Really good 'beach food:' Tacofino still serving up a taste of Tofino 17 years later
When Kaeli Robinsong co-founded Tacofino with her business partner Jason Sussman in 2009, she was no stranger to cramped cooking.
Having sharpened her culinary skills as a young chef at a rural retreat before transitioning to film catering in Vancouver, she eventually found herself cooking in remote camps throughout the province for tree-planting crews.
“Our kitchens would get slung in by helicopters and we’d have to set them up. The food would get slung in by helicopter, and you’d be watching as the onions fell out. And we’d be like, ‘OK, I guess we won’t be using onions tonight,’ ” she recalls with a laugh. “So, it was quite wild, adventure cooking.”
That wilderness experience made cooking out of a food truck seem downright luxurious.
“We both loved to cook. And surf. So, a food truck in Tofino is all of that combined,” she says.
What started as a passion project in the back of the Live to Surf parking lot 17 years ago has since expanded to include 12 brick-and-mortar locations in B.C.
“At the time, we were spending a lot of time in the off-season in California and in Baja, Mexico, surfing. And eating,” Robinsong explains of the initial menu inspiration. “Tacos and surf, tacos and the beach, it all goes together very well. It’s a beautiful combo.”
Before embarking on their journey, they asked Tofino locals (the two have lived between Vancouver Island and Vancouver for many years) what they wanted to eat, and Robinsong recalls them getting a pretty “loud-and-clear” answer.
“They wanted tacos,” she says. “So, we delivered.”
Leaning into “non-traditional Mexican food with a West Coast twist,” the popular restaurant brand serves up fish tacos, crispy chicken burritos, nachos and more.
The selection of dishes has seemed to strike a chord with locals and visitors alike, with Robinsong pointing to their Baja fish tacos as a particularly popular pick.
“It’s crispy golden-battered line caught ling cod, with chipotle mayonnaise, fresh shredded cabbage and our salsa Fresca. Topped with a lime and with our grilled flour tortilla,” Robinsong explains of the bestseller.
While they’ve played around with the menus over the years at various locations, even venturing down a more elevated path through their Hastings commissary kitchen at one point in time, Robinsong says they’ve never strayed too far from their original mission of dishing out just really good “beach food.”
“When guests come to Tacofino, we hope they get a little taste of Tofino,” she says. “It’s where it all started. And it’s such a special, magical place. We wanted to share a little bit of that magic.”
In a full-circle moment for the Tacofino team, they recently opened a second location in the beachside B.C. community. Located at 450 Campbell St., the white-and-orange painted outpost represents both a return to the roots of Tacofino, as well as an investment in its future in the area.
“We’ve lived in Tofino, it’s our community, and we’ve had our little truck pumping out tacos for 17 years now. And we really had the need for a good prep kitchen,” says Robinsong of the expansion. “We wanted to find something that was ours and to build a kitchen that really serviced us.”
When the spot, which is located at the first four-way spot in downtown Tofino, came available, Robinsong says they jumped at the opportunity.
“It’s a building that has been empty for many years and is such a great, bright, sunny lot with lots of parking,” she says.
Noting they will be opening the new location in stages, especially as Tofino struggles with water issues (much like many communities on Vancouver Island that see a big tourist boom during certain seasons), Robinsong says they have big plans to evolve the newest location into something that’s a bit of a love letter to the community that started it all.
“It’s a takeout window to start. And we are very optimistic about getting our liquor licence. So, we’re really crossing our fingers that we will be serving margaritas in Tofino soon,” Robinsong says, noting the goal is to evolve into a full-service restaurant before too long.
Oh, and as for that original food truck? It’s there to stay.
“Our OG truck isn’t going anywhere.”
Related
Source: vancouversun.com