Fish Tale

In the late 1960's Oscar Gutierrez relocated from California to Huntsville, Al. With Oscar came years of experience in the restaurant business. In the fall of 1990 he decided it was time to open his own place. Serving burritos, tacos, tamales and the like. Oscar's place would do as much from scratch, in house as would be possible. The resulting consistency was the back bone of the business. Bandito Burrito Company has gone on to become a local icon, win several awards and has found their Fish Taco's named #7 on al.com's list of Huntsville's 20 Most Distinctive Dishes.


Occupying what seems to be an old Burger King or some other fast food restaurant, BBC offers parking in front. I hear plenty of comments that the place looks abandoned. Not so, the faded facade only adds to the charm.
Inside the décor matches the outside. A little worn but all in all, charming. It’s typical fast food in that you walk in, order, pay then take a seat in the dining room.
The kitchen is in back and that’s where all the good stuff comes from.

So let’s get a look at these Mexican goodies.



Situated by the cash register is a dispenser labeled "Ghetto Grape Drank." The obvious question begged the young lady serving us, what exactly it was. Well, we're told it's Grape Kool Aid loaded with sugar. Me being me, I just had to try it. That said, I'm not stupid nor do I want diabetes. So just a taste was all I permitted myself. I can assure you it's not as sweet as I was expecting and to be honest, in a small dose it was actually quite pleasant. The word is, one customer not only drinks a full cup with his meal but also gets two refills. Wow!!

The Taco Burger is pretty neat. It’s simply a taco (Old El Paso style) in a cheap burger bun rather than a shell. There’s not much more to say other than 1 or 6 of these seems like something perfect for those either stoned or drunk.

You get a side of salsa and corn chips with your order and really, they're worth the price of admission on their own. The chips are cut up tortillas that are deep fried, not from a bag. The salsa is just plain fabulous. Nice and fresh tasting with a pretty decent amount of heat. 

The burritos are well known around these parts. This Combo Burrito is filled with a cumin and lime seasoned ground beef, refried beans and cheese. All in all, about exactly the taste you'd expect and very well executed. You could tell that they use nice fresh cumin. Cumin doesn't sit well for long periods once it's ground (not that it won't hold it's flavour for a while mind you) and I find puts a displeasing taste on things. While freshly ground cumin adds such a nice, sweet earthiness that screams Mexican.
The refried beans are nice but nothing special. Nor is the rice. I don't have a problem with that. They're serviceable sides to the main. 
The Enchilada and Chili Rellenos platter here is good but not great. The relleno is really quite tasty. Like a large jalapeno popper without the heat. Sadly, the enchilada for which this combo platter is named really misses its mark. The tortilla/filler combination is fine but the pink highlighter enchilada sauce is thoroughly unflavourful. I tried it plain and it just didn't deliver anything. So, being the creative person I am, I poured a bit of the salsa on it. Much better. The beans and rice are the same as the other meals.

That list of Huntsville's 20 Most Distinctive Tastes is what first led me here. The Fish Tacos are simply awesome. White corn tortillas stuffed with a filet of lightly seasoned tilapia, cabbage, tomato, onions, cilantro, lime and their special dill sauce. The magic is in the sauce. Made with lime, dill and Mexican Crema it added a certain richness that became very addictive.

So there you have it. Terrific Mexican food in a Huntsville legend.

You can find Bandito Burrito Company at 3017 Governors Dr SW. Huntsville, Al.

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You can also find them on facebook.




Well that's all for now folks, see ya next time in the food court.

Food Fight

If you live around these parts you'll know three things are steadfast. First, death. We're all gonna die. Second, taxes. Lots of 'em too. We all have to pay. And pay. And….well, you get the idea. Thirdly, Toronto city council will screw up a good thing. As with the other two, ALWAYS. Take Toronto's street food scene. For years it consisted mostly of hot dogs and sausages. While among the best in North America I'm told, people can not live on wieners alone. To consider yourself a "World class city" as TO does, a vibrant food culture is a must. Street food always plays a big part in that. The city, at the behest of the people, starving for healthier and more varied options initiated the "Toronto a la Carte" program. A child could see a la carte as a failure long before it's roll out in 2009. Now city council is doing it's best to screw up the next wave of street foods. Food trucks. The burgeoning truck scene is struggling to find it's legs and is in danger of extinction. Over regulation and taxation has many trucks avoiding the big smoke like kids do cauliflower. This time though, things are different.

