One day the Exclaim! office all ordered tacos, and they looked delicious so I asked them where they were from and immediately went right after. Tacos El Asador fit in perfectly for my continuous journey of eating all things adventurous and ethnic.
The atmosphere was friendly and the staff helped me interpret what some of the things on the menu were. An interesting thing to note about the Annex establishment is that it’s not entirely Mexican food, but a Salvadorian interpretation of Mexican food as the name of the place suggests. This is why there are all those silly reviews on yelp or urbanspoon complain about it being different! I first walked into this place a month ago, and I’ve already been back 4 or 5 times.
Jalapenos and Salsa
If you eat in, your table automatically gets a giant bowl of jalapeno, coriander, onion and yellow pepper mix as well as a spicy salsa. It’s really hard not to pick at the mix when waiting for food, even if the seeds can get you heated!
Burrito and Enchilada
Nash likes to get the $10 combo that includes a burrito and an enchillada or quesadilla and a drink. The burrito by itself, is already enough to fill a person!
Fish Tacos
My favourite are the fish tacos. The fish combined with avocado, salsa and carmelized onions have a lovely creamy texture that melts in the mouth.
Crunchy Taco
Tacos come in crunchy or soft and in a variety of meats including chicken, pork, beef and chorizo. I tried chorizo which is like a spicy pork sausage, but I wasn’t completely a fan. It was a little dry. They tasted better with chicken (or fish!). I love that they double wrap both kinds of tacos to prevent any sauce leakage or have back up for accidental breakage.
Enchilada
Their take on the enchiladas was interesting. They were done in a kind of Honduran style with the black bean almost like a spread on the tacos which were served open face, instead of wrapped in rolls with sauce on top.
Pupusa
Pupusas were one thing I learned about for the first time when coming here. They are a truly Salvadorian dish and was almost like their take on a fried crepe of some sort! I had one filled with pork and it was served with sauce that reminded me of marinara.
Tamale
Lastly, I also tried the chicken tamales. They reminded me of sticky rice wrapped in a banana leaf that my grandmother used to make, except this was with corn and chicken. It may appear small, but one of these things definitely fills you up.
What I love most about this place is the price. All menu items are around $3, so you can mix it up and have multiple items. For the price, the food is fresh and delicious. When I have time (and the budget) I’ll hit up Grand Electric to compare, but I think I may end up favouring Tacos El Asador. I don’t care about pretension, only how things fare on the taste meter and if it doesn’t hurt the wallet, it’s a double win.
