Don’t Like the Taco Shack? You Must be a Racist.
an outsider’s journey inside Vancouver’s restaurant industry

August 11th, 2008

By Jason Chin
Eat Vancouver Editor

As one of the biggest proponents of a Mexican food renaissance in Vancouver, as well as one of the first to write publicly about Dona Cata and the now defunct Chilo’s, people keep asking me why I don’t write more about The Taco Shack. Surely their focus on authentic Mexican and Cali-Mex preparations merits more attention. Well, this issue keeps coming up, and it’s one that probably should have ended years ago, but also one that will probably benefit from a full public understanding of it. It’s a bit of long story, but the reason I tend to ignore the Taco Shack is because the last time I wrote about them, Daved Benefield, the co-owner of the restaurant, called me a racist.

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Taco con Chile
(778) 371-3508
Address: 1308 Burrard St (map)
Menu
Hannah Montana
a Quick Bite
By Jason Chin
Eat Vancouver writer
Have you ever had the feeling that things are just a little bit off? Nothing that was overtly wrong, just an alteration in some key details that made things just a tad disconcerting? Kind of like finding out [...]

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Sunday, December 9th, 2007
The New Dona Cata is coming
a broken news story
by Jason Chin
Eat Vancouver writer
Following up on a recent story, I have some more details about the new Dona Cata. Unfortunately (for non-East Vancouverites) the new restaurant will be just two blocks from the original at 5076 Victoria Drive. But it will [...]

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From the Eat Vancouver rumor mill comes this juicy tidbit:
Perceptive reader Lucy tells us that Dona Cata Mexican Foods, the place in Vancouver for authentic Mexican cuisine, is expanding. A new, bigger Dona Cata is on the way, and yes it will have a liquor license.
Olé!

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Red Burrito
Locations downtown, Commercial,
and North Van, see Homepage
The Red Menace
a Quick Bite
By Jason
Eat Vancouver writer
Burritos have been a staple in the Southwest USA for at least two decades now. Coming in sizes as large as a human forearm and stuffed with ingredients like rice, beans, potatoes, fresh salsas, and several varieties of braised or [...]

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The Mouse and Bean
(604) 633-1781
Address: 207-B West Hastings (map)
Homepage
Bean There, Done That
a Quick Bite
By Daniel Fishman and Jason Chin
Eat Vancouver writers
After a busy morning of exercising our commercial acting chops, the Chairman and I were ready for a nice big lunch, since nothing works up an appetite like pretending to use nasal spray. We [...]

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Chilo’s Taqueria is closed
Chilo’s Yaletown
Address: 1351 Richards, Yaletown (map)
Hours:
Current posted hours
Menu
Chilo’s 2.0
By Jason Chin
Eat Vancouver editor
Following a lead from egullet, the Fishman and I decided to try out Chilo’s new location in Yaletown. We were both a bit skeptical because Chilo seemed like an unlikely guy to expand his operation to swanky Yaletown. [...]

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Dona Cata Mexican Foods
Address: 5438 Victoria Drive (map)
Phone: 604-436-2232
Menu
Quickbite: Dona Cata Mexican Foods
November 26th, 2006
By Jason Chin
Writer
Vancouver, it would appear, is beginning to emerge from a taco dark age. Establishments featuring this popular Mexican street food are popping up at rate that was unimaginable just a year ago. A good deal of this [...]

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A Matter of Authenticity
+ a quick bite for El Taco
738 Davie Street (map)
(604) 806-0300
An essay by Jason Chin
Writer
After an unfortunate encounter with a taco at the newish El Taco on Davie Street (near Howe), I got to thinking about why this taco was so bad. My gut reaction was to say it wasn’t authentic; [...]

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The Taco Shack
Address: 1835 Cornwall Avenue (map)
The Taco Shack is a new endeveaor put together by Gerald Tritt, co-owner of Vera’s Burger Shack, and colleagues. The mission they have chosen is to recreate the California taco truck-style of taco, here in Vancouver. Although I certainly welcome any serious attempt at Mexican food in [...]

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