When last we saw Spiros Drossos he was on the business end of a pizza peel at Chicago Pizza Kitchen. Gone more than a year now, Spiros closed shop and sought greener pastures within the city limits. To keep busy while he explored lease options he set up a food truck. Food Cabbie is a mobile kitchen in a trailer. Able to travel city wide Spiros settled in a private parking lot just outside the downtown core. But a funny thing happened on the way to the pizza kitchen. Food Cabbie exploded. So popular is Cabbie that daily white board specials (tweeted and posted on facebook) routinely sell out. This is becoming standard operating procedure for the few trucks who choose to operate within the city boundaries. Business is booming. So naturally, Toronto city council has to step in and ruin it.

To say that Spiros is upset is an understatement. He has all the correct paperwork to sell food out of a mobile kitchen. Was told to be on private property and as such worked out a lease agreement on parking spaces. He was issued a license with the address of the parking lot in which he resides. Now the city wants to give him the boot. Citing an obscure (and seemingly contradictory) law that says you can not operate a food truck in a private (or public) parking lot. They're serious too. Threatening with measures up to and including seizure of his trailer. To add insult to injury, the big blue fry wagon boasts that it's been in the same spot for 30 years. On Queen St. E. Right in front of city hall.

Spiros however is not is disheartened. Buoyed by tweets, facebook messages and the local media he (and his wife Helen) have taken up the fight. Not for himself but for all. He's fighting for Thunderin’ Thelma. His competition and parking lot neighbour. He's fighting for the trucks who opt for Hamilton and other suburbs. He's fighting for those who'd like to sell something other than sausages out of a cart. Most of all, he's fighting for us. He's fighting for our right to choose something other than hot dogs.

Food Cabbie does a limited menu and has, as mentioned above', daily specials. Specialty hamburgers, burritos and even Spiros's famous Chicago beef sandwich have all made the white board. They're posted on facebook every morning and a tweet goes out as well. People start phoning the minute they get to their office to reserve lunch.

As is the norm with places I review, just about everything is made from scratch. Spiros probably works 14 hours a day 5 days a week to give customers simple yet tasty food.
His trailer is decked out in a pseudo NY cab theme and is as clean as an operating room. Due to limited space a limited amount of food is cooked daily which ensures everything is as fresh as it can be.

So let's have a look at some of FC's wares.

If you just can't wait for lunch Spiros offers a breakfast burrito. Home made chorizo mixed with potato, refried beans and egg. Red and green hot sauce are complemented with sour cream (upon request) as a tribute to Mexico's national colours. Grilled on his flat top the burrito is enough to keep you going well through lunch. I found it very tasty but just slightly potato heavy. I also would like to have seen cheese added. These two points are really just minor details and fine tuning. Much like saying you love someone’s car but would prefer it in blue, not red.

A regular Friday special is the Baja fish tacos. Inspired by the famous Rubio's in San Diego, FC's version are basa done on the flat top (not deep fried). Three to an order loaded onto corn tortillas and topped with pickled cabbage and "secret sauce." These are a nice light lunch and are surprisingly filling. I heard one person remark that they weren't nearly seasoned enough but I for one enjoyed the simplicity of the taco. Basa is also a "Good alternative" according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch.

In a city that is challenged for Philly cheesesteaks Food Cabbie is a bit of an oasis. Thinly sliced steak is grilled up with onions and green bell peppers. The whole mess is crammed into a hoagie roll and topped with cheddar cheese sauce (not cheese wiz). It's ooey, gooey and delicious. At least a 4 napkin endeavor. You definitely need to park and eat this bad boy. My general indifference to green bell pepper will have me omit them next time though.

