FLAVOUR FIESTA
Taps & Tacos lives up to its name
While finding a fantastic Mexican restaurant in Vancouver used to be a nearly impossible feat, these days, it seems there’s a worthwhile taco shop dotting Metro neighbourhoods, well, just about everywhere.
Taps & Tacos is one of the latest cantinas to pop up, serving a full flavour fiesta to Mexican-food-craving locals in Port Moody.
“Port Moody was in need of a casual restaurant that focuses on local beers and creative tacos,” Scott McTavish, one of the restaurant’s managing partners, says. “And who doesn’t love tacos?”
Housed in a bright, glass-covered corner unit, the relaxed eatery’s white-tile and wood decor is an Instagrammer’s dream. Even on a cloudy day, natural light bathed every table, making it perfect for those very necessary #whatiate photos.
And, you’re going to want to photograph this food. Trust me.
The eatery’s original menu has been built out since it opened in July, ushering in a range of colourful appetizers and main dishes, as well as additional desserts.
“I was very aware of the current scene for tacos in the area, and I thought I could do something different,” Jeffrey Fagan, the head chef at Taps & Tacos, says of the evolving menu. “We draw on flavours from around the world and integrate them with the taco concept, creating a unique flavour experience that you can’t get anywhere else.”
Fagan, whose background includes overseeing the food truck menu creations at both Vij’s Railway and The Roam Dragon, says he has relished the opportunity to create fusion dishes that push the conventional boundaries of Mexican cuisine.
“I’ve always had a passion for creative and eclectic food pairings,” Fagan says. “So, I was looking forward to experimenting with world flavours in the Vancouver taco scene.”
The results of Fagan’s experimentation include the Swine & Pine Burrito ($12) — featuring spiced pork, basmati rice, roasted pineapple, pickled jalapenos, red cabbage and hoisin crema; Korean Taco ($6 each); Moroccan Chicken Street Taco ($3 each); and the Moody Masala Burrito ($12) — a veganfriendly eat offering tikka masala jackfruit, basmati rice, minted smashed chickpeas, red cabbage and tikka crema. Gluten-free fare is also available.
Our lunch party opted to go traditional on our maiden visit to Taps & Tacos, sampling a margarita and the Pick Any 3 Salsas appetizer ($10) to start.
The drink pour seemed paltry when considering the $7 price tag, but the flavour was fine. Next time, we’ll explore the ample offering of craft beers, which includes sips from Strange Fellows, Twin Sails, Steel and Oak, Steamworks, Strathcona and more.
Our tastebuds got to tingling with the chips and three salsas, which serves up fresh salsas of your choosing (we tried the spicy pico de gallo, black bean & corn and the salsa verde). The tasty tortilla chips were crispy and perfectly salted, proving to be the perfect vessel for the fresh, house-made salsas.
Next, we noshed on the quesadilla, a warm flour tortilla envelope stuffed with Cajun black beans, corn, poblano, pickled onions, mozzarella, pico de gallo and crema. The shareable dish was tasty and light, if a tad light on the cheese.
The Carne Asada Street Taco ($3 each) featured a lean strip of marinated skirt steak from Meat
Craft Urban Butchery in Port Moody, cilantro and pico de gallo served on a two-ply corn tortilla sourced from Port Coquitlam’s La Santa Rose.
“I pride myself in sourcing as much as possible from local sources,” Fagan explains of the ingredients. “Place is incredibly important to food, and the ingredients available in the area are top notch.
“We try to stay seasonal and local ... whenever we can.”
In addition to its dine-in patrons, the eatery appears to do a brisk take-away business, as our table noted a number of the eatery’s paper bags being carried out the door. And, according to McTavish, one of the most carried-out dishes is one of the restaurant’s hulking burritos.
“The burritos are definitely a hit, especially at lunch,” McTavish says. “They are quick, easy eats that are easy to take out to enjoy at the office or down at Rocky Point Park.”
In addition to being portable, the burritos are delicious.
The Southside Chicken Burrito ($12) — a bulky burrito offering moist tequila-lime chicken, corn and black bean rice, gooey cheese, red cabbage, cilantro and chipotle crema all sealed in a fresh tortilla with a panini-type press — was, on its own, worth the drive to Port Moody.
The hefty burrito included an arugula salad with pickled cabbage on the side, which served to cut the cheese and creaminess of the burrito. The meat was well seasoned and the rice served to soak up some of the juices that threatened to spill out with each bite.
The addition of the pickled cabbage added an unexpected, but very welcome, bite while also adding a touch of colour for the inevitable photo our table ended up posting before the meal.
Safe to say, the #food image looked as good on the feed as the meal tasted. And what’s not to “like” about that?