The Return

Welcome to my new food blog! “New blog? What happened to the old blog?” you say. One word: boredom. I was bored with the restaurants in Toronto, bored with food I was cooking, bored that someone hadn’t discovered new meat…just plain bored. But, that all changed one Saturday morning with Playa Cabana – this awesomely delicious, albeit teeny-tiny, Mexican restaurant at Dupont/Davenport.

First order of business, get some drinks. We ordered a margarita and a mojito. By golly, those drinks were good and not watered down! Where are we, Chicago?!

Next up, white seabass ceviche. I’ve never had a ceviche I’ve liked, so I figured I didn’t like ceviche, but then I tried this tangy fresh goodness with house-made warm chips. Wowza! The coolness and freshness of the ceviche married with the warm lightly spiced chips was pure love. Well played Playa…well played. 

To follow, we got the Spanish chorizo sausage simmered in red wine and cerveza – I didn’t have any words for this dish. It was that good. If there was one dish I would go back for, this would be it.

The fried fish tacos were up next. Guess what? These were not slathered in sauce! Hallelujah! The fish had a beautiful golden crust, the slaw had just the right crunch and they were enveloped in light tortillas – simple and gorgeous. 

Finally, the burrito descended. Could there be a more beautiful sight – sauteed tiger prawns and chipotle-marinated rib-eye steak burrito with fresh guac, pico de gallo, crema, green tomatillo sauce and red tomato sauce. I want to cry, but I must eat. You wouldn’t think it but this was surprisingly light, hearty, fresh and finger-licking good. 

For dessert, since there is always room for dessert (ARD folks..ARD…say it!), we couldn’t pass on the Mexican flan. One spoon and my knees go wobbly, I’m making sounds unheard of, people are staring but I don’t care – I just had my first foodgasm. If there was one dish I would go back for, this would be it. Wait? Did I say that already? Playa, you have made a friend for life.