Yes, you read that right. This is one of the few places in Toronto that has tongue on its regular menu. Beef offal is difficult to prepare correctly and can easily end up tough and rubbery. Also, parts like tongue and heart have a strong beef taste that can be a turn off. I, for one, am thrilled that FAMO is gutsy enough to offer it and make it palatable to the masses.
I’ve been babbling about tongue so far but that’s not really FAMO’s key strength. Their mission is to craft creative sandwiches. Their fillings are certainly not run-of-the-mill ones like BLT or cold cuts. Unconventional as they are, the combinations work.
Top-notch, approachable Modern Canadian food (COVID-19 takeout edition)
Just a block south of Queen subway station is Richmond Station. Except it’s a restaurant, not a subway station. The choice of name is deliberate. Its logo even features a subway train. Think of Richmond Station as a stop on the metaphorical culinary train.
Richmond Station
It’s difficult to put a finger on the cuisine served here. It ranges from pasta to braised meat to ethnic inspirations like mulligatawny (British-Indian curry soup). They are dishes that you might have seen in other restaurants but with Canadian twists. The menu changes seasonally. So, I would say Richmond Station is the exemplar for Modern Canadian cuisine.
This restaurant closed on 21 June 2022. Thanks for the memories!
Bringing out the best in Brazilian cooking
Sabor Brasil is one of the rare full-service Brazilian restaurants in Toronto that has a decent ambience and terrific food. In fact, it does humble classics much better than most places I’ve been to in Brazil.
Sabor Brasil
Most people outside of lusophone countries don’t know much about Brazilian food other than steak houses (churrascarias). Toronto does have examples of those but churrascarias are meant for a splurge meal. To get an idea of everyday Brazilian food, come to Sabor Brasil.
Let’s get the bad news out of the way. The English name for this bakery is awkward and cringeworthy. The original French name is better: “Aux Merveilleux de Fred”. Although “Marvelous by Fred” is a technically correct translation, it doesn’t invoke the same personal touch.
Marvelous by Fred is a chain bakery originating from Lille, Northern France. Their signature dessert is the namesake merveilleux (pronounced mair-veh-year; marvelous in English). It’s a unique creation of their own consisting of a meringue shell with bits of goodies inside it.
Competent crowd pleasers with a contemporary Israeli flair
I’ve passed by Cafe Landwer over a hundred times but have never tried it until last year. Before COVID-19, it was rather popular but cafe fare like salads, sandwiches, and hummus didn’t seem that interesting to me. The pandemic provided the opportunity for me to give it a shot during one of my downtown strolls. And it exceeded my expectations. 10% off online orders helped too.
Cafe Landwer
Cafe Landwer is an chain cafe from Israel. The downtown branch is the second in Canada, opened a year after the first one in Vaughan. Its international presence is tiny compared to its home base at Israel. Cafe Landwer only started expanding overseas in 2017 starting with Canada then USA. If its popularity is any indication, they are set to grow rapidly.
Makan stands out as the only Malaysian restaurant in downtown Toronto. Ok, it’s Malaysian-inspired rather than actual Malaysian. The only recognizably traditional dishes are their nasi lemak (coconut rice), rendang (dry coconut curry), and chicken curry. Still, it is a welcome change from the usual chain restaurant and food court fare. The food is above average and well-priced to boot.
Makan. Fugo, a dessert store, is also co-located there.
The food
The menu can be summarized as (1) stuff on baos or rice and (2) tater tots. Tater tots are an oddball for the restaurant’s concept. I didn’t try them for this review. I would have preferred Malaysian sides like begedil (croquettes), curry puffs (curry pastries), or rojak (savoury fruit salad).
Fika means coffee break in Swedish, or for some, a social ritual. That’s what FIKA Cafe in Toronto offers. Some coffee and sugary treats and a lazy afternoon lounge surrounded by Scandinavian designs. Well, at least that’s what it was before the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, FIKA does a brisk business with takeout coffee and pastries.
FIKA Cafe
FIKA has less than four traditional Swedish foods but it does them well. For a proper Swedish restaurant, IKEA is the only option, unfortunately. FIKA sells Scandinavian-inspired sandwiches like ones with smoked salmon. However, their strength is with coffee and sweet pastries, the very essence of fika.
Patio of FIKA. Losers have vandalized the handwritten welcome message on the railing.
The food
Their pastries sell out as fast as they did before the pandemic. Get there before noon for the full selection.
Pastry display case. Clockwise from top left: cinnamon rolls, ginger snaps, pecan brownies, spiced oatmeal currant cookies, spiced carrot cupcakes with lemon icing, semlor.
Yonge-Dundas Square is a mixed bag when it comes to food choices. There are a few great restaurants but there are many more mediocre chains that survive on tourist and shopping traffic. Well, if you are in the area around lunch time, it’s worth seeking out Elm Street Italian Deli for their subs.
Elm Street Italian Deli
They sell Canadian-Italian subs, or at least that’s what I call them. They are not traditional Italian panini because they come loaded with more meats and ingredients. Also, the ingredient combinations are not something one finds in Italy. It’s closer to American/Canadian-Italian sandwiches. Regardless of origin, I recommend them for a quick, quality bite.
How a buffet restaurant adapted admirably in the times of COVID-19
Mandarin is known amongst Toronto residents for their all-you-can-eat buffet, with vaguely Chinese dishes and mishmash of dishes like sushi and pizza. Long-time Torontonians still bemoan the loss of crab legs from the line-up. Despite online criticisms, food quality is decent and is perhaps the best place to try Canadian-Chinese food. People don’t go there just for the food. Nostalgia plays a factor too. Mandarin prides itself as a family restaurant and surely many a celebratory meal went down at its restaurants.
Mandarin restaurant, on the ground floor of Canada Square
I was curious about how Mandarin was doing at a time when buffets are not allowed to operate. They held back during the initial months of the pandemic but quickly pivoted to takeout. Is there still a reason to patronize Mandarin when they have lost their main value proposition? Thankfully, the answer is yes.
For this review, I went to the closest Mandarin downtown, at Yonge and Eglinton.
Suyas are easily the most accessible Nigerian food. Unlike other traditional dishes like slimy cow foot soup (nkwobi) or mud-like amala (yam flour paste), barbecued meat is a crowd-pleaser. It’s no wonder that the majority of Nigerian restaurants in Toronto offer suya. The Suya Spot is one of the best places to sample this meaty delight.
The Suya Spot
Do you want your West African meats well-done or extra well-done?
In my travels to West Africa, I’ve sadly never had revelatory food experiences. Grilled meat is popular and goes by different names: suya in Nigeria, soya in Cameroon, and brochette in Niger. However, quality ranges from ho-hum to bad at most places. I’ve never been to Nigeria (I blame unreasonable visa fees), but my experiences in surrounding countries indicate a philosophy of overcooking meat. It could be for hygiene reasons or a local preference. But it does tend towards dry and tough proteins.
Suyas are no exception. Good suya places will grill them just under the verge of being overdone. Bad places will just give chewy or burnt meat. Suyas have a unique flavour profile compared to other meat-on-a-stick delicacies from around the world. It comes from the use of West African spices like uda (a type of pepper, also known as grains of Selim) and kuli kuli (deep-fried groundnut flour). I recommend trying them at least once to broaden your horizons.
