It was our last day in Toronto and we decided to take the long ride from our hotel by the airport into town for one last shot at what could be the best plate of nachos in Canada. I wasn't ready to say that the Beertown nachos were the best on our trip or that the Snooty Fox in Fredericton were the best in Canada. I was ready to have my mind blown and when it's your last day in a big city, you have to make it count. I wanted these nachos to be on my mind while we are trying to land in foggy Saint John and then rushing to work immediately after landing with my ears still plugged up from the plane. Plus, who knows when we will be in Toronto again? It's between Toronto or Quebec City for our fall marathon next year. They are doing a battle in my mind. We went to Squirly's because the editor did some research and saw that Squirly's might be good. This restaurant had previously closed their doors after 36 years and recently re-opened to be Squirly's 2.0. How were t...
Isla Cocina is a Mexican food truck located on Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick. It says that it is take-out only; however, there are a few picnic tables around the food truck where you can have nachos, tacos, flautas, and quesadillas, as well as burgers, poutine, and fries. You have to look for the motor home parked in a driveway near Seal Cove, and you will be happy to have stopped by.
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| Isla Cocina Corn, Guacamole, & Bean Nacho - June 2021 |
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| Isla Cocina Corn, Guacamole, & Bean Nacho - June 2021 |
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| What was left over from the Corn, Guacamole & Bean Nacho - June 2021 |
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| Isla Cocina BBQ Chicken Nachos - June 2021 (the photographer's order) |
Distribution of Toppings
Isla Cocina had good cheese-chips-toppings ratio. In fact, there were so many toppings on the veggie nachos that they could have almost used more chips! Most importantly, I did not face the horror of having a chip with nothing to go on it.
Quality
The top layer was full of guacamole, bean and corn and had good toast factor. The cheddar and pepper jack cheeses were wonderfully blended and I liked how the jalapeños were chopped and put in with the nachos. However, there were so many toppings and sauces on the chips that the chips underneath got soggy and I was left with a mush of chips and toppings at the end as I showed in the picture above. I think they should have put the guacamole on the side and not had round chips. Normally when we see round chips, that is an immediate negative impression on the quality; any fresh homemade chips we have had have always been triangular.
Value
The nachos including all the toppings (yes even meat) are $13.75. That is below the average of veggie nachos in Saint John and that is the best value of nachos that I think I have ever seen.
Quantity
I think that having your own plate and then maybe adding a taco or two to go with it is great for a meal.
Conclusion
It was such a treat to have a Mexican food truck on Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick in that it adds variety to the other places that have mostly seafood. (That is not to say I don't like seafood - I had mind-blowing fried clams there.) The distribution of toppings, the value, and the quantity were absolutely excellent. The quality could use some work, mainly regarding the round chips and potentially separating the dips to avoid the sogginess as mentioned above for the veggie nachos. The BBQ Chicken Nachos did not have that problem, probably due to them not having dips on top in the box.
Nacho Blog Rating: A-