Elite Event At Chino Locos

Damn it Kat, you’re making it hard to give you less than five stars.
Burritos: delicious, and interesting new taste sensations. Mark my words, I will be back to try more.
Beverages: Tasty, cold, and free — the trifecta
Backdrop: Easy to spot with all the Unilocal balloons, and the staff really gave it their all with the costumes and generally being excellent people and what not. Kudos — massive, massive kudos.
Babble*: A lot of cool people, a lot of good conversations. Glad to see the Unilocalers out again.
That’s all four Bs covered — can’t ask for much more than that.
* — Yeah, you try coming up with another one that starts with B.

What to say what to say… but yummy burritos… fun event
This is now my 3^rd Elite event, I’m the +1 just so you know… I haven’t earned my own Elite-​hood yet, but I’m always along for the ride. Every event I have been to has had it’s own feel and flow to it, and this was no different.
First of all, I could see everyone at the event with out having to be an inch from their face. I have to say it was kind of odd having been to the others where the lighting is dim and the mood has been more club like. I think I like the club live events better.
Secondly, it was perfect to have an even close to my house… no TTC required and it was in my bubble, if there was hard alcohol involved I could have stumbled home!
Thirdly, it was amazing to see new people come out to the event, it wasn’t like I saw the same faces as I do at most events. Either more people have become Elite or the neighborhood brought out a different kind of Elite member.
Over all the even was fun and the perfect length of time. If I didn’t have a date, I would have moved on to the after party.
Kat did a great job hosting and Kate held down the check in like a pro! Shout out to Viv for always letting me tag along!

How did I feel about the event itself? Fantastic! How did I feel about the food? Conflicted!
Chino Locos (translation.crazy pants?) is a cute enough place but the lighting was mega unflattering and fell somewhere between ‘high school cafeteria’ and ‘work’ in terms of the sheer fluorescent brightness. But lightning does not a good place make, necessarily. So I won’t waste too much time on it. The staff were accommodating, informative and kind without a hint of attitude, which is always nice.
Now, the food.
The first burrito I sampled was veggie and had, what seemed on paper, to be a laundry list of delicious ingredients that could only lead to me smiling and rubbing my tummy in post-​grazing appreciation. Unfortunately, I found the burrito to be almost flavourless. With guacamole, edamame, cheese, sour cream, peppers (and likely other ingredients that I haven’t listed) it seems impossible to have anything less than an explosion of flavour, but there you have it. I blame the rice. Too hearty and grain-​y without any inherent taste of its own.
Holding out hope that the fish burrito with chow mein noodles (I think?) would be at least interesting flavour-​wise if not legitimately good, I was pleasantly surprised that it was downright delish. I mean, you can’t go wrong when you already have white fish and stir-​fried noodles but I never would have thought, ‘You know what this needs? A bread-​based wrap!’ I stand corrected.
Also, I managed to snag the last glass of red wine (Thanks for bringing it, Kat!) and actually drank some beer, which is a HUGE DEAL since I generally loathe the stuff.
Luckily, I was able to imbibe with proper liquor when the party moved over to Local 4, an adorable pub/​restaurant with a neighbourhood vibe and attendant servers, and got to know a handful of super-​fun fellow Unilocalers.
All in all, a fun night filled with enough laughter and excited shouting to leave me hoarse the next morning. But it was so worth it.

