Last week’s Gastropost Mission was all about a Toronto Taco Takeover. You guys know I am sort of obsessed with homemade tortillas, weird taco fillings, and making large portions of delicious shredded things in my slowcooker, but instead of making tacos at home, I decided to venture out. This was influenced by a variety of factors such as: it was too hot to cook, I was jealous of all the patio adventures last week, and the Toronto Treat Tour posts made me realize it’s okay to post a few reviews every once in a while (if only to make fun of hipsters while doing so).

So, instead of frittering away 2.5 hours of my life waiting for a table at Grand Electric (although it will happen, check out Leianne’s in depth review here, as well as her comparison to La Carnita), I went to Banh Mi Boys. Although my history with Banh Mi borders on obsessive, for this initial visit, it was all about tacos.

I met the aforementioned taco expert (that’s Leianne) for a lunchtime adventure, and this is what I had to say:

Been meaning to hit up Banh Mi Boys since it opened, and this mission was the extra bit of motivation I needed! I had a Kalbi Beef taco, which comes with purple cabbage slaw, kimchi, pickled carrots and cilantro. The taco shell is soft and chewy – more like thin naan – so good. (P.S. Follow them on Twitter to get the scoop on secret menu items!)

Did I sell it hard enough there? The beef was salty and sweet, and the kimchi and carrots were nice and sour, but that shell was the selling point for me. Leianne had two steamed baos, one with pork belly and one with beef cheek (let’s all cross our fingers that she blogs about them!). And of course we also shared Kimchi Fries.

Leianne and I met there at 11:45am (taco brunch), and by the time we ordered and got our food (about 10 minutes or so) all the tables were full. We grabbed two seats at the counter and that was fine. I think if you head over anytime after 12noon, you should be prepared to get your grub to go.

One final note: I truly appreciate the efficiency of the order and payment process. The cashier tore my debit card out of my hand and really had no time to waste. So have your payment vehicle ready; I imagine you’d get a big sigh and/or eye roll if you had to find your wallet in the bottom of your bag in front of this chick. She was demanding Leianne’s order before I even pulled my card out of the terminal. It was awesome.

*Banh Mi Boys is located at 392 Queen Street West, on the northwest corner of Queen St. W. & Spadina Ave*