Fabo's Tacos

It is easy to forget that there is authentic Mexican eats around despite the prevalence of Americanized fast food joints and also Tex-Mex (although I do like Tex-Mex).  That is especially true with options in the States (I'm from Vancouver, B.C.).  However, I don't remember having anything particularly outstanding in PDX, where I've had my fair share of great Thai food.  This was going to change as we were visiting Fabo's Tacos out near Chinatown.  They started selling out on a street corner and gradually made their way to an actual B&M location.

We arrived during a weekday lunch rush and the place was happenin'.  Despite this, they were still able to pump our order starting with the Sopes.  These crispy masa discs were aromatic and nutty.  Beyond the refried beans on the base, we selected pollo and chorizo as the meat option.  Unlike many other Mexican spots, the meat was tender and fairly moist.  Loved the spice from the chorizo as it added depth.  To cool things down, we found shredded lettuce, crema and fresh cotija on top.

From the Sopes, we moved onto the Tacos with a variety of meats.  We had them plated 2 ways and for me, I liked the 2nd one more for aesthetics.  We had almost all the choices including Asada, Al Pastor, Pollo, Chorizo and Suadero.  Once again, the biggest takeaway from these was the uniformly moist meat.  By no means did they suffer from a lack of caramelization.  They were aromatic and full of umaminess.  Meat was not dry, yet not wet either.  Made for some delicious tacos.

Of course we couldn't get out of there without having an order of the Birria Tacos.  Yes, these have become such a thing in the last 5 years or so, but it isn't because of baseless hype.  These things are so delicious with their fat soaked shells (then seared) served with a side of braising broth.  The ones here were really good with tender shredded beef and an aromatic nutty shell that was slightly crispy.  The broth had depth and was full of umami.

We all know about the popularity of Birria Tacos, but another associated viral dish is the Birria Ramen.  You might've seen this many times before, but this was the best version I've had.  Most places overcook the instant ramen, but the one here was al dente.  Even sitting in the flavorful broth while we took our photos, it didn't get soft.  Hence, they undercooked it for the purposes of sitting in hot broth (it allowed for soaking it up too).  Small detail, but made all the difference.

We also got a pair of dishes including the Enchiladas and the Taquitos, both complete with rice and beans.  For the enchiladas, we chose al pastor which was nicely charred and of course, not dry.  As for the taquitos, they were crispy on the outside and filled with pollo in this case.  Since the chicken was lean, it didn't have too much residual moisture which meant the taquitos stayed crunchy throughout.

The last dish we tried was something that I was not really looking forward to - Nachos.  Many spots, even authentic ones, do not make a great version of this dish.  Unbeknownst to many, Nachos is a real Mexican dish.  However, the one we are familiar with is the Tex-Mex concoction.  This one here was actually very good and I couldn't stop eating them.  The freshly fried tortilla chips were topped with smoky carne asada, beans, crema, cojita and legit guacamole.  With components like these, this was delicious, well-balanced and not some cheesed-out monstrosity.   Overall, the food at Fabo's is well-prepared where the dishes exhibited soul.  Things are fresh and flavorful.  Normally, I'm not craving Mexcian cuisine, but with this, I can't wait to eat it again.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- Well-prepared and flavorful meats
- Had a home-cooked feel to it
- Mom is back there cooking, only good things happen because of that

The Bad:
- It gets busy at lunch, so be prepared to wait
- Area is a bit sketch, but you know the food is good then!

Holbox

On my previous visits to LA in 2019 and 2022, we ate at a lot of places but never got to hit up Holbox.  It came highly-recommended and in fact, has recently just been award a Michelin star.  High praise for a food stall located in Mercato La Paloma.  Chef Gilbert Cetina fuses Coastal Mexican cuisine with Southern Californian and Baja Califorinan influences.  They have an 8-course dinner on Thursdays and Fridays, but Viv and I were only able to make it out for lunch while we were in LA.

No matter, because there is still plenty to feast on including the Shrimp Aguachile.  This has to be one of the best, if not the best aguachiles I've had.  There was definite heat from the spicy green aguachile, but it was also refreshing and acidic.  It was also properly seasoned where the sweet shrimp took on all of the flavors.  The addition of crispy shrimp heads were great being a textural contrast to the soft shrimp.  Nice little tweak that elevated this dish.  Oh, and this came with saltines that you can enjoy with the aguachilie.

