Mexican Food Standoff

>» Chronic vs Quesada vs Taco Del Mar

Craig Allan
Staff Writer

 

know that this isn’t the opinions section,

but I am going to begin with a hot take.
Mexican food is the best food—it has
everything one could want. It’s spicy,
crunchy, flavourful, and offers a lot of
variety. While in this region Mexican food
may not be as popular as other cuisines
like Chinese, the available options are
growing. Now you can choose between
independent Mexican chains like E] Santo
(in New Westminster) and The Mexican
Gourmet—or fast food fair like Taco Bell
and Taco Time! And not to mention the
mid-tier restaurants like Tacofino and
La Taqueria Pinche Taco Shop. With
so many choices out there, it’s tough to
decide which place is the best. Because my
editor won't allow this to be published as a
book, I have narrowed down the debate to
three choices in mid-tier: Chronic Tacos,
Quesada Burritos and Tacos, and Taco Del
Mar. With my taste buds in tow, I will be
using the taco as my controlled testing
item (with chips to match as a side dish) to
determine who is best at this south of the
border favourite.

3- Quesada Burritos and Tacos

The truth is that Quesada is not that bad.
They sling a good taco, and are unique in
offering corn and red onions as toppings.
The issue that works against Quesada
though is that while other places on this
list have distinct themes—like Chronic
Taco’s hip underground feel and Taco Del
Mar’s Baja California feel—this restaurant
doesn’t have a theme. Its theme really just
is red. Along with that, when I went in to
get a taco this past week, they said they
were out of beef... How do you run out

of beef? That’s like McDonald’s running
out of burger paddies. Also, the chips are
not the best; they tasted dry and too salty.
Quesada does have an advantage in their
easy to get to locations, like the one at New

Westminster station, or the one at Surrey
Centre Mall. So, if you're getting off the
Skytrain and don’t want to venture far for
Mexican, it’s a fine choice. All that being
said, there are two better options.

2. Chronic Taco

What sets Chronic Taco above the rest is
its décor. With Mexican masks and a red
and black interior, it has a nice creative feel

 

Photo by Billy Bui

to it that most restaurants don’t. The taco

was my controlled test for this article, but
I've tried some of their very unique dishes
they offer in previous visits. This is the only
place on the list where I would probably
order a different thing every time I go. One
item I particularly like is the potato taco: a
taco with deep-fried potato in it. As for the
regular taco, it is good... but too small. You

have to order three of them to really get a
proper meal, and that can be pricey. Their
chips and salsa are pretty good—the salsa
has quite a fresh taste. This combined with
the fact that Chronic Taco has some great
locations in New Westminster’s Columbia
Square, Metrotown Mall, and Waterfront
Station makes Chronic Taco a cool place...
Ta go!

1. Taco Del Mar

Why is Taco Del Mar number one on the
list, you may ask? One word: QUESO! Of
the three, Taco Del Mar is the only one
that serves queso with chips, which is so
much better than salsa. Along with that,
their portions are huge. The taco looks
bigger than Quesada’s and Chronic’s tacos,
and they have better varieties of meat

like shredded beef. I always feel full after

I eat at Taco Del Mar. The one downside
of Taco Del Mar is their limited—and far
away—selection of locations. Of all of
their locations, only a few of them is near
a Skytrain station: the one in the Harbour
Centre (off Waterfront Station), and the
one on Terminal Ave (off Main Street-
Science World Station). It’s annoying

to have to travel so far for that queso
goodness, but Taco Del Mar makes it worth
the trip. I could honestly eat Taco Del Mar
every week, I love it so much.

Though I have ranked these chains,
all of them offer great Mexican food. The
only thing I wish for is that one of these
chains could move into the Coquitlam
area so I don’t have to travel so far. For a
city that has the fourth-highest search for
Mexican food in the country, Coquitlam
sure does not have many options. Outside
of Taco Bell and Mercado By Originals,
there are not many options for Mexican
food in Coquitlam. Let’s hope that one
of these chains (please be Taco Del Mar!)
opens soon so I—along with the rest of the
Coquitlam campus students—don’t have to
go out of town for some Mexican goodness.

Why winter semesters finish fast

» Just like the snow, the semester comes and goes

EG Manilag
Staff Writer

 

ik the first week of classes, there’s one
thing that all three of my instructors
agree on that bothered me most: winter
semesters finish in a heartbeat. I’m kind
of weirded out as to why that is, given
that it’s my first-ever winter semester in
college. Now, the big question—what is it
that makes winter semesters whiz by?
Most may think the answer is due to
the likelihood of college cancellations due
to adverse weather conditions, making the
semester short. Well, that thought is partly
correct. From what I have observed, the
main reason why winter semesters finish
faster than any other academic term is the
hangover-like effects they create. You know
those tv shows and movies that depicting
a person getting drunk and then suddenly
the screen shifts into a scene where it’s
already morning? That's exactly how winter

semesters work! It’s dark, cold, and you're
tired—you sleep a lot, and then you wonder
where the time went!

When both campuses cancelled
classes on Wednesday January 15, my twin
and I felt relieved. Finally, we thought, we
can rest. Unfortunately that wasn’t the
case... because we had to shovel the snow. It
didn't end there, we had to put in the effort
to properly spread the salt too. Instead of
making that class cancellation work to our
advantage, it became the opposite. After
working outside in the snow, the tiredness
kicked in and the cold made me sleepy.
Nothing much I could do but follow what
my body wanted at that time: a good, long
nap... which felt like it went on for about
four days or so.

Fast forward to today, the snow has
melted and it’s rainy, and now I have a lot
to do—a LOT of things to do, I tell you. I
still have unfinished readings and I haven't
made a single draft for my term papers.

The inevitable snow hangover got me good.
Wintertime escalated so fast. It felt like I
was knocked out cold. Winter semesters do
finish fast. They're so fast, it’s like they're

trying to beat you the finish line.