Restaurants
Grand Electric
Grand Electric has Torontonians flocking to Parkdale to sample the powerful Mexican flavours, absorb the pulsating rhythms and imbibe in brown-hued liquor. The brainchild of former Black Hoof'ians, Chef de Cuisine, Colin Tooke and front-of-house Manager, Ian McGrenaghan, scores of committed customers will wait for 1-3 hours to pack the place from 6pm 'til late, Wednesday to Monday. As their answering machine will tell you, "We don't take reservations and we're closed on Tuesdays so we can get drunk". Unpretentious, yet accommodating in their personal approach, get your name on Ian's list and go for a brew down the street--it's well worth the wait.
Stationed at the long slate-top bar, I'm staring at the lengthy and collection of Bourbon, seldom matched in the city. Hand-selected by the scotch-converted palate of McGrenaghan, he promised me he'd change my perspective on the burly liquor from the South on a night when I wasn't driving. There's also some interesting Rye on the list if that's more your thing. And If you don't dig these types of distilled beverages, try a Michelada (the ceasar of beers) made with Tabasco, lime juice, salt, pepper and Maggi. Or sip on Horchada, an icy rum cocktail made from arroz con leche (Mexican rice pudding).
Three intriguing condiment bottles adorned the bar-top: a housemade, tangy, cool salsa verde made from green tomatillos, a crimson Mexican hot sauce called Valentina and a beautiful, bright orange bottle of hot sauce that came straight from scotch bonnet heaven. My friend commented on the selection, saying, "it took all of my willpower not to put those in my purse and take them home."
As far as vibe goes, Grand Electric lives up to its name with a loud room of engaged diners who chat over the sound of some pretty decent hip hop. Lost Boyz, anyone? While the ambiance and selection of sauces is always important, I was there for the food — and the food, my friends, was really good.
We started with a satisfying selection of tacos ($3.50/3 for $10). Pork Belly al Pastor was brightened up by the sweet hit of pineapple, Baja Fish, made with light pieces of fried tilapia, and Spicy Arbol Chicken was salty and rich in smoky arbol chili flavour with an acidic bite from encurtida onions. Finally, the Beef Cheek was saucy and tender, akin to a pulled brisket but significantly more rich. Topped with coarse cut cilantro and a zesty squeeze of lime, the tacos were ideal for testing out the tantalizing variety of sauces.
Next course was a Tuna Ceviche (lead photo), untraditional in my experience but clean in appearance and taste ($7.50). You could pick out each individual ingredient — well-marinated chunks of supple tuna, mounted on a fried tortilla. Fresh rounds of green chili added heat, julienned radish, while crispy fried shallots and sparkling citrus and yuzu mayo rounded out this refreshing dish.
The main attraction was the day's special — Menudo ($12). Similar to their standard Pozole Rojo, a must try according to Tooke, Menudo is a type of hearty soup/stew. The dark burgundy broth made from tripe and pork bones, onion, guajillo and arbol chilies acts as the ideal stewing agent for spoonfuls of sweet beef tripe, salty chorizo sausage, and roast pig skin. With fresh avocado to garnish, a squeeze of lime, and (why not a little more spice?) a healthy dollop of handmade pickled chili condiment, I mopped up every last drop in the bowl with the side of veal marrow-topped bread.
Too full for dessert, I'm nevertheless content. Life is wonderful, and one is sure to be well fed when Grand Electric is making the menu.
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i dont think i've been excited as i am now to throw back some tacos and beers, perfect harmony. congrats Ian!
probably less of a wait if you go earlier on a wednesday. we can't wait to go back.
The food that is totally oversold in the quality department, I'm quite certain I've had better prepared dishes at chain restaurants in the past few years and with less sugar added to them. Further, this noise about how great the guacamole is the worst form of lying gossip ever.
1. How long is the wait going to be (now with patio)?
2. Do they expect you to physically wait in line or can you go elsewhere for a drink and wait for the call?
I was looking forward to it, I guess the place is shut for some reason, my fault I should have called in advance.
That's Unfortunate, I went a couple times over the summer and it was such a blast! I am sadden to see such reviews about the staff. We had an amazing server named Shay who really took care of us. Maybe people shouldn't be so uptight? After all its cheap tacos and hip hop. This isn't King st people. Its Parkdale.
Roll with it.
A few articles in Toronto's go-to literature has put this place on the map but something doesn't add up. We put our names on the list for a table of four and were told to return in an hour - they would not take our phone number. When we returned in an hour, we were told 15 minutes - which turned into another hour. We finally divided into two 2's and got seated. We then joined up when the elusive table for 4 became free.
After an hour and a half, before we were done, the bill showed up without us asking for it. On attempting to order more, our server said she'd have to ask her boss. The answer was 'No', pay the bill and then "We have people waiting, it's time for you to leave". All of a sudden, potential patrons became more important than actual patrons. This 'Boss' character has no clue about customer service. I've never written a restaurant review before, but my experience with this joke was enough motivation to get started.
The food was decent - the fish taco was as good as most people say. Meanwhile, the pig tail reminded me of throw up heading in the other direction (throw down?).
The cocktails were not good, I had the special and it tasted like bog water. My friend had the Caesar and chose to not even finish it.
All in all, we spent more time waiting to get in than we were allowed to stay. Will never be there again. I bet this place doesn't last. The hype can only mask horrible service and average food for so long.
Personal favourite:
Food - Ceviche, Fish taco, Pigs Tail taco, Key Lime vaso
Drink - Michelada
I will never understand the perpetual line-up though. No offense, but the place isn't good enough to warrant line-ups everyday. People will stand in line IN THE RAIN. I see them everyday. The dudes who own this place are laughing to the bank, and good on them. I guess I'm getting old but I don't line up the in rain for tacos, dammit! Hopefully the lines will eventually die down so I can go back again.
As for the 905 comment...
You really must not understand the way the city works. If it were not for the "Go Training" population, Toronto would only be full of pretentious people like you. You cannot even begin to compare Toronto to New York if you are going to complain about the Greater Toronto Area. New York is so amazing because it has 4 times the population that we do and it is those people that make it great. I am so sick of people ragging on 905ers as if they are a dumber, less educated, naive population.