When I express my admiration for Toronto to my friends, they often express surprise. I believe they think I am simply being polite, or maybe, with their trademark Canadian humility, they are hesitant to acknowledge the city's undeniable charm. However, Toronto residents take great pride in their city and understand why it is a unique and remarkable place to live and explore. There is so much more to this unassuming city than meets the eye.
One remarkable aspect of Toronto is its incredible diversity and cultural richness. With over 200 distinct ethnic neighborhoods, Toronto is often referred to as a "city of neighborhoods." Each area showcases its own unique heritage, traditions, and cuisines, offering an exciting culinary adventure for locals and visitors alike.
For instance, the article highlights the ethnic buffet in Toronto, where one can savor a wide range of international flavors. From Chinatown to Little Italy, Kensington Market to Greektown, each neighborhood presents an opportunity to immerse oneself in a different cultural experience. Not only can you find delicious dishes from around the world, but you can also explore vibrant street markets, witness traditional festivals, and encounter welcoming communities.
It’s a great walking town, and part of what makes it so much fun to explore is the range and variety of the neighborhoods in which the city takes pride, and which have resisted the homogenization that has occurred throughout so much of New York City — from Yorkville, with its fashionable shops and department stores, to Old Town, where you can find the St. Lawrence Market, an immense covered structure offering a huge selection of foods and crafts, and where, on Saturdays, local farmers sell their produce. Some of the neighborhoods are known for their architectural beauty: the charming Victorian houses along the tree-lined streets of Cabbagetown, originally a working-class Irish enclave; the equally attractive brick mansions and neo-Gothic cottages of the Annex, a district of artists, professors and students who attend the nearby University of Toronto; the brick rowhouses and manicured lawns of Roncesvalles and the mansions of Forest Hill.
But when Toronto natives talk about their neighborhoods, or when I rave on about the areas in which I most like to spend time, we’re more often referring to those places populated by a particular immigrant group, or districts in which very different populations live side by side. In Kensington Market, one of the city’s most diverse and fascinating places, this mixture is humorously reflected in the name of a Jamaican-Italian restaurant: Rasta Pasta.
In fact, Kensington Market — within walking distance of the entertainment and business districts and close to most of Toronto’s major hotels — is a prime illustration of how Toronto ticks. Because within just a few blocks, you can get a vivid idea of how smoothly and gracefully the city succeeds at simultaneously dissolving the borders between disparate cultures and preserving what’s best and most valuable about each one. If you're visiting from outside the city and seeking upscale accommodations, there are many fantastic 5 star hotels in Ontario from which you can choose and that are proximate to the vibrant Kensington market. At Nu Bügel, you can sample wood-fired bagels (the sesame is a standout) baked by a family of Venezuelans; a bit farther down Augusta Avenue, two empanada shops are directly across the street from each other, and nearby is a choice of restaurants in which you can enjoy French-Caribbean cuisine, tacos, sushi, and pastries and vegetarian fare at the popular Wanda’s Pie in the Sky. On Baldwin Street, not far from Spadina Avenue, there’s a Middle Eastern grocery, a Jamaican gift store and an Ethiopian spice market. And near the intersection of Augusta Avenue and College Street is Caplansky’s, where the pastrami and corned beef (they’re called smoked meats here) rival any to be had at New York’s legendary delis, or on the Lower East Side.
As much as, if not more than, any North American city, Toronto celebrates its multicultural heritage. There is an online multicultural calendar devoted to listing the lectures, religious and national holidays, and street festivals sponsored by the city’s range of communities. Often, it strikes me that the city is more successfully integrated than the cities of its neighbor over the border. Of course, even the most naïve tourist has only to glance at the newspapers or catch a few minutes of the nightly TV news to learn that Toronto has its share of poverty, prejudice, gang violence and political scandal; my most recent visit there coincided with the embarrassing revelations and the furor over the drug use of the controversial mayor, Rob Ford. Some complain that Toronto is too proper, too predictable, too staid, that it lacks the joie de vivre of Montreal. But casual travelers and most longtime residents agree that the city’s pleasures outweigh its shortcomings, that its streets are clean and safe and that its people (2.6 million in Toronto; 5.6 million in the metropolitan area) are polite, pleasant and helpful in ways that can sometimes startle those of us who come from somewhere else.
