Odd burger redefines fast food with a fully-vegan menu

Plant-based eaters can look forward to enjoying the fast vegan fare in an elevated McDonald’s-esque establishment 

By: Vanessa Tiberio

Odd Burger’s vegan fare resembles typical fast-food, coming in familiar packing. (Vanessa Tiberio/CanCulture)

As a full-time vegetarian and (major) foodie, I’m constantly on the hunt for the newest innovations in the plant-based world that take a unique approach to trick eaters into thinking they’re really eating meat.

After having Odd Burger on my radar for quite some time, I decided to finally head over to a location and give it a try for myself.

Hailing from London, Ont., Odd Burger is a rapidly expanding chain of company-owned and franchised vegan fast-food restaurants that, oddly enough, resemble all of the blissful characteristics of every existing fast-food chain in Canada.

The company was founded in 2014 by James McInnes, and was originally known as “Globally Local.” McInnes was joined by his partner, Vasiliki McInnes, in 2015, and they began to produce vegan meal kits and recipes. One such recipe, known as the “Famous Burger,” garnered quite the attention at the London Ribfest, catapulting the couple into launching a food truck and bringing their recipes all across Ontario.

With their continued successes, the pair launched their first restaurant location in 2017 in London, Ont. and opened their own manufacturing facility in 2018. The company is the first vegan fast-food chain to go public and has even announced that it’s going to launch franchising operations in the United States.

The corporation currently has eight locations across Ontario, with 11 more proposed nationwide locations on the way, planning to open in Calgary, Victoria, Ottawa, Regina and Edmonton.

Upon walking into the Vaughan, Ont., location, I was immediately hit with a renewed sense of nostalgia for my pre-vegetarian times. With walls adorned with pink writing reminding you that you are indeed inside a vegan restaurant, along with the McDonald’s-esque ordering kiosks, I felt both welcomed and excited for what was to come.

The brightly lit interior of Odd Burger contains simple seating and large graphics on the walls. (Vanessa Tiberio/CanCulture)

The Odd Burger brand champions its vision of sustainability with small stores optimized for delivery and takeout, competitive pricing, advanced cooking technology, and a “vertically-integrated supply chain,” which is basically fancy verbiage for saying they own all aspects of their supply chain.

Needless to say, I had very high expectations for this restaurant, and I am quite glad to say that I was not disappointed.

The ordering process was very simple – the kiosks act as stand-ins for workers taking orders, which is great for indecisive people like me who couldn’t decide what I wanted to order from the expansive menu of relatively inexpensive items.

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Ordering kiosk (Copy)

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Odd Burger menu screen (Copy)

The menu includes burgers with either smash or “ChickUn” patties, wraps such as tacos and gyros, salads, wings, desserts, shakes, sides and even breakfast items.

Since I couldn’t possibly order everything I wanted to try (as tempting as it was), I decided to choose two burger combos to get as real of an experience as a typical burger fast-food joint. After a very short wait, the warm brown paper bag with a bright pink sticker sealing it shut was in my possession.

The packing that contains the food items is marked with their branding. (Vanessa Tiberio/CanCulture)

The first thing I tried was the Famous Burger – the apparent legend itself. Let me just say, this burger was massive. The double-smash patty, triple bun, iceberg lettuce and famous sauce resembled an all-too-familiar Big Mac tucked beneath the golden arches down the street. The flavour profile and texture were so enjoyable I truly had to do a double-take to make sure the cheese wasn’t real. 

Odd Burger’s Famous Burger, which put the company on the map in 2015. (Vanessa Tiberio/CanCulture)

The only downside to this burger is that it is super messy – that famous sauce, although delicious, has a mind of its own, so make sure to grab napkins in advance!

Next up was the Crispy ChickUn burger, which is apparently one of their most popular menu items. This burger contains a (fake) chicken patty, green leaf lettuce, tomatoes and house-made “mayo.” This burger was quite refreshing, with the ChickUn patty having the perfect combination of crispiness and softness one can ask for. It was also far less messy than the Famous Burger and, overall, felt like a more nutrient-dense choice.