The Montreal Smoked Meat sandwich made from genuine Montreal Smoked Meat is simply amazing. Spiros had an agent smuggle a whole slab from Chenoy’s across provincial boundaries. I went with the classic preparation of meat on caraway seed rye with mustard. The only weak link in this sandwich was the mustard. Not that it was bad, it wasn’t. It’s just that a good pungent, clear your sinuses deli mustard would’ve played against the richness of the meat that much better.

The porchetta is run as a daily special. It’s a fine example of this roast pork sandwich. For those who find Sausage Kings sandwich too herbaceous or moist this is probably the perfect sandwich. The less herbs in the cooking meant for a more clean pork taste and since Spiros tries to keep things a little healthier it’s much less fatty and as such, not as juicy. It’s plenty juicy though. A great sandwich. I ended up picking the bell pepper off but the sport peppers really made the sandwich sing.
 

The steak on a bun was really nice. Thinly sliced sirloin, flashed on the flat top and served in a nice soft hoagie roll. The tomato and lettuce added some nice texture and flavor. All in all a terrific sandwich.
 

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Not often you find someone selling hot dogs that didn’t come from a supermarket. But here we have Spiros’ own recipe dog. My benchmark dog is a Nathan’s and these don’t really reach that level. They’re not really supposed to either. Spiros’ healthier version has less fat and salt than Nathan’s. They’re less garlicky as well. All in all though this is a solid dog. It may seem a little lost in that bun but it’s a 1/4lb weiner and is usually topped with chili and cheese or done up Chicago style. I wanted to keep it simple just to get a sense of what the dog tastes like.


So there you have it folks. My first in what I hope will be several more food truck reviews in the city of Toronto.

You can help the cause by signing the petition online. It's a fight well worth taking up.
 
You can find Food Cabbie (for now) at the south end of the parking lot at Queen St. E. and Mutual.
 
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Keep up to date with Cabbie on facebook and Twitter.


Well that’s all for now folks, see ya again in the food court.

Davwud

Best Tortillas in Town

I didn’t try them all in Phoenix but I’d be stunned if any were better.
A peek in Carolina’s Mexican Food kitchen at breakfast will reveal a platoon of women dedicated to the tortilla making process. They make that many daily. In fact, in the mornings the kitchen is quite populated since basically everything they serve is made in house. The only exception may be the soft drinks.
 
Immediately after booking my trip to Phoenix I started planning meals. Top of the list?? A hole in the wall, outstanding Mexican place. Some poking around on the internet (and in particular Chowhound) turned up Carolina’s.
Pronounced Care-O-LEEN-az this Phoenix institution has been serving up their crepe like flour tortillas since 1968. In fact, if you count selling food out of the back of their car, Carolina and Manuel Valenzuela got started in the business back in the 50’s. They’ve both since joined the great fiesta in the sky sadly but have left a strong legacy. Their kids and grandkids now operate the restaurant and catering ends of the business. If you take into account Carolina’s mom was the first employee it’s basically a 4th generation now.
The current flagship restaurant has been at it’s original location since 1986 having moved twice previously. Once to make room for the near by Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. Business always flourished through the moves, family crisis and economic hard times. The reasonably priced and rather large menu has meant that the neighbours could always get a good meal without breaking the bank.
Inside the restaurant it’s rather lunar. The building once housed a coin-op laundry and has all the pleasing esthetics you’d expect from one. The once painted floor now shows the bare concrete. The tables are a mishmash of old Burger King, 80’s burger joint and flea market food court. Not to worry though, this place is clean but if you really don’t like the divey appearance or sketchy neighbourhood, it does full take out as well.
So not only did Carolina’s fit my Mexican dive restaurant criteria but several people hailed it as having the best machaca Phoenix has to offer.
Originally made from dried beef or pork that’s been rehydrated and pounded until tender machaca is a staple in north central Mexico. These days it’s more like the beef version of carnitas. Slow, slow cooked until ridiculously tender and shredded. The beef is then returned to it’s juices and stewed until the desired consistency has been achieved.
 
