A tasty taco starts with the shell. At Fonda Balam, their corn shells are made fresh in-house so that they’re soft and pliable, not the crumbly cracking mess that some shells can become. Meanwhile, the corn flavour lightly permeates the wrapper without being overly pungent.

Generally, the pork in a taco de carnitas ($9 each) tends to be pulled. Fonda Balam leaves theirs in roasted chunks instead, so there’s a meaty bite without being too saucy or heavy. In lieu of barbeque sauce, the pork was paired with an ample amount of guacamole helping to add creaminess and hold together the pickled jalapeno and white onion, which cuts the greasiness of the meat.

Similarly, the chicken in the taco de tinga de pollo ($9 each) was also cut into pieces and very flavourful having been braised in a chipotle tomato sauce and doused with crema and queso fresco. The garnish of pickled red onions creates a bit of a crunch against the otherwise soft tacos.

For something different, the taco dorados de papa ($14 for 2) takes a crunchy shell and fills it with spicy stewed potato chunks that are so moist and fluffy that there’s a refried bean quality to the filling without the heaviness (and hopefully the resulting gas). Crunchy lettuce, a liberal sprinkling of queso fresco, and drizzles of sour cream & salsa de molcajete makes for a surprisingly hearty and flavourful taco. This is a great option for vegetarians or those who wants a saucy crunchy creation.  

But of course, it’s the quesabirria con consome ($22 for 2) that really elicits excitement… the crispy pan-fried shell stuffed with shaved beef and enough cheese that it squeezes out and gets caramelized on the grill. I just wish the consommé was stronger as I did find the taco, even when dipped into the broth, still needed the salsa roja or salsa verde to taste flavourful. Luckily, Fonda Balam doesn’t skimp on the beef, so if you’re not hungry an order is enough to satisfy and given it’s not overly salty this birria won’t leave you thirsty.

Even though the restaurant’s dining room isn’t overly large, it can seat a lot of people with it’s strategically laid out wrap around seating, bar stools along the window ledge, and spacious patio. Food also seems to fly out of the kitchen at a nice pace so if there is a line, do not let that deter you from waiting. Because when you want a good taco, you come here. 

Located on the second floor of Toronto’s Hotel X, Roses Cocina’s expansive corner lot windows provide a glimpse of downtown Toronto’s lakefront. In fact, time your dinner reservation right and on a clear day you may even get a glimpse of a beautiful sunset.

Roses’ Mexican influenced menu combines Mexican spices with more localized ingredients to create fresh and flavourful dishes. It’s not authentic and not even the “Tex-Mex” that’s described by Google, but one thing’s for sure, you’ll experience some heat.

Using smaller bay scallops in their ceviche ($22) was a smart choice as a larger crustacean can sometimes give off a gummy texture. Yet, I found the dish more crudo than ceviche as the acidic juices weren’t left on long enough to permeate the whole scallops (cutting them in half may help speed up the process).

The avocado was a smart pairing with the scallops, adding a lovely creaminess, but the dish contained too much red onion and lime, their strong pungent flavours detracting the scallops’ sweetness. The ceviche could have also benefited from more salt, especially since it wasn’t served with whole chips to scoop onto, which would have given it that seasoned crunchy bite.

Roses’ chopped salad ($20) had a kick from the chipotle ranch dressing covering a host of crunchy vegetables (romaine, slaw, and onions). Finished with savoury avocado cotija, shredded cheese, and tortilla crumble, there’s a satisfying richness to the greens. I just wish we thought to have it served alongside our main as the flavourful creaminess of the salad would go nicely with chicken.

You can certainly share the half chicken ($33) amongst two, the dish arriving with plenty of de-boned fowl slathered in an orange chipotle glaze there’s added a lovely smoky, sweet, and spicy taste. The first bites were so juicy and satisfying, but because the restaurant (like many hotels) was cold and drafty, the dish cooled down so quickly that by my second helping it wasn’t nearly as great. Do yourself a favour and eat this fast.  

The chicken paired nicely with the tomato and chorizo rice ($15), which was substantial enough to be a main - big chunks of tender spicy chorizo, mixed with a flavourful tomato rice studded with beans, and enhanced with fragrant scallions and crispy shallots. Once again, eat it while it’s hot.

Roses Cocina just does carbs right. In fact, one of the dinner’s highlights was their complimentary bread - a warm squash brioche served with honey butter dusted with chipotle seasoning. Yes, each fluffy bite was as flavourful as it sounds. I would have been happy having another one of these buns for dessert.

There never seems to be enough cheesecake crust to go around. Roses solved this dilemma by surrounding their margarita cheesecake ($14) with three thin crispy graham crackers. It’s an interesting choice as the savoury buttery crust gives the vanilla lime cheesecake that slightly salty zing, you’d normally find around a margherita glass. I just wish the tequila flavour was more pronounced in the margarita gel.

When summer arrives, Roses Cocina will be creating an outdoor patio along the balcony. What a great location to head to before a concert at Ontario Place or after a walk along the waterfront or the Ex. One thing’s for sure, Roses Cocina will give the Exhibition’s churros and tacos a run for their money. 

Sometimes tipping can be an awkward encounter… what percentage should you leave to allow you to express your gratitude, without leaving a burning hole in your pocket? It’s a custom widely found in North America, where restaurants tend to underpay staff with the promise of gratuities to make up the shortfall. Hence, when a traveller is not accustomed to the 15% - 20% North American expectations, it can create animosity between the diner and staff.