The Crispy ChickUn burger, accompanied by a side of fries and onion rings. (Vanessa Tiberio/CanCulture)

Obligatory to a combo meal, I had to get my hands on their fries and onion rings. Their fries are on the thick-cut side and strike the perfect balance between saltiness and greasiness. Ketchup wasn’t even needed – a telltale sign of a good fry. Their onion rings were just as good, although I did find them to be a bit overcooked. They were also thick and contained a pretty good onion-to-batter ratio – Lorde would be quite proud of this set of rings.

Considering the quality of the food, and given the current economic situation, I found the pricing of the meals to be quite reasonable. The Famous Burger combo was $14.97, while the Crispy ChickUn was priced at $13.98, which is just a bit more expensive than common fast-food chains. But then again, finding quick vegan food is not the easiest task, and often you’d be facing prices of upwards of $20 for a meal at a vegan restaurant.

Odd Burger also launched an app in August 2022, where customers can receive loyalty points when they make orders that can be redeemed for food. Unfortunately, I only became aware of this when I sat down to indulge, but this is a great way of incentivizing purchases – the app is also really simple to use.

An overview of the total order. (Vanessa Tiberio/CanCulture)

Overall, Odd Burger did not disappoint me one bit and definitely did live up to the expected hype. With the modern-fast-food ambiance, the easy ordering experience and the quality of the food, Odd Burger is a wonderful vegan fast-food restaurant that is sure to please many vegans and non-vegans alike. If you ever find yourself near one of their many locations, make sure to stop on by and see what you’re missing!

Take me out to Katsuya

This Japanese spot in downtown Toronto is best known for katsu, a popular breaded deep-fried meat cutlet. 

By: Darya Soufian

The storefront of Katsuya’s downtown Toronto location at 66 Gerrard St. E. (Darya Soufian/CanCulture)

This article is part of CanCulture’s food review series, where our writers explore some of the best food finds across the nation.

If you’ve ever been to the corner of Church and Gerrard Streets in Toronto, then you know where Japanese katsu fusion restaurant Katsuya is. I passed it almost daily in my first year of university, and since I moved back to the city recently, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to try the place out. 

I always wondered if the food truly lived up to the signs displayed out front. Hanging outside on the beige brick wall is a poster that reads “2019/2020 Yelp Top 55 Restaurants.” Another poster says “Do you know what is the best katsu in Canada?” Well, that’s what I went to find out on a cold and dreary Wednesday afternoon. That may be the reason why the restaurant wasn’t exactly buzzing with customers that day, but a few food couriers came and went during the 15 minutes I was there. It’s no surprise that Katsuya actually has a total of 10 locations across Ontario and British Columbia cities.

I walked up the brick stairs after entering the building and found a discreet door at the top. It led me into a warm setting, with a small walkway lined with benches and exposed brick. There are lightbulbs hanging from the walls and ceilings, attached to thick pieces of rope — a detail I love but rarely see in restaurants. The kitchen could be seen from every corner, giving a rustic yet comfortable feel to the eatery. 

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The greeter that assisted me was very kind and patient while I was admiring the space. After examining the takeout menu, I settled on the sweet chili pork katsu. I have a soft spot for anything sweet chili and was really hoping the research I did into Katsuya’s food wouldn’t let me down on this dish.

A swift 10 minutes passed, and the hostess waved me over to hand me my sweet chili pork katsu. After I basically speed-walked back to my apartment, I ripped open the bag and found two takeout food bowls, along with a longer, rectangular, bento-like plastic container. 

Inside of the bowls were miso soup and the sweet chili sauce. There was a decent-sized portion of pork in the bento box, along with a small amount of rice and side vegetables. There was also a small container holding soup broth in the big container, but I actually saved the miso soup for last and dove right into the pork katsu. Before pouring the sauce on the meat, I dragged the end of my chopsticks across the top to rate the crispiness. Unfortunately, it was not as crispy as I had hoped it would be — but it definitely had some texture to it.

