Solid Mexican Food at Los Compass Tacos

Los Compass Tacos
Location
: 140 Spadina Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://www.loscompastacos.com/

Los Compass Tacos has a setup that’s quite Gus Tacos-esque — they have a variety of proteins (al pastor, grilled steak, grilled chicken, and cactus) that you can get in various configurations (tacos, burritos, quesadillas, etc.).

Los Compass Tacos

Tacos is right there in the name, so that’s what I got.

Los Compass Tacos

I ordered one al pastor, and one asada (grilled steak). You can pick from a corn or flour tortilla; I went with corn for the al pastor, and flour for the asada.

Los Compass Tacos

Both were quite good. In particular, the al pastor was nicely marinated and quite tender, with a satisfying punch of sweetness from the grilled pineapple.

Los Compass Tacos

The steak was maybe a bit lacking in flavour (I probably should have availed myself of the sauce bar off to the side of the restaurant, but since both tacos came sauced, I figured I’d try them as-is), but was otherwise quite satisfying, with a nice smoky flavour from the grill.
Neither taco knocked my socks off, but both were quite satisfying.

Los Compass Tacos

I actually wound up coming back to try the pollo (grilled chicken) burrito, and… I think the tacos are the thing to get here. It wasn’t bad, but it was a bit plain and one-note salty (the fact that I asked for no onions and got onions certainly didn’t enhance my enjoyment of this thing).

Tasty Burritos at Bolets Burrito

Bolets Burrito
Location
: 134 Lower Sherbourne Street, Toronto
Website: https://boletsburrito.square.site/

Pretty much any time the topic of the best burrito in Toronto comes up on the Toronto food subreddit, Bolets is mentioned.  I finally got around to it recently, and yeah: it’s quite good.

Bolets Burrito

They have a handful of meat options (including some esoteric choices like Buffalo chicken and sweet spicy Thai), but the steak seems t o be the one they’re most known for, so that’s what I got.

The burrito comes crammed with steak, along with the usual assortment of rice, beans, and veggies.

Bolets Burrito

The steak is tender, plentiful, and very well seasoned, and the proportion of meat to veggies to sauce is spot on.  I asked for it hot, and while it’s not exactly going to blow your head off, it’s got a good kick.  There were a couple of inedible gristly bits in the steak, which was unfortunate, but otherwise I really enjoyed this.

Bolets Burrito

Is it the best burrito in the city?  I don’t know, but it’s probably a contender.

Tasty Mexican Food at Taqueria el Pastorcito

Taqueria el Pastorcito
Location
: 1160 Bloor Street West, Toronto
Website: https://taqueriaelpastorcitoon.com/

It’s always nice when the name of a restaurant tells you what to order.  At Taqueria el Pastorcito, you’ve gotta order a taco, and you’ve gotta order the pastor.  Easy enough.  And indeed, both are extremely delicious.

Taqueria el Pastorcito

I tried a couple of things.  I got a chorizo taco, and a pastor burrito.

Taqueria el Pastorcito

The taco (which comes topped with onions and cilantro; I skipped the onions) is really tasty, with two very fresh corn tortillas stuffed with an extremely generous amount of nicely browned chorizo.  The spicing of the sausage is a bit on the mild side, but there are an array of very tasty sauces on the side that makes quick work of that.  It’s a great taco.

Taqueria el Pastorcito

The pastor was even better.  The burrito was a bit odd; as far as I can tell, the filling was basically just meat and a bit of cilantro.  But the pork was so tasty, with a nice kick to it and a whole bunch of the delicious crispy bits that you’re hoping for from spit-roasted meat like this, that it totally works.

Taqueria el Pastorcito

The place was packed on a recent Saturday afternoon, and it’s very easy to see why.

Pretty Good Brunch at Death and Taxes Free House

Death and Taxes Free House
Location
: 1154 Queen Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.freehouse.co/locations/death-and-taxes

I’ll admit that I mostly wanted to go to Death and Taxes to sample one of the cask ales they (are supposed to) have on tap.  Alas, they had zero cask ales available on the day I visited.

Death and Taxes Free House

(For the uninitiated, a cask ale is a type of beer that’s naturally carbonated, unfiltered, and fermented in the cask, giving it a more complex flavour and a more subtle level of carbonation than a typical beer.  I was recently in London, where this style of beer is served at basically every good pub; sadly, it’s much trickier to find here.)

Death and Taxes Free House

I tried the breakfast burrito (“crispy bacon, hash, scrambled egg, feta, spicy mayo, flour tortilla”) along with the BLT (“toasted sourdough, butter, bacon, American cheese, curry mayo, garlic mayo, avocado, tomato, iceberg lettuce”).  Both were tasty enough, though the BLT was the better of the two.  Avocado is a great addition to the BLT formula, adding a nice dose of creaminess and richness.  And the curry mayo is a great addition as well, bringing a ton of flavour to a sandwich that otherwise could have felt pretty routine.

Death and Taxes Free House

And while the potatoes were under-seasoned and under-crispy (they weren’t crispy at all — intentionally?), they were well cooked and satisfying enough (though they definitely needed the provided cup of spicy ketchup).

A Mind-Blowing Burrito at Comal y Canela

Comal y Canela
Location: 1692B Jane Street, York
Website: https://www.comalycanela.com/

I’m a bit late to the party here, but I feel like there was a time on Instagram recently where every other post was someone dipping a beefy taco into a cup of soup.

I’m talking about birria tacos, a dish in which braised beef and cheese are crammed into a tortilla, dunked in a beefy soup, griddle-fried, and then served with even more soup for dipping.

Comal y Canela

You can get this at Comal y Canela, and yeah, it’s good.  How could it not be?  Tender beef, gooey cheese, flavourful soup?  It’s like a French dip sandwich but better, with amplified flavours and textures that are an absolute delight to eat.

The really surprising thing, however?  The birria tacos weren’t even the highlight of the meal.

I also tried the michoacano burrito, which the menu describes as “giant flour tortilla with a cheese crust, black bean puree, braised pork, onion, jalapeno, avocado, crema fresca and queso fresco.”

Comal y Canela

Good lord, that burrito.  I don’t want to overstate this, but I think this might have been the best burrito I’ve ever had?  I’m skeptical that a better burrito exists.  Okay, maybe I’m overstating it a tad, but I really, really enjoyed this burrito.

Comal y Canela

Every part of it works so well, though that cheese crust (I’m guessing they just take a pile of cheese and let it brown on the griddle) is downright genius.  The combination of the gooey, crusty cheese and the ultra-tender pork (not to mention the creamy avocado and literally every other ingredient in this thing) is pure magic.  I guess I could do without the raw onions, but there’s so much else going on here that they really just add some crunch.

Comal y Canela

It’s hard for me to say that this is the best burrito I’ve ever eaten, because I’ve had quite a few burritos in my lifetime, but I can honestly say that I cannot remember eating a better one.  It’s that good.