One day I will write an article of how I searched London in vain for delicious traditional British food. Well, I should have just come to Kitchen on Sixth in New Toronto instead. They do all the classics justice and even surpass the originals with their contemporary flair.
Patio of Kitchen On Sixth
Kitchen on Sixth got its name from its original location at 6th Avenue. They’ve since moved two blocks west, to 8th Avenue. They’ve kept the old moniker but cheekily crossed out the word “on” and replaced it with “Kitchen off Sixth” on their store window.
Updated on 2021-10-19 to include Las San Sivar and Pupuseria Delicias Costa del Sol. Rankings have changed.
I tried (almost) all the pupuserias in Toronto so you don’t have to
Ever since Emporium Latino burned down in October 2020, it left a pupusa-shaped hole in my heart. It was where I had pupusas for the first time and I still have fond memories of their comforting masa and spicy curtido. I’ve struggled to find a comparable replacement. When it seemed like Emporium Latino was not destined to re-open, it was time to journey across Toronto for a worthy successor.
Ode to pupusas
Pupusas are emblematic of El Salvador cuisine. In fact, I visited the country solely to eat pupusas. Pupusas are corn flour pancakes stuffed with various ingredients and then toasted on a griddle. The corn flour used is invariably Maseca.
Traditional fillings don’t have a lot of range. It’s any combination of:
Frijoles refritos: mashed and fried beans
Queso: cheese; either mozzarella or queso fresco
Chicharrón: finely-ground pork, fried with tomatoes, onions, and other aromatics
Zucchini
Loroco: flower bud with a grassy taste, unique to El Salvador and some parts of Guatemala
The popular combination of frijoles, queso, and chicharrón has its own name: pupusa revuelta. Also known as pupusa con todo (with everything).
Pupusas are usually accompanied by curtido and salsa de tomate. Curtido is a lightly fermented cabbage and carrot slaw, seasoned with oregano and doused with vinegar. Salsa de tomate translates to tomato sauce, but really, it’s a tomato soup.
Places that sell pupusas are called pupuserias.
What makes a perfect pupusa
For the pupusa itself, it’s form, ingredients, and flavour.
The best pupusas are perfectly round and of uniform thickness. Surfaces are flat with minimal finger indentations. It should be toasted golden with some brown splotches. The dough shouldn’t be too thick like a gordita. But if chefs make it too thin, they run the risk of the filling bursting out of the shell when heated. While some may like the caramelization and burnt bits from leaked fillings, I prefer an intact pupusa. It demonstrates the skill of the chef. Almost all pupusas in this test failed on this front.
The choice of ingredients also reflect a premium pupusa. Queso fresco is more expensive than mozzarella and has a more crumbly texture and stronger taste. Loroco is not a common ingredient in Toronto and some chefs may be stingy with it. For chicharrón, chefs have latitude in the pork cuts and aromatics used. Ingredients should be well-mixed and distributed evenly within the pupusa.
Finally, flavour matters the most. The masa (corn dough) should have a warm corn fragrance. The pupusa should not be shining in oil. For pupusas de queso y loroco (cheese and loroco), the herb should meld with the cheese and add pleasant crunch. For pupusas revueltas, the ratio of meat, beans, and cheese is key. All three should be discernible but also harmonize.
I don’t put much weight to the curtido and salsa de tomate. They play second fiddle and are not something people would buy on their own. Personally, I like a mildly fermented and acidic curtido. The knife skills of the chef will be evident from the consistency and thinness of the chopped vegetables. For salsa de tomate, the best ones are fresh, filled with pulp, and have moderately complex flavours from herbs like onions and bell peppers. Bad ones are one-dimensional and taste like canned tomato soup.
Taste test method
Two pupusas were used for comparison: pupusa revuelta and pupusa de queso y loroco. They are the two most iconic pupusas and require the most skill to balance flavours.
All pupusas were takeout orders and tasted 2 to 6 hours after preparation. Texture suffers when they are not eaten fresh, so I don’t score them on this aspect.
Consistency in shape of the two pupusas were noted.
Pupusas were tasted again the next day after re-heating.
100% Salvadoreño
Cien por ciento Salvadoreño is a modest restaurant nestled in a quiet residential area. You can tell it’s family-run with children playing behind the counter.
100% Salvadoreño
The pupusas had a moderate aroma. They were crisp and mottled black.
Pupusas, curtido, and salsa de tomate from 100% Salvadoreño
With so many awesome smash burger joints opening in the past year, I thought it would be good to spotlight good ol’ burger places that have been in Toronto for decades. Jumbo Burgers is one of my favourites for classic burgers.
Jumbo Burgers
The building and decor hasn’t changed since the 1970s. It sits in a dilapidated location by the railway tracks in The Junction. Just like in the 1970s, it’s cash only unless you order from food apps. One good thing is that it opens early and closes past midnight.
Side profile of Jumbo Burgers. I’ve blurred out boring graffiti tags.
The OG burgers of Toronto
There are about a dozen or so burger restaurants in Toronto that have been around for decades.
Apache Burgers
Burger Shack
Dairy Freeze
Golden Star
Harry’s Drive-In
Johnny’s Hamburgers
Jumbo Burgers
Lick’s Home Burgers
Real McCoy
Shamrock Burgers
Square Boy
They seem to follow a common theme. Interiors that haven’t changed since they first opened (though prices have), diner or bar seating, and a backlit fast-food-style menu above the counter in all-caps letters. As for food, the patties are thick and grilled, the buns are of unknown provenance, and burgers are complete with sad-looking chunks of iceberg lettuce and big slices of tomato. In what might be a Toronto peculiarity, more than a few of these places also make souvlaki (Greek grilled meat skewers). I suppose that since they have a grill, they might as well use it for all sorts of foods.
Where Nicaraguan staples are better than most in Nicaragua
If there were more places like La Bella Managua in Nicaragua, that country would be a foodie destination. My food experiences in Nicaragua aren’t memorable. Everyday food tends to be fast food quality. My triangle rule for restaurants is price, quality, quantity—pick two. Few restaurants excel in all three aspects. Unfortunately, for many developing countries, the market is skewed towards cheap, filling meals.
The first time I tried La Bella Managua, I wasn’t expecting much. The menu reads like a standard Central American list of staples like gallo pinto (rice and beans), fried plantains, grilled steak, and fried fish. I was pleasantly surprised that they managed to make these pedestrian dishes taste so good. It’s not fancy ingredients nor photogenic presentation. Just good old chef techniques.
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).
