Restaurants
Chino Locos (Church St.)
Chino Locos has carved out a spot in a Toronto burrito market as saturated as the demand for more Beatles biographies by using surprising ingredients normally associated with Asian cuisine like shitake mushrooms and chow mein. They offer a wide variety of unique one-size burritos including what might be the best fish burrito in the city. Called "Da Finest", it comes packed with sauteed white fish, guacamole, tomatoes, edamame beans, red onions, black beans, green peppers, cilantro, cheese, sour cream and chipotle sauce and costs only $6.99.
Also on the menu is "Sweeeeet" with slow roasted pork, Pollo Loco (chicken), Off Da Hook (ribeye steak) and two vegetarian burritos. Not to be missed is their Weekly Loco Special which in the past has included jerk pork (amazing), seared and deboned Asian pork chops and curry Singapore seafood.
On a recent visit to their newly opened Church St. location (the original is in Leslieville), I opted for the Biggie Bean burrito ($6.99) with chow mein noodles, guacamole, tomatoes, edamame beans, black beans, green peppers, cheese, sour cream and chipotle sauce on a white tortilla. After making the mistake of getting a medium spiced burrito in the past wherein all the fiery hot sauce was waiting like an explosion at the bottom of the burrito, I went the mild route.
After around seven minutes the burrito was ready, grilled and warm tucked inside its little foil sleeping bag. The chipotle sauce was campfire smoky and the carb-on-carb combo of chow mein noodles and tortilla an empty calorie addicts dream. The edamame beans were the greatest topping in the mix, adding a familiar soft crunch.
Where the second floor Church St. space improves on the original is the seating. Unlike the Greenwood location, which only has a small bar for seating (and a tiny patio in the summer), this new space has indoor seating for around 20 customers. But It may take a little while longer to transfer the bright and busy feel of the first location into the less than cozy light walled second floor space. Nevertheless, the service was as enthusiastic as you'd expect with two of the three owners running the show on this Sunday afternoon.
When I returned home from my venture, my roommate had coincidentally stopped by the Chino Locos down the street and ordered a burrito with noodles for the first time. I sat next to her on the couch while I waited for her to finish before we watched the appetite stealing documentary The Cove. She took her first bite and paused for a few seconds before saying, "I thought this would make the burrito good but I can't believe how delicious noodles in a burrito is."
Writing by Jessica Ford
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I have told everyone I know to avoid this place and would offer Bobby the same advice.
"not impressed on" clearly needs to stick to Taco Bell.
I've had a couple chats with the guys who run the business and more than the uniqueness of some of the ingredients, in my opinion it's their quality that sets them apart from the heard. Apparently they all come with backgrounds in the restaurant industry and are adamant about keeping very high standards for their meats/produce and preparation of their ingredients --everything is made from scratch. Where other burrito shops might settle for cheaper substitutes, the guys running Chino Locos use only high quality, fresh ingredients. And I can say from personal experience (having been there a couple dozen times in the last year) every burrito I've ordered has been put together with a lot of attention and care, regardless of how swamped the kitchen is.
Suggestions: Grab a menu, and order AHEAD of time. Everything is prepared fresh to order, and if you don't like waiting, call a bit ahead to get your food piping hot.
Anyone who thinks this place isn't great much think Taco Bell is authentic Mexican...
the church street location is closer to me, but according to their website, they're doing a jerk chicken special that's ONLY at the greenwood location.
i guess i'm going for a little drive for my dinner tonight.
Kudos for them to discovering the truth about many "authentic" regional cuisines; they were conceived in ignorance of 99% of the worlds ingredients and cooking methods and can often be substantially improved with some experimentation.
I doubt I can ever be satisfied with a burrito containing rice again!
Try using proper punctuation and caps next time, or no one will ever take you seriously.
GFY
Sincerely,
notimpressed
Better?
"handicappables" - I assume you mean "handicapable" (which I assume is a derogatory term for disabled persons).
"Chino Loco's is FANTASTIC!!!" - It's actually "Chino Locos", at least according to this review.
"Anyone who thinks this place isn't great much think Taco Bell is authentic Mexican..." - I believe you mean "must", as opposed to "much". Randy, that's two letter wrong in a four letter word. How is anyone ever going to take you seriously?
"Anyone who thinks this place isn't great much think Taco Bell is authentic Mexican..."
"'Tard says what?"
"What?"
The amount of time and effort to made each ingredient shows! I had the Off Da Hook and it's definitely my favorite of the lot. Make sure you try it with chow mein!
You want warm and comforting? Buy a blanket!
"cum mayo douchefood. tequila needed for disinfection."
We don't need to hear about your personal life, jizz boy.
I made the same mistake once opening up a biz on an upper floor, and the much cheaper rent is just not worth it.
The only way it could work for them is if they had a big section of their eating area by the widows as a patio for the summer, which they could enclose in the winter.
But really, move to street level.