I haven’t done one of these in awhile, and it might be the sangria writing but I had an amazing afternoon. To start off we went to Frida and Diego at the AGO and then we went for an amazing Mexican dinner at Playa Cabana.
I will get into the food in a bit but first I wanted to recommend the Frida and Diego exhibit at the AGO; it was really amazing. I must admit I am pretty ignorant of Mexican culture. I have been across into Tijuana for an afternoon and lived in Southern California but never really immersed myself in it. What I can relate to was the art, and the passion. Frida’s paintings are small and intimate. They draw you in.
Deeply personal, you can see the pain she has transferred onto the canvas, and the love. You have to remember that Frida was 20 years Diego’s junior. He must have had tremendous charisma since he had many lovers.
His paintings were also extraordinary. There are a series of landscape paintings that is on par with anything by the Group of Seven. Seriously, these things were mind blowing. His murals were also impressive and what he is best known for. There is a slide show projected on a wall, which is worth sitting through. The images are of the murals he did for the Fords.
The show works so well with the two of them together (obviously). I cannot recommend it enough.
After you see the show, head to Playa Cabana at 111 Dupont Street. Now before I get into the details, let me say I am not a connoisseur of Mexican food. I know what I like, and I like this.
Playa is a pretty small restaurant. The location isn’t super and a little surprising to be honest. It feels like it is smack-dab in the middle of a residential area. It has a pleasant rustic feel to it and the staff are genuinely friendly. We were seated on the patio which was covered with tarps and had a dozen or so heaters. That was a little too rustic for my liking, but we were lucky to get in because we didn’t have a reservation.
To start with we ordered the chips and guaca fresca. The guacamole was fresh and served in a volcanic stone bowl, which I was informed was the way it is supposed to be served. The tortilla were crisp and warm. Obviously made fresh they were surprising light. Later they brought us salsa which was a nice addition and two different hot sauces. (Apologies for the photos, they were taken with my phone and the light was low.)
A good start.
We also ordered chorizos conquistadores which is a lovely Spanish sausage with red wine and cerveza. I really like chorizo and this was a engaging way to cook it. Sometimes it can be overwhelming so I normally cook it with something mild like chickpeas to cut the taste. In this case it was served with a sauce that was sort of like a barbecue sauce but without being overly sweet or smokey.
Our third appetizer was the quesadillas fritas, which was nothing like any quesadillas I have ever had. It was stuffed with chicken and deep fried. Served with a dollop of sour cream and green tomato salsa. It was seriously a meal in itself. If you are taking kids, give them this and they will be satisfied.
To wash all this down we had the red wine Sangria which had more juice in it than fruit. I have had sangria before and I have to admit I like it sweeter, but there was lots of it so that was a bonus. Sangria is one of those things, like pizza, where even if it isn’t great it’s still pretty good. For my main dish I ordered fish tacos. I don’t cook enough fish at home so I try to eat it when I am out as much as I can. This was grilled tilapia which is one of my favourite fishes. Tilapia is light and flaky but still meaty. I don’t like fish with bones, or cooked salmon so I usually order a white fish and this is one of the best. Playa did have a battered, fried fish version of the taco, but I felt like the grilled would be a little more authentic and a little healthier.
The fish was very nicely done with a little bit of spice to it. It could use more lime, but then again what can’t? I have read that the lime is needed in Mexican food as a digestive aid and was informed it is also used as a disinfectant. I just like the little bit of tartness it adds to everything.
I would have liked the tacos to be bigger as well. The problem with tacos like this is they are gone in two bites, and they are messy. If someone came up with a larger, cleaner taco I would be very pleased. But who knows, maybe I just don’t know how to properly eat them. By the time I finished all this I was stuffed. The beans and rice were excellent as well. I normally don’t bother with the rice but this was quite delicious.
Toronto is not the sort of town you think of when you think of great Mexian food. Chinese? Yes. Indian? Perhaps. But Mexican?
I have had Mexican food a couple of places in the city and it was never like I remembered from living in Southern California. I’m not slagging the Mexican places we have, but let’s face it Burrito boys is to Mexican food what a california roll is to Japanese cuisine. Playa Cabana was the first time in Toronto I left thinking, “Yes, that was Mexican.”