Well, better late than never right?
*Thanks* Kat for an awesome event! I really appreciated the invite, (and what’s not to love with free food and good company?) And of course, thanks Chino Locos for the yummy treats!
So, thanks to Chino Locos and Unilocal,I’ve now seen the light. Chow mein in burritos should become standard. Period.
(It also furthers my rationalisation of pasta and nachos! But that’s another story… XD)
Also loved the mix of chow mein with slow-​roasted pork (Yuuuuuum!) — I’m usually a vegetable-​only snob when it comes to my noodles, but their house signature burrito (aka «Sweeeeeet») may well have converted me.
The shame. ;)
Is it true that we were only given half of a normal burrito portion? ‘Cause Dude. Leftovers. Meaning: one price, twice the fun!
Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to try the Pollo (poyo) Loco or Da Finest, since I was so done after the one (half? Really?) Which incidentally may have been their crafty way of ensuring I come back at least twice more, heh.
And there’s something to be said about being waited on by a masked «mexican wrestler». (Now if all servers wore such masks, would there be such thing as a server «pet peeve» list on Unilocal?LOL)
This was my first time meeting up with Unilocalers, and I had more fun than I had imagined I would (I always get nervous when meeting people for the first time, heh.) Despite my awkwardness, I got to shake hands with Kat F, Susan C (she’s *NOT* scary, who knew? :p), Randy G, Mel D, RJ P and Margs L (aka Abbott and Costello, erm… respectively? lol); also waved at Sam G and Ariel G, all of whom were fun, happy people to be around and chow down with.
And Swag. I snuck off with a Tangerine flavoured Unilocalstick (lip balm) that I can’t wait to try out once my raspberry SoftLips is done. XD
Thanks for the great evening, all!

What a great event! Chino Locos has a great space, a hip and wonderful staff, and fantastic burritos. It would have been nicer for me had they not been two flights of stairs above the street, but c’est la vie! ;)
The food was delicious, I tried the pulled pork and fish burritos, both chow mein style, and they were fantastic. The eclectic mix of beans (including edamame) was a nice change from the standard Mission St. burrito. The whole wheat burritos were delicious, but a bit of a challenge with only a fork.
The chipotle sauce in the yellow bottles was robust and spicy, but the salsa verde took it to a whole other level. I had a huge glob on top of my fish burrito and I think I had my own «El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer», I’m not sure where Chino Locos found the Guatemalan Insanity Pepper, but I’m glad they did. :P
I thoroughly enjoyed meeting the staff prior to the event, and helping get everything set up. Many thanks to Kasey for keeping the drinks flowing, and to Kate «the underaged» M. for working the door with nothing but San Pellegrino to keep her going!
This was a fun event, and I can’t wait for the next one, keep the good times going Kat, you are truly l’embajadora mas fina!

Mexican food is a bit like the James Bond or the Enterprise captain you were first exposed to and grew up with. That’s your gold standard by which you judge everything else. Of course even saying Mexican food is to paint it with one big brush, like saying «Chinese food». There are regional variations within Mexico and points beyond. Mexican food is becoming like pizza. People adding local variation. If you don’t like it, move along. Move along.
Toronto has always been a bit of a black hole for Mexican food but lot of that has change with Toronto finally getting on the Mission-​style burrito bandwagon. It took about a decade for this to filter north of the Rio Detroit. But now that it’s here, local indies are bringing rapid ubiquity to the cuisine. The next Thai food? Probably.
So, what’s a new burrito joint to do? Spot the next trend in Mexican food and don’t wait another bloody decade. The trend now is Mexican-​Asian fusion. The «kogi» style is where Mexican food is heading:
Chino Locos (spanish for «crazy cotton Gap pants») appears to be easing Toronto («waddya mean Taco Bell isn’t authentic?») culture into the kogi/​Asian-​Mexican fusion trend.
That said, Chino Locos has foresight and a great staff if the Elite Event is any hint. They’ve hunkered down in a neighborhood that attracts a crowd that isn’t going to go ape over finding chow mein noodles in their burritos (which has a really great mouth feel).
Thanks to Kat, of course, for knocking another one out of the park. You don’t get this kind of royal treatment from Facebook or Wikipedia, I tell you.

Yessums… as an Elite Event it doesn’t get more exciting than an exclusive preview of a yet-​to-​be-​revealed food joint. Ah ha! We are Elite! Major props for the hookup of made-​to-​order AYCE burritos and beverages, and of course, nice to see a full house of eager Unilocalers.
It’s nice to see a variety of events, and hey, it’s all good that we ended up at a bar afterwards… :) Great job, Kat.

