In honour of the May 5th Mexican holiday, we visit the artisanal Playa Cabana and the street-savvy La Carnita. Whose guac is greater? Whose peppers pack the biggest punch? You decide.
Playa Cabana |
vs. |
La Carnita |
| Dave Sidhu, 2011. | Owner(s) & year opened: |
Andrew Richmond and Amin Todai, 2012. |
| Tromba Anejo. Right now, there’s only one bottle in Canada, and we’ve got it! | Best tequila in the house: | Tequila Don Julio, 1942. |
| Habaneros. We dice them up really fine and let them sit in olive oil, lime juice and salt to make our salsa. | What’s the hottest pepper you use? | The ghost chili. We use it in our murder sauce for all the “tough” guys that come in. |
| Our tacos de carnitas with slow-roasted pork. | Which taco will make vegetarians run screaming? | Our taco de lengua — it’s braised and shaved beef tongue. |
| Last year during Cinco de Mayo we made about 1,200. | Most tacos turned out in a day: | About 1,000. |
| LWe often cook for Laurence Fishburne. He has the ancho-braised short rib–brisket tacos. Susur Lee’s eaten them, too. | Biggest celeb to mow down: | Famke Janssen — she joins us all the time. She’s a strict vegetarian, so eats our crispy avocado and frijoles taco with the avocado mango salad. |
| Andrew from La Carnita! | Who would you most like to cook for? | My family. |
| We’re having a big party at both locations, with mariachis and plenty of free tequila shots! | What’s happening on Cinco de Mayo? | We actually celebrate Gringo de Mayo on the 20th. Kidding! We’ll be doing some special menu items for the 5th. |