Anyway, let’s have a look at the goods. I’ve had both lunch and breakfast and I’m pretty sure you could throw a dart, blindfolded at the menu board and hit a homerun. It’s that good.
 
The tortillas were as good as advertised. Paper thin with a delicate yet sturdy feel and very good taste.
 
The salsa could easily be confused for ketchup. Served in little paper condiment cups from a red pump action (ketchup) dispenser. That’s where the similarity ends though. This sauce is salty, garlicky and spicy. A perfect compliment to the entrées.
The tamale was very tasty but not the best I’ve had. First of all, it seemed to be pretty sloppily made. Simply unwrapping it saw the filling spill out. It seemed they didn’t use enough dough to fully encase the meat. Now that said, having a too much meat to dough ratio is far better than the other way around. And as usual, taste trumps all. The red beef stuffing was quite good.
The chorizo, egg, beans and potato breakfast burrito was terrific. A little heavy on the potato which meant the beans were a little over shadowed but that could just be a personal taste issue. The chorizo is fantastic in spite of having very little heat.
The machaca is everything it’s cracked up to be. Juicy, flavourful and very tender. I copied a standard order from a fellow Chowhounder which was a “Red machaca burro, foot long, enchilada style. Don’t skimp on the brown sauce.” Again the tortilla was great. The “Brown sauce” is really red enchilada sauce and was certainly better than any other I’ve had. It had it’s usual chili flavour but fortified with a brown beef gravy component. It was very interesting and incredibly addictive.Chorizo, tamales, tortillas and salsa are all available for sale as well.
 
So if you’re ever in Phoenix and on the prowl for some great Mexican food head to the hood and check out Carolina’s.

You can find Carolina’s (south) at 1202 E. Mohave St. in Phoenix, Arizona. 
 
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There are also north Phoenix and Peoria locations as well.
 
You can find them on the web or like them on facebook
 

 

Davwud

Takee Outee

It’s rather unfortunate that most times the best way to get family that’s scattered all over the country (or planet) together is at a funeral. We never seem to be able to find (or justify) the time to hop on a plane and visit someone and then before you know it, it’s too late. Such is the case for my visit to Phoenix. My Uncle moved the family to the Valley of the Sun in the 80’s and much to my shame, I didn’t make the time to see him. Now it’s too late.
My Uncle was quite a character. A persistent partier that played tennis almost every day with his bottle of Vodka and Gatorade near by. He once told me he’d rather live 100 years in 50 than 50 years in 100. By that yard stick he was certainly playing with the house money. Racking up nearly 70 fun filled years.
Living 3,000 miles apart meant we were never all that close but he did leave me with one very good piece of advice. He told me “There are two people on this planet you never lie to. Your doctor and your lawyer.” I always thought that advice to be awfully sound.
RIP Uncle Brian.
So with a couple days to hang with my cousin in Phoenix we set out to eat like Vikings. Perhaps his favourite place is Chino Bandido and that was dinner my first night. This Mexican/Chinese conglomeration was featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. You can watch the segment here. Just scroll to the bottom.
And yes, you read that right. Mexican/Chinese. The fusion of these seemingly “Nothing in common” foods is further confused by the addition of Caribbean flavours. If all this seems like a complete train wreck let me assure you it’s not. The food is very tasty and while it does seem weird to put Jen Red Chicken in a quesadilla or have Jerk Chicken Fried Rice, once you wrap your head around the idea it seems almost like a natural fit. The other thing that makes this all come together is that the food is very good in and of itself.
They also have a pretty good sense of humour here too. The sign out by the road says (as does the title of this post) “Takee Outee.” Playing on the stereotypical fake Chinese accent of course.
 
So let’s go through some things about Chino Bandido. It’s kind of a take out place with a dining area.
The ordering area is to the left as you walk in. Basically everything is available for sampling before you order. An ordering form that looks like a parlay sheet is not nearly as hard as it would seem. There's even a demo on their website.
Take it away with you or sit in the fairly decent sized dining room. It was busy with people in line but the dining room was half full.

As per usual we split most things.

