Taco Crawl (Part 3) Tacofino Commissary

The next stop on our taco crawl adventure took us east, to Hastings and Nanaimo to

Tacofino Commissary for:

Cauliflower; Serrano chile, turmeric, crispy rice, spicy fish sauce $7

Chicken Karaage Taco; Avocado, radish, black chile oil, cilantro $6 per taco

The Food Crawl basics:

Four participants. Each participant picks a taco joint OR a specific taco dish they've been wanting to try. I drive the taco wagon (aka my Honda Fit) and come up with logistics, scheduling, route that makes sense. At each stop, we either have done our research and picked a taco OR ask our server for their most popular taco/ their recommendation. One taco per crawler per venue.

Let the adventure continue!

Lifebitesmm:

I’ve eaten from the Tacofino trucks before and LOVE their food and the commissary is in my ‘hood so when____ picked this place, I was very pleased.

This spot is on Hastings near Nanaimo with Red Wagon and Campagnolo Roma as neighbours and has some truly cool décor details, especially massive hanging light installation network. There are a few tables for two but most table are long, large, and meant for sharing. Old school hip hop was pumping and right away we were charmed by the uber friendly staff AND uber friendly other customers who were quick to tell us about their favourite dishes. I had my heart set out hoping that ____ would order up a round of Tuna Ta-tacos but instead he followed the recommendation of our server and neighbouring table and opted for the Chicken Karaage.

He also heard the cauliflower was dynamite, so he added an order of that appetizer for us all to try. This cauliflower is my kind of dish! I adore Nuba’s crispy cauliflower and didn’t think it could be as good but it definitely is just as delicious and different. Despite a tough looking Serrano, it wasn’t very spicy but it was certainly big on bold salty flavour from the generous amount of fish sauce.

On to the taco…. Each taco is $6 which is steep, but they are a larger taco than the other establishments and they do have a lot going on inside. Tacofino serves their some of their tacos on corn tortillas and some on flour tortillas depending on what they think is the best flavour accompaniment for the taco filling. The CK taco came in a flour tortilla. This was a fantastic taco! The chicken was beautifully cooked, tender and soft with a feather light crispy exterior and a slight spice and a hint of ginger. With avocado, radish, chile oil, and cilantro- there is a lot going on in this taco and it all works really well with flavours and texture that make beautiful Japanese meets Baja-california inspired music in my mouth.

The Leggy Redhead:

The whole experience here was great...server - super sweet & helpful; couple at the table next to us - helped us chose our final taco choice based on their favorites; the taco - who knew Japanese inspired taco would win my heart for the evening.  Lightest karage breading, perfectly cooked, and then paired with a fabulous avocado spread & black chile oil paste...need I say more.  And of course we had to have the roasted cauliflower appy while we were there (highlight from the last time I ate at the Commissary).

TBJ:

Located in the Hastings Sunrise area – the first permanent location for the legendary fish taco food truck hailing from the namesake BC surf town.  Love how the real estate developers are trying to brand this neighbourhood East Village – more like Crow Village according to some friends living in the ‘hood.  Upon entry one’s bound to notice the groovy tunes and splendid lighting – a web of faux Omer Arbel globes connected by copper tubing.  Table layout is mainly a series of communal tables making for good chatting with your neighbours.

Tacofino has quite the creative menu – including 3 vegetarian options.  We embraced the unusual and ordered Habanero Margaritas (served in salt rimmed mason jars) and four chicken kaarage tacos.  Served on a single flour tortilla (points deducted for no double stack), the tacos were filled with multiple tasty toppings:  Pea shoots, radishes, guacamole and chopped green onions.  An artistic smear of black chili oil added to the visual sensation – although I didn’t pick up much flavour.  I found the chicken juicy and tender covered in a light kaarage batter which wasn’t overly spiced.  Much better than the average karaage fare on offer at local Japanese restaurants. 

One note of caution – the taco was big.  Substantially larger than those at our other stops– which at least corresponded to the hefty price tag.  If you normally eat three or four tacos for a meal – I’d only order two of these. 

The service was friendly and engaging – as were the neighbours sitting next to us.  We ordered a side of the fried cauliflower with chilis and other goodies ($9) which I heartedly endorse.  One knock is that the management seems to take issue with the Beastie Boys – they interrupted them in funky mid-track!  Why the hate for the Beasties, Tacofino?  Overall, my second favorite taco of the night.

The Glib:

A sit down version of the legendary taco food truck Tacofino, the Commissary was my pick. Located in the heart of Hastings Sunrise, this eatery boasted an atmosphere unrivalled in the nights tour. From our table neighbours and their friendly, food recommending ways to a delightful service staff that went out of their way to ensure we had a great time, this place is all about community. 

I choose the Chicken Karaage taco. Outside of the box, yes. Outside of delicious, absolutely not. If this were a Chicken Karaage tour, I would likely be declaring this the winner of the tour, based on the Karaage alone. Grease, none. Chicken, tender, so deliciously tender. Flavour, wow. Peashoots, perfect crunchy leafy balance. Painted on sauce of sesame amazingness. Yes please. Size, large. And thankfully so, as this much deliciousness should go on and on.

