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A half-dozen tacos were available on corn tortillas sturdy enough to contain their slow-cooked, shredded proteins. Tacos here were right-sized, neither too small nor overloaded, and minimally garnished. Most flavourful were the tacos filled with pork adobo, chicken mole and Mexican chorizo with potatoes. Shredded beef and pork tacos benefitted from the boost of green salsa brought to the table. The shredded pork (carnitas) tacos would have been better with a finishing sear to make the meat crispy.

Still, these were basic but good tacos worth a visit (especially at $4 a piece), and the fine, flavourful tortilla soup ($8), house-made and not-too-sweet tamarindo drinks ($3.50) and Latin music sounds added to my positive impression of this no-frills but charming place.

I’ve also tried the tacos at the similarly named, and formerly associated, Ola Cocina in Vanier and La Cocina Loca — previously Ola Cocina West — in Hintonburg.

There’s a longer story to be told, but the shorter one begins with restaurateur Donna Chevrier opening her cosy 20-seater Ola Cocina in late 2013, and later joining forces with Ottawa serial restaurateur Ion Aimers to bring her acclaimed artisanal tacos to Hintonburg, in the space that had previously been one of Aimers’ ZaZaZa pizza joints. The partnership ended, but Aimers continues to sell Ola Cocina-style tacos in the renamed La Cocina Loca.

While the menus are nearly identical at the two eateries, my respective taco dinners varied considerably. Yes, both Cocinas serve a wide range of fancy tacos ($4 at La Cocina Loca, $4.50 at Ola Cocina), including duck confit tacos outfitted with arugula, beets, crème fraîche and cranberry coffee maple syrup, as well as tandoori chicken, octopus and pork belly tacos, plus more traditional creations such as pork shoulder slow roasted in achiote paste. But everything tasted significantly better — fresher out of the kitchen and more zippily garnished — at Ola Cocina in Vanier. The same went for guacamole at both places, and especially for side orders of rice and beans. In Vanier, the rice and beans were punchily seasoned. In Hintonburg, not only were the sides bland, but the beans also came with pieces of plastic wrap among them. (Thankfully, the server apologized and my meal was comped.)