Small But Meaty

On Tuesday, I was going to Toronto again in spite of being back in Ottawa for only a week. This was the first trip that Rider Express was "expensive" (i.e., $25 more than the usual trip). But it was still cheaper than Via Rail or Megabus. Oddly enough, perhaps being the 1st mover after Greyhound Bus had shutdown, Megabus had its own depot in Kingston as well as access to the bus platforms at Scarborough Town Centre. Rider Express has to settle for stopping in the parking lot of shopping malls. But on the plus side, you have access to more fast-food joints.

After several trips, I finally decided to buy lunch at Mr. Sub during our short layover in Kingston. I remembered this franchise at the Rideau Centre some 30 years back. Specifically an overpriced sub with just a few deli slices, no extra toppings, and the bread made tough by microwave reheating. No wonder Subway decimated this chain when it arrived in Canada. The Mr. Sub veggie sub ($9.19) was about the same quality as a Subway foot-long. One advantage with buying it fresh was that I could include wet toppings like tomatoes and get the bread toasted.

The bus made good time until we were about 200-300m from the terminal. From the Gardiner off-ramp down onto Lakeshore Blvd and finally to the entrance took over 1 hour because of bumper-to-bumper traffic. Worse was the realization that almost every vehicle was single occupancy. So I didn't get into my short-term rental until almost 4:30 pm. It was still a charming studio like last time. But unfortunately, it wasn't as clean today. I had to wipe down the plastic tablecloth and washed several glasses because they were covered with food stains.

Afterwards, I headed out for dinner. During my last stay in Bloordale, I noticed that the new Mexican restaurant Taqueria El Pastorcito near Dufferin and Bloor was always full. I decided to finally give it a try tonight. Pastorcito had a no-nonsense menu: tacos, burrito, quesadilla, or torta. I picked 2 al pastor tacos ($5/each) and a chorizo quesadilla ($7). I had misgivings about the cost as only gentrified, non-Hispanic spots charged these prices. But both dishes was stuffed to overflowing with meat. The al pastor was tender, grilled pork by way of the Middle Eastern shawarma spit while the chorizo was soft and finely chopped. Both taco and tortilla shells were toothsome and fragrant. In addition, they were (overly) generous with the sides: sauces, pineapple, and grilled onions.

This restaurant was a great new spot. No wonder it was packed with (mostly Mexican) folks looking for a tasty meal. But I feared for the other Latino joints in the neighbourhood including La Tortilleria, Tierra Azteca, and Latin World. In fact, on my way back to my rental, the latter was entirely empty. It was still early in the evening but things didn't look promising. There were no vegetarian options at Pastorcito so during my dinner, I wished that plant-based La Bartola had hearty dishes like here instead of fussy ones.