I'm Moving to Toronto (this week!)
Sooks
714 Posts
That's right Torontonians, me and my lovely partner are moving to your town this Friday! I got a new job with a small-ish company out in Etobicoke, she's got a new job, too - we've got a good looking apartment in Cabbagetown, and I'm looking forward to checking the city out (and spending money at Cosmos!). I was going to try and gather a short list of favorites if you have a minute, so I can get my bearings...I figure I can do my own searching for records, so no need for spots to be blown, but... do you have a favorite:pho joint?thai spot?place in little india?korean bbq?down to earth bar w/ serious drinks?anything else?As I said, we'll be in Cabbagetown (what's Riverdale farm like?), so any explorations East are easy, and since I'll be working in the West, I'm going to get familiar with the subway (no car). Aser's description of the veg. place in Markham made me want to be able to explore the city to check some cool (and delicious) things, so any and all recommendations are welcome!
Comments
welcome (almost)!!
i don't know too much about Cabbagetown, but can answer some questions...
thai spot - not at all the best in town, but i like it for its cheapness and its insanely noisey and elbow to elbow cafeteria set-up - Salad King on Gould, just East of Yonge, North of Dundas, across from Sam's
place in little india - Udupi Palace - all veg - the best rasam soup ever. there is a great Indian restuarant named Little India on Queen West, just West of
University on the South side - $10 buffet 11:30 AM - 3:30 PM everyday. also Embassy at Finch and Middlefield in Scarborough - worth the drive for their pastries, take-out veg combo, $1/5 samosas and coriander chutney
down to earth bars -
Cloak and Dagger 394 College (i do a monthly there!) - pubby and friendly and good music most nights, just East of Bathurst on North side
Done Right Inn on Queen West, before Trinity Bellwoods Park, South side
Sweaty Betty's on Ossington, just North of Queen, East side
Steer Inn - on Roncesvalles, East side - bizarre and friendly and hardcore drinking goes on there, but very chill
check Sunrise for Jamaican food on Kingston Rd and another one is on Keele
Eglinton West and St. Clair West are good areas to check for a myriad of reasons
Kensington Market, especially for car-free Sundays once a month - there is tons to eat/look at/listen to there
The Real Jerk at Queen and Broadview - close to you - is not bad, good dumplings
Albert's - one on St. Clair, West of Bathurst, North side and one on Queen West, East of Bathurst, North side
a few different JA spots on Eglinton West
there will be more West Indian eats listings in the Now and eye weeklies when Caribana comes around at the end of July
close to Albert's on Queen is Ghandhi's - they have amazing East Indian rotis
and in Parkdale - go to Ali's on Queen, North side, just East of Landsdowne - they're Trini. do not believe anyone who tells you Bacchus (also in the area) is good.
pho - hanoi 3 seasons, golden turtle, mimi's, pho hung
thai - vanipha lanna is a little bit expensive for thai, but the best by far.
korean bbq - sejong & seoul house are the only two spots in the city using charcoal for their bbq.
bars - smokeless joes has the best beer selection in the city.
gelato - la paloma, hollywood
avoid the albert's on queen, it's just not that good. Stick w/ the one on st clair.
I can go on endlessly, but it's best for you to ask more questions and I'll try my best to answer.
ps: summerlicious starts pretty sooon, a good way to explore the city's culinary delights on a budget.
this is no joke. this place is amazing.
Korean... Ummm.. Come on...
Book Chang Dong!!!
Cheap and oh soo good!
Aser likes it cause it cleans the body good!
And if ur gonna be up in lil Italy, plz to check out El Bodegon (537 College St.)
Peruvian food = WICKED! My personal fav is the bandeja bodegon! MmMM sooo yum!
And in Kensington... One word... empinadas!!! Fresh!
