Review : Tres Carnales Taqueria

I’ve had authentic Mexican Food before, in the strangest of places. I grew up just outside of Fredericton in New Brunswick,and when I was 8 or 9 a place called El Burrito Loco opened up. It was originally a tiny little shack that served up real Mexican Food. It was my first time having something besides my mom’s tacos (which had been the only Mexican food I had ever tried.) Its refreshing to see something similar in concept here in Edmonton.

Tres Carnales is tucked away on Rice Howard Way, down passed V’s Subs (I want to try these as I am a sucker for Vietnamese food!) and Its All Greek To Me. Its a modest size, and I hear that at lunch time it’s PACKED. My mom works downtown and eats here often at on her lunches so it was on her recommendation we all go down. I loved how all the food is INCREDIBLY fresh (The tortillas? Made in store and they proudly boast that all meat (excluding the fish) is from within two hours of the city). However- portion sizes sound bigger than they are and it is pricey. I’d say my three quesadilla’s roughly equals the size of one at a larger chain, and dinner was expensive enough that I don’t think we will be making another family outing there any time soon However…

THE FOOD

Personally, I found the Sangria far too strong for my tastes-and that’s saying a lot considering I’m the girl at the club doing 4 tequila shots in a row. It has a BEAUTIFUL colour that lulled me into thinking it would be a little sweeter than it was, and maybe berry flavoured. That was not the case. (My mom and I shared the pitcher)

The Chorizo Quesadillas were a bold decision for me, as I usually play it safe when I’m out and get chicken anything. I do really like chorizio and it was a great decision. It’s served with an avocado puree kind of deal, as well as a pico de gallo salsa. The fresh salsa added that level and the avocado added a slight spice. However,I DO like sour cream as well…and getting it was a bit of a hassle. The gentleman who took our order advised against it (telling us it would Mellow out the flavours-which I totally understand, but some of us REALLY like the way sour cream taste on our food.) The downside is that the Chorizo was SUPER greasy and from the top one leaked out into the other two and the portion was SUPER small. We all left still pretty hungry.

Overall Impression: Delicious and fresh, yes. However, it was expensive for small portions and is a place I would recommend for lunch seeing as all four of us got in the car still hungry.