Next, we had the Blue Fin Tostada with avocado puree and arbol peanut sauce.  Featuring Baja California farmed blue fin tuna cerviche, the buttery soft texture really came through.  Also, the unmistakable sweetness and freshness of the sea was present as well.  Despite being a ceviche, the acidity was dialed down enough to let the blue fin shine.  The avocado puree only added some creaminess as it was mild while the peanut sauce was also creamy with smokiness.  Some pico de gallo provided some crunch and extra brightness.

Another killer dish was the Sopa de Mariscos (Seafood Stew).  This consisted of local rockfish, shrimp, kanpachi, mussels and house-made fish sausage.  This was outstanding where all of the seafood juices were completely incorporated into the broth. Therefore, the natural sweet and brininess of the seafood was at the forefront.  The whole thing was also properly seasoned.  Perfect for dipping that toasted airy bread.  The seafood itself was beautifully cooked where the fish was flaky and the mussels were plump.

From all the choices of tacos, we got a few including the Baja Shrimp and the Octopus.  Crispy on the outside while meaty and perfectly cooked on the inside, the shrimp were pretty sweet on their own.  However, the addition of some cabbage, crema, mayo, salsa roja and pico de gallo added crunch, brightness, acidity and background spice.  As for the octopus, it was tender with just a bit of crispiness on the outside.  It sat atop a calamari ink sofrito which provided some moisture as well as sweetness and earthiness.

Our last item was the Smoked Kanpachi Taco with local queso Oxaca, salsa cruda, avocado & peanut salsa macha. This was on par with the aguachile and seafood stew as our favorite item.  The flavors in this were impactful and memorable.  From the smokiness of the fish to the smoky and nutty salsa macha, this was addictive and we wanted another.  But alas, we were rather full and completely satisfied.  I gotta say that Holbox definitely deserves its Michelin-Star.  The food is fantastic in terms of freshness and execution.  It is interesting and does not hold back in announcing its flavors.  I would come back in a heartbeat and really, I need to get resos for that dinner tasting menu!

The Good:
- Fantastic flavors
- Food is exciting
- Relatively affordable

The Bad:
- Well, it is in a market and seating is a bit hard to find at peak times

Mariachi Nights @ Toloache Mexican Kitchen

Here we were again at Toloache Mexican Kitchen, but not for their brunch.  We were here on a Thursday where drinks were flowing and little bites were being dished out by the kitchen.  So why was Thursday any different than other days?  Well, they had a full Mariachi Band as well as Folklorico dancers to boot.  If you can imagine, this was an outright party with people joining in on the fun and even doing a conga line.  Truly a unique experience and something I would love to do again!

To kick things off and to ensure we really did have a good time, we were served some Margaritas which were pretty tasty and inherently dangerous.  Nice balance of sweetness with the alcohol so that it went down way too easily!  Onto the share plates, we started with the Nachos.  Sure this was pretty standard with salsa, sour cream, olives, cotija cheese and jalapenos.  A bit more like Tex-Mex than true Mexican nachos, but whatever, they did the job and was just the prelude to other dishes.

Staying with tortilla chips, we had the Guacamole & Chips next and at first glance, nothing was really special about it.  But if you look closely, you will see a side of crickets.  Yep, you can have this with crunchy and nutty crickets to compliment the creamy guacamole.  Now that is different!   The Tuna Ceviche Tostada was a nice bite (or bites) where the tortilla remained crunch despite the wet ingredients.  The tuna was soft and fresh while it was nicely acidic.

Okay, the previous dishes were fine, but the really good ones came here in the form of the Cochinita Sopes and the Chorizo Croquets.  The masa shells of the sopes were slightly crispy on the outside while soft and not overly dense on the inside.  The slow-roasted pork was shredded, tender and moist.  There was a nice tanginess to it.  As for the croquets, they were crunchy while giving way to creamy filling with impactful chorizo that offered some spice.

Last 2 items were quite good in the Cochinita Sliders and the Tacos Dorados Ahogados.  Sure, the buns were from Costco, but the sliders were still delicious with the same tender pork as the sopes.  I've actually seen these buns used for a Peruvian sandwich too, so very versatile!  As for the "Taquitos", they were crunchy and topped with sour cream and tomatillo salsa.  Also quite tasty, but I decided to add more hot sauce to this to pump up the spice.

Okay, all of the food was fine and dandy but we were really here for the Mariachi Band!  Man this was awesome as this literally became a fiesta and people were dancing and singing.  The band went around the room and every section of the restaurant go their own personal performance.  For this night, they had Folklorico dancers, so it was extra lively and fun.  That is really the point of the night anyways.  As you can see, the menu is simple and not really the focus.  It is about grabbing some drinks and participating in the music and dance.  If that is what you are looking for, then this is for you!

