Mid-semester doldrums? Spice it up. Grand Electric, the largely abandoned hipster stronghold of 2011 is past the line-up insanity of its infancy, yet remains an excellent setting to gorge on tacos.
<DAN MOWAT-ROSE & LUKE JOHNSTON>
Venue: Grand Electric – 1330 Queen Street West (1 Block West of Osgoode’s Parkdale Legal Services Clinic!)
Cuisine: Tacos, generally speaking
Food: Tacos $3.6 per, 3 each
Luke: Fried Fish, Chicken Tinga, Carne Asada (beef)
Dan: Pork Tinga, Scrapple, Fried Cauliflower
Shared: Pig-Face Fries $4 (actually made out of pig face meat)
LLBO Licensed? Yup. Great Beer Menu. Huge selection of bourbons too, with daily $4 shot specials. Órale.
The Pick:
Luke: We’re going to one of my favourite Mexican spots, located in the heart of Parkdale. You see, Dan, you’re blowing this west side/east side thing way out of proportion!
Dan: You are hilarious. Constant hipster bashing and you chose Grand Electric? Love it.
Luke: Yup. I might even bust out some glasses without lenses for the occasion.
Dan: Whatever. Queen Streetcar be damned. Sweet Brown has a quote that applies here, I’m sure… I demand you drive.
At the Restaurant:
Luke: Alright, so loud hip hop and brusque staff are a bit much in the cold light of day. I usually come here for dinner, seeing the same vibe during the day is somewhat jarring. I assume this vibe works for you 24/7?
Dan: Typical Toronto scenester decor – tattooed staff and customer base, and no uniforms = no idea which attractive person walking around is actually your server. Plenty of taxidermy and kitsch; grimy rap blasting on the stereo; this is pretty much exactly what I think Luke thinks my scene is.
Luke: I notice you didn’t deny that this is your scene! I think we can both agree that the HUGE bourbon selection and long list of bottled beer (priced from $4 to $40) is a major attraction.
The Food:
Luke: We definitely started on a high note with the pig-face fries. No omnivore’s dilemma here. I was definitely wondering what was coming next – cow ass nachos? Seriously though, those “fries” were delicious. There is a hint of maple syrup in there and just the right amount of kosher salt. I also loved the dipping sauce: somehow creamy, sweet and spicy all at once!
Dan: I am still speechless over those “fries” and likely won’t be able to string thoughts together for a little while. To clarify, this starter plate was meat formed into batons, then deep-fried. I have seen the future! On to the topic of the mains, my pork taco was very good. It was very fresh, very solid, but standard fare. Lunch went a bit weird after that, in a good way. I didn’t know what to expect out of the Scrapple, and I still don’t really know what happened. For the enlightenment of our kind readers, scrapple, or pon haus – a traditional Pennsylvania Dutch dish, is a tasty fried treat comprised of minced pork, flour, and cornmeal. Sounds bland/gross, but laid atop a sweet apple-based sauce, and topped with chunks of fresh avocado, all barely contained by a tortilla, this dish really blew my mind. It was seriously unlike anything I’ve had before.
Luke: My fried fish taco was also very good. I really got the sense that I was eating fresh caught fish here, or at least never-frozen. The toppings weren’t spectacular, however. Like you, I was blown away by my second taco. The chicken tinga was so out-of-this-world that I’m reaching into the wayback machine for an adjective. In the words of Will Ferrell as James Lipton (readers under 25 should youtube immediately), it was scrumtrulescent! I’m not sure exactly what was in that sauce, but it was excellent and the homestyle-pickled veg added a wonderful zing. Arriba!
Dan: This column may have just transcended the realm of reason. Just saying. My last taco was the cauliflower. Let me preface this by saying that I love cauliflower. I had ‘called dibs’ (with zero objection from my esteemed co-contributor) when we decided to order one of every taco available (easily feeding 2 for just over $20). I felt compelled to eat a vegetable dish, if only to offset the pig face “fries”, if that is even possible. The florets were pan seared, then piled high with green onion, and what I think was a bit of fennel. The texture was amazing; crispy outside and tender inside.
Luke: After recovering from watching you squirt hot sauce into your mouth (there are self serve bottles at every table), I devoured my final selection – shredded beef. Initially, I was unsure because the meat is formed into a perfect square shape. I definitely detected some SPAM© irony here. But the meat was tender and perfectly balanced with fresh chopped herbs.
Amenities & Service:
Dan: Oh you want to talk hot sauce? Let’s talk hot sauce baby. I know it’s technically food, and omnipotent ruler of the condiment family, but I feel like self-serve hot sauce is a essential amenity alongside tacos, and Grand E did not let me down. Both sauces were clearly made fresh in house, which is a great start. The green sauce had a cooling effect on the palate, while still holding it’s own in terms of chili flavour; however, it was the red sauce that stole the show. Oh man. So much flavour complexity, and just the right amount of heat. I was in heaven. Nearly was tempted into stealing the little squirt bottle too, but decided to just quit cold turkey right then and there. Also the law society something something honesty…
Luke: When you eat here (and you definitely should), do not expect friendly service. The servers are attractive and well coiffed, but far from congenial. I also found the no split bills policy a bit obnoxious and unnecessary in the 21st century. On the plus side, the food arrives promptly and is plated nicely. I also appreciated the bottle of water for the table.
Dan: Agreed, love the water on the table. I’m a big boy. Service was a bit curt, you’re right, but they’re efficient. What surprised and impressed me was the food knowledge the server dropped on us when I asked about what scrapple is. Be warned though, this place has a death trap of a basement, with typical Toronto dungeon bathroom. My favourite part is the “custom” steel railing they’ve added that is perfectly positioned to stab you in the hip/gut as you go back upstairs.
Luke: Yeah those stairs were a trip (hiyooo!). I also did not like that they used the same type of bottle for the bathroom soap and the hot sauce. Germophobes need a clean break in imagery between bathroom and table!
Score:
Dan: Food: 4.5/5, Service 3/5, Atmosphere 3/5
Luke: Food: 4.5/5, Service 3/5, Atmosphere 4/5
Overall: Food: 4.5/5, Service 3/5, Atmosphere 3.5/5
¡That’s 3.5 sossbosses (rounding down) out of a possible cinco! #muchososs