Mat the Alien vs Vinyl Ritchie Guarantee that if you come once you wont miss another. Fun people and incredibly funky music makes for good times.
co-sign on el bodegon
You have great taste!!! Soon ur gonna have loads of time to hang! HA! No buggin' me and trying to get me to skip work!!!
here are some of my picks (though i'm vegetarian so i dunno what the meat stuff is like)
pho joint? i like cafe 668 (dundas, just east of bathurst) for veg viet food, but i hear pho hung (on spadina) is good. i like their spring rolls. (i'm vietnamese so you should trust my judgement on these things
thai spot? real thailand (on bloor, in the annex) - it's actually run by "real thais" (a lot of thai joints are run by chinese people for some reason).. you can tell by the shrine(?) they have in back to the king of thailand. they have photos of the king everywhere in thailand too.
for cheap thai, i like salad king (on gould st, off yonge) and flip, toss & thai kitchen on harbord, just east of bathurst (the owners are so ridiculously nice you want to give them your business) too.
there's a newish place on bloor in the annex too that looks all trendy inside called 'thai basil' but the food really is very good, at least the one time i went there. they have cool "thai cocktails" too.. like martinis with coconut milk! and drinks with mango!
place in little india?
moti mahal.. or whatever it's called. cafeteria style, dirt cheap thalis.
i like the look of the lahore tikka house, but i've only ever had sugarcane juice there cuz of the meat.. i hear it's good though.
korean bbq?
i dunno about bbq but there's this amazing tofu soon (stew) place that is really cheap and good - it's at the corner of clinton and bloor streets (near christie subway station).. that looks like a pic of it posted above. it's almost always packed and you have to line up but it's well worth the wait. there's also a 24-hour korean place across the street nearby (with a yellow(?) sign and you have to go up some stairs). good for late night drunken food cravings if you're in the area. while you're in the 'hood, check out tacos el asador (across from the tofu soon place) for some really good, cheap el salvadorean food.
down to earth bar w/ serious drinks?
the embassy on augusta in kensington market (okay, frequented by some hipsters too, but i do like the vibe of this place, and they have good music most nights).
victory cafe on markham st (off bloor), by honest ed's.
both have some decent beers.
i'm not too familiar with your end of town, but i do know there's a nice little british pub called 'house of parliament' on (surprise!) parliament street, just south of carlton.
anything else?
tons more!
also, i second the recommendation of empanadas in kensington market! i don't like the veg ones at jumbo empanadas but i hear the meat ones are good. the humitas are good. for empanadas, i like the place across from there with the regular sized empanadas for $2.50 each and about 30(!) to choose from. the ones with salsa verde are really good.
also, get some roti from bacchus roti on queen near dufferin (or the other place down the street.. called ali's, i think? or island foods down at king and dufferin) and ethiopian food plus amazing ethio coffee at ethiopian house on irwin st. (off yonge).
enjoy! toronto's a great place to eat!
If you lneed to get your brunch on, Petit Dejeuner (formerley the transplanted Triple XXX Diner - King St across from George Brown College) is about the best food I've ever tasted. Dinners are amazing there as well.
K.
this might explain the gunshots that I think I heard last night...
missruckus - I've heard horror stories from veggie folks at salad king, them using meat stocks and fish sauce. No problem for me but if you're a vegetarian that might be risky.
ribfest is this weekend btw....
www.torontoribfest.com
I don't like going there anymore. But whatever... I bet their gettin' paid
If you have access to a car, try hitting up the cheese boutique, it's in etobicoke.
i've only been to salad king once since the renovations and was pretty turned off, actually, cuz the service was slow (i preferred the fast order-at-cash-and-take-a-number system they used to have) and there were way too many people (probably like 99.99999% ryerson students). flip, toss and thai kitchen (on harbord) is a good alternative cuz it's nearer to me, and an old cook from salad king owns this place and basically stole the recipes (they even have the same names).
Agree with everything said above. I was at flip, toss and thai a couple of weeks ago. I'd rather go there now then down to salad king.
Yes, cabbagetown borders 2 of Toronto's most notorious neighbourhoods, St jamestown and Regent Park. Honestly, I've never had a problem down here...just wouldn't advise walking throough either place post 2:00.
K.
P.S. I think I heard the same gunshot!
BAtifole is awesome.
Petit Dejeuner on King East and Tomi Kro at Queen adn Leslie are also great restaurants.
MY good high school freind also has just opend a French Bistro (Weezie's at King and Power, one streeet east of Parliament) which is excellent. Lunch Mon-Fri 11-3, Dinners Thurs Fri Sat 6-???.
K.
My foodie buddies love this place, but DAMN is it in a fucked up spot. Scurry up to Comisso Brothers for some gangster Italian grub if you're in that hood. Just remember to get in your car and leave if 2 guys in tracksuits and one in suit pull up.
K in Canada.