Maiz adopted a stance to alleviate this awkwardness by building in a fair wage (at least $20 an hour, according to their website) into their menu prices and removing the need for diners to tip at the end of their meal. Whether this custom is attractive to their staff, only time will tell.

To begin, Maiz runs rather leanly. During our Monday evening dinner, there were two people – one person cooking and another doing everything else (sitting people, taking orders, finishing up plates, serving, checking in on customers, and ringing check through at the end of the meal). At the same time, there weren’t too many patrons, only three tables when other restaurants in the area were closed or fully booked.

I hadn’t return since their opening years ago, my first experience with arepas and the dinner platters left me underwhelmed. Yet, their menu has really expanded along with a lightened and brightly lit dining room that makes Maiz seem more inviting.

The house made tortilla chips served with guacamole ($14.95) were amazing – thick enough for dunking but still breaks easily creating a satisfying crispiness. It’s also surprisingly un-oily for a chip that gives off such a lovely crunch. There’s enough smooth guacamole to get through most of the chips with a small side of smoky salsa roja to finish off the rest, which consequently goes nicely mixed into the moros cristianos.

Before getting into the mains, I suggest you choose wisely and order something that offers a side of the moros cristianos or soft-fried rice and beans. If it doesn’t come with it, order the side ($3.95) as it was our favourite part of the meal. The spice-laced rice is mixed with black refried beans and heated through creating a flavourful creamy mixture that’s like a thick dairy-free risotto. I liked having it solo or heaped on a crunchy tortilla, give me more!

The rice comes with the quesadillas. While the menu describes the vegetable quesadillas ($19.95) as being stuffed with soft-fried chickpeas… they weren’t soft at all. Maiz should just keep it simple and used a grilled vegetable filling instead. Heck, add in more moros cristianos … anything is better than hard chickpeas. At least it contained a decent amount of cotija cheese creating a lovely gooeyness around the chickpeas and the tortilla was well-toasted creating a crunchy crust.

I’d skip the churros ($11.95 for three), which were overly dense. A restaurant should only attempt making this dessert if they churn out enough daily to warrant creating fresh batter and having hot sizzling oil ready. Otherwise, it’s just an overly sweet chewy concoction that leaves me wanting a Tim Horton’s crueller more than a churro.

Maybe create a creamy Mexican-spiced rice pudding instead. After all, if it’s anything like the moros cristianos, the rice pudding will be fantastic.

Overall mark - 7 out of 10

How can you not feel cheerful entering El Pueblito Mexican Restaurant? The cozy dining room is swathed in lively colours galore and there are tons of knick knacks to see while waiting. Unfortunately, you’ll be waiting – to place your order, get drinks, get food, and pay. At least I’ve grown… when in cottage country, I learn to slow down and just enjoy the experience.

A few dishes feature their fish-of-the-day, which was pickerel for the ceviche and tacos during our summer visit. Marinated and cured in an acid of lime and tomatoes, the fish takes on a pink hue in the ceviche ($16) and has the taste of a lighter Arctic char. It’s wonderfully fresh, either by itself or scooped onto a crispy thin tortilla chip, the citrus acid nicely balanced with a hint of heat.

The starter just needed more salt. In fact, all their dishes need more seasoning. Perhaps El Pueblito is trying to respect an ingredient’s natural flavours or cater to Bracebridge’s older demographic, but everything needed an extra hit of salt to finish the dish – maybe they should just leave some at each table.

The same pickerel tasted completely different in the fish tacos ($20), once lightly grilled and topped with pineapple salsa. Since the fish isn’t deep fried and there’s not a typical slaw topping, the tacos are soft; I wish there was a crunchy element to provide textural interest – even some finely chopped bell peppers and red onion would be great.

Still, the tacos were tasty – the corn tortillas chewy and fresh, and the spicy mayo and tomatillo salsa great condiments for the dish. The refried beans were rich and smooth, lovely on its own or smooshed into the rice. The grains get even better once you add in consommé and chopped onions (from the birria tacos). In the end, the fish tacos are a little soft but at least they’re not messy to eat.

Consequently, the complete opposite experience of having a birria taco ($20). Stuffed with beef and deep fried, these arrive blistering hot and need to be wrapped in a tissue to dunk. Having seen many people have the dish at food trucks, it’s a wonder how anyone isn’t covered in consommé and grease without a proper table and dishware. If you’re ordering these, it’s best not to wear white.

The slowly cooked beef was plentiful and tender, but because under seasoned meat and consommé, we couldn’t help feel that the birrias were missing something. I was waiting for a flavourful explosion to erupt, only to be met with a slow-moving stream of lava. The flavours improved once we added tons of the raw onion, cilantro, and avocado into the crispy hot taco, a few sparks in the lava stream.

Saving room for churros ($10 for 6) is essential. When our server asked us whether we wanted six or ten of the pastries, I thought it must be a rehearsed question as why would two people need more than six? One bite into the hot hollow logs of fried dough and we were hooked. Dusted with cinnamon sugar they were already delicious, but a dunk into a creamy thick not-overly-sweet caramel and the dessert was absolutely sublime. Yeah, so maybe we could have devoured ten.

El Pueblito isn’t a large space, so you’ll likely be seated quicker if you’re a table of four or less. For such a small dining room, it’s perplexing on why it’s so difficult to get someone’s attention, especially when there’s no shortage of staff (we counted at least six people working that evening). Perhaps the outdoor patio really divides attention, or the servers need to help in the kitchen, but it’s best to order as much as possible at the beginning of the meal to avoid playing where’s Waldo.