I judge a Jamaican restaurant by the carbs they offer. By carbs, I don’t mean nutritional content. I am talking about the starches that are the foundation of each meal. Run-of-the-mill spots will offer just rice and peas, plantains, and if you are lucky, dumplings (fried or boiled lumps of dough). Nicey’s Eatery does well in this regard and offers a large range of Jamaican carbs: festivals, bammies, coco breads, and even hardo bread.
In fact, the menu has all the Jamaican hits from well-known jerk chicken to lesser-known cow’s foot (certain days only). It’s not comprehensive but it gives one a good sample of the cuisine. Prices are similar to downtown Jamaican takeouts, which is surprising given its location in a remote suburb. The good news is that quality is above average for this price category.
Menu boards at Nicey’s Eatery
Kitchen and counter, with Nicey’s tropical logo in the middle
Giant Iranian breads and the best Napoleon cakes in Toronto
One of my favourite memories of Iran is the morning buzz at bakeries, churning out piles of barbari and the customers that lug these unwieldy breads. I am fortunate to be able to re-live that memory in Toronto, albeit in more sterile conditions.
There are only a couple of Iranian bakeries in Toronto. Garni Bakery is the best place for barbari (نان بربری). Barbari is a giant wheat flour bread measuring about 70 cm by 30 cm, with sesame seeds sprinkled on top. The dough has large and uneven air pockets like Italian focaccia, which gives it its pillowy texture. The other place I know that makes this is Khorak Supermarket.
Garni Bakery
It might surprise most that European pastries are quite popular in Tehran. Naturally, Garni Bakery has those too. In fact, they don’t make any traditional Iranian shirini (sweet confections).
Confections on display: Swiss rolls, cream puffs, Napoleons, cookies
The Mexican food scene in Toronto is pretty good if you just want tacos. Outside of that, it’s pretty dismal. Comal y Canela is a rare exception. It serves authentic foods and draws a loyal following from the Mexican community.
The Food
The menu is a smattering of representative dishes from central Mexico: carnitas michoacanas from Michoacan, birria from Jalisco, and quesadilla D.F. from Mexico City. The odd one out is cochinita pibil from Yucatan. There are also pan-Mexican foods like tortas, molletes, sopes, and tacos. If you don’t know what these are, all the more reason to come and check them out. While these foods are easy to come by in major cities in USA (and obviously Mexico), it’s rare to see them in Canada.
One of the specialties here is birria de chivo. This is a mildly spicy goat stew from Jalisco state, said to cure hangovers. I tasted at least 8 ingredients in there, but the dominant flavours are tangy and salty. If that is not enough, it can be seasoned further with an assortment of garnishes: dried oregano, chipotles, raw onions, cilantro, and limes. Personally, I like spice and fresh herbs, so I dumped a bunch of chillies and cilantro into the birria. The goat meat is neither tough nor gamey and there is a good portion of it. Tortillas are included.
Lately, I’ve been on a hunt for the best dhoklas in Toronto. Dhoklas look like yellow sponge cakes but are savoury and made of rice flour and chickpeas. They are the emblematic snack of Gujarat, India. Not many places in Toronto have them and there are even fewer Gujarati restaurants. Strange, since once would think that the predominantly vegetarian cuisine would attract a strong following from urbanites.
Gujarati Foods is one of the few places in the region that focuses on, what else, Gujarati foods. This is actually a factory in the hinterlands of Brampton. Amazingly, they make their own namkeens (crisp snacks) on premise. This is like finding a place that makes their own potato chips. They have an attached storefront with different varieties of namkeens in giant bins. You scoop up how much you want and pay by weight, like a bulk food store. Brush up on your Indian snack terminology before going. Most bins are not labelled and the price list doesn’t have pictures, just the name of the snack. Prices are higher than packaged namkeens from mega brands like Haldiram’s, but you can taste the quality difference. They average around $5.09 to $5.65 per pound. There are around 20 varieties including common ones like chevdo, chakri, and ratlami sev. The most premium one is special chevdo, also the most expensive at $6.78 per pound. Bhel mix is popular and my favourite because it contains a good variety of components and is reasonably priced.
Copacabana is one of the few places in Toronto to experience a Brazilian churrascaria, rodízio style. A churrascaria is a grilled meat restaurant while rodízio means all-you-can-eat. In Brazil, such restaurants typically have waiters going around tables with different cuts of meats on a skewer. The meat is carved tableside. Outside of Brazil, this sort of restaurant is simply known as rodizio, or a Brazilian steakhouse.