A top view of the pork katsu meal, minus the bowls of miso soup and chili sauce. (Darya Soufian/CanCulture)

I drizzled the sweet chili sauce all over the katsu and dug in. Although the crunch factor wasn’t fully there for me, the pork was certainly tender and moist. I liked how the coating on the pork didn’t make me feel heavy. With deep-fried food, I also can’t stand when there are pools of oil at the bottom of my plate — and there definitely weren’t any with this one. 

I was also looking forward to the sweet chili sauce because it has the sweet and spicy factor that I’m always searching for. It ended up missing the “chilli” for me, so if I visited again, I would definitely try something else marked as spicy. But I would definitely order this katsu again for when I want a non-spicy dish. 

I cleaned the rice and pork off my plate pretty quickly, then followed it up with the side veggies and miso soup. I tried the yellow pickled radishes without the portion of ginger included and quite liked them. Had I tried them earlier, I would’ve eaten them throughout the meal, but there were only two slices. The side salad was also a nice touch, although I wish there was a more generous portion of rice.

This dish is $17.25 before taxes and the total was almost $20. As a student, this is a bit pricey for me so I would only go here again for a special occasion, but I wouldn’t miss out on the opportunity to try something else when I do. I would recommend this place to a friend or family member if they were visiting for a casual dinner out. 

If I had to give Katsuya a rating out of 10 combining the service, price, quality and taste of the food, I would give it a seven point five. The quick service and fairly fulfilling food made for this to be an enjoyable experience. While I still think the pork katsu missed the mark for me and the portion sizes were a bit off, there are some other interesting items on their menu that I would try if I went again.

Tut’s: A taste of Egypt in Toronto

Their signature Egyptian sandwiches with a North American touch will have you delightfully surprised!

By: Kaden Nanji

Tut’s combos come in a handy box that mimics the style of Egyptian street food. (Kaden Nanji/CanCulture)

This article is part of CanCulture’s food review series, where our writers explore some of the best food finds across the nation.

Take everything you think you know about sandwiches and toss it out the window, for Tut’s Egyptian Street Food will change your notion of a sandwich forever. Tut’s is open every day of the week until 12 a.m., and Fridays and Saturdays until 3 a.m., making it a great restaurant to visit for your late-night cravings. I decided to try out Tut’s for dinner after a friend recommended it to me. 

Tut’s is an Egyptian street food spot located at 567 King St. W. which specializes in different types of sandwiches that you would find in Egypt — but with a North American twist. One great example of this is the soguk (sausage) sandwich, where Tut’s takes a traditional Middle Eastern sausage and combines it with North American flavours, such as mustard, to give it a unique taste. 

Let me note here that, more than anything, Tut’s is an absolutely unique restaurant. Its interior design is stunning: one of the walls is lined with a neon board featuring Egyptian symbols, another wall has a colourful graffiti display of hieroglyphics and King Tut’s sarcophagus, and the surroundings of the stairs leading down to the bathrooms are designed to look like the inside of a tomb. Furthermore, the restaurant has a rustic design, with exposed pipes (in an aesthetically pleasant way) and a wooden ceiling.

A vibrant display of Egyptian symbols can be seen along the walls of Tut’s. (Kaden Nanji/CanCulture)

Now, let’s take a look at the food. Tut’s specializes in sandwiches. And in order to let you know the optimal meal here, I tried four different flavours. Tut’s offers each sandwich — which are fairly small but filling — for $5. However, I recommend going with a combo: the Tut’s Combo ($12.50) contains two sandwiches, a side and a drink, or the Tut’s Plus Combo ($19.50) which contains four sandwiches, a side and a drink. Both of these combos are innovatively served in a box, which matches the restaurant’s street food theme. 

The four sandwiches that I tried were the ferakh (chicken), soguk (sausage), kofta (beef) and kebda (beef liver). I was recommended the first three dishes by the server, and I decided to be a little adventurous and try the kebda as my fourth. For my side, I chose to try the fries with dukkah – an Egyptian spice blend. The server also recommended I try the tomeyya (garlic sauce). Overall, for the value of the food and for the experience itself, the prices are not exorbitant.