It was with a full belly and a happy heart that I left the Commissary, and I will be back.

Dine Out Vancouver 2014 at Twisted Fork Bistro

There is a group of lovely ladies that I typically do one Dine Out Vancouver meal with every year. Our group changed a wee bit this year because we decided to meld the DOV tradition with celebrating someone’s birthday.

After careful review of the DOV menus, the birthday girl picked Twisted Fork. I called to make a reservation and the lovely hostess explained they didn’t take resos, but had a great “call when your table is ready” and assured me that they had the space to seat our party of 8.

On the night of the dinner, this was definitely the case. Our name was put in, we went to a nearby pub for some drinks, and approx 1.5 -2 hours later we were seated.

Now I’ve heard about Twisted Fork and their awesome brunches (although I’ve never been) but haven’t heard anything about dinners. Their DOV menu was set at $28 and the menu sounded good.

Twisted Fork is located in downtown Vancouver on the Granville strip, close to Davie St. The restaurant is quite small and narrow, so you could miss it walking by…Look for the big fork! The inside of this bistro is long, narrow, with mellow lighting, creating a relaxing vibe. They’ve got high ceilings, rustic wood tables, and cool touches of décor and art (an old door, a wall lined with their own jams, jellies, canned goods, preserves, an old kitchen mixer as a vase).

Complimentary rolls:

Liked the presentation! (served in a colander with whipped butter in a shot glass)

The appetizers:

Cream of potato and leek soup garnished with pancetta crisps

I really really liked this soup. It was rich, warm and full bodied with a delicate smooth creamy texture and a slight peppery kick. The pancetta crisps were essentially two thin bacon chips, crispy, salty, awesome.

Warm beet salad mixed with goat cheese, arugula, carrot and almonds tossed in a sherry vinaigrette

Gruyere and caramelized onion tart with a hint of nutmeg served with pesto dressed greens and pear chutney

No one in our group had the tart

The Entrees:

Vegan Lasagna with layers of yam, eggplant, zucchini, basil, almond ricotta and tomato sauce served on top of braised swiss chard

I liked this dish okay but didn’t love it. I found it a bit boring flavour-wise. The textures were pretty one-note too.

Pan seared Sablefish on herb couscous, cauliflower coulis and raspberry balsamic reduction topped with leek fries

Herb and brie stuffed Chicken Breast, served with wild mushroom risotto, roasted herb cherry tomatoes finished with chicken jus

The Desserts

Pumpkin spiced cheesecake served with sour cream topping and fresh mint

LOVED this dessert. Definitely not your average slice of cheesecake. Served in a mason jar, this was a layered creation with loose graham crumbles at the bottom with a main layer of a creamy whipped pumpkin pudding, then lightly topped with a thin layer of slightly sweetened sour cream.

Frozen chocolate terrine served with raspberry sorbet, fresh raspberries and almond tuile

Caramel mousse served with fresh raspberries, raspberry coulis and almond tuile

All in all, an enjoyable DOV experience. The company was fabulous. The food was solid (with no complaints from a diverse group of 8). I would say that this was well cooked west coast bistro food in a tasteful, cozy, intimate setting. Portions were reasonable. Service was friendly and warm. And again…I am dreaming that one day I will have my own wall of pickled goods and preserves. 

Chinese New Year Dinner Party Homecooking

On January 31st, it’s Chinese New Year and time to enter the year of the Horse. 

Food is an important part of the Chinese culture and a lot of significance is assigned to different foods for the New Year. Many foods are served up to usher in wealth, happiness and good fortune.

This year, I decided to ring in Chinese New Year by cooking a vegan meal full of lucky foods to usher in the new year. I’m so lucky to live in Vancouver where I have access to Chinese markets and grocery products. I can even pick up T &T products from the Real Canadian Superstore so I don’t need to make a separate trip!

Wonton Soup: Dumplings are supposed to be lucky and bring wealth and prosperity. I stuffed twonton wrappers with minced tofu, mushrooms, garlic, ginger, and soy sauce, and I tried to shape the wontons to resemble a little gold ingot (ancient Chinese money). I used my own homemade veggie broth seasoned with soy sauce and garnished with green onion and boy choy (cut in long thin strands because leafy greens are supposed to be lucky and long food (noodles, beans, etc) implies long life.

Rice cakes: The Chinese name of rice cakes ‘nian gao,’ literally means a “higher year” or year of

improvement or advancement. I served Senbei rice crackers as an appy...close enough?

Buddhist Delight: This Buddhist vegetarian stew chock full of eggplant, snow peas, cabbage and more, known as jai in Cantonese, is traditionally served on the first day of the Chinese New Year to bring good luck. Also on the plate was a Sesame Radish (Chinese for radish is tsai tou, which means “good omen”) bean sprout salad and steamed white rice.

Did you know?

The Chinese zodiac follows a 12-year cycle, each of the years being named after an animal.

According to the Chinese calendar, 2014 is the Year of the Horse. The Chinese believe that people born in a particular year take on the characteristics of the animal associated with that year.

If you were born in the year of the horse, you are likely:

Cheerful, popular and smart with money. Wise, talented and good with your hands.