Must-Try: Fonda Lola’s portable homage to the Mexican caesar salad

Despite its long-running association with gingham tablecloths, caesar salad is actually a Mexican invention. It was dreamed up in Tijuana, where a few old-school cantinas still serve the dish tableside. At Fonda Lola, the funky Latin restaurant at Queen and Shaw, chef Howard Dubrovsky takes the basic flavour components and turns them into finger food. He fills silky leaves of Boston lettuce with cool, garlicky dollops of avocado mousse. Then, he tops each little parcel with a chewy slab of slow-cooked bacon, glazed with sticky maple syrup and a sinus-clearing wallop of fiery jalapeño. Rolled up and eaten like a taco, the three-bite snack hits all the creamy, crunchy notes of the classic starter—with none of the soggy leftovers. $8 for two.

Fonda Lola, 942 Queen St. W., 647-706-9105, fondalola.ca