The Tuesday Taste - Gus Tacos

 

 

I can feel the Earth begin to move

I hear my needle hit the groove

And spiral through another day

I hear my song begin to say 

 

Another Tuesday, another Taste! So as we are now in July (already? Geez) it's time for a themed month! Recoil in horror and unsubscribe. Wait, can people even subscribe to this thing? Where's my agent...

 

Anyhow, it is henceforth decreed that this July of 2024 shall be Taco Month! Taco July! Tacjuly? Julyaco? Hmmm. Needs work. Where's that damn agent? 

For real, I love tacos and there are multiple places in Toronto I've wanted to try. Aside from Xola (two blocks from my house) never have I even reviewed a taco, yet I've been craving a good one for probably over a year now... hell I legitimately used to work in a freaking taco restaurant (that is not a story I'll be sharing, nor will I ever review said restaurant without considerable compensation... and no it isn't Taco Bell).

The time has come! July shall be Taco Month, henceforth. However, seeing as there are five Tuesdays in this particular July... well too many tacos is never a bad thing (I sure could go for 100 tacos right about now), but to avoid severe repetition not every July review will be taco-focused. At least three, perhaps four. There will be something different in the middle to change the pace.     

 

Enough preamble. We're here today to talk about Gus Tacos: a Toronto mini-chain with a surprising (to me anyway) number of locations throughout the 416. By my count they have seven locations: one in Kensington Market, one out in Long Branch on Browns Line (great pizza place near there, seriously), one near Queen and Roncevalles, one in that new fancy Super Plaza 'The Well', one random one on Dupont Avenue west of Symington (near the original Mattachioni), one on Bloor West somewhere (bah I'm not made of airports) and finally the only one east of Yonge Street... and very far east it is, indeed. 

Kingston Road and St. Clair Avenue East... which are familiar sounding streets, as is the sound of a nearby GO station simply named "Scarborough" (emphasis on "simply")... but check that map to see where it is and-hoo-jebuswhydidIgothisfar??? 

I'm passing 1940's era motels on the way back! Yes, they still exist! (the history is fascinating). This is also where St. Clair East ends... a street in which the eastern section of it only begins when Taylor Creek starts shimmying southward and St. Clair can sprout off from O'Connor Drive. This is already significantly east of Woodbine (or where Woodbine would be, it merges with O'Connor and drifts north-east) and St. Clair East continues on for seven kilometres straight on until the diagonal Kingston Road, following the shoreline, halts it for good. I mean, you could also just check a map to see what I'm talking about... I guess... but isn't it more fun hearing me describe it? Yeah? Really. Hmmm. Better cancel that YouTube Toronto exploration series I'd invested in and was planning to film-where the hell is that agent???      

I honestly know nothing about Gus Tacos, beyond various thumbs up via interneting people... so what's their story? Well... it's a story about family. A young business graduate (Emilio Bravo Morales) teamed up with his talented chef cousin (Augustine) and his father (Michael) to open a takeout counter half a decade ago in Kensington Market named La Chilaca Taqueria. Their authentic homemade approach to Mexican cuisine (and cheap prices) were a hit in the Kensington Market food court, and by 2019 the first standalone location of Gus Tacos ("Gus" seems to be Augustine's nickname) opened up steps away from where their food court stand had been. 2020 came along and the rapid success fueled them to plan expanding out to three more locations that very same year!

Well... yeah 2020 did... 2020 all over that...

...except, they actually did open up more locations that year and all were successes and still exist! (aside from a planned one on Gladstone Avenue that the pandemic indeed squashed). Now at seven locations, and still with impressively high regard among internet reviewers (mentioned positively multiple times in a Toronto Reddit thread asking where are the best tacos)... well time for me to stop getting paid by the word* 'Dickens-style' and actually review the damn thing. 

*I actually don't get paid by the word (or at all, with rare exception) for the record. If I did? Lord have mercy. 

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I happened to be biking home from Rouge Hill (I'm a maniac don't ask) and this out-of-nowhere Gus Tacos location on Kingston Road, probably 30 kilometres away from the next closest one, was on my mind. Locking up the wheels, my first impression was upon how their appearance/deliberately intended decor struck me (and I've since learned all their outposts share this aesthetic). 

Extremely basic: red and white, clear bold lettering everywhere, bright inside so to accentuate those root colour schemes, and nothing playful about the menu. No flashing screens (no screens of any kind)... just straightforward "here's what we have, prices for each category are above". How damn refreshing.. Believe it or not I rarely go into fast food joints (usually just for these reviews) and when that happens I simply cannot stand these newer menu screens that continuously shift into something else. It's bad enough I'm about to pay money for your mass-produced food... can I at least have a moment to consider what I want before the menu I'm looking at changes, and I have to waste a moment of my life standing awkwardly waiting for the other screen to come back? Who thought this was a good idea?

Sorry, getting off track. Thought this would be a short one! Anyhow, I got three tacos: their Asade (beef), Barbacoa (braised lamb) and a fish taco. I'll briefly (briefly I swear) break them down one by one, then at the end say which ones I liked best alongside my overall impression of Gus Tacos. 

