Toronto Day 6

April 26, 2012

I had enough time on my last day in Toronto to squeeze in two final meals and a bit more sight-seeing. I decided to start things off at Toronto's famous St Lawrence Market (supposedly the world's best food market!). The market itself was pretty quiet on a Thursday morning - it seemed quite small to me, but I imagine it's a bit more bustling when the farmer's markets are on each Saturday. The downstairs area has a decent selection of cafes, including my breakfast destination: Cruda Cafe.

Cruda Cafe is a raw, vegan and gluten-free cafe tucked away in the markets. Sadly, the blueberry pancakes I wanted are only available on the weekends (I was constantly amazed by how many breakfast places in Toronto were totally focussed on the weekend), so I was forced to choose from the lunch menu. It's all raw - wraps, salads and a few bigger meals. I settled on the enchilada rawrap (avocado, vegan chilli and seasonal veggies, $9).

This was an amazingly healthy start to the day - the combo of the dehydrated wrap and fresh veggies was bursting with freshness and colour. The chilli was a bit odd - I think it was mostly made of tiny little mushroom pieces. It tasted nothing like chilli, but was a hearty savoury accompaniment to all the vegetables. At $9 this isn't a particularly good value meal - it's pretty small - but that's the price you pay for raw food I guess.

I couldn't resist supplementing the healthy wrap with one of Cruda Cafe's signature desserts - a vegan Nanaimo bar ($4.50).

This was wonderful - bittersweet dark chocolate layered on top of a cashew cream middle and a chocolatey, seedy, nutty base. Delicious.

Loaded up with raw nutrients, I hit the city for a while. Toronto is a great city for wandering - there are loads of distinct, interesting neighbourhoods. It's not particularly scenic, but there's a lovely atmosphere to the place. Still, my feet were eventually worn down from all the tramping and I tracked down some decent coffee and free wi-fi at Dark Horse - nice to find another proper latte after some of the swill I'd had elsewhere.

Recharged, I headed off to find some lunch. I had so many places I wanted to try: Urban Herbivore, Live Food, Hibiscus, Hot Yam, Rawlicious, Rancho Relaxo, Sneaky Dee's, Green Earth even vegan-frinedly chains like Lick's Burgers, Magic Oven and Chipotle. Instead, I just went to the nearest veg place I could find: Vegetarian Haven.

Vegetarian Haven is an all-vegan Asian influenced place that has a pretty great reputation - it won dine.TO's best vegetarian restaurant and has lots of great reviews on Yelp. The lunch menu has a decent number of options: noodles and wraps, salads and a half-dozen bigger main meals (or entrees as North Americans insist on calling them).

I was very tempted by the spicy coconut curry seitan and the sizzling seitain in black bean sauce, but decided to go mock-meat free and try the spicy eggplant tofu (Asian eggplant fired up in a hot wok with hot chilli slices served with purple rice, $11.95).

This was a great way to end my vegetarian tour of Toronto - the mix of fresh veggies, fiery chilli sauce, lightly seared tofu chunks and a cute dollop of purple rice made for a deeply satisfying lunch. They don't pull their punches on the chilli, which is perfect for this dish. I was sad not to try the tofu drumstick or their range of vegan desserts, but there was plenty of food in this one meal, and I had over-eaten my way through the week. Service was friendly and efficient (as it was everywhere I went basically) and the atmosphere of the place was low-key and welcoming (the surrounding tables seemed heavily populated with professors from the nearby university). Vegetarian Haven hadn't been that high on my list of must-visit places in Toronto, mostly because it's schtick (Asian-style vegetarian food) is not one that's hard to find in Melbourne. But it was great - really worth a visit if you're looking for some middle ground between diner-style fried goodies and raw food.

So, six days (4 full days and 2 part days really) and ten restaurants later, my Toronto trip was over. It's a great city, and a great city for veg*ns - very reminiscent of Melbourne in many ways. The people are friendly, there are trams, the place is bursting with culture and there's food - more food than you can possibly tackle in under a week. I can't wait to go back. Thanks to everyone on Twitter who suggested restaurants and activities for me!

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Cruda Cafe has been met with universally positive blog reviews - check out: Toronto Vegetarian, Toronto Coffee Shops, Raw Candy, Going Raw - A University Student's Experience, Food Art Life, Greatest Wealth, Vegan Backpacker and The Healthy Hipster.

As for Vegetarian Haven, Life's Tasty Adventures, JYG's Urban Adventures, What We Eatin': Where We Eatin', the recreational vegan, Gail at Large, MeShell in your city and Newman Improved all loved it, while they call me queen of the universe was a bit less impressed.

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Cruda Cafe

Downstairs at the St Lawrence Market, 93 Front Street East, Toronto 

647 346 6502

Salads and meals $8-$14, Fancy juices $5.50-$6.50, Sweets ~$5 (all plus tax)

http://www.crudacafe.com/

Vegetarian Haven

17 Baldwin Street  Toronto

416 621 3636 

Main meals: $10-$16 (plus tax and tips)

http://www.vegetarianhaven.com

Accessibility: Cruda Cafe is downstairs at the St Lawrence Markets, although there's a reasonable possibility that there's a lift (I wasn't paying attention pre-coffee). Ordering and payment takes place at a relatively low counter, and there are reasonable tables nearby. Vegetarian Haven has a flat entryway and isn't too crowded inside. Ordering and payment happens at the table.