From left to right: the ferakh, the soguk, the kofta, the kebda and the fries. (Kaden Nanji/CanCulture)

Let’s start off with the ferakh, which is a combination of grilled chicken, onion and coriander, served with garlic sauce on a bun made on-site. In fact, all of the buns in the restaurant are baked in-house. The buns are light, airy and help transcend the flavours of the fillings. Overall, the ferakh sandwich was delightful; the grilled onions and coriander helped enrich the taste of the perfectly seasoned chicken. Also, the garlic sauce went along perfectly with chicken, without overpowering the taste.

The second sandwich I tried was the soguk, which is a grilled beef sausage with caramelized onions, sumac and mustard on top. The sausage was cooked well and contained hints of different Middle Eastern spices. The strong mustard balanced the taste of the sausage, while the caramelized onions provided some sweetness. However, one thing that I did not like was the sumac in the sandwich. This is a Middle Eastern spice that has a slightly acidic and fruity taste; unfortunately, I do not think that the use of sumac in the sausage was a good choice as it created a strange contrast between the flavours. Overall, the sandwich wasn’t the best, but it was far from a bad dish.

The soguk, an Egyptian beef sausage with mustard. (Kaden Nanji/CanCulture)

The next sandwich, kofta, was my favourite. It consisted of kofta (grilled minced beef with Middle Eastern spices), pickles, parsley and tahini (a sauce made of sesame seeds). The kofta was incredibly tender and contained an abundance of aromatic spices. Moreover, the tahini and pickles helped elevate the taste of the kofta while not overpowering the overall sandwich. This dish was incredibly simple, relying on more complex spices rather than complex ingredients — which made it my favourite.

For my final sandwich, I decided to step out of my comfort zone and try the kebda sandwich, which is pan-fried beef liver with green chili peppers, tahini sauce and a lime wedge. I have never tried beef liver before, and honestly, upon looking at the dish, I was a little grossed out. But I shook that thought out of my head and dug in… and boy am I glad that I tried this sandwich!

The beef liver has an earthy flavour that creates a flavourful punch in one bite when paired with the green peppers and tahini sauce, and the acidity of the lime does wonders to the dish. However, I felt that there was still something missing from the beef, so I used my culinary thinking skills and put some garlic sauce on the sandwich. This small addition to the dish helped elevate its flavour profile entirely and made it even more delicious.

However, my favourite dish probably wasn’t even the sandwiches, but the fries with dukkah. Dukkah is an Egyptian blend of spices and nuts, and it made the fries absolutely delicious and flavourful. They were even better when dipped into the garlic sauce (tomeyya), which is probably one of the best garlic sauces that I have ever had. 

In terms of recommendations, I would have to give my nod to the Tut’s Combo, as it contains just enough to satisfy your hunger without being excessive. But if you are starving, the Tut’s Plus Combo is the way to go. For the sandwiches, first of all, I would recommend the kofta (beef) as it was absolutely delicious. Secondly, I would recommend either the ferakh (chicken) or the kebda (beef liver.) If you are feeling a bit more adventurous, go with the kebda, but if you want to play it safe, the ferakh awaits. There are vegetarian options as well, which I, unfortunately, did not get to try. However, based on customer reviews, the taameyya, a fried falafel sandwich, seems like a pretty tasty option.

I like to end off all my articles with my restaurant rating scale, which contains six different categories: taste, presentation, service, ambience, price and creativity. Each of these categories will be ranked from 1 to 10 on the scale. For more details on the restaurant rating scale, check out the end of my last article, a review of Hong Shing.

1. Taste: 8.6/10

2. Presentation: 9/10

3. Service: 7.5/10

4. Ambience: 9.1/10

5. Price: 8.1/10

6. Creativity: 9/10

Hidden Gems: Great Fountain Fast Food

As part of his Hidden Gems journey, CanCulture's multimedia editor Ronald Chen explores Great Fountain Fast Food, a Hong Kong restaurant in the heart of Scarborough, Ont.

By: Ronald Chen

Great Fountain is a family-owned restaurant located in a hidden food court in the Dynasty Centre food court on 8 Glen Watford Dr. They offer a wide range of food items from traditional Hong Kong dishes and fusion Chinese-Western style cuisines at affordable prices. With an accumulated total of over 7,000 followers across social platforms, they post daily content of food, promotions, and food reviews.

