Churrasqueira do Sardinha‘s Quarter Chicken Dinner, $16.75, 707 College St. W.
The dish
The days of being able to score a quarter chicken dinner for under $10 are long gone, but at under $20 after tax and tip, Sardinha’s version is still worth it. Ultra-juicy, flame-kissed grilled dark meat with a hint of sweet paprika is doused in house-made piri piri sauce that adds an acidic and spicy contrast (there is a big bottle of it at the counter if you want more for your potatoes). I almost like the Parisienne potatoes just as much: one-bite drops of happiness that are pillowy soft on the inside and golden brown on the outside. The requisite fragrant, garlicky tomato rice acts as a perfect bed to soak up any wayward hot sauce and chicken drippings. Considering Swiss Chalet now charges $16 for their quarter chicken dinner, it’s a no-brainer to go with a local family-run spot that brings the heat for the same price.
The restaurant
Don’t be fooled by the gleaming stainless steel kitchen. Churrasqueira do Sardinha has been around for decades. After moving from Portugal to Toronto, Nicolau Sardinha started the business in Kensington Market in 1973 as Brazil Portugal Butcher, a butcher, grocer and takeout shop. In 1980 he moved the business to Little Italy to be closer to the Portuguese community, and his son, Frank, eventually took over in 2004. Five years later the business moved next door to its current location, focusing on grilled and rotisserie chicken that still attracts longtime customers. “It’s the spices. There’s 17 spices on the grilled chicken: garlic, salt, pepper, that’s all I’ll say. Only dad and I know what they are,” said Frank regarding the key to his family’s longevity.
While the Portuguese community has pared down considerably in the area over the past decades, the restaurant still opens before lunch (as early as 8 a.m. on weekends) as Frank explains, regulars are still used to coming to the shop in the morning to pick up bread and pantry staples.
Also on the menu
Aside from chicken, the other standout is the bacalhau à brás ($20.75 for a small size). A staple in Portuguese cuisine, bacalhau à brás is shredded salt cod mixed with sweet onions, scrambled eggs and matchstick-cut potatoes that have been fried. It’s a hearty cold-weather comfort food that allows the subtle salty, briny flavour of the cod to shine through. A small order is too much for one person: get it to go, split it into two portions and serve it with a salad at home.
Explore the area
Across the street from Churrasqueira do Sardinha is Tsuchi Cafe (688 College St), a relaxing (well, on a weekday, anyway) Japanese-style coffee shop and bakery with an all-vegan (and mostly gluten-free) menu. Think hojicha oat cookies and mochi doughnuts. A few doors east of Tsuchi is Sellers & Newell (672 College St.), a little secondhand bookshop with floor to ceiling shelves that also doubles as a live jazz venue in the evenings (tickets are around $20, and all the money going to the artists). Continue the physical media crawl with a stop at Neurotica Records (567 College St., entrance on the side of the building on Manning Ave.), a basement-level vinyl store that’s packed (and I do mean packed) with new and rare records that often get missed by shoppers because of its easy-to-miss location.
