Pachuco is tucked away underneath Embrujo Flamenco on the Danforth
As defined by Urban Dictionary, a pachuco is “a Chicano or Mexican guy back in the 1930s to 1950s that dressed in zoot suits.” As defined by the Fernandez sisters, Jais, Eren and Mali, it’s a subterranean cantina serving authentic Mexican food with a modern twist. The sisters arrived in Toronto at various times over the last few decades, but ultimately, their shared love of food and entrepreneurial nature led them in 2002 to open Embrujo Flamenco, the Danforth tapas bar with live dancing, and Café Madrid in the cellar, which they’ve now transformed into Pachuco.
Read the rest of this entry »
Chef-owner Francisco Alejandri’s excellent food stall is the headliner in a shoestring–budget Latin American food court in Kensington Market. It consists of little more than a stainless steel prep table with a deep fryer, two induction burners, a small refrigerator, a toaster and a food processor. Alejandri, who wears a suave white Panama hat while he works, is an exceedingly good cook. He does a fantastic flank steak salad—the meat, sliced into thin strips, is tossed with tomatoes, red chilies, red onion, cilantro and lime juice, then garnished with house-fried tortilla chips. It makes for a brilliant lunch. The lime charlotte is better than most desserts you get in proper restaurants: the sweet-sour lime curd and Maria cookies are decadent but light with a squirt of lime juice and a drizzle of arbequina olive oil. Wait times can exceed 20 minutes but the trade-off is that the place is incredibly cheap. It would be thrilling to see what Alejandri would do with more space and a properly equipped kitchen. Closed Monday.
Huevos Ahogados
Follow Toronto Life on Twitter, Facebook and via RSS