The Emerald Chicken Quesadilla. Fresh ginger and scallion with grilled chicken and cheese in a light, crispy flour tortilla. It was crazy good.
The BBQ Pork Burrito didn’t take a back seat either. There was a nice sweet component that always goes well with pork.
The accompanying Pork Fried Rice and Cuban style Black Beans were very good on their own but I found played well in the sandbox if you mixed the two of them together.
 
The Jade Red Chicken Quesadilla was also very impressive. Much like a sweet and sour chicken then made up quesadilla style.
The Red Devil Pork Burrito was smokin’!! No fooling around here. Pork with fresh and dried chilies that really packed a wallop.
The Jerk Fried Rice was pretty good. It wasn’t like the Jerk I’m used to back home but was still good. Again, mixed with the Black Beans it was better.
 
A complimentary Snickerdoodle (no picture) cookie replaces the fortune cookie at Chino Bandito. It was perfectly cooked. Crispy on the outside and moist and chewy on the inside.

You can find Chino Bandido at 15414 N.19th Ave, Phoenix, Az. 

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You can also find them on the web or become a facebook friend here.
 

Well that’s all for now food fans. ‘Til next time.

Davwud

Toronto Style Burritos

As you may recall I decided to start voicing my opinion on the state of the burrito scene in my native Toronto. Often slogged for not having good burritos I was particularly miffed with a piece Iby a San Francisco writer (which I can no longer find). He cut a pretty wide swath of things he didn’t like which just makes me wonder what, if anything, he likes that isn’t from San Fran. The simple fact is, we must be doing something right if people regularly line up at 4am in February in Canada for a burrito.
No, we don’t make Mission style burritos. No, we don’t make California style burritos. We don’t even make traditional Mexican burritos either. Nope, we make Toronto style burritos. 
The grilled burritos we make here really took off in the middle of the last decade. That’s when Burrito Boyz opened its original location in the basement of a Vicotrian home on Peter St. in the heart of Toronto’s Entertainment (club) district. When the bars let out people want to eat. BB stayed open ‘til the wee hours of the morning on weekends serving what co founder Joe Vassallo calls “Drunk Food.”
A second store around the corner in the tiny basement unit on Adelaide St would follow.  The new location, still in the entertainment district is close to the financial district and all it’s offices. The Rogers Center and it’s events and a growing number of condos. Location, location, location.
Co founder Ian Angus has since sold his stake in the business and the original Peter St. location was closed.

While larger than it’s original digs the Adelaide shop is still small. Most times the line up extends out the door and onto the street. 20 or so seats inside are constantly in use and the waiting area is full. The kitchen and prep staff work feverishly to keep up and do a fine job at it. They take pick up orders and even have premade chicken or beef burritos with everything (hot sauce on the side) for those in a rush.

Your choices are beef, chicken, bean and cheese, veggie soy, halibut, haddock and shrimp. The usual cast of characters are offered up as condiments (toppings, fillings, whatever you want to call them) and white or whole wheat tortillas in two different sizes wrap the whole thing up. All items are available as quesadillas as well.

So on to the food we go. I had steak and Mrs. Sippi had shrimp. Both burritos held together right up until the very last bite which is a sign of a good burrito. You can have medium or hot sauce if you choose. I sampled the hot and didn’t find it particularly spicy. It does however creep up on you so beware.

My steak burrito with everything (except green pepper) and hot sauce was excellent. The fruity hot sauce was right at the top end of the heat scale for what I’d like to see. Its heat didn’t overpower the other flavours but did pack a bit of a wallop. The steak had a good beef flavour and was very tender and plentiful.

Mrs. Sippi’s shrimp burrito was even better. She didn’t have hot sauce on her’s and it was equally good without it. The shrimp were very tasty, perfectly cooked and they didn’t cheap out on them either.

So all in all, Burrito Boyz is as good a burrito as you’ll get in Toronto. So popular they’ve now reached 9 locations in southern Ontario. Vassallo has been careful to keep as much control as possible. As is usually the case though, the (new) original location is still the best.

