This is the Thursday, Nov. 7 edition of Food Crawl, the Star’s weekly food newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox every week.
As someone who started writing about food as Matty Matheson was making a name for himself at Oddfellows on West Queen West in the early aughts, I’ve followed his culinary career long before his work on “The Bear.” These days, the chef doesn’t spend a lot of time in Toronto, but when I spoke with him about his new cookbook, “Soups, Salads, Sandwiches” he reminisced about his old haunts and just how good Toronto’s food scene is. Here are four places Matheson misses whenever he’s not in town.
The Roast Pork and Duck at King’s Noodle
Downtown Chinatown has long been a go-to neighbourhood for chefs and restaurateurs. In Matheson’s 2000s heyday, long after most restaurants closed, cooks would trickle into its late-night restaurants for an under $20 meal and a round of beers. While many Chinatown spots have shortened their hours since the pandemic, those who aren’t out late — like club kids or those working non-9-to-5 shifts — might not even notice the change.
One of those places is King’s Noodle, the longstanding, cash-only Cantonese restaurant with hundreds of menu items and a beautiful window display of roasted barbecue. My favourite is the roast pork and duck, $16, a combo that isn’t printed on the menu, but they’ll put together any combination of barbecued meats on a bed of steamed rice if you ask. The bone-in roast pork is juicy, tender and has a medium-thin layer of crisp crackling that’s so tasty you don’t need the sauce. The duck, roasted to golden brown and drizzled with the sweet plum sauce, is saltier than most places, but it goes well when paired with the bed of steamed white rice.
Where to get it: King’s Noodle is at 296 Spadina Ave. (at Dundas Street West). It is open Monday to Tuesday, and Thursday to Sunday 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. It is closed Wednesdays. It is on Door Dash, Skip the Dishes, Fantuan and Uber Eats.
The Home Made Noodle Soup at The Owl of Minerva
In the cookbook’s entry for kimchi jjigae, Matheson refers to a 24-hour Toronto restaurant where he’s had kimchi stew at 3 a.m. Locals will know he’s referring to the Chinatown location of Owl of Minerva, but it too has shortened its operating hours in recent years. (It’s still open until 4 a.m. on weekends if you really want to follow in his footsteps). The homemade noodle soup, $15.99, is a comforting bowl of chewy, thick noodles swimming in lightly salted chicken broth and topped with dried, briny seaweed, sliced carrots, mushrooms and zucchini, and a choice of minced beef or chicken. It’s an ideal stomach-calming meal when you don’t want something fried or spicy at night, but still offering some satisfying textures from the bouncy noodles and the tender-crunch vegetables. The accompanying ban chan — kimchi, daikon, japchae, and marinated bean sprouts and cucumbers — adds a chilled, sweet and tart contrast to the main as well.
Where to get it: The Owl of Minerva has multiple locations in the GTA and Southern Ontario, each with different hours. The Spadina location is on the second floor of the Dragon City Mall at 280 Spadina Ave. (at Dundas Street West). It is open 10:30 a.m. to midnight Sunday to Thursday, and 10:30 a.m. to 4 a.m. Friday and Saturday. It is on Door Dash, Skip the Dishes, Ritual, Uber Eats or you can order directly from its site.
The Vegetable Dinner at Island Foods
A restaurant opening Matheson was most excited about was the reopening of Island Foods in 2023, the decades old, family-run Caribbean restaurant that once stood at the corner of King and Dufferin, before closing due to condo developments. It’s now a block north from its old digs and serves the same menu as before. The vegetarian dinner, $11.25, is a wallet-friendly bowl that starts with a base of fragrant coconut-scented rice with green pigeon peas, and a choice of two vegetables. I like the combo of the silky eggplant cooked in tomatoes and garlic with the stir-fried carrots, cabbage and sweet peppers lightly coated in turmeric for a textural contrast. If you want something softer, there’s the lightly curried potatoes, cooked until nearly mashed. Ask for a drizzle of hot sauce on top of everything for an extra zing.
Where to get it: Island Foods has locations in Markham, Don Mills and Parkdale, each with its own hours and takeout and delivery options. The Parkdale location is at 8 Gladstone Ave. at Queen Street West. It is open 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, and 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday. It is on Door Dash.
The Malai Kofta Roti from Maurya East Indian Roti
Not surprisingly, Matheson says one of his favourite places is Mother India. And like all of the restaurants in this list, this one is changing as well — it’s in the process of moving a few doors east to 1422 Queen Street West. But in the meantime, it has a sister restaurant, Maurya East Indian Roti, in Liberty Village with the same menu in a sit-down and take-out setting. My favourite is the Malai Kofta Roti, $15.95, a big, blistered flour roti stuffed with fried balls of seasoned, shredded potatoes and paneer smothered in a gravy not unlike butter chicken sauce. The koftas aren’t crispy once it hits the sauce, but you can still taste the golden-brown exterior that adds a deep, slightly earthy flavour to the dish.
Where to get it: Maurya East Indian Roti (and Mother India) has multiple locations in the GTA. The Liberty Village location is at 150 East Liberty St. at Lynn Williams Street. It is open 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Friday; and noon to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. It is on Uber Eats, Skip the Dishes, Door Dash and Fantuan or you can order directly from its site.
Before you go, I have a few more recommendations:
• This Toronto food entrepreneur’s ready-made picnics pay homage to her Anishinaabe roots.
• Check out these four spots I added to my alternative Toronto Michelin Guide.
• Here are my top picks for takeout under $10 in Toronto.
• School is back in session. Here are four places to check out close to downtown campuses
• This Mississauga family restaurant radiates retro vibes. Here’s why it stands out.
• This beloved Toronto restaurant serves a weekly Jewish brunch buffet — but that’s not all it’s known for.
Thanks for reading. I’ll see you back here next week.
