There used to be a time when if you wanted tacos, there were only a few Mexican joints in town to get your fix. The type of places that treat you to a watered down margarita and sombrero on your birthday. Places that featured hokey pseudo pueblo murals painted on the walls. Fortunately for us, Montreal has experienced a literal taco boom in recent years. The best part is that these palces are located right across the city representing each neighbourhood as though in preparation for some delicious taco Hunger Game… which coincidentally is every Tuesday when I see that damn #tacotuesday hashtag on Instagram. I recently checked out one of the newest taquerias in town, Socialito in the Mile-End.
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I recently hit up Le Poke Bar on Crescent to try out the hottest food trend in United States that has finally arrived on the shores of Montreal; Poke (pronounced Puh-KAY… or Poké ici à Québec.) Poke is a fantastic dish of lightly marinated fish or seafood that’s native to Hawaii. I can paint you a picture of grabbing a container full of fresh poke from the closest beachside food store, copping a squat on a sandy beach along the turquoise shores of the Big Island, enjoying fresh line-caught big eye tuna while having the sweet dewy mist caress your face from the crashing waves. Unfortunately, our Montreal Poke scene isn’t as romantic. But if you concentrate hard enough and squint just right, the sounds of the street sweeper knocking down orange traffic cones and hold your breath as speeding cars splash puddles of random street juice onto your pants… it’s like you’re almost there.
If you don’t like tacos, then you hate life. What’s not to like? Cooked meat and fresh toppings wrapped in a warm tortilla; simple, humble and delicious. Seriously though, even vegetarians and vegans love them. How many can you eat? It’s not considered “eating tacos” unless you’ve eaten about 15 of them. The first few are often inhaled without second thought, usually out of tacolust and yearn. The dozen or so tacos after that only start to count when you slowly begin to enjoy them. I heard about a Mexican spot in the West island, Guaca & Molé which bills themselves as “Mexican cuisine and tequila bar.” I’m not about that tequila life, but I am down with tacos so I decided to check it out.