Best Cheap Eats: Go Fish

No other category attracted such diverse opinions from our judging panel. There was passion, too, as the merits of one signature dish over another (as well as relative cost) peppered the discussion. And indeed, the final vote revealed a diverse, value-laden list that crosses many boundaries and describes the culinary fabric of our city.

“Canada’s best trailer park,” began our critics about Go Fish (Gold), where you can feast seaside over a honking piece of cod ($6), salmon ($7) or halibut ($8) with a basket full of fries and slaw. And the tacone—a cone-wrapped flour tortilla stuffed to the gills with grilled fish—is worth waiting for, even in the rain. Take-out had a watershed moment when Rangoli (Silver) opened two years ago. “Take it home to boil-in-a-bag or dine in the sprightly, light-filled room with curry-hued furnishings. The tomato-based sauce goes well with halibut—“just hide the telltale silver pouch,” said a critic. The fish taco at Lolita’s (Bronze) has a huge fan base, and Chef Shelome Bouvette swiftly accelerates from stranger to good buddy, bantering across the slim kitchen-barstool divide.

The crowded awards wall at Phnom Penh (Honourable Mention) gives way to shredded green papaya salad and tangles of elaborate noodle dishes followed by a surprising dessert: fermented rice and coconut jello. Inspired by Asian hawker food, the no-frills—service is in take-out noodle cartons—Noodle Box (Honourable Mention) offers high volume, squeeze-bottle pan-Asian, “a decent dose on the fly.”

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