Random Thoughts About The I Heart Beer + Taco Festival Tour

The second edition of the two-day  I❤︎ Beer & Taco Festival rolled into Ottawa last weekend. I went to the second of three sessions, the first on Friday, and the last starting later that afternoon. These were my impressions.

• Entering the Cattle Castle (I'll never get used to calling it the Aberdeen Pavilion, no matter how many years have passed since the last SuperEx), I was handed a plastic cup for beer sampling. Already this is more than what the Food & Wine Festival gave people.
• I wanted to bring my son to this but after buying the tickets I learned it's a 19+ event - why? We're eating tacos for God's sake...Yes, I'm aware they're serving beer here, and that a bunch of drunk children would be a nightmare to deal with, but you're not supposed to serve minors beer. They made an exception for toddlers, however. Who knew screaming colicky babies were preferred over children who aren't ill-mannered brats?
• You had to buy tokens to get anything to eat or drink, with most tacos and beers going for 2 to 3 tokens. I went with 8 tokens to start for $20.
• First taco: Beef brisket, El Patcho's Tacos
  Done in a barbacoa style, the brisket tasted good, and the toppings added some freshness and balanced everything out. This is what you want in a taco, check them out if you're ever in Carleton Place.
  
• This was the place to be if you like beer pong, as half of the left side of the Castle was devoted to it. I've never gotten the appeal of playing beer pong as I've never needed to gamify my drinking. If beer pong wasn't your thing, there were plenty of 1UP arcade games and some retro consoles set up for play.  With all these video games around, you'd think they would allow children to attend. If it sounds like I'm bitter about this rule, it's because I am. No refunds on tickets.
• Second taco: Fish, Margarita Restaurant
  I didn't think to ask what fish it was, but it was nicely fried, and the slaw served with it was just as good. If I ever go for a sit-down meal at this place, the cauliflower taco that was also an option to try is what I plan to have.
• I hadn't planned on drinking that afternoon, so I was happy to see lots of free water available for drinking and rinsing out your sample cup. I was also happy to see all the breweries that attended the event - who says that craft beer is dead?
• Third taco: Lamb, Spring Pasture Farm
  This vendor knew more about raising and butchering lamb than making tacos. Even though the meat was cooked well, this was my least favourite taco of the day. It was essentially a basic gringo taco made with ground lamb instead of ground beef. 
• For what it's worth, the best lamb taco I've ever had I got from Sí Señor, whose presence was noticeably absent from this event.
• Quite a few bored security guards were milling around.
• I would have liked more standing tables at this event, but there were a lot of tables and chairs available on the right side of the building if you're a fan of community seating and eating. Introverts like myself were forced to stand or sit off to the side.
• To the surprise of no one, the plant-based taco booth had no lineup.
• Fourth taco: Beef tongue, Casa Cancún
  I'm glad these guys came from London, Ontario for this thing, as they made my favorite taco. I've wanted to try beef tongue since I heard the meat was tender underneath the rough outer exterior. I also noticed that they were the only place I tried that used corn tortillas instead of flour and that they grilled them. It was a very satisfying taco topped with some hot salsa, onions, and a little cilantro. 
• I heard there was hot sauce available to sample, but I couldn't find any.
• Fifth taco: Pork, Picante mx
  Because I could pronounce it better than I could carnitas, I went with the pastor style of pork. For those who were wondering, al pastor is when the meat is cooked on a vertical spit, like shawarma meat, while carnitas is chopped up pork braised in its own fat, or added lard. It was a good taco, I'm certain I would have enjoyed either style.
• This is a first - I actually felt full at a food festival. 
• Overall, one of the better food festivals I've been to in Ottawa. If I could change anything I would have allowed people to buy tickets at the door, it seemed like a missed opportunity with so much foot traffic around. The food was great, and it was an event that the whole family could enjoy if the promoters would let them.