Copacabana is the longest-running rodízio in the Toronto region. However, this branch is not the oldest. It’s the most convenient though, right in downtown Toronto.
Dining area, lower floor
How to eat at a rodízio
The typical rodízio has a buffet where you pick up vegetables, appetizers, and desserts. But that’s not what diners are there for. Waiters roam around the restaurant, brandishing skewers of barbecued meats. Diners use a mechanism on the table to get the waiters’ attention. At Copacabana, this mechanism is a disc. Flip to the blue side “Sim” (Yes) to indicate you want more meat. Flip to the red side “Não” (No) to stop the flow of meat.
Top right: disc used to indicate whether the diner wants more meat. Appetizers clockwise from left: cheese bread, roasted brussels sprouts, farofa (toasted cassava flour), feijoada (bean stew), roasted zucchini.
Copacabana also provides each diner with a small tong to grab slivers of meat as they are carved in front of them.
Special orders can be made on request, especially for more expensive items or items that take longer to prepare. The hostess at Copacabana frequently moves around the restaurant and asks diners which items they would like to have. This is a good idea as it reduces food wastage.
Guangxi (广西) is a relatively poor province in China and is known more for its scenery than its food. The cuisine is really peasant food. There are a handful of specialties in the big cities but there are no regional dishes. Perhaps that’s why there are so few Guangxi restaurants, even within China.
Toronto is blessed to have a Guangxi restaurant that offers the representative noodle dishes of the province. Taste of Guang Xi started at First Markham Place and opened a branch in downtown Chinatown a few months ago. I stopped by the downtown branch for this review.
Taste of Guang Xi (downtown)
The most popular dish here is luo si fen (螺蛳粉; river snail rice noodle). This noodle soup dish hails from the city of Liuzhou (柳州). It’s rare to find a fresh version outside of Guangxi and most Chinese consume the pre-packaged version. There is no visible snail meat but rest assured that there are snails. Entire snails are simmered in the broth until the meat disintegrates and the shell remains are left in the pot. You can’t really taste the snails anyway with all the spices.
This bakery has two things going for it: the ridiculously good manakeesh and the ridiculously low prices.
Interior of Al’deewan Bakery. A giant brick oven can be seen behind the main counter.
Manakeesh (مناقيش) is a round, Middle Eastern flatbread with toppings. It goes by slightly different spellings because there is no standard transliteration for Arabic. The classic topping is za’atar, a mixture of dried thyme and oregano, brushed with olive oil. At Al’deewan, you can find this and a respectable range of toppings.
Momos (मोमो) are the iconic food of Nepal. The national dish, dal bhat (curry lentils and rice), doesn’t get much love outside of Nepal. It’s not exciting and gets boring quickly. On the other hand, momos can be eaten any time of the day and there is large variety to make everyone happy. For the best variety in the world, come to Kathmandu where you can also find fusion momos.
What are momos?
If you look at a momo, it is unmistakably a Chinese dumpling. However, the filling is definitely not Chinese in taste. Momos can be found in Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, and India. South of the Himalayas, momos are heavily spiced and even come with curries. Momos are widely believed to have originated in Tibet and brought to Nepal by traders. From there, it spread to the rest of South Asia.
Nestled in the depths of Estonian House is this tiny cafe. It mainly serves the Estonian community and is not advertised anywhere, not even on its website nor in the building. Regardless, everyone is welcome. It is the only place in Toronto to get fresh Estonian foods.
Estonian House
Estonian House logo
Estonian cuisine is not very distinct. It is a cross between Russian, Swedish, and Polish food. From Russia and Poland, the heavy use of beets. From Sweden and Finland, lingonberry jam and smoked fish. From Poland, sausages and sauerkraut.
This place only offers breads and small snacks. When I visited, it was a week before Christmas and they were taking Christmas orders. The cafe was just a small takeout counter. There were only a couple of customers, all Estonians except for me.
Cafe counter. Jars of smoked herring, beet salad, and potato salad on display. Mural of Tallinn old city on the right.
There really is a Yvé at Ma Yvé Grill. Yvette is the larger-than-life owner and chef at this modest restaurant. She will happily chat with customers and give recommendations to those that are new to the cuisine. The pride in her cooking is obvious. Plaques and photos of famous customers adorn the walls. Most notably, from Raptors player Serge Ibaka.
Ma Yvé Grill
Cafe seating, overlooking into kitchen window and adjoining dining room
Congolese cuisine is simple and similar to West African foods. Lots of starches, stews, and grilled meats. This is the only Congolese restaurant in the Greater Toronto Area. Montreal has more, since it is francophone like Congo and hence attracts more Congolese.