 

     

The fish taco leads off! Well... I've had better. But also... this is pretty nice. Nothing really stands out via flavour or texture, but all the elements you want are indeed there. Shredded lettuce? I like more crunch, but it's fresh and plentiful enough to be a factor. The aioli drizzle? Kinda there, can't even remember the flavour... but the presence of creaminess hit at just the right moments. The fish itself? In two fried pieces... not a cakey or flaky batter... good crunch, and a cod taste that was real and lingered nicely long enough to prove its genuineness. 

A very simple fish taco, without an outstanding element. Yet, the sum of its parts were above mere competence and together surpassed that limitation. Enjoyable, tasty... not gonna change your life but impressively solid. 

Quickly on the tortillas as well... very nicely done. Not flaky or dry in any place, they hold the contents within very snugly with their own delicate softness. Slightly oily, and they are flour tortillas so there isn't a huge amount of taste to them. But as a texture and taco vehicle? Well done.  

 

       

Call me mint jelly cause I'm on the lamb! If anyone gets that reference please comment... there's a free taco in it for you!*

*free taco not guaranteed via agency difficulties... damn that agent!

The barbacoa taco is the weakest one here, and that's only because the meat is on the dryer side and so the taco needs at least one more thing. 

The braised lamb itself: not tender or juicy, which doesn't help when the only other thing you have is a bush of cilantro riding shotgun (and I like cilantro). These bits of lamb do have some flavour, that distinctive peppery, tighter taste of lamb. Also... yeah this could've had onions in it, which I refused. Onions and I have a complicated relationship... green onion? Hell yeah! Shallots? Ugh nope. Caramelized onions? Hook me up! Diced raw white onions... well you get it. And this onion offering would've been of the "white and diced" variety... can't do it.

Even had those onions come into play, this lamb taco would've still been far too dry. It needs avocado (too expensive)... or a chopped fruit like pear (too random)... or how about some hot sauce?

As you can see in the lead photo that... oh hell I'll just put that photo here again:

 

 

Right. those two orangey sauces below are Gus Taco's hot sauce. There is a choice and I was asked whether I wanted mild or hot. Well... hit me with your best shot, Gus.

This hot sauce... well the thickness of it saved that dry-ish lamb taco first of all. Also: it's a killer hot sauce. I love it... and it also is spicy as all hell. 

A weird mix of sweet chili and creamy, and also an instant punch that does not go away quietly. Really has some sting, my eyes watered a bit (good sign) and the flavour had that hint of sweet and richness that I mentioned. Best of all: flavour-wise it acts as a compliment (an assertive one, but one nonetheless) rather than a spotlight stealer. Even in the hottest moments, I could still taste everything else. Marvelous!

 

 

Last one is the Asade beef taco, and yeah that looks a heckuva lot like pulled pork... my first thought was they fungoed my order. 

Nope! It's beef. I was definitely expecting some kind of sliced and grilled cut of steak instead, but the risk with that is having it sit around in a metal container/warmer just to dry out and become tediously chewy, and or lose it's juicy flavour via the steam. Instead, clearly the work of a slow cooker and made in bulk, and while it doesn't look like much... this beef is actually very tasty. Deceptive juiciness, plenty of beef flavour and it even lingers in the mouth for quite some time. It's a fairly one dimensional beef taste, sure, but still is a surprising winner for that lasting flavour and soft, enjoyable texture. Really liked this one.

Also, one tiny note before my concluding thoughts on Gus Tacos... why do so many people hate cilantro? As you can see two of these tacos are beneath a bushel of the stuff, and while that is a bit too much of it for me I do find cilantro an entirely inoffensive herbal accompaniment. It is a bit more assertive parsley, sure, with its sort of sharp and sweet taste... but I'm genuinely curious why there's so much disdain directed at it.

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Overall! There are some faults. The biggest one being: three tacos and I was still slightly hungry. That being said, I was in the middle of a long bike ride and am taller/heavier than the average dude... but still. 

I also think two of these (the lamb and the beef, lamb especially) just needed one more thing. A sauce, some crispy or pickled onions, diced tomatoes, cabbage... something to elevate the good but very basic flavours. 

Alas, all these tacos were five bucks each and I think you're sort of paying for what you get here. Which is: a very simple but effectively tasty taco. Good portions on the meats, in lieu of anything supporting them. I'm no expert (this isn't pizza) but I figure this is exactly what an average-ish (maybe a nudge above) taco would grade out as. They're just a little too simple for me to really sing their praises, despite the little that is there working quite well.

Considering these circumstances, this is kind of a half-recommendation. Do you have to drop everything and go try them? Not really. But if you're hungry and happen to be near one, it definitely won't let you down. Plus, I do wonder if their non-taco options (tortas, quesadillas) have a bit more to them. Overall... good. Just good. 

Oh, right. Rank em!

1. Asade

2. Fish

3. Barbacoa

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The Sound of 90s Playoff Basketball

Neat article about John Tesh's "Roundball Rock", best known as the theme to the NBA on NBC for several seasons (with NBC about to get NBA broadcast rights again, wonder if they bring it back). His story about having a tune in his head at 2am and no way to record it aside from calling his own answering machine is quite a relatable one.

 

Tuesday Tune

Catchy late 80s jangle rock. It's great.     

 

 

That's all for this week! Until next taco time, stay cool, stay safe, and most of all don't spill that mustard.