The Lustful Vegan

Home again after an eventful weekend. (Though not as eventful as planned, thanks to a decidedly unplanned migraine .) I love Toronto, and miss living there. There’s always so much going on. And the food — yum! Anyway, since I haven’t cooked for myself in a few days I thought I’d post a few reviews of some old and new favourite haunts in TO. Places like…

HoSu: A little place on Queen West, near the busy intersection of Queen and John. My first pick of TO restos, this is where I go to unwind and relax for a while whenever I get a couple hours to myself in the city. It’s trendy and hopping, and always a fascinating place to people-watch. The menu is a multi-page mix of Japanese and Korean entrees. Personally I go for one thing — kimchi maki. Nobody else makes this! (Nobody that I’ve found anyway.) That, with an order of either spicy tofu or chap chae noodles does me just fine. Once upon a time I used to order entrees like the vegetable udon soup, but that was before I realized that HoSu always delivers several free little appetizer dishes to snack on while you wait for your meal. You get three or four of these teasers — usually some kimchi and some seasoned soybeans, with either spicy julienned yam or salty julienned radish. Sometimes there are edamame as well. With all that, you’ll be stuffed in no time. Order less than you think you’ll need!

Utopia: Probably my second favourite spot in the city for good eating. This bistro-type place on College Street makes a walnut-pomegranate dip that’s just amazing. As for entrees, I have no clue — I’ve never been persuaded to order anything other than their veggie souvlaki. Why mess with perfection? Vegans need to order it minus the tzatziki, but that’s no hardship since the homemade barbecue sauce is fantastic with it, and they’ll also add on guacamole if you ask nicely. They have vegan options for brunch, which makes them winners in my book. Oh, and did I mention they have vegetarian gravy? *swoon* Perhaps best of all, though, they’re equally good with omnivorous offerings, so it’s a good place to go with a mixed crowd. Or at least a small mixed crowd — it’s a busy place, and they don’t take reservations.

Sadie’s Diner: This trip saw me visit Sadie’s for the first time, so I can only offer first impressions. We took a good-sized group of people to this little place on Adelaide for brunch, and they happily accommodated us. Vegan brunch, squeeee! That’s one thing I can’t get in Waterloo, and I sometimes miss it terribly. But for now I’m well sated. Offerings include such things as breakfast burritos, huevos rancheros, blueberry pancakes, and tofu scrambles. Vegetarians can have theirs with eggs and cheese, vegans with tofu and soy cheese. My only complaint was that my tofu scramble was a little lackluster, though the home fries and faux bacon and sausage were all great. The service was remarkably quick given the size of our group. The place feels like a cross between a diner and a friend’s kitchen — very comfy. Check out the Pez dispenser collection showcased at the back. I’ll certainly give them another visit.

Bakery 18: Okay, you got me — this isn’t a restaurant, it’s exactly what the name suggests — a bakery. Specifically an asian bakery on the lower level of the Atrium. If you don’t know the Atrium, it’s worth noting because it’s connected to the Greyhound bus station by an underground corridor, which makes it a prime area for grabbing bus food before a trip. In addition to Bakery 18, there’s also The Kitchen Table a few doors down, which is a well-stocked mini grocery store with a very decent salad bar tucked away in back. The bakery itself offers a range of sweet and savoury buns for veg and omni eaters alike. Most are well-labelled when they contain any dairy or eggs, so it’s fairy easy to shop there as a vegan. I’m hopelessly hooked on their little sesame balls — chewy rice balls coated with sesame seeds and filled with a sweet red bean paste. The only problems with these are that [a] they’re addictive, [b] they’re frequently sold out, and [c] they don’t last long, not even overnight, so however many you buy you have to eat. But hey, if you buy too many they’re a great way to make friends on those long bus rides.

Urban Thai: These guys have a physical location on College Street, but I haven’t been in yet. (It looks quite trendy, for what it’s worth.) Instead I’ve enjoyed their food twice via delivery, and yum! The Green Mango Salad? Sweet and zingy and savoury, all at once — an instant favourite. As for the rest of the menu, they have several vegetarian dishes, and where eggs make an appearance they’ll happily leave them out to accomodate hungry vegans. This puts the lovely, peanut-y pad thai on the list of things to try. Mmmmm. Their veg dishes almost all include tofu, and the Urban Mango tofu dish is delicious. Yes, I may have a thing for mango.