Eastern Promises

As I was in the East end Tuesday night, I took the opportunity to dine on the Danforth strip. I settled on Combine Eatery, a trendy neighbourhood spot. It has the typical close tables, large communal slab, and so on. Their motto was "south north of the border" so the menu listed burritos, SoCal tacos, ribs, and burgers. I ordered 3 fish tacos with salad ($15.95) and a side order of Combine rice ($4.95).

The salad went well with the Spanish-style rice. The rice had a nice chew and slightly sweet from its tomato base. The fresh tomatoes, arugula, etc. were tasty but the bed of lettuce was bland, mostly because it had almost no dressing. Too bad the tacos were problematic. In the West end, there's a plethora of taco joints from traditional hole-in-the-walls to more expensive trendy spots. Not sure how many are in the East end, but this was not good representation.

The fried basa was crispy and tender. They went light on the sauce toppings to emphasize the light and fresh texture. So far so good. But the corn tortillas were tough and dry, worst I've ever had. By the 3rd one, as the tacos cooled down, it was inedible. I noticed through the open kitchen that they had a surge in taco orders and were doing 12-15 on the flat-top. So maybe it was a bad batch that got over-done. And yet, this is basic kitchen management. I'll split the difference and call these sadly mediocre. At $6 each, which is even more than the pricey West end joints, it was simply unacceptable.