Hot Beans!

Any excuse to make my way over to Kensington Market is a happy one, so it was with pleasure that my sister and I ventured forth yet again to taste what the City of Toronto has to offer for Latin American food. I guess she's my #1 lady to taste these flavourful foods with, being the closest thing to an expert I have on hand. 

Recently opened at 160 Baldwin street (on the west side of the river-like divide of Spadina), is Hot Beans, an all-vegan taco place place. No website yet! This little hole in the wall is easy to find with a nice big sign, but space is tight and I only hope they can put out some chairs and tables in the summer. There's just a corral of a counter with stools running along the upper level, and that was full. Mary and I wound up eating on a bench! No easy feat.

Mary ordered the spicy bean burrito with guac, her favourite anywhere. I was very excited for the tacos, especially the Jackfruit "Pulled Pork" Taco which I had already decided to have. Unfortunately that one was sold out, and instead my eye was drawn against my intent not to a taco, but to one of their specials, a burrito boldly called...

There's just one size for the burritos at Hot Beans, and that is LARGE. They're stuffed to near bursting capacity with filling. The Elvis, may he rest in peace, packed an extra hefty punch, worthy of the name. With generous amounts of starchy fillings like hash browns, tortilla chips, sweet plantain, and crunchy toasted coconut, I needed to be rolled up the stairs afterwards. Yes, I ate it all! It was insanely good, and for me combined some really unique flavours. Peanut miso sauce with coconut and mild banana? Interesting! There was also 'sour cream', which is actually made from cashews. I think there should have been more of both sauces considering how dry the fillings were. Even the plantain had a dryness. I'm used to my burritos moist, and kept spooning on dollops of the homemade hot sauce. It boasts a taste that's sweet like chutney, but with a kick in the teeth from habenaro. This was my first time trying tempeh bacon, and I was underwhelmed. It has nothing on the real deal, and while I like a few fake meats, this time I could have done without. It added nothing, really.

8.50$

That red squiggle is actually the tell tale trace of hot sauce. Mary went for the milder non-habenaro hot sauce. That one isn't house-made, but is still good, packing a softer citrus-chipotle kick. A bit more predictable! All the regular roster of burritos come filled with garlic-annatto rice (google tells me that annatto is a seed from the Americas used to add natural yellow colouring, and a hint of flavour), pico de gallo, lettuce, "sour cream" and cilantro-jalepeno salsa. The Bean is, of course, the most basic of burritos. At Hot Beans they seem to really like putting plantains in things, and they're present in this big roll along with a hefty spoonful of brown beans. I like black beans for colour and flavour, but I had a few bites of Mary's lunch, and was not unhappy. I feel like maybe Hot Beans doesn't do the most 'authentic' burritos, but I've never been a stickler for authenticity- we're in Toronto. Let's explore hybridization in foods! What I really like about this burrito is the almost tropical undertone, something that reminded me of curry. Maybe it was the cilantro?

8.50

These deserts won't set you very far back! Even though they're in line with the large portions that are the trend we've seen from the burritos at Hot Beans, the lime coconut doughnut and peanut butter chocolate cookie only came to 2$ a pop. Hot Beans is already getting some decent buzz online, and I think it's largely fuelled by their original doughnut. Homemade from dough to dip, the thing is unique in Toronto. I found the dough dense and chewy, like good fresh bread but sweeter. Personally lime and dough makes a disconnect for me, so this wasn't my favourite. I can appreciate the experimentation a lot since I love a bold chef. The cookie is vegan too, of course, so it doesn't have the texture of a traditional cookie. I find it was more suitable to my palate. It's powdery, dense like dried out peanut butter, but is so satisfying somehow with bursts of dark chocolate. It's very crumbly, but Mary and I eat every crumb. She says what I'm feeling: "I will come here just for the cookies".

You can almost fool yourself into thinking they're healthy, too.

After this visit I know I'll be back to try Hot Beans signature tacos...and I'll make sure to have someone to split them with!

Utopia

You guys should be happy to know I'm going to try to spend less of each entry on writing and critiquing in the future, and focus more on my strengths- drawing! Turns out I love food too much to be a critic, go figure.