This was my first elite event, and hot damn, these are some fun peeps! It was great to meet so many new faces, and also relive some good memories from the cupcake crawl. There really isn’t much I can add about the food… it was awesome! And it proved to me that you can pretty much wrap anything in a tortilla, press it, and magically have handheld deliciousness!
Thanks to all the Chino Locos staff for the great time, and especially Kat and Kate for their host-​y goodness!

Thoroughly enjoyed my first elite event (even though I’m really just a guest of an elite). Kat did a stellar job of choosing the venues: Chino Locos & Local 4. Food, drinks & Unilocalers = a delicious combination.
Loved Chino Locos — even though I thought the veggie burrito w/​rice, was kinda bland, the fish burrito w/​noodles was incredible. Absolutely incredible! I also tasted the fish burrito w/​rice just to compare and there was no comparison. The fish burrito w/​noodles is where it’s at. ‘Nuff said.
Local 4 & its totally chill atmosphere was awesome. The wait staff were super attentive and they totally added to the charm of the place. Good times.
Kat + Unilocalers + burritos + drinks = amazing!

This is a review of the event only. I will include some suggestions for the food, but I fully understand that they are not open as of yet and have to work out the kinks.
Kat did a wonderful job in organizing a really fun and pleasant event. It was nice to meet some Unilocalers I had not met, while renewing the connection with others. The locale is interesting as was Ms. DeVille. I did miss her white cocktail dress, after she dressed down… Pity! Thanks again for making this event fun.
Tortillas: add an option with a blue corn one
Rice: Cook it a little less, a little more al dente
Noodles: Excellent
Fish: Excellent
Cooking time: please do not serve a visibly burned burrito
Service Attitude: the best
Take out: from the second-​floor??? Signage has to be upgraded
Some pre-​packaged salad options for those seeking a lighter fare
Salsas: excellent, do not change a thing… maybe add a ‘suicide’ version including scotch bonnets
Burrito Suggestions: smoked meat burrito, vegetarian poutine burrito
While people wait: chips and salsa, even for sale
Good luck to the crew at Chino Locos!

This was my first Elite event, my first time dining in The Village, and, in all honesty, it’s been a while since I’ve eaten a burrito. Here’s my review of all three in four simple words — I LOVED IT ALL. Basically, I want to move to The Village and eat burritos for the rest of my life. Shout out to Kat for everything — it was amazing and you definitely got me hooked on
!
I loved the fish taco with Chow Mein noodles — try it!

My first Elite event and what a start! I got to meet a lot of the people I’ve been reading online, including Susan C! And, I got to see some other people who I haven’t seen since the Ossington Bar Crawl (Will, Christine, Kat), and I also learned my husband is jealous of my elite status! All in all, a great night! :)
The staff at Chino Locos are going to make this place incredible. They are all so committed to delivering a quality product, and are so enthusiastic, friendly and fun. I really look forward to returning and seeing them succeed, because they really deserve to.
And the food? I am only sorry I didn’t try a burrito with noodles. I was so full from trying the pollo and beefsteak burritos with rice (traditional), that I couldn’t try the chow mein versions once they started serving them. Rookie mistake, I guess. I’ll do better at my next elite event! I promise! The burritos were among the best I have tried — great fresh ingredients, and much healthier because of it. Good selection of sauces too, although I was too wimpy to try the really hot one.
Thanks to Kat and her friendly helper (also Kat?) for staging a really warm welcoming event. The choice of beer was excellent too, and all free save for tips, of course!
Best of luck to the Chino Loco crew! I hope to come back in a month and see your business thriving.

Walking up the stairs to the new, as yet unopened Chino Locos restaurant, and my first Elite event, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Would I turn the corner to find a brooding circle of robe-​clad Elite Unilocalers, tightly gripping large wooden paddles while salivating at the thought of indoctinating me into their club, a la the legendary Stonecutters episode of The Simpsons? Not quite.
That said, I was immediately blinded both by the everpresent fluorescent lighting and the immediate and overwhelming sense of openness and friendship pouring off fellow Unilocalers and the incredible Chino Locos staff. And while there were no robes, there were some costumes, notably the Chino Locos luchadore who helpfully recommended the best tastes to try.
As far as Chinos Locos goes, I can’t say enough about the food, except that I’d add to others’ reviews that the salsa verde was insanely good, and a half cup of red wine isn’t enough to quench the resulting thirst.
As for the subsequent event at Local 4, the staff was incredibly friendly, working hard to ensure that I tried their Chocolate Cake shot of vodka and frangelico + lemon. Though that late night shot of Liquid Cocaine wasn’t half bad either… does that mean I have a problem? (Don’t answer that.)
Overall, it was an incredibly fun night. Massive props go to the always thoughtful Kat and her spunky sidekick Kate for making all of this possible. Count me in for the next one. :D

