Rating / 3 out of 5 stars

La Taqueria Pinche Taco shop has expanded their tiny downtown operation to a second location, primely situated on Cambie near the corner of Broadway. It’s a convenient stop for Canadaline commuters craving bit-size, freshly prepared Mexican tacos.

Hopefully La Taqueria fairs better than the previous rotating shift of of unsuccessful tenants including a greasy spoon, Chinese, and Japanese restaurant. The Cambie location is certainly larger than the original, but similarly decorated in muted tones with splashes of bright yellows and pinks.

(Above: Unlike their Hastings location, the Cambie Taqueria has giant picture windows for loads of sun to shine through — whenever the sun decides to show up, that is.)

The menu is pretty straight forward, featuring a selection of meat and vegetarian tacos at $2.50 each, or $9.50 for a set of four. There’s also a daily special that they switch up every once in a while that you can ask about.

(Above: Clockwise from left to right: Fish Taco, Pork, Lamb and Beef Tongue.)

Case and I shared a set of four: Al Pastor (pork and pineapple), Lamb (the special for the day), De Lengua (braised beef tongue), and Pescado (grilled fish). The modestly portioned meats are beautifully cooked — the braised ones fall apart tender, and the fish nicely grilled — all gently seasoned.

The real joy is adding the fresh accompaniments like pickled onions, peppers, lime and a touch of one of their four house made salsas.

(Above: Fizzy, sugar juice.)

Our meal including taxes and tips and a bottle of fizzy, sugar juice came to around $14. It’s a little bit pricier than other taco joints, and the portions certainly won’t fill you up like Chronic Tacos a few blocks away. But, the carefully prepared meats and fresh toppings make these bite size tacos a refreshingly tasty snack.

Perfect for: a tasty taco alternative to the Chihuahua or cactus variety.

The Details

2549 Cambie Street, Vancouver
604.568.4406
lataqueria.ca
@LaTaqueriaYVR

Rating / 3 out of 5 stars

La Taqueria Taco Shop is nestled amongst the graffiti-riddled storefronts in Downtown Vancouver bordering East and West Hastings. The distinctively purple and yellow shaded spray-painted imagery of a rose and the Virgin Mary on the front facade blends effortlessly into the gritty landscape as the busy heads of hard-at-work chefs prepare freshly made tacos in plain view of passerbys.

The folks at La Taqueria prepare what they refer to as pinche Tacos inside this narrow, brick-lined eatery. We sat near the back with a picturesque view of the back alley side by side with other eager patrons along a bar that runs the length of the restaurant (there are no tables here). We ordered this quartet: The Asada with nicely seasoned and grilled AAA flank beef with cucumber; Al Pastor – Chilliwack pork marinated in chile, achiote & sweetened ever so gently with pineapple; Frijoles Charros Con Queso – refried cowboy beans melted with mexican cheese; and finally Pescado – grilled seasonal fish spiked with pico de gallo. All this goodness is wrapped in a freshly made, soft corn tortilla.

Opposite the kitchen sits a jalapeno pepper and pickled onion bar which you can add to season your tacos as you please. We had a bottle of Jarritos Mandarin soda, a refreshingly sugary and sparkly compliment to our meal.

The food is freshly prepared with local ingredients resulting in a variety of far more interesting flavour combinations than your standard Tex-Mex affair. Our meal came to $14 including taxes and tips, which is an awesome deal.

Perfect for:

Something quick, cheap and good on the border of East/West Hastings that won’t likely get you arrested.

The Details

322 West Hastings Street, Vancouver
604.568.4406
lataqueria.ca

Rating / 2 out of 5 stars

Taco Shack attempts to bring Californian style Mexican food to the sun-bleached shores of the Kitsilano neighborhood. The dearth of good Mexican food in Vancouver has left Case and I on the perpetual lookout for some good south-of-south-of-the-border cuisine.

We entered the shack. The lone server/cashier stared at us with blank eyes; expressionless. Despite the bright weather, stepping inside brought our entire vibe down a few notches. Undaunted, Case and I proceeded to order Nachos with salsa and the Fish Tacos.

The nachos were — well — nothing special. The salsa, however, had some great flavours and was certainly homemade, which was a nice change of pace from the usual bottled dribble served at many restaurants. The fish tacos were unfortunately, poorly assembled; the watery sauce soaked into the tortilla and rendered it as sturdy as a wet paper napkin. Eating the meal was near impossible as sauce and vegetable alike dripped all over. On the inside, the fish and the sauce was under seasoned, lacking any distinguishable flavour.

The meal set us back under $15. With the exception of the salsa, the overall experience was completely forgettable.

Perfect for:

Not a whole lot, really.

The Details

1935 Cornwall Ave, Vancouver
778.239.5102
tacoshack.ca

Rating / 3 out of 5 stars :

Lately, I’ve been craving for Mexican food so when Tre had mentioned Dona Cata located on Victoria Drive, we thought we would check it out. At first, I was a little hesitant stepping into this place. The exterior looked suspicious to me… but then again, everything looks suspicious to me. It wasn’t exactly located in the most savoury neighborhood. As we passed by an apartment on the way to the restaurant, a crushed pop can flew out of an anonymous window and landed on the sidewalk beside us.

The inside is nothing like the outside. It’s simple and homey and the walls are draped with blankets with bright colours. In the the corner hangs a piñata. It’s a bit cramped and the seating is very limited. Initially, we felt a little strange, the staff peered at us with curious eyes as if they’ve never seen Asian faces before… but they were friendly. The owner tried to stick us in a corner right next to the salsa bar and amplifier, but we requested a different seat, we didn’t feel like getting electrocuted if any salsa happened to splash our way.

As we we looked over the menus, we noticed how reasonable the prices were. The menu was short and simple, just the way we like it. Tre ordered two tacos, one with beef and the other with chicken. I ordered their Longazina (a marinated pork) and a side of rice. As we we waited, a small paper plate of tortilla chips landed on our table. You can choose your salsa up at the salsa bar where they have an assortment of salsas and dips. The salsa was very fresh and tasted homemade; not your typical salsa that they serve at other mexican restaurants. My taco came first. I’m not sure why they didn’t serve ours at the same time, but by the time we both got around to it, our tacos were soggy. Despite the sogginess, the flavours and the marinated meat was good. Tre’s chicken taco was slightly dry but the flavours were there. The rice was delicious; the texture and flavour was on the spot.

Overall, the food is good. Everything is prepared fresh, just like how it should be. It wasn’t the most comfortable dining experience entirely, but we’ll definitely hit this spot and try again.

The Details

5076 Victoria Drive, Vancouver
604.236.2232