Meet Parkdale's master of the barbecued pig
There's a guy in Parkdale that you've got to meet. His name is Bernard and he's 80 years old. He runs a Filipino specialty shop, Bernard's Pilipino Specialties, at 1534 Queen Street West, just west of...
View ArticleDosa specialist is a Bloordale favourite
Bloordale resident Quaison is such a fan of South Indian Dosa Mahal (located at 1262 Bloor Street West) that when his son was born a few months ago, he ordered 200 samosas from the restaurant for the...
View ArticleThis former Coffee Time is now the hub for Toronto's Haitian community
***As of Dec 2012 this place is not open. See the comments at the end of this post. A former Coffee Time restaurant in Scarborough has recently been transformed into a defacto Haitian community centre....
View ArticleA feast from the Middle East
One of the best grocery stores in Toronto is Arz Fine Foods, a Middle Eastern superstore located at 1909 Lawrence Ave. East in Scarborough. For Torontonians originally from the Middle East, such as my...
View ArticleThis Cabbagetown bakery serves fine French pastries and spicy Sri Lankan snacks
A steady stream of customers head into the narrow storefront of Absolute Bakery & Cafe at 589 Parliament Street, lured by the picture-perfect delicate pastries and breads in the window front. Not...
View ArticleTea-n-Bannock serves up aboriginal home cooking
Toronto is chock full of restaurants that serve food from all corners of the world, but have you sampled Canada's own traditional recipes? A brand new Eastside restaurant, Tea-n-Bannock, offers up...
View ArticleEat seven courses of beef with this Vietnamese party meal
In the mood to celebrate? Check out Bò 7 món, a Vietnamese party dish made up of seven courses of beef. Bò 7 món is a meat fest served at Vietnamese events. It denotes wealth, as beef can be pricy in...
View ArticleOne of Toronto's best Asian restaurants gets new digs
A restaurant that served unusually good Asian meals in a food court behind a derelict Scarborough plaza has been reborn. Gourmet Garden made a huge variety of Malaysian, Singaporean and Indonesian...
View ArticleSummer brings new life to Scadding Court market
When the Live Local Marketplace opened up at Scadding Court at Dundas and Bathurst about a year ago, I loved the idea but I worried about the market's future. The market was a project of the adjacent...
View ArticleSpice City Toronto is on holidays
I'll be back soon. In the meantime, send me your Toronto restaurant tips to spicecityto@gmail.com! Thanks.
View ArticleA new French Caribbean restaurant heats up Kensington Market
A wonderful little restaurant has opened up in Kensington Market to introduce Torontonians to a brand new type of food: the cuisine of the French Caribbean. Le Ti Colibri at 291 Augusta serves up...
View ArticleIndian-style roti that rivals Gandhi's
A quaint semi-detached house at Dupont and Spadina is home to Roti Cuisine of India, a restaurant that specializes in Indian-style roti that rivals the legendary Gandhi Indian Cuisine. Owner Vijayan...
View ArticleGreat Caribbean eats at the Weston Flea Market
Some of the best international food Toronto has to offer is served at city's flea markets. The cheap rents on stalls and weekend-only hours make them a great place for aspiring chefs to test out their...
View ArticleAre you ready to try the wedding-size buss-up-shut roti?
Toronto Weston Flea Market vendor Tenny Ramkissoon has a personal mission: to make roti and doubles—a Trinidadian roti-like snack—as popular as pizza and hamburgers. "Roti is a food a lot of people...
View ArticleTasty Jewish meals served inside the sukkah
The Jewish festival of Sukkot is currently taking place, and it's a great time to sample some excellent food and get a glimpse into ancient traditions. Every year, religious Jews build a sukkah—an...
View ArticleTry the pastel, Brazil's answer to the empanada
Posters recently appeared along Dundas Street West, the centre of Toronto's Portuguese-speaking community, advertising the "Festival do Pastel." Starting a few weeks ago, the local restaurant Brazilian...
View ArticleSizzling dishes from Central Asia
Former U.S. presidential candidate Herman Cain lampooned his lack of familiarity with the central Asian country of Uzbekistan. "If someone asks me who is the president of Ubeki-beki-beki-stan-stan I'm...
View ArticleRoti perfection, Malaysian-style
Malaysian food is one of the world's great cuisines, so I was excited to check out Restoran Malaysia, in Richmond Hill (815 Major Mackenzie Drive East at Bayview). The bustling, sprawling restaurant is...
View ArticleHidden behind a derelict North York strip mall, you'll find some of the best...
Many of Toronto's Jamaican restaurants are in a sorry state. All too often you get a bland mountain of rice obscuring some fossilized bits of jerk chicken. But North York/West Scarborough locals know...
View ArticleA made-in-Toronto roti empire expands westward
The legendary Gandhi's Indian Cuisine has a new sibling restaurant: Maurya East Indian Roti Cuisine just opened up at 2481 Lakeshore Blvd West in Mimico (map below). This means there are now five...
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