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- Excellent Mariachi Band
- Fun and lively
- Food isn't expensive and you get live music!

The Bad:
- Limited menu (by design), so if you wanted a full meal, it isn't available

Toloache Mexican Kitchen

It goes without saying that we have a lack of good Mexican restaurants in town.  In fact, many people in the Lower Mainland head across the border just to get some good tacos.  Shockingly, I'm not even referring to the Mexican border, I mean the US border!  Literally, there are great taco trucks in Bellingham that are better than the things we get here (and cheaper!).  However, we have some hope where I've had some good Mexican in town.  One of the newest is Toloache Mexican Kitchen in Downtown.  Brought to you by the same people at Maizel, Toloache offers something that I've not seen before in town, an AYCE Mexican brunch.  Jackie and I dropped by to see what it was all about.

Looking over the setup, it was pretty clear to me that they wanted to cover all the bases and offer up something substantial.  That started with their selection of meats.  They included Beef Ribs in Green Mole, Dark Mole with Chicken, Lamb Birria, Chorizo with Potatoes, Cochinita Pibil and Carnitas.  For me, I really enjoyed the birria as the meat was super tender with the fall flavours of cloves and cinnamon.  There was birria dip on the side too.  The ribs were quite tender and the green mole definitely tasted like its colour.  It was was bright and herbaceous while being creamy.  The dark mole also exhibited rich fall flavours but added some background bitterness and earthiness.  I found the chicken also to be quite moist.  If you wanted something richer, the cochinita pibil incorporated some fattier pork and had some citrus and spice.

Of course you can't eat these meats alone (well, you can), so adjacent to the meats, we found salsas, condiments, soft tortillas, tostadas and buns.  In addition, we found Shrimp Aguachile and Nopales.  I enjoyed the shrimp as they were delicate with a minor snap.  They were sweet and took on the spice of the green chilies.  The cactus was surprisingly non-slimy, which was texturally appealing.

So we could get full just eating the meats and making tacos, tostadas and mini-tortas, but there was a good selection of other dishes that included Huitlacoche, Garlic Mushrooms, Pork Tamales, Red Sauce Chicharron, Chilaquiles (Red and Green Sauce), Scrambled Eggs, Poached Eggs with Salsa, Poblano Rajas with Cream and Refried Beans.

The best item from this aforementioned dishes was the huitlacoche.  You don't find this dish normally anywhere and since it is a fungus that feeds on corn, I guess it isn't appealing to many.  I liked it and it was earthy and sweet.  Interestingly, I also liked the poached egg in salsa.  It was perfectly runny with a mild red sauce that was tomatoey.  The chilaquiles were pretty good with lots of cheese and sauce.  I preferred the red sauce due to it being just a bit more flavourful.  The tamales were tasty too with soft masa filled with pork and red sauce.

There were several drinks included with the buffet including Hibiscus, Passionfruit and Horchata.  I liked the passionfruit as it was fruity and tropical.  You can also go ahead and order some alcoholic drinks too (at an extra charge of course), including a Michelada which is a Mexican Bloody Mary where you add beer to it (hence the Corona).  Also, brunch screams out for Mimosas, and they got that too.

At the entrance of the restaurant, we found a fairly large Dessert selection.  It was a mish-mash of Mexican sweets along with Costco things.  For the non-Mexican desserts, we had cookies, coffee cake, donuts, sheet cake, toffee crunch, banana bread, mini-danish and palmiers. Mexican representation for this section featured Conchas.  We also had a selection of fruit featuring watermelon, cantaloupe, pineapple and grapes.  

The pre-packaged stuff was as expected and nothing to complain about, but I really want to talk about the conchas as they were colourful and pleasantly-sweet.  Rounding the corner, we had some more Mexican treats in the form of Churros, Tres Leches and Flan de Queso.  We found the churros to be a bit dense, but still crunchy. With the addition of cream cheese, the flan was extra rich and creamy.  This was so delicious with a caramel finish.  The tres leches was moist and sweet.  We enjoyed that too.  Overall, for $39.50, this brunch had enough substance to make it worth the money.  You won't go hungry and there is enough choice to keep things interesting.  Love that they include drinks as well.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post

The Good:
- Lots of choice
- Delicious
- Something different

The Bad:
- Should focus on their delicious Mexican desserts and get rid of the other stuff

Tamaly Shop

I've pointed out on many occasions that Vancouver is blessed with a diverse culinary scene, particularly in Asian food.  However, it lags behind in many other cuisines, including Mexican.  Now we do have Mexican restaurants and some of them are actually quite good.  I know this because I've eaten in Mexico as well as Southern Los Angeles (so I have a baseline).  However, we don't really have restaurants dedicated to something I really enjoy - Tamales.  Well look no further as we have the Tamaly Shop out on Main Street near Broadway.

