacos were good, but La Taqueria’s were great.

Overall, I prefer La Taqueria’s to Don Guacamoles’ tacos. I also feel more comfortable with La Taqueria’s down-to earth atmosphere. It is the kind of place where I would like to visit for years to come although it would be challenging to stick with two tacos per visit.

P.S. I also had a chance to talk with a couple sitting beside me at La Taqueria. The young lady is very nice and friendly. She also loves the tacos. The gentleman is originally from Mexico. He confirmed the authenticity of La Taqueria tacos. “The corn tortilla is what makes all the different,” he said.

La Taqueria Carnitas Taco: ©©©© 1/2
La Taqueria Pescado Taco: ©©©© 1/4

Don Guacamoles Cranitas Taco: ©©© 3/4
Don Guacamoles Arrachera Taco: ©©© 3/4

LA TAQUERIA TACO MENU:
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)

DON GUACAMOLES MENU:
Al Pastor (marinated pork)
Crane Asada (grilled prime beef)
Lengua (seasoned beef tongue)
Chorizo (fresh, deep red in color and filled with very finely ground meat)
Birria (fresh lamb)
Cranitas (slow roasted pork)
Arrachera (flank steak)

La Taqueria is located at 322 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada (T) 604.568.4406

Don Guacamoles is located at 1333 Robson Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada (T) 604.569.2295

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