The second day of my 10-day outing was Tuesday. So without much debate I headed over to the Montreal Rd and Vanier Parkway neighbourhood for Latin American food. It remains to be seen what will happen to the area once all the condos are finished. But currently this two-block stretch hosted some stalwarts (Fontenelle diner) and a few relative newcomers. There was a mini-Hispanic zone with 2 restaurants and a handful of businesses (grocery store, electronics).
I arrived fairly early because, unlike Pastorcito in Toronto which remain open until midnight, Aztec Tacos closed at 7 pm. It was a cozy place with a small child doing homework, cheerful Mexican decoration, and TVs showing variety shows. I opted for 2 tacos ($5/each) and a Quesabirria ($8.50). Like all restaurants in Ottawa, it failed in portion size and price. But I'm happy to say Aztec delivered on the taste.
The pastor and chorizo were on par with Pastorcito with rich and fragrant stuffing. This was a better meal than I had at the old stand-by (albeit 2nd location) Latin World a few months back. The flavour of the quesa was also good, but wasn't the beef I was expecting. Then it struck me that this tender, but stronger, meat reminded me of the lamb shawarma (only $4.49 back in the day) I used to eat at The Empire in Bloorcourt. Sure enough, a quick search revealed that the original birria uses lamb or goat. So North Americans who equate quesabirria with beef (officially birria de res) might be in for a surprise. It was a messy entrée with tasty, but oozing, cheese and oil. So I consumed a liberal amount of cilantro and onion as a palate cleanser between bites. All in all, this was an excellent if not overly full dinner.
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