Let's get right to it with 3 different Tamales including Pork with Salsa Verde, Chicken with Mole and Cheese with Jalapeno and salsa Roja.  Really enjoyed these as they brought back memories of the tamales I've had in San Diego.  2 of them were light and fluffy while the pork tamale was a bit firmer.  They use vegetable shortening rather than lard, hence they were not as heavy nor greasy.  I really enjoyed the mole as it was flavouful, smoky and aromatic.

Onto something that I've never had before, Birria Noodle.  Sure, I've had birria tacos before and of course I've had noodles.  But I've never had them together before.  This was rather pleasant with a meaty broth with a considerable amount of tender shredded beef.  I found the noodles on the softer side, but then again, we took some time taking photos too.  I felt this would be a good dish to order to compliment the tamales as it was lighter and soupy.

We had the classic Chilaquiles next with both the salsa roja and verde.  Normally, you would only get one of the sauces, but this way, we got to try both in one dish.  Underneath the sauces, cheese and sour cream, we found thick and still slightly crispy tortilla chips.  They were completely coated in sauce though, so there was that usual texture in between crispy and soft.  I liked both sauces, but the verde was my favourite where it was bright and tangy.

So what do you get when you combine a tamale and chilaquiles?  It's not a trick question, you get the Guajolotongo!  This particular one featured a cheese tamale topped with even more chicken, sour cream, onions, tomatillo salsa and feta cheese.  Yah, this was quite the meal as the tamale was rather filling to begin with and then it was topped with crispy tender tortilla wedges.  Flavours were fairly subtle in this with the salsa coming through with tanginess.

Last savoury items was the Torta Ahogada with pork belly, pickled onion and lemon.   By itself, the torta was pleasant enough with crusty bread and tender shredded pork belly.  The pickled onion added both crunch and acidity.  However, the real star of the show was the Guadalajara salsa on the side.  It added the necessary flavour and moisture the sandwich needed.  Nice balance of brightness, spice and aromatics.  Would've loved to have even more of it!

Onto the sweets, were presented with a selection of dessert tamales including Blackberry & Cream Cheese, Chocolate and Pineapple.  Yes, these were not the lightest of desserts, but I kept going back for more bites despite being stuffed.  Since I love fruity things, the pineapple was right up my alley.  This was the lightest of the 3 and had a mild sweetness about it.  The blackberry & cream cheese was heavier naturally but it was purposefully sweet and creamy.  Chocolate was the most basic of the 3 and heaviest in texture.  Wasn't very sweet though, letting the chocolate notes come through.

Although we were served the Conchas first, I'll talk about them last because they were a dessert in my eyes.  We had the Dulce de Leche, Strawberry and Blueberry.  These were featured a bun that was fairly light and a bit dry topped with a sugary topping.  I enjoyed the dulce de leche the most as it featured a sweet caramel centre.  These were akin to the Chinese pineapple buns.  Overall, the food was unique and well-executed.  Nice to see something different in a sea of sushi and Chinese food.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- Not-so-heavy tamales
- Other dishes were good too
- Eclectic decor

The Bad:
- Some of the tables are a bit small

Miso Taco

With a name like Miso Taco, one would get the idea the place was some fusion between Japanese and Mexican.  Well, you would be completely right to assume that because the menu features a large section of tacos that have elements of Asian-inspiration.  Located in the old location of the Dark Side/The Union, it sports a fairly spacious industrial-looking dining space.  Love that they included a Street Fighter arcade game for us to practice our upper-cut skills.  We were invited to try out the food here and I can say that it was very interesting.

We started out strong with my favourite dish, the Sizzling Cheese & Sautéed Mushrooms (with Teriyaki Beef added).  This ooey gooey concoction was so cheesy and savoury that it ate well by itself.  But like the Jack-in-the-Box commercial, "your hands would be covered with meat & cheese!".  Hence, the side of grilled tortillas were the perfect vessel to pick up the tender salty sweet nuggets of beef and the stringy cheese.  Delicious.