My first impression walking up the stairs to Chino Locos for last night’s Unilocal Elite event was «Oh no… this is way too bright for an Elite event». Not to say we all look better in the dark but, well, I do. Luckily, I don’t look that good in any light so there wasn’t much difference.
On to the event, featuring a bevy of burritos and a keg full of Tankhouse Ale (what a perfect combo, btw). I heard from Underage Kate the pork was excellence while Tiny Nick claimed the fish and noodle was even better. That sounded even better so I went with the fish. I can’t say if it was better but I can say it was very good, though I did find it a bit on the spicy side, even without the hot sauce (Susan C found this to be particularly funny). I’ll definitely be stopping by to check out the rest of the menu next time I’m in the Village.
As usual, the event seemed to be well planned and went as smoothly as Kat’s silky, porcelain skin. The staff at Chino’s were friendly, helpful and oddly dressed, which was nice. It was nice to see how accommodating they were, not only opening early for our little party but also serving the aforementioned keg upon Unilocal’s request.
Just in the interest of continuing to make alcohol based complaints I’ll suggest that a new rule should emerge for all forthcoming Unilocal events: shots must be available.
Unilocalers were in fine form once again, mingling like no one was watching. A few months after the first Unilocal event and it definitely seems like we’re getting to know each other, at least we seem to have more to talk about (ie the last Unilocal event). I like some of you so much I may even let you play golf we me sometime (I stole that).
Going to Unilocal events is important to me because it gives me a chance to explain some of the more ridiculous things I’ve said here on Unilocal.It’s not often we’re given such an opportunity and it’s something I appreciate very much. And by that I mean it’s nice to be able to say whatever I want and then later blame everything on «misinterpreted internet tone».
Sorry I missed some of you at the after party, I’ll make it up to you, just wait.

Talk about getting a faceful of burritos on a Friday night. Gracias Chino Loco para es anfitriones tan amables y generosos! The burritos that I got to gobble on were delish. Love the noodles and the attitude. :) I think this was the brightest Elite event that I’ve ever been too, imagine that, the lights were on. I actually got to meet a ton of Elite Unilocalers because it is so much easier to read their name tags.
I brought my S.O. to his very first Unilocal event and afterwards he said to me «now I can see why you like this group so much». Highlights included having Carolyn B. join in the evening, getting a chance to chat up Will and of course treating Dave O’s jacket like it was a Genie’s Lamp… can you say tactile? Always lovely to meet up again with Unilocal couples, Brian and Melinda (ummmm…sorry about the beer fiasco Melinda :) and Chris P. and his lovely bride Danielle (ahem). Andrew you were looking your usual hot self… damn those guns on you are in good shape. Amazing how many people you can see when the lights are up. Love chatting and hanging with Dale, Carmen and cute little door girl Kat, who so kindly kept me supplied with my disappearing name tags.
Good job Kat! Missing from the Elite equation… Jay & Katrina, most obviously my beloved sista Unilocaler, Deanna (who was hosting Vivek & Mel C. in NYC), Shari (hope you are feeling better girl!), the lovely Hana, Abby and Farheen.
Loved Local 4 for the after party. Good call Kat! Reasonably priced booze and nice atmosphere, great service. The staff popped by our table a few times to make sure we had what we needed.
Oh and Chris… I’m happy to be the Mother (as long as its not the Motherf*cker, all is ok!). Just as long as your honey made it home safe and sound. :)
Again, thanks Kat. Otro trabajo bien hecho! Best of luck to Chino Locos in this new location.