You can find Burrito Boyz entertainment district location at 218 Adelaide St. W. or one of their other locations here.


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You can also find them on facebook as well.
 

That’s it for today people. Take care and happy eating.

Davwud

Big Fat Burrito

Ask any burrito lover in the GTA who’s been to San Francisco and they’ll tell you, you can’t get a good burrito in Toronto. Save for Mission Burrito at Village by the Grange I guess. Citing the mission style as THE only burrito that’s any good they pooh, pooh everything else. So I guess it’s time I dipped my toe into the great Toronto burrito debate.

For the most part, the burritos served by independent places in the city are grilled not steamed. So for most, this means they’re not good. Rather closed minded in my opinion it’s like blaming chocolate for not being vanilla. I have no idea why people can’t just like something for what it is and not dislike it for what it isn’t. So I will deal with what some in these parts call a "Toronto Style Burrito.” Stuffed, rolled and placed on a flat top until golden brown and delicious on both sides.

I’ve made no secret about my love of the flat top so as you can imagine, I’m a big fan of anything that has a date with it. The result of this flat top grilling is a nice crispy "Skin" and another dimension of flavour not found in a steamed burrito. The wrappers maintain a certain chew that I enjoy. Contrasted that with the more tender and (in my mind) less interesting shell that results from being steamed. I personally have plenty of room in my heart and my stomach for both styles. As I’ve said in the past, taste trumps all and if it’s tasty I’ll enjoy it for what it is.

One of the GTA’s finest examples of this culinary bomb is Big Fat Burrito. Now 3 locations strong, they began life in Toronto’s Kensington Market neighbourhood and where Mrs. Sippi and I paid a lunch visit.

Much like all burritos you choose your flavour and then garnishes. BFB offers steak, chicken, pork and their signature filling, yam. One of the things that make them stand out is the use of refried beans rather than whole pinto or black beans. A substitution that works extremely well as far as I’m concerned. They also have 5 levels of spiciness with a simple 1 – 5 choice that’s right there from which you choose.

Enough with the small talk, let’s get on to the food.

Our lunch consisted of a burrito and a root beer each. We also sampled a taco.

BFB serves Boylan’s products. This family owned company has been in business for almost 125 years and serves up one of the best root beers you can find from their old family recipe.

The taco was pretty simple and tasty. A hard shell with a typical cumin based seasoning for the ground beef. Tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, sour cream and hot sauce round out the filling. The thing that made it was how the sour cream and hot sauce blended to form their own sauce. I’m sure the purists will lament the use of a hard shell but I liked it and that’s all I care about. It's like a better version of the taco kit you buy in the grocery store.

Now the big question, how were the burritos??

Mrs. Sippi’s yam burrito was very good. The sweetness of the yam balanced the hot sauce very nicely. She opted for medium hot (2) and that was hot enough. The filling was rounded out with lettuce, tomato, cheese, burrito sauce and refried beans. There’s a rumour that you can order off menu and get yam and pork that’s incredible.

My steak burrito was fantastic. The marinated cow meat was very tender and the “Regular hot” (3) heat level added a really nice kick without being overbearing. I love the use of refried beans as they give the whole thing a nice earthy tone I don't find from whole beans. I also find that RFB's play nicely with hot stuff. 
All in all, having never been to San Fran and tasted one of their Mission style burritos it's somewhat unreasonable to make a fair assessment of which is best. I will however say that having had a burrito at Mission Burrito here in TO and a few of the chain offerings (Chipotle, Moe's, etc.) which are Mission style as well, I think I'll take the Toronto style myself. As I said above, I'll take either way if it's well executed.


So check your burrito prejudice at the door and give Big Fat Burrito a fair shake. You may prefer your burrito Mission style but you can’t disregard this tasty treat. Enjoy it for what it is.

You can find BFB’s original location a 285 Agusta Ave. in Toronto, Ontario.

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They can also be found at 112 Dundas St. W. and 529 Bloor St. W. inside Lee’s Palace.
 

Well that’s all for now burrito fans. We’ll see you again in the food court.

Davwud