Keep your eyes peeled heading west along Dupont, and just past Dovercourt you’ll spot a little neon sign cheerfully flashing “Burger & Fries” from beneath the 1017 Auto Repair Shop’s curbside shingle.
The sign seems odd, especially given that, at first glance, all there appears to be here is the 24-hour maintenance shop itself. Look closer, though, and you’ll find a small chipper trailer off to the side of the driveway, tucked in a few steps from the street, where the Food Street Kebab House (pictured) serves up chicken tikka, seekh kebabs and chapli kebabs into the wee hours of the morning. Sure, we may not be talking gourmet comestibles here, but just the fact that such a place exists is kind of neat — rekindling that feeling you had upon finding an “ancient” Coke bottle buried in the dirt as a kid, or the sense of cool felt when coming across the Green Room’s back-alley entrance for the first time as a teenager.
Nifty little joints like this abound, hidden away in the folds and crevices of Toronto’s varied neighbourhoods, providing exotic, delectable and sometimes just plain weird food where it’s least expected. We grilled friends, relations and co-workers about their own hidden gastro-gems to provide you with this brief peak into Hogtown’s secret food world.
FINGER-LICKIN’ GOOD?
When I first saw the Chester Fried Chicken sign in the window at Smokers Mart (1061 Gerrard E., at Jones), I figured it was a joke. After all, what convenience-store owner in her right mind would think to install a deep fryer in the tiny, cluttered space of a variety shop? Yet there they are: baskets of shrivelled, greasy, battered chicken lined up behind the cash upon entering. While I can’t vouch for the quality of the product (not having tried it), I’m sure the kids over at Riverdale Collegiate keep the demand up during the school-time months.
THROW ANOTHER “WHAT” ON THE BARBIE?
Looking to tell your vegan lover that you’ve grown apart, but don’t feel desperate enough to go the convenience-store gourmet route just yet? Taking them over to Batifole (744 Gerrard E., 416-462-9965) for a horse-sirloin dinner, or out to El Fogon (543 St. Clair W., 416-850-8041) for a couple of plates of beef heart may do the trick. But to really get them hopping out the back fast, you can’t beat a succulent kangaroo steak from habitual celebrity hangout Bistro 990 (990 Bay, 416-921-9990). As a friend of mine put it, “It’s like steak, but with tang.”
SWEET FINDS
Just across the street from Bistro 990, Dolce & Gelato European Café (35 St. Joseph, 416-323-9836) looks for all the world like your average independent donut shop. Inside the three-year-old establishment, though, you’ll find a variety of homemade treats to scarf down, with jam-filled pastry bites, perogies and at least 13 flavours of house-made gelato.
Meanwhile, commuters passing by the Coxwell and O’Connor strip in East York are missing out on one of the city’s lesser known delights. Sweet Indulgence (1040 Coxwell, 416-422-3700) has been baking up a storm for over 16 years, featuring olden style ice-cream floats and milkshakes, a plethora of fresh-baked confectionaries and some of the best danishes in the city. And those looking to get their independent movie rental groove on will be pleasantly surprised when dropping into Film Buff (1380 Queen E., 416-465-4324) at Greenwood and Queen, where you can buy delicious cones of Maple Dairy ice cream, have a Stewart’s soda float or kick back with a respectable double shot of espresso.
EATS BELOW THE STREET
Speaking of tasty sweets, apparently the best cinnamon buns in the city are available in the On the Go bakery in Bathurst Subway station. I wouldn’t know though, as I still spend all my money there on the flaky, succulently spicy beef patties they serve here — they are, hands down, the best patties in Toronto, unless, of course, you catch a train to Warden station, where the chain has another outlet.
Of course, I’ve missed places here, such as Maroli (630 Bloor W., 416-483-5393), the only place to find authentic Malabari cuisine in T.O., or the What a Bagel in Thornhill that serves up a mean bowl of Moroccan Matbucha. Then again, discovering them yourself is half the fun. Good hunting.