Since I’m a fan of Chino Locos #1 (Queen & Greenwood), I had to be one of the first to check out Chino Locos #2 (Church & Alexander). So how awesome is it that there was an Elite Event happening there before the place even opened to the public?!
New huge open space, but they kept the same friendly faces from the first location. Same delicious burritos, the free beer was definitely welcome, and oh yeah — it was nice to meet some fellow Unilocalers.
I’m glad I was invited, I’m glad I came, I’m glad I ate, I’m glad I drank, glad glad glad. It was (dare I say) «loco». Yup, I went there.

Not bad, not bad at all. Hope I didn’t offend anyone with my picture taking last night. Kat F. gets angry when people don’t show up in pictures. I did my best before my camera had a massive failure. Thanks to the sympathizers.
Shimmers of Brilliance:
+ Chow mien in noodles. I’ve seen everything. Glorious.
+ Masked wrestling gimp. Love.
+ Owners are both Chinese/​Vietnamese (like moi). Got to support the cause. Hope they’re not VCs.
+ Love the Unilocal crew and appreciate that I didn’t get ‘shiv’ed’ by someone who has a grudge against me.
Disappointments:
— Space needs a makeover… those lights be hurtin’ my eyes!
— Pop a window, it’s a little smoky… maybe it’s because we ordered 500 000 000 grilled burritos?
— Sad Abby couldn’t make it

I initially walked past Chino Locos because I was distracted by all the fire trucks outside Maple Leaf Gardens… Walked up the stairs and my first thought was that it was too bright — after the cozy atmosphere at the last Elite Event this place seemed a little less inviting, but that is my only complaint.
I was mad hungry when I got there so the smell burritos got me excited. I walked up to the bar and the guy asked me if I was a meat eater and pointed out the chicken and steak. When I said I would have the chicken he put the steak on my plate as well and said «Here, try both.» I like being force fed like that. The steak was good but the chicken (with chow mein) was even better. I regret not trying the fish.
A keg of beer is never a bad idea. I’m still not very good at being social at these things (this was my second event) but I met some Unilocalers for the first time. I will get the hang of it eventually… Thanks, Kat!

Really? Am I gonna get FTR on this?
All righty, here goes:
How can you not like a burrito joint that has Dita von Teese 2.0 and a masked Burrito Gimp serving up chicken chow mein in whole wheat tortillas?
Great to meet some Unilocalers I hadn’t met before (RJ P., Margs L., Maureen P., Kelly O., Connie T., Helen «I knew she’s Asian» L., Vivian V., Noël D., and Carolyn «not scared of susan c. any more» B., Aeryn L., Devan «finally!» R., Melinda M., Jon S., Junichi Z… oh, crap, this is gonna be like one of those Oscar acceptance speeches where I forget to mention someone…)
The fluorescent lighting was harsh but the vibe was sexy mild. So much fun! And yes, I am drunk-​Yelping.
That is all.
[EDITED TO ADD NEXT-​DAY SOBERED-​UP COMMENTARY]
— Awesome service from the burristas, va-​va-​va-​voom von Teese lady, and masked Burrito Gimp who went out of his way to hand-​deliver a yummy chicken-​chow mein burrito to me.
— Keg-​pumping Lady, thanks for keeping my plastic cup o’ suds full.
— Dave «beer savior» O. — You da man!
— All the peeps I got to chat with — I heart you. (You know who you are.)
— Kat «Bestest CM EVar!» F. — Luv that Unilocal Elites got the sneak preview before Chino Locos even opened. You sure know how to throw a hella fun party, boss lady!

First-​off, damn you Susan for getting FTR. Starfu*ker at best I guess.
If you’ve looked at my profile lately I’m pretty sure you can guess why this is a 5 star review. Burritos at Chinos +5 and liquid cocaine shots at Local 4 +10. Trust the amazing Kat F. to order a round of shots for those who hung out till the end! (I hope you are feeling better Mike when you read this!!).
Great to meet some new L33T’s and to catch up with the old. Thanks Christine C. for playing mother for a short time for me at Local 4. :)