So another full-on dish was the Kimchi Fries with refried beans, shredded cheese, kimchi, red onions and cilantro.  We added chicken karaage for good measure.  As you can clearly see, this dish needed to be shared because it would be much even for 2 people.  Due to the amount of ingredients on top, the fries were not really all that crispy anymore.  However, we considered it a quasi-poutine where the fries only served as a blank canvas for all of the other ingredients to flavour.  That it did with spice, tang and sharpness.  Large and fried perfectly, the chicken was tender and juicy.  A choice of dip was offered as part of this dish and I will discuss that later in the post.

The one dish that may need some retooling is the Tempura Enoki.  We thought it sounded good but alas, the fact that enoki mushrooms are so delicate with thin stems meant that frying them wouldn't work.  So despite the tempura batter being crispy and really appealing, the mushroom part of the equation really didn't exist.  Maybe using more robust mushrooms would be better?  Like Shimeji?  Due to the lack of mushroom, this dish also ate very greasy since it was all batter.

So onto the sauces I was talking about earlier...  From top left and clockwise, we had the Diego's Salsa, Macho Chili Oil, Green, Chunky Green Salsa, Avocado Salsa, Pico de Gallo and Smoked Pepper Salsa.  My favourite by far was the chili oil as it had a real kick with a rich smokiness.  As much as this was spicy, it wasn't painful either.  The smoked pepper was also very good due to the fact it had depth and balanced spice.

We moved onto the namesake of this restaurant in the Miso Taco.  This featured deep fried cod with coleslaw, green onions, bonito, cilantro and miso dressing.  This was quite good with flaky fish with a light and crispy tempura batter.  I found the miso dressing to have a rich savouriness without being salty.  To amp this taco beyond its mild flavours, I decided to add some of the smoked salsa.  Added depth and spice.

Onto another seafood taco, we had the Ebi Fried Taco with shredded cabbage, pickled red onion, chopped cilantro and secret sauce.  That sauce was a bit creamy and had a ebi mayo sort of vibe to it. As mentioned, they work hard in incorporating Asian-influence to the Mexican-themed dishes.  This worked well since the shrimp were meaty with a snap while coated with a crispy batter.  The cabbage added some fresh crunch while the abundance of cilantro did its herbaceous thing.

Next, we had the Attako on Taco that featured greens, secret sauce, fried octopus, chamoy, bonito flakes & green onions.  Personally, I would've named this a Tako Taco, but whatever...  LOL...  Anyways, this had some elements of takoyaki with the tangy sauce as well as bonito and of course octopus.  Just like a takoyaki, the octopus was on the chewier side, but only a bit.  Greens worked here as it helped lighten things up.

Birria Tacos are all the rage these days and they had a version of it in the Birria-Dilla with 2 flour tortillas housing melted cheese, birria, onions and cilantro with the usual dipping sauce (braising liquid) on the side.  For all the birria tacos I've had, these had to have been one of the least fatty.  You see, they typically dip the tacos into the fat of the braising liquid and then proceed to seared them on the flattop.  These were not oil-soaked, which would anger some people, due to the lack of richness and umami, but for me, that was fine.  The meat in the middle was tender and flavourful while completely coated with cheese.

On the menu, the Pozole Udon sounded interesting with its combination of mushroom broth, pozole, egg, nori, radish, cilantro and green onion.  We added some birria as well.  As much as the udon was nicely prepared and the broth was clean, the bowl needed a bit more oomph.  It ate a bit too mild and dare I say, healthy.  Maybe this is what they were aiming for?  For us, a bit more salt would've done wonders.

Finally, for dessert, we had the Elote Cake as well as the Kinako Mochi & Churros.  These were fine sweets to end the meal.  The cake was moist and aromatic with a crisped exterior.  Loved the natural sweetness of the corn as well as the addition of strawberry quince yuzu compote brightened things up with a sweet tang.  As for the churros, they were crispy and light while the grilled mochi added a nice chew.  The kinako powder did its nutty thing much like Korean injeomi.  Overall, we thought the meal was definitely different with some real highlights.  The enoki mushrooms and udon could use some refinement, but the tacos, sizzling cheese and sauces were quite good.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this post*

The Good:
- Nice vibe and there is street fighter!
- Some real highlights such as the sizzling cheese, tacos and sauces
- Okay pricing

The Bad:
- Some dishes may need to be rethought
- Parking is a bit hard to find sometimes