F and I arrived just before 5 last Saturday, and the place was already pretty busy, in between the lunch crowd and the dinner crowd. It seemed to us that a lot of the patrons had been there for hours, judging by the degree of drunkenness. And who could blame them? El Loco has an impressive tequila, beer and margarita selection and given the revolting state of the weather, I'm not surprised that they were quite happy where they were, thank you very much.
I do love a restaurant where the kitchen is visible, it bring out the food geek in me, and the kitchen is right in the middle of the floor, which allows anyone of a similar viewpoint to watch the chefs to their hearts content.
Luckily for us, the couch in the rear of the restaurant was free. This gave us a great spot, able to chill and people-watch, with a view of the entire venue.
Being a fan of margaritas there were several on the list I wanted to try. The Pink Cuco sounded like the best one to start with:
It's a delicious mix of lime, pink grapefruit and homemade coriander and ginger syrup. It was the perfect first cocktail: refreshing, citrusy and spicy. It reminded me in some ways of the cocktails I had at Gingerboy in Melbourne recently with the ginger and coriander a much-needed change to the well-loved, but overdone classic margarita.
Having read about how good the Corn Chips with Guacamole and Salsa are from the grabyourfork review, we were sure to order a batch to go with the Margaritas. We were not disappointed. The chips were crisp and tasty and the guacamole beautifully garlicky and creamy. And the salsa is outstanding.Gorgeous coriander and citrus flavours with just enough of a bite for us spice-lovers, but not too much for those who are a bit less tolerant.
F and I decided to share our next round of drinks, making it our mission to try as many dishes and Margaritas as we could. I got the Jalapeño Margarita, which in addition to the usual tequila, lime juice and cointreau adds roasted jalapeño syrup, and a wash of smoky Ilegal Mezcal.
F got the Cartel Margarita which adds celery, jalapeño, avocado and Ilegal Mezcal to the lime and tequila and comes with a celery salt rim.
At first sip, the Jalapeno tasted like a classic Marg but the burn followed, and wow does it burn! The intensity seems to grow on each sip. I could drink these all day long.
The Cartel Margarita is refreshing, you can really taste the celery and the avocado flavour is so unique. I don't know that I could drink too many of these in a row, but the one was perfect.
Next was our round of tacos. The best taco I have ever had was from a Mexican street vendor in La Brea, LA. Simple flavours and authentic: no sour cream or jalapenos from a jar in sight! The tacos we got at El Loco were the closest to my all-time favourite that I have had anywhere else in the world.
While we wanted to try every taco on the menu, there were other things calling to me, so we decided on the Spit Roast Pork and Pineapple Salsa and the Lemongrass Beef and Salsa Verde.
What I loved so much about them and in fact, everything we had at El Loco was the contemporary, Asian flavours fused with the traditional Cali-Mex standards (or at least the antipodean version of these standards.) Instead of iceberg lettuce, the tacos both came with crunchy Asian greens and spring onions (shallots to you Aussies), and the crunch is what really sealed both of these tacos for me, making them fresh and delicious. The tortillas themselves were soft and just the right thickness to hold the meat and veg, but not overly doughy.
The pork was beautifully tender and sweet and the pineapple salsa added to the freshness of the vegetables, making the whole thing seem so much lighter than one would expect from a taco.
The beef though, was my favourite of the two. An explosion of fresh, citrusy flavor from the Salsa Verde which cuts through the spiciness and fat of the meat. This one did have avocado and cheese to top it off, but just enough, it wasn't like the over-cheesed tacos one so often gets at Generic Mexican Chain Restaurant 1321313 .
Our third margarita was the cleverly named Lagerita. Essentially the same thing as doing a shot of tequila with a beer chaser, this drink combines Herradura Blanco Tequila with lime, agave nectar and is topped off with Corona. It's sharp and refreshing and probably the best margarita 'match' for the food out of the three.
After nearly 90 minutes of margaritas and chips and salsa and tacos, we were ready for the two dishes I had read the most about and they certainly lived up to the hype.
The Pork Torta sandwich (which was the absolute highlight of the night for me) almost feels like a play on the pulled pork sandwich. A fluffy, soft bun filled with grilled, marinated pork which is mouthwateringly flavourful and tender, accompanied by cabbage, coriander, spring onion, mayo and pico de gallo. It's salty and creamy and zesty and although I was nearly full to bursting I wanted more.
With the pork sandwich, came the El Hot Dog, a tasty combination of pork frankfurt sausage with pickled jalapeños, pico de gallo, mayo and mounds of queso (and I do mean mounds) on a sweet, soft hot dog bun.
It reminded me very much of the kind of hot dogs F and I had at Hot Dougs in Chicago last year. Really delicious and decadent, but the star for me was still the pork bun, just thinking about it is making my mouth water.
I know I said I was full, but you can never be too full for dessert. El Loco's dessert special that day was churros with chocolate ice-cream, chocolate sauce and nuts.
I'm fussy about churros and have been burned too many times to count, yet I can never resist them and I knew that Dan would not let me down. They were just how I love them: crunchy on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside, with a burst of hot cinnamon-sweet to die for. The chocolate sauce and ice-cream would have fed any chocolate craving, I could quite happily have gone without if it had meant more of those scrumptious churros.
Between El Loco and Ms G's, Dan Hong is rescuing Sydney (some might say singlehandedly) from food stuffiness. Delicious, unique dishes and a sense of the fun and the funky is why I will go back to both of these restaurants time and time again, and why I consider myself a fan. Cannot wait to see what he has planned for the World Chef Showcase on Sunday.
