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. 

Sin City Breakfast Tacos

"Remember - not knowing how to cook is like not knowing how to fuck."
Robert Rodriguez

With Remembrance Day behind us, it is time to turn our attention to the hype and hysteria that is the Christmas shopping season. For the comic book or pop culture fan on your gift list, consider the holiday edition of Ottawa Comiccom as a one-stop shopping spot. And what better way to fuel up for your shopping trip than to eat food that fueled director Robert Rodriguez and the actors of one the best comic book movies ever made, "Sin City". As mentioned in the DVD extras, Rodriguez would whip up a batch of these tacos in between takes and editing sessions. They work as a great breakfast or as a snack while reading graphic novels or watching your favourite comic book come to life on the screen.

Ingredients: TORTILLAS (Note: You can use store-bought flour tortillas, but Rodriguez recommends against it, as he considers them "garbage".)
475 g unbleached white flour
175 mL warm water
60 g butter, softened to room temperature or 30 g butter and 30 g lard
2.5 g salt
2.5 g baking powder
bacon drippings (optional)

Ingredients: TACOS OR MIGAS FILLING
5-6 eggs, lightly beaten
2 corn tortillas, cut up into strips slices
1 large potato, peeled and diced small
1 large tomato, diced
1 medium white onion, peeled and diced
1 green jalapeno, minced
corn oil, for frying
butter, for frying
salt and pepper, to taste

1. In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, salt, and baking powder. Mix in the butter (or butter and lard) using a pastry blender or by hand until everything is incorporated and coarse, like wet sand. Add 3/4 of the warm water and using your hands or a fork, form the mixture into a dough that's not too sticky and not too dry. If it's too sticky, add more flour; if it's too dry, add more water.
2. Knead the dough on a floured surface for a few minutes until it's no longer sticky; the dough should feel smooth, elastic and not dry. Divide the dough up into 8-10 golfball-sized balls and arrange them on a baking sheet. Lightly dampen a tea towel with warm water, cover the dough and let it rest for 20 minutes while you make the taco filling.
3. Heat up about 30 mL of corn oil in a non-stick pan on medium heat and fry the potatoes until they're soft but not crispy. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper to taste, then transfer them to a paper towel-lined plate. In the same pan, heat up another 30 mL of corn oil and fry the tomato, onion, and jalapeno until the onion begins to soften. Remove everything from the pan, set the food aside and keep everything warm.
4. In the same pan, heat up some more oil (30 mL) and fry up the corn tortilla strips until they're crispy. Set the tortilla strips aside on a paper towel-lined plate and let them drain. Using the same pan, heat up about 30 g of butter and lightly scramble the eggs. Combine the tomato mixture, corn tortillas strips and eggs on a platter. Set aside and keep warm.
5. Using a combination of your hands and a rolling pin, shape the flour tortillas into thin round circles about 15 cm in diameter (now would be the time to use a tortilla press if you have one handy). Heat up a cast-iron skillet on medium heat (if you have some, you can add a small amount of bacon drippings to the skillet to cook the tortillas). Cook the tortillas until bubbles form and brown specks appear, about 1 minute. Turn over and cook the other side for about another minute. Continue cooking all the flour tortillas in the same manner. Keep tortillas warm, stacking them one on top of the other until ready to serve. Do not allow to dry out - use a dampened tea towel or a tortilla warmer if you have one to keep the tortillas pliable.
6. To serve, divide the potato/egg mixture onto the flour tortillas. Fold in half and eat.

March Break Meals: Lunch

Parents often scramble to find activities for their children to do during the annual week long spring break in the school year. If registering them into a day camp is not an option, this can be a good time to show how to cook some meals. Letting children help with meal preparation is a great way to spend time with them, and it also shows the effort involved in making what is put on the table everyday. Here is a lunch recipe that is easy to make and is something that kids like to eat:

Ingredients: Tacos

115 g corn kernels
6 small corn tortillas
5 g ground cumin + pinch for the salsa
3 ripe tomatoes
1 can black beans
1 small onion
1 lime
1/2 red chili pepper
1/2 jalapeno pepper
Handful of torn cilantro (optional)
salt, pepper

1. Finely chop the tomatoes, onion, both peppers and the cilantro. Cut the lime in half and have your child squeeze out the juice.
2. Put all chopped up items in a bowl, add the lime juice, salt, pepper, and a pinch of the cumin, and have you child mix everything together.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
3. Open up the can of beans and drain them. Saute them in a skillet together with corn. After few minutes, season it with the remaining cumin, and some salt and pepper.
4. Heat the tortillas according to the directions on the package. When they are ready, spread a layer of beans and corn on a tortilla followed by some shredded cheese and the fresh salsa.