Category Archives: tacos

Mucho Burrito-Fast Casual in the West End

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Mucho Burrito opened its doors in the summer of 2011 and the people are eating up the fresh take on take on Texmex classics. With locations across Canada and some in the states it’s a better option than Taco Bell or Taco Time-these guys here are cooking real food here right in front of your eyes so you know your not getting any mystery meat here!

Here is what there all about according to their website:

“Get ready to change your tune about what you think Mexican food is! Mucho Burrito™ hits just the right notes with our made-to-order gourmet Mexican menu. Just one taste of our hand-rolled burritos, tacos and quesadillas will tell you how much effort we put into our mouthwatering products. We’ve put a fresh gourmet spin on Mexican food! Our tender “barbacoa” (shredded beef) and “carnitas” (shredded pork) are slow-cooked (about 8 hours!), retaining the tantalizing flavor of the Mexican seasonings we amply apply. There’s a reason these meats are marinated overnight – it’s called “succulent!” Delicious salsas and guacamole are made daily. Mucho Burrito™ offers it all in a bright, fun contemporary atmosphere you’re sure to love.”
Johnny Mucho

I will say it was refreshing to see real meats being grilled in the open kitchen and veggies being sautéed in fresh batches as needed for the burritos and other dishes-something you don’t usually see at fast food restaurants.

This review is based on a couple visits, on my 1st visit I went with the 12″ medium Barbacoa burrito with guacamole for .99 cents extra and a side of black bean and corn salsa with tortilla chips for $2.09 more, they also have a selection of Mexican soda’s-Jarritos, that I quite like so I grabbed a pineapple soda.

One think I will say is that this meal came out to just about 15 bucks-a bit on the expensive side for a meal for one but the ingredients were really fresh and it tasted just fine, the beef was flavorful and melt in your mouth tender. It was packed with ingredients and then grilled in a press resulting in a crisp top and bottom but on the other hand it was a pain and a mess to eat and ended up falling apart.

They have a selection of salsas you can add to your burrito-I went with the green tomatillo, it was pretty mild and you can also add fresh chopped jalapeño for some spice then if you want more heat they have a selection of hot sauces up front for your enjoyment.

The black bean and corn salsa that I chose is one of the options to have in your burrito so it wasn’t a wet salsa like you would expect so eating it with the chips was a bit hard and it’s better off used in the dishes, they had the traditional mild,medium and hot salsas to choose from for your chips, the chips were hot and fresh and fried on site I think, packaged up in little brown paper bags and placed in a warming cabinet up front, it was a nice touch from just plain old cold bagged tortilla chips.

On my 2nd visit I decided to go with what I would usually have-a burrito salad for $8.99, this time I chose the carnitas-slow roasted shredded pork-one of my favorites. Again I went with pretty much the same stuff as I had in the burrito but the rice is replaced with lettuce, you also can choose your beans-pinto or black-in both cases I went with black beans. This was a good meal and was just what I was expecting, the pork was flavorful and tender. Again my meal came in at the $13 mark after taxes.

To wash it all down I chose a grapefruit Jarritos and I’d recommend it to anyone-it’s super refreshing and tastes just like the pop named Squirt that is sold in the USA.

With the choices in meats-they even have chorizo as a choice and the quality if the proteins Mucho Burrito is set apart from similar TexMex fast food places but the price for a meal won’t have me coming back when there are better price options for me closer to my apartment but it’s a good option if you work in the area or are just looking for a quick TexMex meal.

Mucho Burrito (Davie) on Urbanspoon

Ebisu Robson

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I was lucky enough to win a Cheers Ebisu dinning package from @vaneatsca a couple of weeks ago. I took @maryinvancity with me to check this out and it was good times all around .
This package ended up selling out in a couple of days and I can see why-it’s great bang for your buck and is a great way to try a number of items off a menu and a new restaurant as well, it consisted of a pitcher of Sapporo Premium draft beer and a selection of 6 set menu items for $25.

photo credit for this to Mary

We were served this right away-my kinda place when the beer starts flowing quickly!, the Sapporo was nice and cold and stayed that way thanks to the chiller pitcher. Normally the beer is $15 alone.

The Cajun Tuna Tacos topped with caviar and Japanese mayo, these were ok but kinda bland, I tasted the tuna on it own and it was cooked perfectly still being rare in the middle but the mayo kinda killed any Cajun flavor, if you order these make sure you eat them with a small plate under because the shell breaks apart really easy.  There were 2 of them in the package.

Their version of Ebi mayo~Tiger mayo, was pretty good and was a favorite of Mary and myself, the chefs special chili mayo was served under the shrimp and there was a good amount, the tempura prawn was cooked perfectly and I’d definitely order this from the menu.  There were 2 of them in the package.

Boneless Chicken Karaage is part of the deal and was really good,it was moist and tender and the pieces were pretty big, the lemon totally worked to add a great tartness. They really know how to fry up some good chicken here and it shows,despite it being deep fried it wasn’t greasy.  There was 4 pieces of Karaage in the package.

This was a first for me, they call this Chikuwa Cheese, its deep fried fish cake stuffed with melted mozzarella cheese.  After reading about this I was really curious to try it, the last time I had deep fried fish cake it was made with a really oily heavy fish so it wasn’t a good experience but this was so subtle you couldn’t tell it was fish, the sauces on top was where the flavor was coming from, there was a heavy flavor of nutmeg and allspice and I actually really liked this.  There were 4 pieces of this in the package.

                                       Photo credit to Mary for this picture.

