Casa Doce

Casa Doce Food Truck

Based in the Canadian Tire parking lot 

(Ordze Crescent & Wye Road)

Sherwood Park, AB

It was just a couple days ago that I learned about a Mexican food truck that had recently opened up in the parking lot of the Canadian Tire in Sherwood Park. Given my love of tacos, it's not surprising I wasted no time before heading out for a visit. Named for co-owner Carlos' childhood home in Mexico, the brightly coloured Casa Doce food truck is hard to miss. Several lawn chairs are available for patrons who wish to hang out and eat. The menu offers tacos, huaraches, and tortas with a choice of meats, including pork al pastor, ribeye steak, pollo adobada, and chorizo. Dishes are priced just below $10, in general.

Tacos al pastor (top); Huarache with pollo adobada (lower)

The tacos arrived as a mound of mildly spicy chicken topping several corn tortillas. It was a bit tricky to assemble, but the delicious end result was certainly worth the mess. I was particularly pleased to learn that homemade pickled carrots and jalapenos are available. If you've never had them before, try them. A huarache is a Mexican dish consisting of a fried corn dough base with any number of toppings. Casa Doce's is topped with beans, lettuce, tomatoes, pineapple, avocado, onion, your choice of meat, and finished with queso fresco. Similar to the tacos, the pollo huarache was a messy, but incredibly flavourful experience.

Owners Carlos and Janette hail from different backgrounds, but their combined experiences make them the ideal team for their food truck endeavour. Jeanette has spent her entire life in Sherwood Park, and is the former general manager of Franklin's Inn. Carlos is originally from Mexico City, but trained at the Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts Institute of Ottawa, and has worked in Seattle, California, Italy, and more recently (and locally), at the Sawmill Restaurant. A passion for tacos drove him to open Casa Doce, and both his skill and his spirit are evident in the food. Based on the flow of people during my visit, it's clear residents of Sherwood Park are embracing their new taco truck, and I'm certainly a bit envious Casa Doce is not in my backyard. I guess I'll be heading out to Sherwood Park a few times this summer.

El Rancho Spanish Restaurant

El Rancho Spanish Restaurant

11810 87 Street NW

Edmonton, AB T5B 0T1

(780) 471-4930

The mother of one of my oldest & dearest friends immigrated from central America, and, growing up, her house was often full of visiting relatives. Her family became like family to me, and I referred to to her grandmother as "Abuelita". Abuelita was not impressed with the food available in our local supermarket, so, when she was visiting, so you could count on finding a kitchen full of homemade food. Abuelita taught me how to make corn tortillas, and got me hooked on empanadas, tamales, coliflor envuelta en huevo, and pupusas. After moving to Edmonton, it took me about 12 hours before I found a restaurant to get my fix.

Full disclosure: I love pupusas. No, really. I love pupusas. My first stop at Edmonton's Heritage Festival is always the pupusa tent, and the last time I visited taste of Edmonton, nothing looked as good as the pupusas, so I just spent all my tickets on them. The Taste of Edmonton pupusas were, in fact, served by El Rancho, and when I visited the restaurant itself, I started with a couple to get my fix. The pupusas were handmade, with a thin layer of filling inside the corn flour tortilla. My favorite is the cheese, bean, and pork blend (the revuelta) but other filling combinations are available. After loading them up with curtido (a cabbage slaw) and a thin & mild tomato salsa, I chowed down and was in heaven.

Our entrees arrived not long after we'd polished off the pupusas. The mole sauce was thick with a deep flavor. While palate-pleasing, I did feel the enchiladas were close to drowning in it. The accompanying El Rancho salad was an unanticipated hit. It was drizzled, sparingly but adequate, in a dressing with a complex nutty flavor reminiscent of the mole.

I rarely find burrito-sized corn flour tortillas locally, so I was really impressed that it was an option for the burrito al carbon. The tortilla itself was delicious, but even better wrapped around the the steak, pepper, bean and guacamole amalgam.

Though I didn't order it at this visit, their tortilla soup is really wonderful pick-me-up on a cold winter day, and the tamales are the best I've found in Edmonton so far. El Rancho was one of the first restaurants I visited when I moved to Edmonton, and, though it's hard to compare anything to Abuelita's cooking, with so many fresh, delectable offerings to discover, its kept me coming back.

Tres Carnales

Tres Carnales

10119 100A Street NW

Edmonton, AB T5J 0R5

(780) 429-0911

Since opening its doors on Rice Howard Way last summer, Tres Carnales has taken the city of Edmonton by storm. Lineups are frequently out the door, and tables can be hard to find at peak hours. Filming recently took place at the restaurant for a piece on The Food Network Canada's show "You Gotta Eat Here!"...so I figured I'd better!