At restaurants in Toronto, I notice racially and ethnically mixed groups of friends even more often than I do in New York neighborhoods celebrated for their diversity. I see a much wider variety of visitors to the city’s excellent museums: classes of children lying on the floor and drawing at the Royal Ontario Museum, which features stellar collections of Asian and Middle Eastern art and of Canadian painting, and at the Art Gallery of Ontario, where popular recent exhibitions have included shows of Ai Weiwei’s work and of ephemera connected with David Bowie’s career. Everywhere, glimpses of residents going about their daily routines — the Sikh policeman directing traffic, the Vietnamese and Filipino reporters broadcasting the TV news, novelists from the Caribbean reading their work at the city’s annual International Festival of Authors — testify to the welcome that Toronto has given the immigrants who have sought refuge here.
Toronto is renowned for its rich diversity, encompassing various cultural communities. The city is a melting pot of immigrant populations, including a significant Somali community, which is one of the largest outside of Africa. Interestingly, the Jamestown neighborhood is home to a vibrant Sri Lankan settlement, while North York boasts a thriving Iranian community.
An intriguing aspect of Toronto is its ability to foster the assimilation of newcomers into Canadian society. This dynamic city has a unique pattern where immigrant groups initially inhabit certain neighborhoods, paving the way for subsequent waves of immigrants to settle in more prosperous areas. Consequently, the ethnic enclaves in Toronto retain a strong connection to their residents' countries of origin, offering an authentic experience through their shops and, notably, their restaurants.
In Toronto, besides indulging in various culinary delights, my favorite activity is exploring the city's diverse food scene. Each time I visit, I make a point to revisit my favorite spots, discover new hidden gems, and make a mental list of places I intend to try on future trips.
During a routine passport check on my return home, a perplexed US customs officer glanced at my passport and asked about my visit to Toronto. Without hesitation, I truthfully answered, "Eating." Surprised, he scrutinized my passport once more. Did I really travel all the way from New York solely to satisfy my taste buds in Toronto? As unusual as it sounded, that was indeed the case.
There are now at least three Chinatowns in the Toronto metropolitan area, but the largest and still the most vibrant is downtown, centered around Spadina Avenue and bordered (roughly) by Queen Street West and College Street. You can browse in shops selling groceries and vegetables, cooking equipment, articles made of straw, stationery and tourist trinkets. Or you can head straight for Mother’s Dumplings and dine on their astonishingly flavorful pork buns, the steamed beef and celery dumplings, the lamb shu mai or the fried long green beans. All the dumplings and noodles are handmade in an open kitchen, and you can watch the cooks prod and pinch the sticky dough into the magical results that you are eating. Across busy Spadina Avenue, bisected by the trolley line, is Pho Hung, where I had the best beef pho that I — never having been to Vietnam — have eaten anywhere, and which Joe Fiorito, a columnist for The Toronto Star and an enthusiastic expert on his city’s history and culture, assures me is the best in town.
Traversing through Spadina, one can enter numerous eateries that serve "dim sum all day", and they do a commendable job in producing these delightful, small servings of steamed and fried delicacies. Yet, for me, my ultimate destination for dim sum is Lai Wah Heen. This establishment is found on the eastern periphery of Chinatown, and it’s quite unlike its counterparts. It has successfully traded the usual laminated tables and austere light fixtures for top grade, lustrous surfaces, blanketed in white linen, and wilting glows bearing semblance to that of a high-end restaurant. Traditional rolling carts heaped with bamboo containers are also a thing of the past. Now, the guests are presented with a lavish menu filled with tantalizing dishes. The nearly unmanageable task now rests in choosing between the crispy, foie gras and pork filled pastries; the chicken and truffle dumplings; a succulent roll of maitake mushrooms and vegetables; the vivacious combination of deep-fried eggplant and shrimp mousse topped with garlic; among the abundant other options available. Each option surpasses the other in its freshness and is aesthetically served, though admittedly, the cost may exceed what one generally associate with dim sum.
