Chapter 11 Island Bounty
525 Words
Caribbean food is adapted from African cuisine, but it's also heavily influenced by East Indian recipes especially in Guyana and Trinidad. Bacchus Roti (1376 Queen St. W., 416-532-8191) is Guyanese-run, and their excellent roti shells are made fresh. Try the shrimpl EastIndian Trinidad was the place of origin for the fried, chickpea-stuffed treats known as doubles, and Ali of Ali's West Indian Roti (1446 Queen St. W., 416-532- 7701) claims to have been the first to bring them to Toronto. He's one of the few to offer delectable, chewy, conch-filled roti. Other notable roti shops include Vena 1646 Queen St. W., 416-504-8485; 1263 Bloor St. W., 416-532-3665), and Caribbean Roti Palace (744 Bathurst St., 416-533-7466).
Jamaica is the home of flamingly spicy jerk chicken or pork, and The Real Jerk's colourful dining room (709 Queen St. E.. 416-463-6055) has long been a mecca for jerk fans. For casual take-away, it's Mr. Jerk (209 Wellesley St. E., 416-961-8913; 1552 Eglinton Ave. W., 416-783-1367; 1166 Morningside Ave., 416- 724-9239; 1347A Lawrence Ave. W., 416-248- 8609). Then there are the two, unrelated Irises. Ire Caribbean Restaurant & Caterers (808 College St., 416-531-4743) is more traditional and liable to be playing Bob Marley, whereas Ire Food Joint (745 Queen St. W., 416-366-4743) is more urbane and liable to be playing techno jazz. We also like the venerable Albert's Real Jamaican (542 St. Clair Ave. W., 416-658-9445) and the homey Island Foods (1182 King St. W., 416-532-6298), while the destination for Jamaican patties is Patty King (187 Baldwin St., 416-977-3191), where they're baked fresh daily. Among other islands represented by Toronto eateries is St. Lucia, which gives us the subtle spiking of Soul Food (582 Lansdowne, no telephone).
BACK TO OUR ROOTS ... AND LEGUMES AND RICE
Toronto's African communities have
been growing over the past decade
- especially the Somali community, well represented at establishments like Cafe Sinai (1801 Lawrence Ave. E., 416-285-8005), which dishes up Somali goat meat and rice with homemade hot sauce and fruit juices. Neighbouring Ethiopia, with its stewed meats and vegetables served atop an edible dish of interaction bread, gives us and the long-established Queen of Sheba (1051 Bloor St.
W., 416-536-4162), among others.
Bourdain (999 Eglinton Ave. W.,
416-440-0258, boujadi.com) is
Moroccan, and the word everyone
seems to use to describe it is
"intoxicating." (All their meat is
kosher.) The also-burgeoning Nigerian
community boasts B's Place (2133
Jane St., Unit 1, 416-242-8858),
while you can sample Congolese fare
at Faubourg Restaurant,
Buffet & Bar (2362 Danforth
Ave., 416-421-8933).
DAIRY GHOST
For the past two decades diners in the university neighbourhood have enjoyed the moderately priced John's Italian Cattle (27 Baldwin St., 416-598-8848), but they've been puzzled by the Hebrew lettering on the window. It seems it's a case of new management having the good sense to maintain a little piece of area history on their premises. You see, at one time John's expanded into the spot that had previously been Mandel's Dairy. We're no Yiddish scholars, but we did our best to puzzle it out and can report with some confidence that the text translates as "Butter, cheese, cream, eggs. Fresh every day."
- Writer
