Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Eat here

I'm having some difficulty typing this because I'm like Pavlov's Dog when I think back to Sunday's brunch at La Tortilleria on St. Clair.
We were celebrating Miriam going back to work following a successful year of maternity leave, and she had chosen a favourite brunch spot near her house, called Boom.
I like Boom. There's one near me, too. I usually get the Huevos Rancheros.
When we arrived there was a huge lineup and we collectively agreed: "No friggin' way." Mir said there was a greasy spoon down the block so we started heading westward.
But the No-Name Yellow walls and temporary signage of La Tortilleria, just a few doors down, stopped us in our tracks.
A tortilleria? In Toronto?
The room is a bright open space with sit down or take out service and gleaming tortilla machinery in the background. There's this location and one in Kensington Market, and they claim to be the first tortillerias in Toronto and who am I to argue?
Especially with food this good.
Within moments, free fresh fried tortilla chips and chunky salsa are placed on the table with a shy smile. They taste exactly like the ones I gorged on daily in Tulum a few years back.
Then comes Mexican coffee, poured steaming hot from a metal teapot -- hit with sugar, cinnamon, and I think some kind of chili, but they say no. Either way, delicious. (Alas, it would be the third time in as many hours that I burnt the crap out of my tongue that day.)
Did I love my Enfrijolades Nortenas -- soft tortillas stacked one upon the other and doused with a bean sauce, and topped with caramelized chorizo bits, sour cream and pico de gallo? Yes sir, I did. Ditto goes for Miriam and Ilona and their Quesadillas de la Sierra (filled with cheese, squash, potato and spinach.) 
And if this was just brunch, imagine the possibilities for lunch and dinner.
(Pavlov's Dog.)
By the time I got home from running my errands later that day, there was a voicemail from Ilona, saying she was already dreaming about going back to La Tortilleria for more.
Ditto.

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