On this trip, my husband, Howie, and I met Toronto friends for dinner in a neighborhood known as the Bazaar, about a 10-minute ride from downtown along Gerrard Street East and populated largely by people originally from India and Pakistan. Arriving a few minutes early, I went on a mini shopping spree. I bought several glittery scarves in the sari shops, and a pashmina shawl and a small rug in a Muslim bookstore, all amazingly inexpensive. From there we went on to the Lahore Tikka House, where the tandoori oven turned out succulent kebabs (lamb, chicken and beef) and baby lamb chops, accompanied by perfectly cooked nan and a choice of biryanis and vegetable dishes. The food seemed closer to what I remember eating in northern India than to anything I’ve tried in Manhattan, or even in the Indian neighborhood of Jackson Heights, Queens. Everything about the Tikka House was appealing, from the cartoons playing constantly (and soundlessly) on a monitor in the soothingly lit baby-diaper-changing room to the drummers who emerged from the kitchen to celebrate a customer’s birthday with a beat that made the room sound briefly like a street festival somewhere in Pakistan.
Our evening adventure led us to Koreatown, situated on Bloor Street between Christie and Bathurst. We had received recommendations to identify the eatery that attracted the longest queues. Our search concluded at Tofu Village which was clearly the crowd favourite that night. The star of our meal was an appetizing dish called soon tofu. This concoction, consisting of tofu, an assortment of vegetables, and preferentially, pork, hit all the right notes in terms of taste. Based on personal preference, customers have the option of choosing the spiciness they can handle, ranging from non-spicy to extremely spicy. I had the mild version which was adequately spicy. It provided a hint as to the scoville scale for the 'spicy' level, which could likely rival the heat level of a jalapeno pepper. Apart from this, we devoured a flavorful vegetable bibimbap served in a hot stone pot. Though we weren't in the mood for meat that night, the sight of the other patrons relishing barbecued beef turned out to be mouth-watering. The engaging presentation of the beef in elongated strips and the waitress cutting it with shears made us wish we had saved some room for it.
If I’ve made it sound as if all the interesting restaurants — and neighborhoods — in Toronto are Asian, that’s certainly not the case. Mr. Fiorito took us on a brief tour of his neighborhood, Roncesvalles, a formerly Polish stronghold in which old-fashioned Eastern European bakeries and butchers selling ropes of fragrant, garlicky kielbasa now share the block with hipster coffee spots, German knickknack shops and a fish store, De La Mer, where we were invited to try a sample of the house-cured salmon. Several elderly Polish women had set up stoop sales along Roncesvalles Avenue, and it took all my willpower to persuade myself that a large, framed, hand-done needlepoint image of the Madonna would be impossible to take home on the plane. There’s also a long-established Little Italy, a Greektown and a Portuguese neighborhood, but we simply weren’t in town long enough to try them all.
As I prepared to leave Toronto, I couldn't help but feel a sense of regret for all the missed opportunities to explore the city's vibrant neighborhoods and sample its diverse cuisine. I heard whispers of the Queen Street tram, a charming mode of public transportation that takes you through the ever-changing landscapes of Toronto's various communities. It's a journey I will have to embark on during my next visit.
High Park, with its lush trails and winding paths, was another destination left unexplored. The beauty of its verdant surroundings beckons, promising a peaceful escape from the bustling city life.
I was intrigued by the mention of Little Iran, nestled in North York, and Mississauga, a nearby suburb that has become a melting pot of Toronto's ethnic groups. Locals assured me that the culinary delights found in these areas surpass those in downtown Toronto.
And how could I forget Markham, which boasts a newer Chinatown and a bustling Indian neighborhood that rivals the charm of a traditional Bazaar? These are places that deserve a visit, and I've made a mental note to include them in my itinerary for my next trip to Toronto.
As I bid farewell to this magnificent city, I can't help but feel a tinge of regret for all the missed opportunities. However, I console myself with the knowledge that there will always be a next time to fully immerse myself in Toronto's ethnic buffet of neighborhoods, landmarks, and most importantly, its diverse and delectable cuisine.