As a Chinese Canadian, Great Fountain provided good home comfort food that felt very nostalgic to me. In this video, I travelled to Great Fountain to try out their food and got the opportunity to interview the owner’s daughter, Anna Peng.

Hong Shing: A late-night staple in Toronto

Since 1997, Hong Shing has been a leading go-to spot for Torontonians looking for a Chinese meal, well into the night. 

By: Kaden Nanji

Hong Shing lies at the corner of Dundas Street West and Centre Avenue in Toronto. (Courtesy of Minh Truong)

This article is part of CanCulture’s food review series, where our writers explore some of the best food finds across the nation.

Do you ever get super hungry late at night when virtually every restaurant is already closed? Well, I was stuck in this particular predicament a few weeks ago. I skipped lunch and dinner due to a busy schedule and was completely famished. I wanted to eat somewhere nice, not just a fast food place, but nothing was open at the time. 

“Go to Hong Shing,” my roommate told me as I briefed him on my situation. My roommate swears by this place; he talks about Hong Shing nearly every day. Usually I ignore his ramblings about this restaurant, but at that time, I could eat just about anything. I gathered up a few of my friends and decided to try out this restaurant — and this is the part where Hong Shing became my new late-night staple.

Opened in 1997, Hong Shing is a Chinese restaurant located at 195 Dundas St. W., which specializes in Chinese “family style” and comfort dishes. When I first entered Hong Shing, I noticed that the interior has an appealing dark-themed design with a particularly scattered spatial concept, creating a small and intimate dining experience. Another diner who sat at the table next to mine described the decor as being “rustic with an urban punch.” Along the walls are patterned wooden art designs and a chalkboard with some common phrases in Cantonese, which alludes to the restaurant’s origins.

Hong Shing’s crispy beef. (Kaden Nanji/CanCulture)

As soon as we sat down, we were met with great service, particularly by hosts Anna and Ranger, who made it their priority for us to have an enjoyable dining experience. Anna helped us pick the best items off the menu and provided us with her earnest opinion, something that I thought is quite rare in restaurants. I decided to order the crispy beef after it was recommended to me by Anna. My friends ordered the spicy chili chicken, garlic beef, fried chili squid and sweet and sour pork. 

Ranger remarked that in order to have been open for nearly 25 years, through ups and downs, “the restaurant must be doing something right.” And he was absolutely correct, as the food was absolutely delicious. My crispy beef was delectable; the great flavour and sweetness of the sauce with the pieces of beef, along with a side of rice, was extremely pleasant. The aromatic fragrance that escaped the dish made me salivate as soon as the food was brought out, and after I tried the first bite, I could not stop eating. My friends were met with equal satisfaction from their dishes.

If you’re planning to visit after reading this, I would have to recommend my dish, the crispy beef, as well as the garlic beef, which was also absolutely delicious. Crispy garlic flakes alongside the tender, juicy meat in the garlic beef made this dish one of the highlights of the evening. Both of these dishes were mouthwatering and I cannot wait to have some more the next time I visit.

Hong Shing’s garlic beef. (Kaden Nanji/CanCulture)

The only issue that I have, which is quite understandable from the restaurant’s perspective, was the overall price. As a university student, I find it difficult to afford expensive meals; the total cost of my crispy beef came to around $20. Although this is a little on the pricey side, I felt that the quantity and quality of the crispy beef helped balance the costliness of the restaurant.

Finally, I would like to end off with my restaurant rating scale. Ever since I was younger, whenever my family would go out to eat, we would rate different aspects of the restaurant and dining experience from 1 to 10. These different categories are taste, presentation, service, ambience, price and creativity. They are quite self-explanatory, except creativity, which represents the steps that a restaurant takes to distinguish itself from another restaurant that may have a similar dish — does the restaurant stand out? All of these categories would be measured while considering the overall price of the dish.

