Churros en West Broadway!

[Sam Salmon]

Some here will no doubt be familiar with those delicious confections from Latina America known as Churros.

They are fresh made deep-fried-while-you-wait donuts-sprinkled liberally with sugar and cinnamon.

Well I'm happy to tell you that a new Churro emporium- Churrolicious has opened in the 3000 block W. Broadway.

Nestled between Elwoods and the used book place they also offer Spanish style Hot Chocolate, Peruvian Coffee and a few other items I was in too much of a hurry to check out.

I was on a mission to that cavernous cacophonous rugby scrum of a produce store-Young Bros-so I fortified myself with some samples and a Chocolate Caliente from Churrolicious and waded into the morass.

[chocomoo]

Churrolicious website

[Chocoholic]

** drool **

I put it on my 'things to do this weekend' list. Eat churros and drink hot chocolate. Now it really needs to rain

Thanks for the heads up!

[*Deborah*]

From the website, it seems so...franchised. Is it?

(used to churros sold fresh off a cart without fillings)

[Ling]

We should go desserting there. Dulce de Leche churros!

[*Deborah*]

It's a very tempting and engrossing thought, indeed!

[PaoPao]

Oh man, this place looks so good! Coupon for two free Chorros on the website.

Just the thought of these things makes my mouth water for when we we're in Barcelona.

Fresh Churros with that thick Hot Spicy Chocolate available now in Vancouver? Their geniuses.

[edm]

someone's gotta explain to me how you make fresh churros with a filling?.... They might be made to order, but they're not made from scratch...

Another pale bastardized version of a european treat?

we will see...

[canucklehead]

I went last night and checked it out after dinner at Fiction. I ordered the churros with dulce de leche drizzled on them and some hot chocolate.

First the place is not as slick as the website indicates - it is alot more on the fly (and charming frankly) then you would expect. The churros where the thin kind that most of us are familiar with and for about $3 bucks you get six pieces each about 6 inches long. They are fried to order made from a batter press type thing. They were very crisp and quite delicous - very different from what I've had (my experience is basically limited to those carts in Disneyland). The drizzle of dulce de leche and evaporated milk was not a sweet as you might expect. Good.

The hot chocolate was about $3 also - but though it was dark and quite rich - it was not all that different from other hot chocolates that I have had. I was expecting some spiciness to it - but it had none. Did not have the stuffed churros - but now that edm brings it up - it would have been interesting to see how they are made.

It is worth checking out if your in the neighbourhood - but I am not sure if they are worth a special trip across town. Still, deep fried dough - who could resist?

>>> Edited because the ESL student in me seems to be doing alot of the typing lately. Also - I did not have the caliente chocolate mentioned above - so it may account for my Hot Chocolate expectations not being met. I am assuming the caliente chocolate is a choice of topping for the churros.

Edited June 2, 2005 by canucklehead (log)

[SBonner]

I'll have to try this out. My wife and I enjoy those artery clogging churros for breakfast every morning when we are in Spain. I wonder how the chocolate is made? I've never had hot chocolate outside of Spain that tastes the same as back home.

Thank you for the tip...I'm there this weekend.

Stephen and Helen

PS Churros and chocolate taste great with a shot of Brandy

Edited June 2, 2005 by SBonner (log)

[Mooshmouse]

PS Churros and chocolate taste great with a shot of Brandy

←

Note to self: hide mickey of brandy in purse before heading out to sample churros...

[jackandjill]

Found myself stuck on Broadway at 8:30 this evening after first trying to get to Parthenon (closed at 8) then Hot Cuisine (closed at 7), then East is East (30 minute wait), and then finally making it into Minerva's as they were in the process of closing.

While outside of Parthenon I realized I was in the 3*00 block of West Broadway so Churros must be about. The store is very nice, much less franchisey than the web site makes it seem (though the owner did say she'd like to open multiple outlets). The owner and deep-fry worker couldn't have been more welcoming and warm. They gave a complimentary cup of chocolate dipping sauce to the group after me, who said that this was their thrid consecutive day of being there... though I guess they could have been more welcoming and warm if they had given *me* a cup too. But I digress.

These churros are not the Disney variety - these are much more crispy/crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside, as opposed to the air, bubbly dough found on those churro rotisseries you see at amusement parks that probably had hot dogs on them earlier that day.

I had a half dozen, topped with dulce de leche and a little condensed milk. I felt lecherous afterwards - six is enough for 2 or even 3 people (and at $3.95 a good deal - without the dulce de leche, they are just $2.95 per 1/2 doz).

Note that Saturday June 11 is their grand opening, with "live music, samples, prizes and much more!"

Edited June 3, 2005 by jackandjill (log)

[Daddy-A]

I think I smell the next "Kolachy Shop" ....

A.

[*Deborah*]

I think I smell the next "Kolachy Shop" ....

A.

←

If so, my hips are grateful that the Churro Shop isn't a block from my office.

[Ling]

sounds like a cute place to take a date

[PaoPao]

Saturday, after coming back from Westham Island buying Strawberries we decided to use our coupons to sample the free Churros. We ordered the regular Churros, the Dulce de Leche stuffed Churro, and the Hot Chocolate.

These are a nice little snack. Crispy on the outside with a nice flavor from the sprinkled sugar. Dipping it in the Hot Chocolate was ok, I guess my expectations we're out of whack comparing to what we had before in Spain.

