El Chile Toreado
Review was written for the Santa Fe Foodies Website
Have you ever passed by Early Street and spotted a white food truck with a Chile moustache? Well then, my friend, you would have seen El Chile Toreado which has existed on the Santa Fe food scene for more than 20 years.
In terms of accessibility, there are 3 designated parking spots with roadside parking. I will highlight that they do take phone orders, which is a great option since there is always a line. There are brightly coloured tables with benches if you choose to eat there.
The menu is broken into four main categories Burritos, Tacos, Quesadillas, and Hot Dogs with multiple options in each category. I will preface this review by saying I have yet to try their hotdogs. I am generally not a hotdog person and I love their tacos so much it feels morally wrong to go there and not order a taco. You can get your choice of red or green chile sauce or both as well as a baggy of toppings for tacos which includes a cabbage cilantro mix, lime wedge, and whole grilled pepper.
The burritos can be breakfast or lunch depending on the time of day and are easily the length and size of my forearm. My favourite breakfast burrito option is the Mixed Meat which is a delicious combination of chorizo, bacon, and sausage along with potatoes, egg, and cheese. It is the ultimate breakfast burrito in my opinion because each component is tasty on its own. Together with green chile sauce it is the ultimate breakfast indulgence and definitely “the breakfast of champions” if you can finish it. In terms of the lunch burritos, the favourite in my house is the Al Pastor Burrito served Christmas style. It’s a hefty serving of tasty beans, fluffy rice, and deliciously sweet and tangy grilled al pastor pork smothered in chile sauce and wrapped in flour burrito wrap.
The tacos are my favourite for multiple reasons, you can mix and match up to 4 options in one taco order and customize the toppings and sauce to your preference. My go-to order for myself is always a Pollo con Limon, Carnitas, Picadillo, and Al Pastor. I know, I have covered all the food groups there but hear me out, they are all so good in their own ways! The Pollo con Limon is chicken cooked with onions and jalapenos. It is a spicy flavourful chicken with a bite of lime at the end that honestly doesn’t need any chile sauce. Carnitas is a lovely slow-cooked pork that is shredded then cooked on the flat top, so it has a lovely, browned crust while still having a moist, porky bite. The picadillo is minced beef cooked with potatoes, onions, and chile which makes for a hearty filling taco that is almost reminiscent of an empanada. Finally, the Al Pastor which is pork marinated in adobo and cooked with pineapple. It is smoky and sweet and is topped off with a cabbage cilantro mix and chile. It hits every flavour note.
El Chile Toreado does a really good job with quesadillas and the great thing is you can add your choice of protein. They are easily the size of an 8-inch plate and the interesting thing is these quesadillas have a cheese crust that rims the outside. This means you get that lovely, melted cheese enveloping your protein but also a crunchy cheesy bite all in one quesadilla.
I have eaten my way through the menu of El Chile Toreado and thoroughly enjoyed it. I hope this encourages you to pay them a visit and grab a taste for yourself. If you do try the hotdog, let me know if it is worth giving up my tacos just once.
