Birria burrito and carnitas quesadilla from Los Panchos Mexican Restaurant
It’s been a few years since birria mania swept through Toronto, and it’s still going strong. Case in point: Los Panchos Mexican Restaurant has a whole birria section on their menu, where basically every Mexican staple you can think of has been birria-ified. I tried the birria burrito, and while there was no broth on the side, the beef was nice and tender. Nothing about it particularly popped, but I certainly didn’t dislike eating it. I also tried the carnitas quesadilla, and aside from the fact that the pork tasted slightly leftovery, it was a solid version of the dish. Both were crying out for some hot sauce, however — if any was available, I didn’t see it.
Spicy beef and poutine empanadas from Las Muns
I was intrigued by Las Muns, a Spanish empanada chain that has a bunch of locations in Europe, and is starting to expand in Canada. They have a variety of flavours — some classic, some quirky (stuff like Cajun shrimp and Thai chicken). I went with the spicy beef and poutine varieties, and they were both… fine, I guess? They taste more like something you might expect to find in the freezer section at Costco rather than a handmade empanada from a restaurant, but they were both inoffensive enough.
Za’atar fries and muhammara from Azhar Kitchen and Bar
Okay, let’s end this with some positivity. I checked out the happy hour menu at Azhar and tried a couple of things, and both were quite tasty. The za’atar fries weren’t the best fries I’ve ever had, but they were quite solid, with the generous amount of za’atar they were tossed in adding a nice zippy, herbal punch. That’s not the mention the lemon aioli that comes on the side, which was satisfyingly rich and creamy, with a nice brightness from the lemon to round things out. It’s a great dip. I also tried the muhammara (“roasted pepper, walnut, sourdough, pomegranate seed; one pita”), which was even better, with a nice chunky texture and a satisfying cumin-tinged flavour. And the freshly-baked pita on the side was a perfect complement.