We got a basket of what they call Thunder fries in the deal, there really big sweet potato fries served with a Cajun mayo dip.  These were some of the best sweet potato fries I have ever had, they were nice and thick and the tempura batter was perfect.  Also in the basket was a fry filled with cream cheese.  Other restaurants should take a lesson from Ebisu on sweet potato fries and ditch the frozen Sysco product.

Lastly we have Kansai Steak Sliders, they consisted of sautéed sliced beef marinated in yakiniku sauce and topped with avocado, onions, mushrooms, mayo and a pickled jalapeno slice.

When we arrived and ordered our package we also order a couple other items off the menu so there would be some other selections that weren’t deep fried so we grabbed these:

Prawn Gyoza $5.95, hand wrapped tiger prawn dumplings pan fried to perfection.  I’ve never had prawn gyoza where the tail is sticking out before and it was a great touch and presentation, the wrapper was thin and tender.

Volcano rolls were lastly on the menu for us, for $6.97 you get a spicy salmon roll topped with tempura bits, tobiko, avocado and drizzled with a spicy sauce.  I personally didn’t like this~too spicy for my taste but I will say that they make quality sushi here and I look forward to trying some of their other rolls.

Keep your eyes tuned to the Vaneats.ca website and follow them on twitter to get the next great deal that they come out with.

Ebisu on Robson on Urbanspoon

La Taqueria Fairview

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With the same great menu from the original La Taqueria on Hastings the La Taqueria empire has expanded to a bigger and brighter location in the Fairview area of town and the Virgin de Guadalupe graces the front as well.

With the location across from the Broadway City Hall Canada Line Station its super easy to get to and in my case stop in on my way home for some killer tacos to fill a craving I was having.

Seeing things are just the same as the downtown location I went with my favorites on the meat side and tried the fish taco as well to round out what I haven’t had from the menu-I’m still staying away from the tofu taco!

Horchata $3. I started with this traditional Mexican beverage made with rice, almonds, sesame seeds, cinnamon and sugar, I really enjoy this and you can’t get it just any place.

Plate of Meat Tacos $9.50 for 4

The Pollo Con Mole.  As I said in my previous review La Taqueria does one of the best moles in the city and is a big time favorite of mine, on this visit I got 2 of these bad boys.

De Cachette-brasied beef cheeks.  Again this is one of my favorites as well, the meat is melt in your mouth tender and much like short ribs, it’s a must try if you come to La Taqueria.

Pescado taco-Fish Taco.  This was the one that I haven’t tried and honestly it was quite bland, it’s made from a seasonal grilled white fish and has salsa verde and cabbage on top, I’ve found I prefer the fish tacos from Tacofino in the Baja style-there not traditional Mexican but sure are damn tasty.

La Taqueria on Urbanspoon

La Taqueria Downtown

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Craving good authentic tacos I knew La Taqueria would satisfy my craving for authentic Mexican tacos made with heart. They make their tacos from traditional recipes with local, organic and sustainable products so it’s good eats all around.
The outside is bright and lively and with the Virgin de Guadalupe in beautiful tile mosaic while the inside is long and narrow with seating for 15 or so and ordering is simple~meat tacos are $2.50 each or 4 for $9 and the veggie tacos are $2 each or 4 for $7.  I went with a plate of 4 meat and a plate of 4 veggie so let’s get on to the food shall we.
De Cachete, pollo con mole, carnitas and al pastor $9
The Al Pastor, this is one of my favorite tacos and at La Taqureia they do it authentic with the pineapple on top and it’s also in the achiote marinade for the pork.
The Carnitas, pork confit with pickled onions, cilantro and finely diced white onions, now only if all the other places in town did carnitas like this!, the meat is nice and moist and the pickled onions cut the richness of the confit pork beautiful-it’s like the pulled pork of Mexico.
The De Cachete, show braised beef cheek with mild green salsa, finely diced white onions and cilantro.  I love beef, pork and lamb cheeks big time and I’m happy this is a regular item on the menu here, the meat is melt in your mouth tender and if you’ve never had it before I highly recommend it.
The Pollo Con Mole, traditional Mexican mole mixed with shredded chicken and sesame seeds to garnish, I added some of the mild green salsa to this bad boy, it’s one of the most popular tacos they make here, it’s not uncommon to see someone order 4 of these alone, it’s a traditional mole with a million ingredients including Mexican chocolate as a finishing ingredient so you definitely taste that sweet note and when you mix it with one of the salsa you’re in HEAVEN.  It’s definitely one of the best mole’s in Vancouver if not North America.
Mushroom with Garlic Sauce and cheese daily special,Rajas Con Crema and Frijoles Charros Con Cueso tacos $7
Mushroom,garlic sauce and Mexican cheese daily special, wanting to try just veggie tacos but not really wanting to try the tofu taco I grabbed a couple of these, the mushrooms were the predominant flavor and the cheese was nice and creamy, the garlic sauce was nice and not to strong so all around it was a good taco.
Frijoles Charros Con Queso, described on the menu as re-fried cowboy beans with Mexican cheese I wasn’t expecting the cheese to be so strong like it was, it almost was like a provolone level of sharpness, the beans were spiced nicely but the onions they have and sauces on hand really added another level of flavor and texture otherwise it would have been really mushy texture wise.
The Rajas Con Crema, roasted poblano peppers cooked with cream corn, Mexican cheese and sour cream.  My favorite veggie taco by far was this one, it was creamy from all the dairy in it and smoky from the peppers and the corn added a sweetness and crunch, the onions again capped it all off nicely.
La Taqueria has two locations in Vancouver to serve you some of the best, most authentic taco’s outside of Mexico and is not to be missed, the other location just opened at Cambie and Broadway so check them out.

La Taqueria Taco Shop on Urbanspoon