1. Taste: 8.7/10

2. Presentation: 7.3/10

3. Service: 9.2/10

4. Ambience: 8.8/10

5. Price: 7/10

6. Creativity: 8/10

Mystic Muffin: A Jarvis jewel

Coffee, apple cake and authenticity 

By Brooke Houghton 

Mystic Muffin is your old friend. It's your high school sweetheart. It's your worn-out sweater in the left drawer of your childhood closet. Mystic Muffin is a second home, and in three years, there may no longer be a mat for you to knock off your boots, pull up a chair and order your favourite apple cake.

What we can always count on is the past — the 27 years of good food and good service the Mystic Muffin has given to Toronto. 

On the corner of Jarvis and Richmond streets, Mystic Muffin is old school, both in service and style. When you walk in, the owner Elias Makhoul yells, "Hello," at you from behind the counter. If you've been there before he’ll remember your name and your story. He'll ask about your day and listen and if you don't have money to foot the bill, he'll tell you to pay next time, even if you haven't paid from the time before. 

Mystic Muffin owner Elias Makhoul with his son in at his store in Toronto. (CanCulture/Brooke Houghton)

One Saturday a couple came in, the woman paused at the door and took a second look at the afternoon crowd huddled in clumps around the tables, leaning, talking and sipping. 

"It's busy today!" she said. 

Behind the counter, Elias pointed in my direction. 

"No! She's from Microsoft, she wants to buy me out! She almost changed her mind!" he said.

They laughed, handed over their change and left with a coffee and a smile.

Elias is a simple man; he doesn't own a cellphone, or drink or smoke. He bikes to work and he doesn't have cable. He's managed to shrink his business to fit the rising costs of downtown living for a business owner and a family of four. 

In the earlier days, he used to cater and deliver daily downtown with two full-time employees but now, his old catering cart has retired to the corner of his shop brimmed to the top with newspapers and him and his wife Annie Makhoul run the show alone.

Elias moved to Toronto from Lebanon when he was 21. He worked odd jobs for about three years until one day he saw a property listing in the Toronto Sun — or was it the Toronto Star — he couldn’t quite remember. 

Back then Jarvis Street wasn't the mixed cultural bag it is today with its hipster drip coffee shops, thrift stores and safe injection sites, and as it grew, Elias learned that he couldn't get away with only selling coffee and muffins. So, to compete, he started adding to what now has become a sprawling list of specials and combos stretched along with the chalkboard behind his till and onto the walls of his shop.

A slice of the world-famous apple cake at Mystic Muffin in Toronto. (CanCulture/Brooke Houghton)

The Mystic Muffin is cozy. It's about the size of an average studio apartment with two circle tables in the middle and a row of tables along the far right wall. It has a counter alongside the storefront window and a window sill filled with rocks and Lego building blocks. One wall is dedicated to photos of customers from around the world wearing Mystic Muffin T-shirts. Each photo is marked in uniform with thick, black writing of the year and place. Old articles, family photos and memories are framed along the walls leaving barely an inch of paint to be seen.

In 2003 Elias ran for mayor and lost, but his love for the community and politics didn’t stop there.  Any given day you can talk to Elias about politics, or anything really, and he still cares for his community like an old friend. His regulars are encouraged to bring in their own lunches from home in return for a cookie on the house.

Ross Carter-Windgrove, who has been a regular for 18 years, and his wife Anne-Marie Carter-Windgrove stopped in for one of their semi-annual visits and in between the bites of their lunch they told me a little bit about those 18 years.

"Elias is quite a character as you know and the food is amazing. He makes it every day by himself … We come on the weekends every now and again … You know he's one of a kind,” said Ross. “I hope he always prospers and he’s always here, it would be very strange to not have him in Toronto."

An egg and cheese bagel from the Mystic Muffin menu. (CanCulture/Brooke Houghton)

“I like the fact he was doing summer camps I mean that was just incredible … I don’t know if it was a workshop but he did something in the summer with children,” said Anne-Marie.

Ross interjected, “And he ran for mayor too once did you hear that?” He paused for a moment before continuing. “He really supports the community too. When people come in from the neighbourhood and they can’t pay, he’ll take care of them.”

