Welcome to the Vancouver Foodster Taco Challenge. Restaurants from all over the city were invited to enter their taco creations into this challenge, most have created a special taco creation just for this challenge. Each restaurant will be featuring their tacos on their menu from June 5-28, 2020.
How Does this all Work? For the public challenge, you are invited to go out and order any or all of the tacos in this challenge, then you decide who you think has the best taco creation for the People’s Choice award winners.
Share your experiences: Tweet (and don’t forget to tweet or instagram your photos) throughout the challenge, our twitter and instagram address is @vanfoodster and the hashtag is #TacoChallengeYVR please include this hashtag in all your social sharing during the challenge.
Voting criteria – some things to help you judge your favourite taco creations – keep these things in mind: originality, creativity, uniqueness, traditional, non-traditional, price, value and most importantly taste.
Get some friends together and make a day or night of it, visit 2 places or more to share and taste the different taco creations or go solo or with a friend– just remember to VOTE for your favourites
Here are the Taco dishes in this challenge, listed in no particular order other than when they were received by us.
Loz Takos
Crispy Pork Belly Tako
Price: $5.00
Created by: Chef Fernando Acosta & Billy Newell
Description: Loz Takos presents a gluten free Crispy Pork Belly Tako layered on a 6” fresh corn tortilla, topped with pickled red onion, and a drizzle of our house special green tomatillo salsa. FRESHNESS ALERT: All of our tortillas are made specially for Loz Takos, serving real Mexican street food as fast as we can!
Offered: Monday to Friday, 11 am to 5 pm. Available to dine-in, take-out, delivery with Skip the Dishes, Uber Eats, Doordash or Ritual.
Loz Takos – Broadway Location
792 W Broadway, Vancouver
Telephone: 604-423-4525
Web: www.loztakos.ca
Facebook: @loztakos
Instagram: @loztakos
Little Mexico Cantina
Al Pastor Especial
Price: $6.50
Created by owner Carol Janeczko
Description: Grilled white corn tortilla topped with grilled Oaxaca cheese, shepherd style marinated pork, drizzle of serrano hot sauce, diced onions, cilantro, grilled pineapple and avocado.
The origins of tacos al pastor are linked to Lebanese immigrants who migrated to Puebla, Mexico during the 1930’s. Later, during the 1960’s in Puebla, the Mexican-born children of these immigrants opened their own restaurants and put a Mexican twist onto the popular Lebanese dish. Lamb was switched out for pork, which was then marinated in a variety of spices, chilies, achiote and more items that are popular in Mexican cuisine. The pita bread and/or flour tortilla were then switched out for corn tortillas. At one point, pineapple began to be included to the taco al pastor recipe. It was also during the 1960’s when tacos al pastor found its way into Mexico City and gained immense popularity.
Offered: 11:30am – 8:30pm Tuesday to Saturday
Available for dine-in, take-out, or delivery (partnered with Skip the Dishes, Uber Eats or Doordash)
Little Mexico Cantina
3131 Chatham St #150, Richmond
Tel: (604) 272-5123
Web: http://www.littlemexicocantina.com/
Twitter: @LMCSteveston
Instagram @lmcsteveston
Cinco De Mayo Mexican Grill
Tacos De Borrego
Price: $4
Created by: Chef Claudia
Description: Get ready to enjoy our exquisite and delicious Tacos De Borrego! One of our most popular house specialties made exclusively by Chef Claudia. One of Mexico’s most traditional ancestral dishes, our fresh Halal lamb is marinated overnight wrapped in banana leaves with a proprietary blend of dried chilies and delicately slow cooked the next day “Al Vapor” to preserve the distinctively unique flavours.
When the meat is absolutely perfect, we shred it by hand and it is served traditionally, on soft corn tortillas garnished with our house made salsa verde, fresh chopped onion, cilantro and a lime wedge.
Offered: Lunch and dinner daily.
Cinco De Mayo Mexican Grill
200 Esplanade W., North Vancouver
Tel: (604) 770-1010
Web: http://www.cinco5demayo.com/
Twitter: @CincoTweets
Instagram @cinconorthshore
Mi Casa Mexicana
Suadero
Price: $5
Created by: the team
Description: Mexico City soft taco, juicy braised beef, onion, cilantro, cucumber, lime & salsa verde on handmade corn tortillas from locally based Metate Bake Shop.
Offered: Thursday – Sunday 2pm – 7pm
Mi Casa Mexicana
2015 Burrard Street, Vancouver
Tel: 604-346-7084
Web: https://micasamexicana.net
Instagram @micasamexicana.yvr
Hugo’s Mexican Kitchen
Acapulco Fish Taco
Price: $16
Created by: Danny Garcia
Description: Mahi mahi in a beer batter with Chile guajillo adobo, Chile ancho dressing, lettuce, pico de Gallo, pickled onion and guajillo aioli; all in a flour tortilla.
Offered: All the time
Hugo’s Mexican Kitchen
19151 Fraser Highway, Surrey
Tel: 778-547-8835
Web:www.hugosmexicanfood.com
Twitter: @hugosmexkitchen
Instagram @hugosmexicankitchen
Make sure you pick up one of the Taco Challenge postcards available at each of the participating restaurants. Remember to Vote for your favourites daily, all the voting details are here.
Our Media judges for this challenge are:
Jacqueline Chui
Food and Travel Blogger
Twitter @jacquelinechui
Instagram @jacquelinechui
Rick Green
Freelance writer for BC Brews and other publications
Twitter: @BCbrews
Instagram @b.c.beerblog .
Shelley Hayashi
Influencer/Concierge Les Clefs d’Or Concierge
Twitter: @shelleyhayashi
Instagram: @shelleyhayashi