Recently-minted viral culinary impresario, chemical engineer, and death metal bassist Miguel Angel Garcia brings his fantastic taco pop-up, Miguel is Cooking, to The Depanneur for a serious Mexican fiesta. Authentic flavours abound in this DIY-meets-AYCE taco party. Between classic starters and a fabulous dessert, a handful of lucky guests get to assemble their own tacos from five made-from-scratch fillings piled on fresh blue corn tortillas and garnished with your favourite salsas and toppings. ¡Buen provecho!
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Frijoles refritos con queso fresco
A classic starter, crunchy tortilla chips with savoury, “twice-cooked” beans served with fresh Mexican cheese.
Chicharrones de harina
These crispy, puffed wheat flour pinwheels, served with lashings of tangy hot sauce are a Mexican street food staple Miguel has loved since he was in elementary school.
TACOS, TACOS & MORE TACOS!
Build your own tacos at the table with fresh, warm blue corn tortillas, fresh salsa, onion, cilantro and limes to garnish
Birria Beef blade steaks slow cooked in consomé, a rich broth made with 4 types of dried chilies (ancho, arbol, guajillo and morita), tons of spices, roasted garlic and tomato.
Carnitas Lean pork slowly confit in its own juices, infused with lime, garlic and beer.
Pastor Pork shoulder marinated with dried chilies and spices, typically cooked on a vertical rotisserie often topped with a pineapple. Originally inspired by the shawarmas brought to Mexico around the turn of the 20th C. by Lebanese immigrants, it has since become the the definitive chilango* taco. (*a Mexico City native).
Mole Poblano Mole is a traditional wedding dish, a rich sauce of blended chiles, nuts, fruit, spices and sometimes chocolate. There are lots of regional variations - Oaxaca alone has seven kinds! Miguel makes a deep red version from Puebla from scratch using his aunt’s recipe, with sesame seeds, almonds, plantain, raisins, cinnamon, clove, garlic, and 4 types of dried chilies (mulato, pasilla, ancho, and guajillo), lusciously enrobing tender chicken.
Nopales Fresh cactus paddles, cooked, sliced and finished with caramelized onion and oregano; a pre-Columbian Mexican staple going back centuries.
Carlota De Limón Imagine if tres leches, tiramisu and key lime pie had a sexy hookup. This Mexican icebox cake is made with Maria cookies, condensed milk, evaporated milk and lots of tart lime juice.
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Miguel Angel Garcia is originally from Nezahualcóyotl, near Mexico City. Miguel started out working with his brother (and bandmate in their death metal band, My Own Code) at their dad’s churro factory. Later, after working for a few pharmaceutical firms as a chemical engineer, he emigrated to Toronto where he began experimenting with making proper churros at home. This eventually grew into a popular Mexican food pop-up, Miguel is Cooking, currently housed at Steadfast Brewing, at College & Landsdowne. @migueliscooking
Read more about Miguel in this profile in the West End Phoenix
