The Quest for the Holy Taco
Posted by Erin Kampf on Thursday, October 12th, 2006Tags for this Article: mexican, mexican-food, Street Food, taco
Three years after moving back to Vancouver from Southern California, I have yet to find a decent taco in this city. Sure, you can go to any Mexican restaurant here and order a taco. But they’re nothing like the tacos you find in SoCal at taquerías or roach-coach lunch trucks.
Are you ready to join me on the quest for the best taco in Vancouver?
The tacos of my dreams are simple. Two small flour or corn tortillas, topped with meat – pork, chicken or beef – onions and cilantro. Add a dollop of salsa, either roja or verde, and you have taco perfection.
Unfortunately, most Mexican restaurants in Vancouver don’t generally offer this delicious simplicity. They serve huge “tacos” – heavily ladened with lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, salsa, guacamole and sour cream, and often served in a deep fried, hard shell. Now, there is something to be said for this version of the taco, but I miss the simple SoCal version that I know and love.
So, I have embarked upon a quest. I will find the holy taco here in Vancouver. I will search high and low until I find THE ONE. Suggestions welcome!
Posted on October 16th, 2006
blprnt says:
I’ve got two leads for you, but I don’t know the names of either place… just directions.
1) There’s a taco place just South of Broadway, on Commercial Drive. It’s probably at about 13th. West side of the street. I’ve had a couple of tacos there and they were very good.
2) Another taco joint on Hastings Street, just East of Nanaimo. It’s on the South side of the street. I think it might be a Salvadorean place, since they also serve pupusas. I haven’t tried it, but there are always lots of people in there chowing down, so it might be worth a shot.
Posted on November 2nd, 2006
Erin Kampf says:
Thanks for the tips! I’m not familiar with the first place you suggested, but the second place is called El Pulgarcito at 2522 E. Hastings. I’ll be trying both in my quest, so stay tuned.