Arroz mexicano

The arroz nearly didn't make it back to my office (after I dropped its bag in the snow on the walk back) but I'm glad it did! The rice was perfectly cooked, retaining slight firmness, in a mildly spicy seasoning. The salsa roja added a delicious brightness to it and contrasted beautifully with the salty queso fresco.

Pollo asado tacos

Ten dollars will get you three or four (depending on the filling) small double wrapped tacos with your choice of filling, topped with cilantro and raw white onion. I could see this dish being a bit unsatisfying for those who really value humongous portion sizes, but if you appreciate quality over quantity I think you'll be very happy will your selection. The pollo (chicken) asado was excellent: tender & moist. The accompanying sauce lent a bit of heat, but mostly bright flavor -- don't ignore it!

Torta al pastor

The magnum opus. When I initially laid eyes on my torta al pastor (Mexican sandwich with pork) my first thought was, how the heck am I going to get that into my mouth? My next thought, after some masterful maneuvering to get my first bite: Where have you been all my life?! A splash of lime juice brightened it up even more, and both my friend and I noted the familiar flavor of our favorite comfort foods (namely meatballs & meatloaf) in the sandwich. A note of caution: this beast is messy. I managed to get it all over the table, the floor, my pants, and, of course, my deliriously happy face. It's hard to tease out and put into words what exactly made it so incredible, but the combination of the delicious marinated pork, creamy avocado spread, perfectly toasted bread, sauce, tomatoes & onions resulted in the foodie-equivalent of a religious experience.

Tres Carnales' passion for food is obvious, and some serious love and attention clearly goes into their food. From the fresh simplicity of the tacos, to the hearty amalgam of the tortas, the food is made from scratch, it's fresh, it's full of flavor, and, ultimately, it's delicious. The torta al pastor I had at Tres Carnales is among the best things I have eaten. Ever. The Food Network didn't get it wrong. Indeed, "You Gotta Eat Here!"


Restaurant website

Take-Out Chronicles: The 3 Amigos

The 3 Amigos

4035 106 Street NW

Edmonton, AB T6J 2S3

(780) 490-6394

The 3 Amigos started off as a takeout joint by three brothers (hopefully they're still amigos) from the state of Oaxaco in Mexica. Though they eventually expanded to a full-service restaurant, they still do plenty of take-out, and, after a crazy day at work, it was a take-out kind of night.

The take out side retains the bones of the old Subway restaurant it replaced, but it's clear that plenty of effort has been put in to make the space their own. Often on weekends a guitarist is present to serenade patrons with Mexican melodies.

Amigos nachos with chicken... minus the peppers & onions

The nachos served here are made fresh on-site, not dumped out of a bag. Frankly, I'd enjoy them just as much with nothing on them. The mild salsa provided that we later dumped on top was indeed mild, but tasty nevertheless.

Tamales

We decided to sample both the chicken and the pork tamales. We enjoyed the spicy meaty filling, but, unfortunately, both were pretty dry.

Chicken torta

3 Amigos offers seven varieties of tortas (a Mexican sandwich) to choose from, and I eventually settled on the chicken torta. It was loaded with lettuce, tomato, mayo, onions, refried beans, and avocado. The bread was nicely toasted, fresh & crusty, really complementing the contents. Tortas come with salad or fries. The salad was fresh but a bit naked without any dressing (not sure if that is how it is or if it was an oversight). I think I'll go for the fries next time.

Chicken enchiladas

I've had their enchiladas before, and I really want to like them, but they never have left me wowed. The enchilada sauce is ok. The black beans they come with are ok. I actually really like the potato and rice blend they're served with. I wish I could put my finger on what's missing.

Empanada de pina

The highlight of it all the was the pineapple empanada. The outside was perfectly crisp, and the inside was soft and sweet but could have used more pineapple. It came with ice cream, which was package separately so it wouldn't melt during the drive home. Unfortunately, even the most careful packaging couldn't save it from me forgetting about it on the counter.

Reviews of Mexican restaurants always seem to attempt to judge a restaurants authenticity. I don't think I'm qualified to rate that, but I do know we had a pretty good meal, with a particularly strong start & finish. It's a nice addition to the neighborhood, and definitely worth trying, but I'm not sure I'd trouble myself to get there for a repeat visit if it wasn't so handy.



Website: http://www.thethreeamigosedmonton.ca/