Galaxy Taco

Dinner – Friday, July 24, 2015

Galaxy Taco is not cheap. It just isn’t. But, why do people put such a low dollar value on “ethnic” food? Southeast Asian, Middle Eastern, South American, etc – if it’s made with good ingredients, why wouldn’t you expect it to cost more? Others have discussed this topic ad nauseum, but I had to note my annoyance. At Galaxy Taco, they are grinding corn and nixtamalizing masa from scratch – it’s a hell of a lot more work than that fresh pasta you just paid $20 for. Ultimately, it all comes down to the flavour. Visiting this 2 week-old restaurant for the first time, here is what we ate.

Mixed seafood cocktail
Crab, shrimp, scallops, calamari, octopus
Quality seafood. I could eat this every day, but please… give me a spoon!

Pickled jalapeno and vegetables

Fish ceviche tostada
Our first taste of the corn they use at the restaurant – a world (galaxy?) apart from pre-packaged tostadas made with run-of-the-mill corn. The depth of “corn”-ness was amazing, and much more prominent after frying than in soft tortilla form. This may have ruined me on tostadas forever.

Baja fried fish
Cabbage, pico de gallo, chipotle crema, radish, avocado

Lamb barbacoa
Onion, tomato-mint salsa, yogurt

Grilled SD avocado
Bean puree, creamy corn salad, lime
Our favourite of the various tacos. Relatively simple compared to the others, without even any salsa to dress it up, but our local avocados really are the best. This combination also really let the flavour of the tortilla come through.

Lengua
Salsa verde, cilantro, charred onion salsa

Carne asada
Cilantro, guacamole, onion, spicy bone marrow-salsa macha
I have only had Veracruz’s thick salsa macha a few times (and only in Mexico City), but it worked wonderfully with the sliced beef here. A close second to the avocado taco.

Wood-roasted pork shoulder, cabbage, chicharron
Fresh tortillas, salsas
A serious hunk of pork, sitting in a pond of fantastic Rancho Gordo beans. It was served with tortillas and a selection of salsas. I’m pretty proud of the salsa verde we make at home, but this was admittedly better – I suspect it was spiked with a good dose of avocado. The salsa macha, infused with aromatic hoja santa, made another appearance.