2 days ago
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This cheesy, delicious, jam-packed $25 taco platter is the best thing I ate this week
THE BEST THING I ATE THIS WEEK
A $15 three-course pasta lunch in North York, an incredible $13 muffuletta in Etobicoke, and $2 buttery Uzbek samsas in Scarborough — each week, food reporter Karon Liu travels the GTA to bring you a trusted and affordable recommendation on what to eat while exploring the city.
The Caja Grande combo from Gorditas, $25, at 9 Milvan Dr.
THE DISH
I never say no to a sampler platter, especially when it saves me two bucks compared to ordering à la carte. The Caja Grande combo does just that: two gorditas and three tacos of your choice for $25 (normally, gorditas are $6 each and tacos are 3 for $15). For the uninitiated, gorditas are a Mexican street food similar to a thicker arepa: crispy masa cakes stuffed with meat and cheese. The most classic filling is chicharrón — fried pork skin stewed in a tomato chili sauce until silky-tender — paired with melted cheese.
The unlimited toppings bar is well stocked with housemade salsas, hot sauces, pickled onions and peppers, as well as salsa macha.
Karon Liu/ Toronto Star
For the tacos, you can't go wrong with carnitas (braised pork shoulder), al pastor (spit-roasted pork or chicken), or the less commonly seen lamb. And don't miss the unlimited toppings bar, stocked with limes, hot sauces, fresh salsas, and pickled peppers and onions to add a bright, herbal, sour and sweet contrast to all that rich, slow-cooked meat and gooey cheese. My favourite? The salsa macha — a chili oil packed with peanuts, roasted chilies, sesame and pumpkin seeds for a nutty, spicy crunch in every bite.
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THE OWNERS
Toronto may be a taco town, but it's still catching up on gorditas. That gap led mother-and-daughter team Laura Mena-Macias and Denise Romo-Mena to start selling the homemade gorditas they grew up making in Aguascalientes, Central Mexico. It began during the pandemic via online community groups. Demand grew quickly, and the whole family got involved, even rounding up the daughters' boyfriends to help with deliveries. When a space at Plaza Latina opened up, the family moved in to expand the catering business and take everyday orders. Mena-Macias and Romo-Mena run the day-to-day operations, while father Manuel Romo and Denise's husband Naqeeb Omar help out on weekends, especially when Gorditas stays open till midnight for hungry late-night customers. While pork features heavily, the lamb and chicken on the menu are halal.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
ALSO ON THE MENU
The no frills menu at Gorditas.
Karon Liu/ Toronto Star
Other gordita fillings include potatoes with chorizo; eggs in a red chili sauce; ground beef with potatoes and carrots stewed in tomatoes; and refried beans. Gorditas' burrito, $18, keeps it simple with choice of meat rolled with cheese and refried beans in the flour tortilla (Omar says where his wife's family is from, burritos don't traditionally contain rice). Instead, it's a. To drink, $8 horchata is a great deal as it comes in a litre-sized container.
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EXPLORE THE AREA
Plaza Latina is a great spot for a casual food crawl — the vendors don't overlap much, and they're all steps from each other. Venture into the heart of the food court for El Sabroson for Peruvian ceviches and chaufa (Peruvian-Chinese fried rice) as well as the adjacent El Comedor Popular Ecuatoriano for the hard-to-find sopa de pata (cow's foot soup) or cheesy empanadas. As the temperatures swell, swing by one of the oldest vendors, La Fuente Del Puro Sabor, for freshly squeezed juices. Outside, the stretch of Finch is lined with similar plazas specializing in Latin food, but right across from Plaza Latina is Bengali Sweet House (12 Milvan Dr.), a great place to fill up a box of beautiful mithai.
This is the Thursday, May 29 edition of Food Crawl, the Star's weekly food newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox every week.
