A low food manifesto: a round-up of tasty, cheap dishes Toronto chefs eat when they’re not cooking for us.
The Geddy at Caplansky’s Delicatessen
356 College St., 416-500-3852
—Matt Kantor, Secret Pickle supper club
WHAT ZANE CAPLANSKY SAYS:
“It’s actually what Geddy Lee orders when he comes into the restaurant. He once told me that his father used to make a variation on another dish we have called the Leo, a classic deli breakfast of lox, eggs and onions. Geddy’s father made his with salami. When I redid the menu back in September, under The Geddy I put ‘Closer to the Heart? You Betcha!’. Geddy wanted me to put ‘Closer to the Heart Attack.’ I just wasn’t prepared to have that on my menu.”
The Pulled Pork Sammy at The Stockyards
$8, 699 St. Clair St. W.,
416-658-9666
—Mark Cutrara, Cowbell
The pork and dill dumplings at Mother’s Dumplings
$6.10 for 12 dumplings,
421 Spadina Ave., 416-217-2008
“I first went when they were located on Huron Street. The staff recommended the pork and dill dumplings, and they’ve been my favorite ever since. I once asked the chef how they were made and she took me to the kitchen and let me help. On the way home I stopped at a Chinatown grocery store and picked up the ingredients to make them again for dinner.” —Scott Vivian, Beast
Ma-po tofu with minced meat, pepper and hot sauce at Yueh Tung
$6.95, 126 Elizabeth St., 416-977-0933
—Markus Bestig, O&B Café Grill
The nachos at Sneaky Dee’s
$7.75 (toppings extra),
431 College St., 416-603-3090
“My order is always the same: guacamole, jalapenos and black beans, baked on. It’s a classic. I used to come here when I was a cook. Now my staff comes here after service on Saturdays. It’s
like a passing of generations.” —Ted Corrado, C5
The cannolis at Black Skirt
$6, 974 College St., 416-532-7424
—Romolo Salvati, Queen Margherita Pizza
WHAT GOES IN A GREAT CANNOLI
According to Aggie Decina, co-owner of Black Skirt: ricotta, sugar, nothing else. “Some people do them with fruit peel or vanilla extract, but not us. The cannolis we do are in the same style as the Salemi region of Sicily. We keep it really simple.”
The kimchee stirfry at Owl of Minerva
$9.20, 700 Bloor St. W.,
416-538-3030
“Thinly sliced pork belly sautéed with kimchee’d zucchini and served on a sizzling platter with rice. It’s spicy, smoky, a little sweet, and fatty. Best of all, you can get it with a combo where, for an extra $6, you get six beers.” —David Haman, Woodlot
The naan at Curry Twist
$2.45, 3034 Dundas St. W., 416-769-5460
“The tandoor oven is right there in the open kitchen and they make the naan to order, which is how it should be. You can watch them shape it, press it against the side of the oven and then use a big stick to pull it out. It really is the best. Fluffy, warm and comforting. It’s like some sort of magic melting in my mouth.”—Donna Dooher, Mildred’s Temple Kitchen
The salted cod at Bairrada Churrasqueiria
$11.50, 1000 College St., 416-539-8239
—Chris McDonald, Cava
The khao soi at Khao San Road
$13, 326 Adelaide St. W., 647-352-5773
“It’s noodles topped with stewed beef in a really rich coconut curry. The thing is, the beef’s really fatty—it just melts in your mouth. And it’s swimming in this intense broth with a big mound of fried noodles that adds a cool texture to the whole dish. On a day with terrible weather, it’s wicked to sit down and have a bowl.”—Matt Blondin, Acadia
Dim sum at Rol San
323 Spadina Ave., 416-977-1128
—Thomas Davis, The Stockyards
The tripe soup at Café Polonez
$5.75, 195 Roncesvalles Ave.,
416-532-8432
“I’m the son of a butcher. My grandfather was a butcher. I like tripe and all the offal cuts. The tripe soup at this place is earthy and warming. For people that haven’t had tripe, I always describe the taste as if you were to lick the forehead of a cow—it’s very bovine. You either love it or you don’t.” —Andrew Carter, The Queen & Beaver
The yummy pork bone at Thumbs Up Korean BBQ
$7, 615 Bloor St. W., 416-536-4106
“These guys are known for their pork bone soup and their japchae, but a few years ago they came up with this new thing called ‘yummy pork bone.’ Basically, they take the pork bones and, instead of braising them in a broth, they do it in a sugary, spicy sauce and serve it with rice. It’s sweet and glazed and sticky. I’ve tried to look it up in Korean cookbooks but I’ve never found it.”—Filippo Mancuso, Jump
Pho with tripe at Mi Mi Vietnamese
$6.50, 688 Gerrard St. E.,
416-778-5948
“I like to split a bird’s eye chili in half, and put one half in the broth and then nibble on the other as I’m eating my noodles. That way, the broth gets some flavour and my mouth gets some heat. It’s a trick I learned from a Vietnamese guy I worked with at North 44.” —Basilio Pesce, Biff’s Bistro