The star of our order was definitely the Stuffed Churro, the Dulce de Leche was a great addition to the crispy hot dough.

If I was passing by again I'm not sure it grabbed me enough to go a second time.

[dillybravo]

Another pale bastardized version of a european treat?

we will see...

←

Cheers my fellow curmudgeon, you're right. And for once almost everyone else seems to agree, too! Churros must truly be a magical food.

Not these ones though. Even though they imported the fryer and all from Spain, the magic seems to have been left behind. Far too crunchy, also lacking in that unique churro flavour: I think they need to tweak their recipe for North American flour. Or find a source of finer flour with less gluten. That, and the frying temperature is perhaps too high. Also, I might suggest they need to use a slightly larger die, to improve the gooey end of the delicate gooey/crunchy churro balance. The ones in the flyer picture look perfect, so perhaps with time...

For you other-Western-province eGulleteers, the best outside-of-Spain churros I've had are at Churros King in Edmonton (a well-regarded Chilean place that also has good sausages, etc.). They are far superior to these. I go there anytime I find myself in Edmonton, right after I load up on the Charles Smart donairs. That's been a long while, so perhaps things have changed in the interim; if anyone checks it out...let me know!

On the franchise question, if you look at the table cards they mention two other churro franchises, one out of Toronto and one somewhere in the US (?). I think they are perhaps attempting to become churro franchise #3, hence the website.

Finally, regarding filled churros, they can be made to order/fresh if you're willing to hollow them out and fill each with cream. You can also buy churros carts with a cream filling attachment so I don't think it is too difficult if you have the right equipment.

[SBonner]

We got there late last night after the Fiction dinner. I had the Chocolate (no churros left). The chocolate had a similar flavour to what we have had in Spain but less textural. I think in Spain more cornstarch is added to the blend so you have that dreamy sensation of drinking liquid chocolate mousse. I'll have to try the churros next time.

Stephen

[PearL]

Speaking of drinking chocolates --- has anyone tried the one from Starbucks? Chantico, is it?

To Stephen or others- do let me know if the churros are nicer when fresh; they were very cold and hard by the time we were able to get to them (over 20 minutes after ordering).

[SBonner]

Speaking of drinking chocolates --- has anyone tried the one from Starbucks? Chantico, is it?

To Stephen or others- do let me know if the churros are nicer when fresh; they were very cold and hard by the time we were able to get to them (over 20 minutes after ordering).

←

I never got to taste the churros. In Spain we have always had them served at room temperature which works well when dippng them in the chocolate. I'd like to try the filled ones...something I have not seen before. WORD OF WARNING the Chantico at Starbucks is horrid. It is sickenly sweet and not too chocolatey. Give it a miss. I needed to drink a bottle of water after to get rid of the sweetness that stuck in my mouth.

Stephen

Edited June 9, 2005 by SBonner (log)

[whatelyj]

I had some of these churros the other night with my mother, who had never heard of such a thing and was somewhat bemused that I had dragged her out in the rain to what looked like a little hole-in-the-wall juice bar. She was thrilled when they arrived, though - as was I. We chose the Dulce de leche sauce and the churros were hot and crisp. They were fresh fresh fresh, sweet, crunchy and delicious. I will definitely go back.

PS IMO, (confirmed chocaholic) Starbucks' chanticos are delicious and thick (too sweet? pshaw!), but they do tend to render you useless for productive activity for some time after indulging... Best on cold, rainy days.

Edited June 9, 2005 by whatelyj (log)

[Vancouver]

Hi. Got around to trying them out today. I agree with some previous posters that the churros were a bit overcooked - too crispy throughout. The hot chocolate also didn't have any cinnamon that I could detect and was expecting, so it tasted pretty similar to most hot chocolates I've had elsewhere and disappointed me.

The service was extremely friendly and high spirited though.

Cheers!

[Hue]

I hit the shop as well...tried the dulce de leche filled one, upon the lady's recommendation (she said it was milk jam(?)). Apparently they made it after you order it, since I had to wait a while, but it was hot and fresh.

[Daddy-A]

I think a lot of us were there today. I had a craving on my way into the office so had an espresso and a 6-pack of churros a la dulce de leche.

Fried dough .... good!

I'm having a real chuckle at some of the comments here. I find we as a group have a tendency to over-analyze food. Comparison is great for conversation, but do churros need to taste the same as in Spain (or mainly on the plain) as they do over here (in the rain)? I have no frame of reference other than Disneyland , so remaining gleefully ignorant of Spanish churro-bliss, I stand by my original comments.

Fried dough .... good!

A.

[Ling]

I have only had churros at Splashdown Park and at the Tex-Mex places in mall food courts, so I really enjoyed the churros from this place. The ones stuffed with dulce de leche are delicious, and I like the extra-crispy exterior, regardless of whether this is authentic or not.

The hot chocolate at Churrolicious is OK...kind of watery for my tastes. I think I have unreasonable standards for hot chocolate though, because I make mine at home on the stovetop by melting a high quality chocolate with a sprinkle of cayenne and cinnamon, and using half and half instead of milk or water. I've tried using whipping cream too, but that can get a little rich, even for me.

Edited June 10, 2005 by Ling (log)