Order in the Court: Azul, a new fast-casual Mexican counter in the Path
A series that fixates on the city’s food-court gems
Joao Medina, who grew up in Mexico City, got a taste of the chef life early on. “I’ve been cooking since I was 9 years old,” he says. “Both of my parents worked, so it was up to me to feed myself and my brother—eventually, he even preferred my meals over our mom’s.” But Medina says it was in high school, when he had to pick a subject to focus on, that he realized he wanted to have a career in food. “From there, I obtained a degree in culinary arts from Mexico’s Colegio Superior de Gastronomía. Then, in 2010, I came to Toronto to expand my horizons.” It was just supposed to be a stopover, but he decided to stay. “The people, the multiculturalism—I fell in love with the city.”
Over the past 16 years, he has worked his way from line cook all the way up to executive chef at the Palais Royale—a position he still holds. But, a few years ago, he started craving something more. That’s when he was presented with a proposal to open up a fast-casual restaurant in the First Canadian Place food court that would showcase Mexican cuisine. “I settled on naming our restaurant Azul, which is the Spanish word for blue,” says Medina. “Its significance is twofold: it honours the Blue Jays, and it’s the colour of the Talavera tiles we imported from Mexico to use in our storefront. So the name represents both Canadian and Mexican cultures.”
The logo, designed by Mexican artist Jimena Estibaliz, was inspired by the concept of milpa, or the Three Sisters, a traditional and sustainable method of growing corn, beans and squash together. “They complement one another both in the garden and on the plate,” says Medina, like in Azul’s signature Milpa salad, which features pickled jalapeno dressing, romaine lettuce, corn, beans, zucchini, watermelon, radishes, queso fresco, crispy tortillas and puffed quinoa.
Medina says everything on Azul’s menu is meant to replicate the experience of eating street food in Mexico. “For me, the best spots to eat back home aren’t restaurants but roadside vendors. You can grab something delicious and fresh, eat it quickly, and be on your way.” This eat-and-run routine suits his fast-talking, speed-walking finance-industry clientele perfectly.
Even though Azul has been open for just a couple of months, there’s already a line through the food court to its counter by 11 a.m., when it opens for lunch. Given that more people are working from home these days (and that most pedestrians don’t wander down into the Path unless they have to), this is no small feat. Medina says it’s a testament to his respect for traditional flavours and ingredients and the excellent products he sources from suppliers. “Daniel and his team at Noctua Bakery provide us with the telera buns for our tortas—and they’re working on some special Mexican pastries for our breakfast program. Ivan at Maizal makes our signature blue-corn tortilla with corn they grow themselves in Schomberg. It’s 100 per cent nixtamal made from non-GMO corn,” he says. And Latin Core helps Medina procure the hard-to-find herbs and spices used in many of Azul’s dishes. “Mexican oregano and cinnamon are essential in my recipes because no substitutes will do—you can taste the difference.”
Aside from the products they source, Medina and his team make everything from scratch. “We marinate the beef for our birria tacos for 24 hours and slow-cook it for another 16,” Medina says. “We use a similar process for our chilorio (pork shoulder) tacos as well.” He believes Azul’s success is also partly because, in addition to their classic meat-based dishes, they offer menu items suitable for every diet—vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free and halal. Their baja tacos (recently made with branzino) are halal, and their panela cheese torta is vegetarian friendly.
In general, according to Medina, Torontonians aren’t big on desserts—but his tres leches cake (a milk cake laced with whole milk, condensed milk and evaporated milk) has been a hit. “It receives the highest praise you can get here: that it’s not too sweet,” he says.
Juggling both his executive chef role at Palais Royale and his new food-court venture means Medina is busier than ever, but he’s fine with that. “Seeing how happy my food makes people is what makes all of this worth it,” he says. “It’s the sweetest feeling.”
Azul, 100 King St. W., First Canadian Place, @azulmexicanto
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Tiffany Leigh is an award-winning freelance journalist with degrees in business communications and education. She has a culinary background, is a recipient of the Clay Triplette James Beard Foundation scholarship award and has worked in restaurants such as Langdon Hall. In addition to Toronto Life, her pieces have been read in publications such as Forbes, Vogue, Eater, Dwell, Elle, Business Insider, Playboy, Food & Wine and Bon Appétit.
