It’s Easy to Find Great Food Without Emptying Your Wallet

Toronto is a great dining city, but by no means do you have to max out your credit cards to indulge in a fabulous meal. If you want to eat well on a budget, there are lots of great options in Toronto, particularly as you move farther away from the heart of downtown. What follows are my suggestions for casual meals representing a world tour of cuisines.

Dining Near the Convention Center

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The area closest to the venues where the APA annual meeting will be held is the land of corporate finance, but don’t despair, moderately priced meals are still to be had.

Some moderately priced options include Pizzeria Libretto (155 University Avenue, [416] 551-0433, website) for some of the best Neapolitan pizza in Toronto. Osteria Ciceri e Tria (106 Victoria Street, [416] 955-0258, website), La Betolla di Terroni (106 Victoria Street, [416] 504-9998, website), and Terroni Adelaide (57A Adelaide Street East, [416] 203-2093, website) all feature fantastic pastas, pizzas, and other flavorful Italian fare. Bannock (401 Bay Street, [416] 861-6996, website) riffs on Canadiana classics. The pickerel soft tacos are an absolute must-have, and the duck poutine pizza will have you reaching for your Lipitor.

Ride the Ramen Wave

Ramen joints have been springing up throughout downtown over the past few years. Among the best are Santouka (91 Dundas Street East, [647] 748-1717, website), which is part of a chain but provides the best all-around experience (get the melt-in-your-mouth pork jowl and ask for your noodles “hard”); Sansotei (179 Dundas Street West, [647] 748-3833, website) with the creamiest tonkotsu broth; and Kinton (51 Baldwin Street, [647] 748-8900, website), with the best chewy noodles. Ryus Noodle Bar (31 Baldwin Street, [647] 344-9306, website) serves some interesting variations, including one with roast beef, arugula, and truffle oil. Touhenboku (261 Queen Street West, [416] 596-8080, website) offers tasty chicken-broth-based bowls. And Ramen Raijin (3 Gerrard Street East, [647] 748-1500, website) features a tasty version with bamboo charcoal powder.

Finds in the Entertainment District and Queen Street West

The cheap restaurants in these areas are a weird mix of chic bohemian cafȳs and comfort-food takeout places. In the former category, the Queen Mother Cafȳ (208 Queen Street West, [416] 598-4719, website) serves up tasty Thai-Laotian treats in addition to more standard fare. Just up the street on McCaul is Manpuku (105 McCaul Street, [416] 979-6763, website), which serves up delicious Japanese comfort food in a cafeteria setting. The udon bowls are impeccable. And for Vietnamese-inspired sandwich treats, definitely go to Banh Mi Boys (392 Queen Street West, [416] 363-0588, website), especially for the fried-chicken steamed bao.

Near the clubs, you can help settle the Battle of the Burrito: Burrito Banditos (120 Peter Street, [416] 593-9191, website) is home to the restaurant’s original chef. Burrito Boyz (218 Adelaide Street West, [647] 439-4065, website) is home to the former’s ex-partner. The halibut burrito should be your starting point for comparisons.

If you have come to Canada to try poutine (fries with cheese curds and gravy), there is a rivalry between Poutini’s (1112 Queen Street West, [647] 342-3732, website) and Smoke’s Poutinerie (218 Adelaide Street West, plus other locations, [416] 599-2873, website) that is best assessed when you are ravenous at 2 a.m. after a long day at the convention center. Poutini’s has a vegan version, and Smoke’s has several veggie versions. After all that excess, the next day you can go to Fresh (147 Spadina Avenue, plus other locations, [416] 599-4442, website) for a rainbow of healthy vegetarian food, including noodle or rice bowls that are capped with tofu and other goodies plus some surprisingly tasty sauces. Wash it all down with a smoothie or your detoxifying elixir of choice.

Dundas and Spadina Chinatown

The best Chinese food is now to be found in the region’s farther reaches, but there are still several tasty options in the downtown Chinatown area. Swatow (309 Spadina Avenue, [416] 977-0601) is a great Chinese “greasy spoon” with incredible shrimp-dumpling noodle soup. Lee Garden (website) has a slightly posher setting. It has the best deep-fried squid in town plus many other treats including the tofu pie (don’t laugh). For a taste of northeastern China, you can go for the distinctly unglamorous basement confines of Chinese Traditional Buns (536 Dundas Street West, [416] 299-9011) for fabulous flavors, Mother’s Dumplings (421 Spadina Avenue, website) for the aforementioned dumplings, or the slightly more genteel confines of Asian Legend (418 Dundas Street, website).

For Vietnamese, Anh Dao (383 Spadina Avenue, [416] 598-4514) offers great noodle soups, vermicelli bowls, and fruit shakes. Pho Hung (350 Spadina Avenue, [416] 593-4274, website) is an equally enjoyable option. For pan-Asian vegan, swing a few blocks east to Vegetarian Haven (17 Baldwin Street, [416] 621-3636, website) or a few blocks west to Cafȳ 668 Vegetarian (668 Dundas Street West, [416] 703-0668, website). Both feature soups with surprisingly hearty broths and tofu/tempeh/seitan in a variety of tasty guises.

When Your Sweet Tooth Can’t Be Ignored

And now for dessert. For the best roasted-marshmallow ice cream anywhere, go to Greg’s (750 Spadina Avenue, [416] 962-4734, website). Boreal Gelato (1312 Queen Street West, [647] 352-7717, websitewebsite) serves some of the coolest flavors, including balsam (as in the tree) and rosemary shortbread. Ed’s Real Scoop (920 Queen Street East and other locations, [416] 406-2525, website) mixes actual apple pie into said flavor. And for Asian gelato, Kekou (13 Baldwin Street, [416] 792-8858, website) features flavors such as durian and Hong Kong milk tea. For chocolate addicts, Soma (443 King Street West and other locations, [416] 599-7662, website) will win you with the chili-based Mayan hot chocolate or with Old School, a bar filled with cacao nibs and cane sugar. ■