Elias has two-and-a-half more years on his lease but he’d like to make it to thirty years in total. After that you might find Elias, Annie and their two children on a train somewhere in Canada seeing the country day by day. But as Elias says, it’s hard to think when you’re working 16 hours a day.

Inside Sugo, Bloordale’s saucy Italian-American eatery

A small but thrilling menu of classic dishes will be sure to keep you coming back for more

By Vanessa Quon

Sugo’s front entrance located at Lansdowne Ave. and Bloor Street in Toronto. (CanCulture/Vanessa Quon)

With red-and-white checkered tables and floors, a chalkboard displaying the menu and a small diner-like bar for extra seating, Sugo looks like it was pulled straight out of a rom-com. 

Located at Lansdowne and Bloor in Toronto’s Bloordale neighbourhood, and steps from Lansdowne Station for my fellow commuters, Sugo serves (self-proclaimed) authentic Italian-American cuisine. 

But they’ve earned their “authentic” description. Sugo’s menu is small but rewarding. Written out on a large chalkboard on the wall above the front counter, the menu is viewable from the entire seating area, so the restaurant has no need to give out physical copies. 

Aside from the chalkboard, the walls are lined with framed vintage boxing magazine covers, such as Boxing Illustrated and The Ring, along with an enlarged portrait of Rocky Marciano, a professional American boxer from the 50s. Besides running a restaurant, the owners have an obvious love for boxing. This added a personal touch to an already homey-feeling restaurant and made the place feel down-to-earth, which was something already felt by the employees’ friendly attitudes.

For their menu: first comes the parms, either ordered by itself or as a sandwich. You can choose veal, chicken or eggplant, all topped with melted mozzarella and tomato sauce. For their pastas: homemade ricotta gnocchi topped with even more ricotta and sauce, rosé rigatoni with grana padano cheese and spaghetti with house meat and tomato sauce, topped with parmesan and basil. You can also get a mortadella and prosciutto cotto deli sandwich or a single meatball topped with mozzarella and sauce. 

The rosé rigatoni and veal parm combo and the spaghetti and meatball combo. (CanCulture/Vanessa Quon)

 Dishes range from $10-$13, but you can combine two dishes together as a platter, such as the rosé rigatoni with the cheesy veal parm like I did, for an extra $10 charge. The combo has made its way onto my All-Time Favourite Foods list (don't tell my Nona that, though).

Sugo—meaning sauce in Italian—specializes in just that. According to an employee at the restaurant, the rosé sauce is their most popular. A blend of tomato and alfredo sauce, their rosé takes it to the next step with just the right amount of creaminess that will sing to your senses. Guests can also buy a $10 litre of any house-made sauce to take home.

 Aside from their main dishes, you can get classic Italian appetizers such as mozzarella sticks, calamari or garlic bread, and desserts like tiramisu or gelato. The appetizers, or “small plates” as they call them, mostly range from $5 - $7, while the calamari stands alone at $12. The desserts are either $6 or $7. 

The tiramisu dessert, made up of layers of coffee-soaked ladyfingers and a mascarpone cheese and cream blend, came with two spoons for sharing. (CanCulture/Vanessa Quon)

While you get whopping portion sizes for the main dishes, giving you enough to take home as another meal the next day (or more accurately, later that night), appetizers can feel lacking in comparison. For $7, you only receive four relatively small mozzarella sticks, making only two for yourself if you’re sharing. Not the best news for fellow cheese stick lovers. 

The mozzarella stick appetizer that comes with four sticks and marinara sauce for dipping. (CanCulture/Vanessa Quon)

Another small complaint is the wait to get a table. While this can’t be helped by the staff, who were very friendly and diligent, it’s just a small annoyance having to wait up to two hours for your food when you’re already hungry (which is what happened to yours truly). The tiny restaurant doesn’t take reservations, so your best bet would be to visit between prime lunch and dinner times, say 3-4 p.m. 

Despite a couple shortcomings, Sugo is the place to be for some saucy Italian-American comfort food. Mangia a il tuo cuore! (Eat your heart out!)