Dialogue of the Day: BBC grills Qin Gang
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Sleeping can be an art, too!
Music: Indie China Showcase at Yu Yin Tang
This Shanghaiist has been living in our fair town for over four years, most of it spent searching for two things: the love of a beautiful woman and a great, authentic burrito. While we're still striking out on the woman front, we're inching ever closer on that elusive burrito, first with the action-packed weekend special from NYC Deli, and now with the cheesy wonder found at Taikang Lu's Togo taco stand.
And by stand, we literally mean stand. Togo is a 1.5 square meter operation that churns out tacos and burritos to be ushered away or devoured while standing on the spot; there are no tables or chairs. We huddled in the adjacent alley on a drizzly weekend morning, waiting for Togo's owner Steve, formerly found concocting dynamite smoothies at neighboring Mojo Cafe, to prepare our feast of beef burritos and fish tacos. The burrito (40 RMB) consisted of beef ground with a perfect mix of jalapenos, paprika, and chili powder that went well with rice and freshly made salsa and guacamole. The fish tacos (38 RMB) were crispy and tasty, each shell cushioned by a soft tortilla and served two in a box. But it was the glorious processed cheese sauce, dripping from the tacos and leaking out of the burritos, that really made the difference. Yes, piping hot cheese sauce poured from a huge can does not scream out "gourmet" in any sense of the word, but it's pretty damn good, even when being gobbled down in an alley on a rainy day. We also tried the beef taco, made with the same chili mixture that was in the burrito, and again the cheesy sauce was the kicker.
Steve mentioned Togo will soon be working with a delivery service, which we look forward to as it means we won't have to keep standing as cheese dribbles down our chins, but in the meantime we have even more of a reason to visit the revitalized Taikang Lu, and happy that we've now doubled our options when the all-too-frequent craving for a good burrito hits.
Togo - 155 Jiangguo Lu, No. 24B near Ruijin Lu (建国路155号，24B, 近瑞金路）Tel: 13611826497, Hours: 11:30am-7:30pm.
Eric Hu is Shanghaiist's Food Editor. Email tips, recommendations, and news and gossip about Shanghai's food scene to food at shanghaiist.com.
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Fish tacos?!?!
JULES: Oh, man, I'm goin', that's all there is to it. I'm fuckin' goin'.
VINCENT: I know, baby, you'd dig it the most..
I hope they're good. I can't live through another Mexican food disappointment.
It's worth the hype - I'm on about 1 a day.
Cheese needs to be sorted for real, but if that's the only bad thing to be said about it, then you know it's worth the trip.
Now, if there was only a place here to get a coffee...
I am there! it seems shanghai has all the "ala Americana" standard eateries but MX food where the hell are you??!!..hope this place kicks in :)
Remember that they close at 7:30 pm, so if you want to go for dinner make sure it's an early one.
It looks like Q-bert shat on those tacos.
This place is like a bad copy of Taco Bell. Authentic? I question Shanghaiist's experience. I used to live in the Mission and have been to Fruitvale taco stands more times than I can count, and in all honesty I have never once seen goopy nacho cheese used except in a "Nacho Cheese Gordita" at the Bell. Also the re-fried beans (with no option of real beans) are just a step above Nacho Cheese in terms of authenticity.
Really if you crave Taco Bell it's OK, better than Taco Bell Grande was. I do think it's very expensive considering it's pretty small (I could easily eat two or three orders and I'm a skinny fuck) and the burritos are about 1/3rd composed of nacho cheese goop, and that it doesn't offer a place to sit. Taikang Lu is kind of fun though.
The only place in Shanghai that's vaguely authentic burritos (say, you can choose your variety of beans & rice) is California Kitchen, on Dagu Lu. Which still isn't all that great, or authentic. NYC Deli has good pork but continues to not even include all the basic ingredients, has incredibly bland salsa, and charges for it like a motherfucker.
fijiofif - I don't believe you can eat 3 of them. In fact, you come down to tai kang and show us, we'll buy them. these thing's are massive.
fjiofojif - I'm not saying these burritos are anything compared to what you and I must have enjoyed in the Mission, I'm just saying that, cheese goop or not, we had a damn good time eating them. There is room in everyone's life for both a hefty, genuine gem from El Faralito and a goopy, processed-to-hell shat-on-by-Q-bert creation at Taco Bell. Why can't we love both?
The mission for the real thing continues...just happy there's another burrito in town to take the edge off every now and then.
-E