586 College Street

I believe in honesty. This is not my first visit to Utopia! Though I’m not a frequent patron of the Little Italy resto, I’ve been a fair share of times. I tend to be pleased with the food, sometimes by a lot, sometimes not so much. I’ve never been disappointed.
To mix things up, my sister and I tried out the famous back patio. I know, I know. How is winter my first patio visit? I was a fool in the summer, that’s how. We head back, and I’m already not sure we made the right choice. Inside the main body of the building is happy lighting, comfortable wood chairs, and beautiful exposed brick. It has a clean bistro feel, and I usually feel very happy inside. This patio is so different! Some of the feel of the interior was reflected in the wall decorations, a long shelf of wood running along one wall, with herbs potted in long tin pans along it. I like that touch. It was the seating that I regretted- like most patios, it had those horrible plastic stacking chairs, and ugly plastic marble-top tables. I have seen beautiful and functional patios. This is not one of them. We sat, and the heating was right on us- very cozy. Throughout our dinner, the heat went on and off, and while we never froze, it did get distracting. I recommend sitting indoors whenever possible!
The servers here are really, really friendly. I sat at the bar a while and chatted with the bartender while waiting for my sister, and felt right at home. After we had ordered, there was a mix up with the special that I had ordered- the chef made something else, thinking the Sunday special was another kind of burrito. We were assured that the mistake was quickly being remedied. Moments later, she came back with a half-pint for each of us on the house- totally unexpected! It was an unnecessarily nice touch. Even more surprising was that it only took five more minutes for out orders to come out. So while there was a mistake to begin with, they made up for it entirely.
The menu at Utopia is extensive, made up of multiple variations on favourites like burgers (lamb, beef and veggie), burritos, quesadillas, sandwiches and salads. There are also appetizers, and a couple entrées. They have a nice beer and wine list as well, including KLB’s raspberry wheat beer, of which I’m very fond, and had with my meal.
We ordered an app, two mains, and a delicious dessert.


Tofu Cream Croquettes – 5.75
Panko crusted tofu & cream cheese, chipotle sauce
Adding a panko crust to something usually makes it a winner for me- I love that crunch! Though perfectly fried, these dumplings were a disappointment, unfortunately. While there was nothing offensive about them, there was nothing good about them, either- Utopia fell into the classic tofu handling pitfall of not having enough flavour. They were incredibly bland. They also had no texture. Here is a food for those with recently ousted wisdom teeth. You don’t have to chew at all! The sauce that came with them added the only flavour they had at all. Now, that sauce was really good! I found it to be like sweet and sour sauce, but much smokier.


Surn’n Turf Burrito (Sunday Special) – 9.99
Cheddar, salsa, lettuce, grilled onions, jalapeño mayonnaise. Coleslaw.
Utopia knows how to fill a plate- I think my eyes may have been bigger than my stomach. The burrito itself is a monster, stuffed and stacked one half on top to the other. It comes with a heaping side of black bean rice, and no shy portion of coleslaw. The coleslaw is the kind I like- vinaigrette instead of cream. What made this coleslaw stand out was the use of sesame oil, making it taste bolder than any ‘slaw I have ever had. I was impressed that the chef’s put so much thought into what is usually an unpopular side. The rice was cooked perfectly, very soft and fluffy, with the beans adding texture, colour, and flavour. I think it could have been bolder, having little flavour outside of the natural bean taste. I added salt.
Years ago, I worked at a burrito joint, and have frequented a few since then. As such, I like to consider myself a casual expert in the art of the inauthentic burrito- Toronto style. This one had it happening in all the right places. The tortilla was crisped perfectly, the light taste of char going wonderfully with steak strips. I didn’t taste the shrimp too strongly, but it was present and added a distinct texture. The steak won this one for me. It was crisp on the outside, tender and juicy inside, not chewy at all. It dominated the combination of flavours, with other things like the jalapeño mayo and onions working to accent it. Altogether the whole thing was more than I could finish.


Baked Chicken Pesto Sandwich – 9.50
Chicken, pesto, asiago cheese, sourdough roll, salsa. Fries.
Since Mary had this one, I can't really write a huge commentary on it. I tried some and it was very flavourful and full of pesto...which is great! Definitely generous.


Crème Brulé - seasonal price
I like a variety of desserts, and crème brulé tops that list. I love the caramelized sugar crunch, to cold dense interior. The crème brulé served at Utopia was a departure from what I have had before. The texture of the cream itself was much lighter than I expected, so much so that I would call it a mousse. It was not smooth loosening itself onto the spoon with a chunky fluffiness that surprised me. The flavour was also very light, delicate. I was expecting a bold and decadent cream, but received a more. The crust was thin, and though it tasted good, I wish there had been more, and that it had been thicker. Topping everything off was a sprinkling of blueberries. They didn’t taste too fresh. That may be expected given the season, but I had hoped that there would be more pop in the fruit. Although this was a good crème brulé, it was not the best that I’ve had.


My amazing friend and sister, Mary <3