A pound (or three) of hot wings at the Wheat Sheaf
$10.95 per pound, 667 King St. W., 416-504-9912
“Back when I worked at Susur,
we used to go to the Wheat Sheaf to grab a pint if we finished work before last call. The wings are always unbelievable. They just use butter and hot sauce like everybody else—but they’re perfectly crispy, not overcooked and a good size. There’s just something about the tanginess of that sauce that I love.” —Aldo Lanzillotta, WVRST
Those tiny donuts at Little Nicky’s Coffee
$4 per dozen, 375 Queen St. W., 416-260-0500
“There’s a corner booth that I usually sit in that faces the bar where the donut machine is. I’ll come here once a week when I have the day off and have a coffee or two and a basket of donuts. They’re perfectly sized for dipping with the right amount of doughy-ness to absorb the coffee but still hold their shape.” —Aidan Pascoe, Liberty Belle Bistro
The whole-roasted chicken at Inigo
$12, 927 Queen St. W., 416-645-6707
—Aggie Decina, Black Skirt
The leek-stuffed bread with chili sauce at Mississauga Flea Market
Price unavailable, 3092 Mavis Road, Mississauga, 905-268-0502
—Peter George, 360 Restaurant at the CN Tower
The kamikaze roll at Sushi Marché
$7 for five pieces, 1105 Queen St. E., 416-463-0114
“It looks like a normal roll, but inside is battered and fried soft-shell crab, and they serve it with this wasabi cream. The texture is just so fresh—every time it’s just gorgeous. Since the place is just a few doors away from my restaurant, the owners just tap on the window to see if I want more. I’ve only been in Leslieville a few years but I would say I’ve had about 60 orders between my fiancé and me.”—Brad Clark, Fare Bistro
The crispy chicken taco at Tacos El Asador
$3.20, 690 Bloor St. W., 416-538-9747
“It’s just this little hole in the wall, with a tiny kitchen and soccer on the TV screens. Everyone inside is Mexican. The crispy chicken tacos are just delicious. They come deep-fried with crème fraiche and blow-your-head-off spicy salsa. I get it every time.”—Rachelle Vivian, Beast
Roasted marshmallow ice cream at Greg’s Ice Cream
on Bloor
$3.84 for single scoop, 750 Spadina Ave.,
416-962-4734
“I have an ice cream addiction. My wife bought me an ice cream maker for my birthday and we make a lot of ice cream at home. She’ll use loads of mango (papaya wasn’t as successful) and we’re both chocoholics so chocolate is always a favourite. Chocolate bourbon ice cream is amazing: We cook down a bit of the alcohol and mix it in with a chocolate custard before we put it in the machine. But if I do go out for ice cream, it’s usually the roasted marshmallow at Greg’s on Bloor. It’s not just sweet; you also get the roasted, nutty flavor of the marshmallow.” —Steven Gouzopolous, L’Unita
“19a at Pho Hung”
$9 (large), 350 Spadina Ave.,
416-593-4274
—Tom Brodi, TOCA
The steamed sponge cake at Lai Toh Heen
$4, 692 Mt. Pleasant Rd.,
416-489-8922
“Steamed sponge cake is a very different type of dessert than a normal chocolate or butter-and-cream-based cake. It’s unsuspecting. And it has a very distinct spongy texture. When I go with my family, we make sure to order it first so we have it ready after the meal. When it comes to the table I like to squeeze it and smell it before I indulge.” —David Lee, Nota Bene
The basic cheeseburger at The Burger’s Priest
$5.29, 1636 Queen St. E., 647-346-0617
“They just do basic fries and burgers. No onion rings. No gravy. And they grind their own meat. I’m a bit of a purist: I just get the plain burger, which comes with cheese. I’ve been there at least 10 times since they opened and there is always a line outside.” —Allyson Meredith, Bobbette and Belle
The beef gyro at Yianni’s Kitchen in St. Lawrence Market
$5, 93 Front St. E., 416-361-0769 —Timothy Palmer, Epic
Discounted end-of-day hot counter items at T&T grocery store
222 Cherry St., 416-463-8113
—Ed Ho, Globe Bistro and Globe Earth
House Signature Pork Ribs at Highway 61
$27.99 full rack ($14.99 half rack), 1620 Bayview Ave., 416-489-7427
—Patrick McMurray, Starfish and Ceili Cottage
HIGHWAY 61 CO-OWNER KERRY KNOLL’S CAN’T-FAIL RIB RUB
Mix ingredients and sprinkle generously on two racks of baby back ribs. Cook or smoke the next day. Makes about a cup.
6 ½ tbsp. Smoked paprika
3 tbsp. Chili powder
2 tbsp. Coarse salt
1 tbsp. Ground coriander
1 tbsp. Garlic powder
1 ¼ tbsp. Brown sugar
½ tbsp. Freshly ground black pepper
¼ tbsp. Dried basil
¼ tbsp. Dried thyme
¼ tbsp. Freshly ground cumin
